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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 5,418 |
The naming of the hills is also interesting: Up until into the 18th century, today's Leopoldsberg was called the Kahlenberg due to its sparse vegetation, and up until 1632, today's Kahlenberg was called the Sauberg ("Sow Mountain") due to its wild boar population, and later the Josephsberg.
Start at Kahlenbergerdorf (reachable with the S-Bahn 40 heading towards Klosterneuburg), across from the Kuchelauer-Hafen (harbor). At the beginning of the Nasenweg there is an obelisk, which used to mark the city limit.
Hike along the wine reeds, most of which are cultivated by Klosterneuburg Monastery, on steeply descending slopes. A walk up the 1.5 km long, paved Nasenweg lasts a leisurely hour over 220 hm, 12 turns and 310 steps all the way up to the 435 m tall Leopoldsberg. 22 benches invite you to rest, and 5 observation decks offer impressive vistas of Vienna.
A cable car was planned here as early as 1927, from Kahlenbergerdorf to the Leopoldsberg and further over the Kahlenberg up to Cobenzl. However, the economic crisis delayed construction, and later the bus connection via the Höhenstrasse was significantly cheaper. A cable car is still said to be under consideration.
But it's still about hiking. Once you've arrived at the top, you have several possibilities. You can simply return on the same path or hike along the city hiking path (Stadtwanderweg) 1a to the Josefinenhütte. From there, it's best to take the city hiking path 1 back to Kahlenbergerdorf. That way, you will have been on the go for a leisurely 2 hours. You can also continue to head off to the Kahlenberg and to the Cobenzl, for instance, or you can go around the Nussberg shortly before the final descent. The paths are well-signposted.
You might wish to let your afternoon wind down classically at a wine tavern, and in the evening the best course is to sink into one of the Schick Hotels' cozy beds!
We wish you lots of fun during your Vienna hikes in the autumn! | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 6,559 |
\section{Introduction}
An key open issue for galaxy evolution and formation models is the understanding of the different mechanisms of galaxy assembly at various cosmic epochs. In this context, the gas-phase and stellar metallicities have proven to
be important parameters to constrain the star formation history of galaxies.
A relation between galaxy mass and metallicity, first discovered by \citet{leq79} in irregular galaxies, exists for star-forming galaxies both in the nearby universe \citep{tremonti04, lam04}, and at high redshifts $z\sim0.7-3$ \citep{lam06, lam09, perez09, queyrel09, erb06, maiolino08, manucci09}. This trend for more massive galaxies
to have a higher gas-phase metallicity can be explained by various related properties: gas inflows and/or outflows, strength of the gravitational potential, efficiency of the star formation depending on stellar mass, etc. Their relative importance is currently being explored in numerical simulations.
Studying the abundance in H\,\textsc{ii} regions of nearby spiral galaxies has unveiled metallicity gradients in the local Universe \citep{pageled81, vilacostas92, considere00, pilyugin04}. In $z\sim0$ galaxies, the metallicity generally decreases from the center to the outskirts (up to $\Delta_r Z\sim-0.1$ dex kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}).
The strength of these gradients seems to correlate with various parameters such as rotation velocity,
morphological type, luminosity, and the presence of a bar. Different physical processes have been proposed to explain these patterns, including radial gas-flows \citep{koeppen94}, self-regulating star formation \citep{phillipps91}, variable yields \citep{vilacostas92}, or continuous infall of gas onto the disk \citep{magrini07}.
Merging events \--- which are believed to play a substantial role in galaxy evolution \citep[eg.][]{deravel09, lopez11} \--- seem to be a key physical process in shaping the metallicity gradients of interacting galaxies \citep{rupke10}. Recent observations have suggested that galaxies involved in merging events show lower nuclear metallicities due to the infall of pristine gas into the nucleus. Merging events could account also for outliers to the mass-metallicity relation \citep{kewley06, md08, peeples09, queyrel09, alonso10, montuori10, kewley10}.
Metallicity gradients have been observed in the stellar populations of early-type galaxies as well. They appear to correlate with macroscopic properties such as, for example, stellar mass \citep[eg.][]{spolaor09}.
It has been demonstrated that a metallicity gradient in the stellar populations could survive a major merger event, although it will be weakened. These observations contrast the predictions of the simple monolithical collapse scenario \citep{white80, bekki99, koba04, dimatteo09}.
In nearby galaxies, metallicity gradients can be inferred from the observation of different emission-line ratios (in H\,\textsc{ii} regions), or from stellar absorption lines. In the distant universe ($z\gtrsim0.5$), low signal-to-noise ratio (hereafter SNR) and low spatial-resolution data make these measurements much more challenging.
However, thanks to powerful integral-field spectrographs mounted on the largest telescopes, it is now possible to determine spatially-resolved physical parameters of high redshift galaxies.
Many studies have taken advantage of this technique to study the gas dynamics of distant galaxies, from $z\sim 0.6$ \citep{flores06} up to $z\gtrsim 2$ \citep{forster09, law09, epinat09, gnerucci11}. Recently, the Mass Assembly Survey with SINFONI in VVDS \citep[MASSIV;][]{contini11} collected data of $z\sim1-2$ galaxies observed with the integral-field spectrograph SINFONI at the VLT \citep{sinfo03}. Depending on the galaxy redshift, the bright H$\alpha${} emission line is targeted in the $J$ or $H$ band. The nitrogen line [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} close to H$\alpha${} allows to estimate the gas-phase metallicity \emph{via} the N2 ratio ($\mathrm{N2} = \log(\mathrm{[N\,\textsc{ii}]6584}/{\mathrm{H}\alpha})$) and the corresponding abundance calibration \citep{kd02, denicolo02, pmc09}.
The aim of this paper is to investigate \---~for the first time at a redshift around 1 \--- metallicity gradients of 50 star-forming galaxies in the MASSIV sample. In order to achieve this goal, we develop a dedicated program to analyse the low SNR data cubes. Two companion papers \citep{vergani11, epinat11} discuss the associated fundamental scaling relations (e.g.~the Tully-Fischer relation for disks) and the kinematical properties of the sample galaxies.
The results of these three studies are cross-correlated in order to investigate possible relations between the metallicity gradients and global properties of galaxies at $z\sim1.2$.
The paper is organized as follows. In Section~\ref{sec:datadescr} we briefly summarise the properties of the galaxy sample, the data reduction technique, the emission-line measurements, the level of Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) contamination, the kinematics, and the mass (both stellar and dark matter halo) estimates. In Section~\ref{sec:zgrad} we present and discuss the determined metallicity gradients. Our conclusions are drawn in Section~\ref{sec:conclu}.
Throughout the paper, we assume a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology with $\Omega_m=0.3$, $\Omega_\Lambda=0.7$ and $H_0 = 70~ \mathrm{km s}^{-1}\mathrm{ Mpc}^{-1} $.
\section{Data Description}
\label{sec:datadescr}
\subsection{Target selection, observations and data reduction}
The galaxy sample studied in this paper is the ``first epoch'' sample of the MASSIV project (ESO Large Program, PI.: T. Contini). A full description of the sample can be found in \cite{contini11}.
We briefly summarise some properties of this sample of 50 galaxies below.
The galaxies were selected from the VIMOS VLT Deep Survey (VVDS) in the deep \citep[$I_{AB}<24$;][]{lefevre05}, ultra-deep
($I_{AB}<24.75$; Le F\`evre et al., in prep ) $\mathrm{RA} = 02\mathrm{h}$, and wide \citep[$I_{AB}<22.5$;][]{garilli08} $\mathrm{RA}=14\mathrm{h}, 22\mathrm{h}$ fields. The galaxies were chosen according to their redshift such that their H$\alpha${} line (or [O\,\textsc{iii}]5007 in a few cases) was visible in the $J$ or $H$ band, and was not affected by a bright OH sky-line. Galaxies were selected to be star-forming on the basis of their [O\,\textsc{ii}]3727 emission line strength. The observations have been performed between April 2007 and August 2009. The general properties (RA, DEC, redshift, $I$-band magnitude) and characteristic observational configuration (spectral band, adaptive optics or not, exposure time, spatial resolution) of each galaxy are gathered in Table~\ref{gene}. Most ($85$\%) of the galaxies in this ``first epoch'' sample have been observed in a seeing-limited mode (with a spatial sampling of $0.125$\arcsec{}). However, seven galaxies have been acquired with Adaptive Optics assisted with a Laser Guide Star (AO/LGS, $0.05$\arcsec{} spatial sampling). Among the 50 ``first epoch" MASSIV galaxies observed with SINFONI, four galaxies have not been detected \citep[see][for details]{epinat11}.
The data reduction was performed with the ESO SINFONI pipeline, using the standard master calibration files provided by ESO. The absolute astrometry for the SINFONI data cubes was derived from nearby bright stars also used for PSF measurements. Custom \textsf{IDL} and \textsf{Python} scripts have been used to flux calibrate, align, and combine all the individual exposures. For each galaxy a non sky-subtracted cube was also created, mainly to estimate the effective spectral resolution. For more details on data reduction, we refer to \cite{epinat11}.
$I$-band images for all the galaxies were obtained through CFHT Megacam imaging (for the 22h and
02h field, from the CFHTLS ``best seeing'') and CFHT-12K imaging (for the 14h field). These images were used for two purposes: (i) refinement of the SINFONI astrometry, using the relative position of the PSF star, and (ii), deriving morphological parameters \citep[used as inputs to the kinematics modeling, see][]{epinat11}.
\begin{table*}
\caption{General properties and SINFONI observing log of the 50 ``first
epoch'' galaxies of MASSIV. Column~1: identifier in the VVDS catalog,
Columns~2 \& 3: RA \& DEC in
degrees, Column~4: spectral band of the observation, Column~5:
seeing-limited mode (0) or Adaptive Optics (1), Column~6: on-source
total exposure time, Column~7: $I$-band magnitude in the AB system,
Column~8: Mean spatial resolution (PSF) as measured on a nearby
star, Column~9: redshift from H$\alpha${} (or [O\,\textsc{iii}]5007 when marked with
an asterisk) as measured with SINFONI. For the four galaxies (VVDS020126402,
VVDS020217890, VVDS020306817, and VVDS220071601) which have not been
detected with SINFONI, redshift comes from VIMOS spectra}\label{gene}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{ccccccccc}
\hline
\hline
Galaxy & RA (J2000) & Dec (J2000) & Band & AO/LGS &$t_\mathrm{exp}$ & $I_\mathrm{AB}$ & Mean PSF & $z_\textrm
{SINFONI}$ \\
& [deg] & [deg] & & & [sec] & [mag] & [\arcsec] & \\
(1) & (2) & (3) & (4) & (5) & (6) & (7) & (8) & (9) \\
\hline
020106882 & 36.340833 & -4.771834 & H & 0 & 4800 & 23.18 & 0.49 & 1.3991 \\
020116027 & 36.463055 & -4.751243 & H & 0 & 4500 & 22.88 & 0.60 & 1.5302 \\
020126402 & 36.298576 & -4.727812 & J & 1 & 3600 & 22.99 & $\dots$ & 1.2332 \\
020147106 & 36.689110 & -4.679830 & H & 0 & 7200 & 22.51 & 0.65 & 1.5195 \\
020149061 & 36.771769 & -4.674816 & H & 0 & 4800 & 22.56 & 0.85 & 1.2905 \\
020164388 & 36.712244 & -4.639131 & H & 0 & 4800 & 22.51 & 0.83 & 1.3547 \\
020167131 & 36.697114 & -4.632054 & J & 0 & 7200 & 23.01 & 0.68 & 1.2246$^*$ \\
020182331 & 36.684314 & -4.597755 & H & 0 & 10800 & 22.73 & 0.74 & 1.2290 \\
020193070 & 36.327984 & -4.572212 & J & 0 & 7200 & 23.41 & 0.58 & 1.0279 \\
020208482 & 36.319735 & -4.536649 & J & 0 & 7200 & 23.25 & 0.58 & 1.0375 \\
020214655 & 36.597688 & -4.523057 & J & 0 & 4800 & 23.05 & 0.87 & 1.0395 \\
020217890 & 36.613174 & -4.514397 & H & 0 & 7200 & 23.99 & $\dots$ & 1.5129 \\
020239133 & 36.679087 & -4.475228 & J & 0 & 4800 & 22.85 & 0.79 & 1.0194 \\
020240675 & 36.725581 & -4.471541 & H & 0 & 4800 & 23.45 & 0.85 & 1.3270 \\
020255799 & 36.691075 & -4.437713 & J & 0 & 4800 & 23.63 & 0.76 & 1.0351 \\
020261328 & 36.796038 & -4.425444 & H & 0 & 3600 & 23.90 & 0.62 & 1.5290 \\
020278667 & 36.492598 & -4.386738 & J & 0 & 7200 & 23.25 & 0.65 & 1.0516 \\
020283083 & 36.628634 & -4.376830 & H & 0 & 4800 & 23.07 & 0.78 & 1.2818 \\
020283830 & 36.620565 & -4.375444 & H & 0 &7200 & 22.92 & 0.77 & 1.3949 \\
020294045 & 36.446413 & -4.352110 & J & 0 & 7200 & 22.80 & 0.59 & 1.0028 \\
020306817 & 36.459649 & -4.323037 & J & 0 & 7200 & 23.29 & $\dots$ & 1.2225 \\
020363717 & 36.598723 & -4.199505 & H & 0 & 4800 & 22.61 & 0.64 & 1.3339 \\
020370467 & 36.561244 & -4.184841 & H & 0 & 4800 & 23.46 & 0.71 & 1.3338 \\
020386743 & 36.808285 & -4.149879 & J & 0 & 7200 & 22.58 & 0.73 & 1.0487 \\
020461235 & 36.696290 & -4.398832 & J & 0 & 7200 & 22.64 & 0.63 & 1.0349 \\
020461893 & 36.801068 & -4.386450 & J & 0 & 4800 & 23.45 & 0.60 & 1.0486 \\
020465775 & 36.747379 & -4.316665 & H & 0 & 4800 & 23.15 & 0.88 & 1.3583 \\
140083410 & 209.460955 & 4.294251 & J & 0 & 4800 & 21.82 & 0.69 & 0.9435 \\
140096645 & 209.609695 & 4.329940 & J & 0 & 7200 & 22.28 & 0.56 & 0.9655 \\
140123568 & 208.990111 & 4.405582 & J & 0 & 7200 & 23.43 & 0.76 & 1.0012 \\
140137235 & 209.053257 & 4.442166 & J & 0 & 4800 & 22.38 & 0.76 & 1.0445 \\
140217425 & 209.485039 & 4.643635 & J & 0 & 6000 & 21.58 & 0.95 & 0.9792 \\
140258511 & 210.081944 & 4.746065 & H & 0 & 4800 & 21.17 & 0.49 & 1.2423 \\
140262766 & 209.981154 & 4.758375 & H & 0 & 7200 & 23.68 & 0.51 & 1.2836 \\
140545062 & 209.898275 & 5.508636 & J & 0 & 7200 & 22.42 & 0.70 & 1.0408 \\
220014252 & 334.440374 & 0.477630 & H & 0 & 7200 & 22.04 & 0.70 & 1.3105 \\
220015726 & 333.926894 & 0.484332 & H & 0 & 7200 & 22.42 & 0.46 & 1.2933 \\
220071601 & 334.506537 & 0.759637 & H & 1 & 4800 & 21.74 & $\dots$ & 1.3538 \\
220148046 & 333.657514 & 1.139144 & H & 1 & 4800 & 22.39 & 0.27 & 2.2441$^*$ \\
220376206 & 335.024084 & -0.139356 & H & 0 & 7200 & 21.78 & 0.50 & 1.2445 \\
220386469 & 334.985762 & -0.050878 & J & 1 & 2400 & 22.10 & 0.23 & 1.0226 \\
220397579 & 335.152164 & 0.029634 & J & 0 & 7200 & 22.42 & 0.64 & 1.0379 \\
220544103 & 333.857118 & 0.110982 & H & 0 & 7200 & 22.38 & 0.76 & 1.3973 \\
220544394 & 333.600634 & 0.113027 & J & 0 & 7200 & 22.15 & 0.58 & 1.0101 \\
220576226 & 334.047658 & 0.275121 & J & 0 & 7200 & 21.80 & 0.58 & 1.0217 \\
220578040 & 334.267094 & 0.282327 & J & 0 & 7200 & 22.30 & 0.62 & 1.0462 \\
220584167 & 333.845992 & 0.313059 & H & 0 & 7200 & 21.96 & 0.75 & 1.4655 \\
220596913 & 333.621601 & 0.371914 & H & 1 & 7200 & 21.80 & 0.18 & 1.2658 \\
910193711 & 36.442825 & -4.542796 & H & 1 & 4800 & 22.69 & 0.27 & 1.5564 \\
910279515 & 36.401024 & -4.354381 & H & 1 & 4800 & 23.71 & 0.21 & 1.4013 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{table*}
\subsection{Measurement of emission lines}\label{el}
As mentioned in the previous section, galaxies were selected to be star-forming such that emission lines from H\,\textsc{ii} regions are visible in the near infrared. Given the redshift range of MASSIV galaxies, we targeted, in most of the cases, the rest-frame optical H$\alpha${} emission line in the $J$ (for $z <1.2$) or $H$ (for $z>1.2$) band. For four objects (VVDS020126402, 020167131, 020306817, and 220148046) we observed the [O\,\textsc{iii}]5007 line which allowed to increase the redshift window (two of them were not detected). These latter galaxies are not considered in this paper as we cannot derive any metallicity from the [O\,\textsc{iii}]5007 emission-line alone. In the former cases, we took advantage of the proximity of the nitrogen line to H$\alpha${} to derive the metallicity of a majority of the galaxies using the [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{}/H$\alpha${} line ratio as a proxy for oxygen abundance (see sect.~\ref{sec:zgrad}).
\subsubsection{Integrated fluxes}\label{intfl}
The global integrated flux of each emission line was calculated using a mask designed for each galaxy. The flux was collected over a region where the signal-to-noise ratio of the H$\alpha${} line is above a fixed threshold of $SNR>2$. The SNR maps were produced using a Gaussian-fitting procedure written in \textsf{IDL}, already used and described in \cite{epinat11}. A Gaussian spatial smoothing of $2\times 2$ spaxels (0.25\arcsec$\times$ 0.25\arcsec) was used, increasing the SNR without degrading the final spatial resolution ($\sim 0.65$\arcsec\ on average). The line position map produced by this procedure was used to shift in wavelength every single spectrum such as to compensate for the Doppler effect corresponding to the measured H$\alpha${} velocity at that position. In this way, the broadening of the line by large-scale rotation in the spatially-integrated spectrum was largely removed and the line profile more easily fitted with a Gaussian, increasing the accuracy of line measurements.
The H$\alpha${} fluxes were measured on flux-calibrated integrated spectra using a Gaussian fit and a flat continuum. These fluxes have been corrected
for dust reddening using the extinction coefficient derived from the SED fitting \citep[see][]{contini11, vergani11}. The line ratios, on the other hand, were determined from the integrated spectra in counts. Indeed, the flux calibration procedure would have added noise on top of the already low SNR data. Further, the lines of interest (namely, H$\alpha${} and [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584) are close enough in wavelength to assume that the sensitivity curve is constant over the wavelength range of interest. The same argument justifies the fact that we did not correct the emission-line ratios for differential extinction. Table~\ref{eml} lists our final integrated H$\alpha${} flux, N2 emission line ratio
($N2 = \log(\mathrm{[N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{}}/\mathrm{H\alpha})$ and star formation rates (SFR, corrected or not for dust reddening). Among the 44 galaxies detected in H$\alpha${} with SINFONI, we have been able to measure the [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} emission-line in 34 galaxies and hence derive integrated N2 emission-line ratio and metallicity for these objects.
\tabcolsep1.40mm
\begin{table}[!ht]
\caption{H$\alpha${} flux, $N2= \log(\mathrm{[N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{}}/\mathrm{H\alpha}$) emission-line ratio, and H$\alpha${}-based star formation rates
(corrected \--- and not \--- for dust reddening) for each galaxies in our sample.}\label{eml}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{crrrr}
\hline
\hline
Galaxy & F(H$\alpha$) & N2 & $SFR_{\rm{H}\alpha}$ & $SFR_{\rm{H}\alpha}^{\rm cor}$ \\
& [${10}^{-17}$ergs$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}cm\car{}] & & [M$_{\odot}$} \newcommand{\arsec}{$^{\prime\prime}${} yr$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}] & [M$_{\odot}$} \newcommand{\arsec}{$^{\prime\prime}${} yr$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}] \\
(1) & (2) & (3) & (4) & (5) \\
\hline
020106882 & $14.0 \pm 0.8$ & $-0.71 \pm 0.12$ & 13.3 & 38.1 \\
020116027 & $12.4 \pm 2.9$ & $-1.02 \pm 0.15$ & 14.7 & 42.2 \\
020126402 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ \\
020147106 & $46.8 \pm 5.8$ & $-0.95 \pm 0.14$ & 54.3 & 92.1 \\
020149061 & $20.6 \pm 1.6$ & $\dots$ & 16.0 & 45.9 \\
020164388 & $24.1 \pm 1.3$ & $-0.86 \pm 0.10$ & 21.1 & 46.5 \\
020167131 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ \\
020182331 & $15.2 \pm 5.0$ & $\dots$ & 10.5 & 51.1 \\
020193070 & $ 6.7 \pm 0.9$ & $-0.56 \pm 0.13$ & 3.0 & 14.4 \\
020208482 & $ 2.6 \pm 0.5$ & $\dots$ & 1.2 & 2.6 \\
020214655 & $23.3 \pm 1.1$ & $-0.68 \pm 0.06$ & 10.6 & 51.7 \\
020217890 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ \\
020239133 & $ 7.8 \pm 1.0$ & $\dots$ & 3.4 & 16.5 \\
020240675 & $ 8.5 \pm 1.0$ & $\dots$ & 7.1 & 15.7 \\
020255799 & $ 5.8 \pm 0.7$ & $-0.65 \pm 0.15$ & 2.6 & 12.8 \\
020261328 & $ 9.5 \pm 0.9$ & $-1.06 \pm 0.48$ & 11.2 & 19.0 \\
020278667 & $ 2.4 \pm 1.3$ & $\dots$ & 1.1 & 4.2 \\
020283083 & $13.4 \pm 1.0$ & $-0.70 \pm 0.12$ & 10.3 & 17.4 \\
020283830 & $11.0 \pm 1.1$ & $-0.82 \pm 0.17$ & 10.3 & 50.4 \\
020294045 & $15.5 \pm 2.8$ & $\dots$ & 6.5 & 14.3 \\
020306817 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ \\
020363717 & $37.4 \pm 4.3$ & $-0.87 \pm 0.09$ & 31.5 & 53.4 \\
020370467 & $17.3 \pm 2.9$ & $-0.69 \pm 0.11$ & 14.6 & 71.2 \\
020386743 & $17.4 \pm 1.7$ & $-0.91 \pm 0.08$ & 8.1 & 39.4 \\
020461235 & $ 7.5 \pm 2.0$ & $-0.67 \pm 0.12$ & 3.3 & 9.6 \\
020461893 & $14.5 \pm 1.2$ & $\dots$ & 6.7 & 14.9 \\
020465775 & $14.5 \pm 2.8$ & $\dots$ & 12.8 & 62.2 \\
140083410 & $47.0 \pm 3.3$ & $-0.72 \pm 0.08$ & 16.8 & 37.1 \\
140096645 & $55.4 \pm 4.2$ & $-0.25 \pm 0.02$ & 20.9 & 102.1 \\
140123568 & $ 5.8 \pm 1.2$ & $-0.69 \pm 0.10$ & 2.4 & 11.8 \\
140137235 & $ 9.6 \pm 2.3$ & $-0.79 \pm 0.13$ & 4.4 & 21.6 \\
140217425 & $104.7 \pm 4.9$ & $-0.44 \pm 0.02$ & 41.0 & 200.0 \\
140258511 & $42.5 \pm 2.7$ & $-0.51 \pm 0.10$ & 30.0 & 146.4 \\
140262766 & $13.1 \pm 5.0$ & $-0.75 \pm 0.15$ & 10.0 & 10.0 \\
140545062 & $29.4 \pm 3.3$ & $-0.75 \pm 0.06$ & 13.4 & 22.7 \\
220014252 & $50.3 \pm 3.1$ & $-0.67 \pm 0.08$ & 40.5 & 197.5 \\
220015726 & $47.5 \pm 6.7$ & $-0.69 \pm 0.04$ & 37.0 & 106.4 \\
220071601 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ \\
220148046 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $\dots$ \\
220376206 & $72.4 \pm 5.1$ & $-1.04 \pm 0.10$ & 51.2 & 249.7 \\
220386469 & $17.1 \pm 2.4$ & $-1.14 \pm 0.16$ & 7.5 & 36.5 \\
220397579 & $65.1 \pm 9.1$ & $-1.07 \pm 0.07$ & 29.4 & 143.2 \\
220544103 & $55.0 \pm 1.9$ & $-0.56 \pm 0.09$ & 52.2 & 117.5 \\
220544394 & $24.3 \pm 1.7$ & $-0.89 \pm 0.07$ & 10.3 & 50.1 \\
220576226 & $31.2 \pm 1.6$ & $-0.69 \pm 0.04$ & 13.6 & 66.3 \\
220578040 & $20.5 \pm 1.9$ & $-0.80 \pm 0.07$ & 9.4 & 20.8 \\
220584167 & $64.3 \pm 1.3$ & $-0.91 \pm 0.10$ & 68.6 & 202.6 \\
220596913 & $30.0 \pm 1.0$ & $\dots$ & 23.2 & 36.1 \\
910193711 & $32.9 \pm 18.4$ & $-0.68 \pm 0.09$ & 40.6 & 197.7 \\
910279515 & $14.9 \pm 2.1$ & $-0.83 \pm 0.21$ & 14.2 & 69.0 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
\subsubsection{Spatially-resolved flux and line ratio}
For many galaxies in our sample, the low SNR of the data cubes prevents us from measuring in each spaxel, with high confidence, the emission lines surrounding H$\alpha${} : namely [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584, [S\,\textsc{ii}]6717,31{}, and [O\,\textsc{i}]6300 which is detected only in one galaxy: VVDS140096645.
These lines might either not be bright enough to be detected, or a bright OH sky-line is too close. To
increase the SNR of our final spectra, we summed the spectra of the spaxels gathered in a specified region, and measured the line fluxes in the resulting spectra.
We developed a specific \textsf{Python} procedure to do this analysis within our data cubes.
The program allowed to define a region spaxel-by-spaxel, or to define a region with contours on 2D maps (such as H$\alpha${} flux, SNR, etc maps). In a given region, the spaxel-to-spaxel line shift due to the rotation velocity of the gas along the line-of-sight was fully corrected for (see \S\ref{intfl}). The integrated spectrum in a defined region was then fitted with a flat continuum and two Gaussians, one for H$\alpha${} and one for [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} (the sulfur doublet was neglected for this analysis as it was detected in a few cases only). The width of each Gaussian was set to be the same as the emission of the collisional and recombination lines traces the same ionised gas in the galaxies. The
fit was weighted using the corresponding non sky-subtracted spectrum, i.e.~giving a lower weight to the channels affected by the subtraction of a strong sky-line. We then estimated the $1\sigma$ error on the fluxes with a Monte-Carlo technique, in which the fit was considered to be a ``noise-free'' model, to which we added a Gaussian noise with a standard deviation corresponding to the residuals from the initial spectrum minus the ``noise-free'' model. This operation was repeated a hundred of times, which gave a set of parameters on which the $1\sigma$ deviation was computed.
\fig{prog} shows a result of our fits in different regions for two galaxies.
Finally, we estimate spatially-resolved H$\alpha$\ and [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584\ emission-line flux for 26/34 ($\sim 75$\%) galaxies in the sample. The remaining 8 galaxies have either a too low SNR or
the [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584\ emission-line is polluted by sky-line residuals.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\raisebox{0.7cm}{\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{220578040_contours.pdf}}\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{220578040_sp.pdf}
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{140217425_sp.pdf}\raisebox{0.7cm}{\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{140217425_contours.pdf}}
\caption{Examples
of spatially-resolved emission-lines measurements in two MASSIV
galaxies (Top: VVDS220578040, bottom: VVDS140217425). Color-coded
images show the regions defined with H$\alpha${} contours used to derive
the metallicity gradients. The 1D spectra integrated over the
different regions are shown with solid black lines. Model (in red)
and sky (dashed line) spectra are also shown. The sky spectrum is
used as a weight in the fitting procedure. Region 1 is the outer most with the region number increasing towards the center.}\label{prog}
\end{figure}
\subsection{AGN contamination}
A recent study \citep{wright10} has shown that unveiling the presence of AGN in high-redshift galaxies is a difficult exercise. In the case of metallicity studies, in which abundances are deduced from the ratio of
different emission lines of the ionised gas, it is critical to check that the intensity and width of these lines are due to star formation and not related to any non-thermal nuclear activity. The common way to disentangle AGN contribution from star-forming galaxies consists in comparing the relative intensity of the main nebular
emission lines (mainly [O\,\textsc{iii}]5007, H$\beta$, H$\alpha$, and [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{}) in a diagnostic diagram, so-called BPT diagram \citep{bpt81, kewley01}. Various physical conditions in the ISM \--- SFR, ionisation parameter, metallicity and/or chemical composition \--- have been invoked to explain the fact that some high-$z$ star-forming galaxies lie in the transition region of the local BPT diagram (as defined by the SDSS galaxies) between
star-forming galaxies and AGN hosts. \citet{wright10} have been able \--- thanks to high resolution adaptive optics observations \--- to subtract the active nuclear emission in a $z\sim 1.6$ galaxy (HDF-BMZ1299), and have shown that the residual extended star-forming emission was characteristic of a local SDSS star-forming galaxy, whereas the integrated emission would have placed the object in the transition region.
\begin{figure}[!ht]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{histo_N2.pdf}\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{c_vs_n.pdf}
\caption{{\it Left}: Distribution of the N2 ratio in the MASSIV ``first
epoch'' sample. The black line represents the ratio integrated over
the whole galaxy. The red line is the N2 ratio measured in the
nuclear region. {\it Right}: N2 global ratio versus N2 nuclear
ratio.}\label{distrib}
\end{figure}
The nature of our observations did not give us simultaneous access to the set of emission lines
([O\,\textsc{iii}]5007, H$\beta$, H$\alpha$, and [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584 or [S\,\textsc{ii}]6717,31{}) commonly used in standard diagnostic diagrams. However, for all but two objects in our sample, the emission-line ratio $\mathrm{N2} =
\log(\textrm[N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{}/\textrmH$\alpha$)$ is lower than $-0.5$, with a median $\mathrm{N2}$ value of $-0.72$. Such low values are indicative for a very low contamination by AGN in our sample \citep[eg.][]{bpt81}.
For 24 galaxies of our sample we calculated, following \citet{wright10}, the N2 ``concentrated ratio'', corresponding to the value in the nuclear region of the galaxy. We defined the nuclear region as the spaxel with the highest H$\alpha${} flux along with its 8 nearest neighbours (corresponding to a $0.7''$ diameter aperture, matching our mean spatial resolution of $0.65''$). We assumed this aperture to be small enough to probe the inner
nucleus part as objects usually span from $1''$ to $2''$ with $SNR>2$ in our observations.
Fig.~\ref{distrib} shows i) the distribution of the 24 galaxies as a function of their global and nuclear N2 ratio (left panel) and ii) the relation between the global and nuclear N2 ratios for each galaxy (right panel). The median values of N2 for each distribution are not very different ($\Delta\sim -0.07$). The median nuclear N2 ratio is lower than the global ratio which would not be the case if a significant fraction of our sample galaxies were hosting an AGN. When comparing the global ratio to the nucleus ratio distribution, the highest bin does not shift and contains a single object . We investigated in more detail the galaxy in this bin: VVDS140096645. It shows the following high N2 ratios: $N2_\textrm{global}=-0.252$ and $N2_\textrm{nuclear}=-0.294$. Looking further into its integrated spectrum (global and nuclear, see \fig{645}), we noticed that: (i) the emission lines are broad, which is a possible sign of nuclear activity, (ii) the two nitrogen lines are clearly visible, as is the sulfur doublet, and the [O\,\textsc{i}]6300 line, which altogether are characteristics of LINER galaxies, often associated to AGNs \citep{heck80} \--- or violent episodes of star-formation in high metallicity galaxies \citep{terl85}.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{645.pdf}
\caption{Integrated spectra of VVDS140096645. {\it Top}: spectrum of the
disk (total integrated with central contribution removed). {\it Middle}:
spectrum of the central region surrounding the peak of H$\alpha${}
flux. {\it Bottom}: spectrum from the whole spatial extent. From left to
right, the following emission lines appear: [\textsc{O\,i}]6300,
[\textsc{N\,ii}]6548, H$\alpha${}, [\textsc{N\,ii}]6584,
[\textsc{S\,ii}]6717, [\textsc{S\,ii}]6731. The red and blue lines
are least-square fits to the data.}\label{645}
\end{figure}
The galaxy with the next highest global N2 value is VVDS140258511
($N2_\textrm{global}=-0.509$ and $N2_\textrm{nuclear}=-0.345$). Its global and nuclear spectra show no obvious features of nuclear activity, and the N2 ratio are both $< -0.3$.
We conclude that our sample does not suffer from significant AGN contamination. The only candidate for nuclear activity is VVDS140096645. Similar conclusions were reached based on composite 1D VIMOS and SINFONI spectra of the MASSIV sample \citep[see][]{contini11}.
\subsection{Kinematics and close environment classification}\label{kin}
A kinematics and close environment classification of the MASSIV galaxies has been performed and is described in details in \cite{epinat11}. This classification is based on the $I$-band morphology, the H$\alpha$ flux maps,
the H$\alpha$ velocity fields and their modeling assuming a rotating disk.
In the present paper, we exploit two types of classes: a) the dynamical state of galaxies (rotating or non-rotating),
and b) the close environment of galaxies. The first class relies i) on the agreement between the position angles of the major axis deduced from the morphology and from the kinematics, and ii) on the accuracy of the rotating disk model.
In the case the average SNR is lower than 5, this classification is believed to be not reliable and is thus not used. The second class relies on the detection of companions in both $I$-band image and H$\alpha$
maps at a similar redshift than the main source. In some cases, the kinematics maps (velocity fields and velocity dispersion maps) suggest the presence of some companions about merging or along the line-of-sight.
A confidence flag was assigned to the environment classification, ranging from A (>90\%, confident) to C ($\sim 50$\%).
We used these classifications to help us constraining the origin of the metallicity gradients in our MASSIV star-forming galaxies.
\subsection{Stellar and dark matter halo masses}
\label{sec:masses}
The stellar masses used in our study were obtained using the SED fitting technique. Stellar population synthesis models \citep{BC03} were used to match photometric and spectroscopic data from our MASSIV sample, using
the GOSSIP tool \citep{franzetti08}. A \citet{salpeter55} IMF was assumed, stellar formation timescales and the extinction parameter $E(B-V)$ were allowed to range from $0.1$ to $15$~Gyr, and from $0$ to $0.3$, respectively.
The GOSSIP tool returned the best-fit parameters as well as a Probability Distribution Function (PDF) for each of them, following \citet{walcher08}. The median and the standard deviation of the PDF were used to recover the parameter
estimates and their associated errors. These latter values were used for this study. The procedure is described in detail in \cite{contini11}.
The dark matter (DM) halo masses ($M_{\rm halo}$) used hereafter were computed using a spherical virialized collapse model \citep{peebles80, whiteFrenck91, mowhite02}:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq:mhalo}
M_{\rm halo} = 0.1
H_0^{-1}\mathcal{G}^{-1}\Omega_m^{-0.5}(1+z)^{1.5}V_{\rm max}^3
\end{equation}
where $\mathcal{G}$ is the universal gravitational constant, $z$ is the redshift of the galaxy and $V_{\rm max}$ is the maximum rotational velocity computed in \cite{epinat11}. In order to compute associated uncertainties,
the Monte Carlo method used in \cite{epinat11} for the uncertainties on $V_{\rm max}$ was extended until the halo mass. The contributions of the two sources of uncertainty on the velocity (inclination and modeling) were added
quadratically to compute the final uncertainty.
Equation \ref{eq:mhalo} makes the assumption that the plateau has been reached and that $V_{\rm max}$ traces the halo circular velocity. However, this assumption is probably not correct for non-rotating systems.
The stellar and DM halo masses derived for our galaxies are listed in Table~\ref{metal}.
\section{Metallicity gradients}
\label{sec:zgrad}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{N2_comp_paper.pdf}
\caption{Comparison between different calibrations used to derive the oxygen abundance from the N2 parameter. All these calibrations
are consistent within their intrinsic dispersion ($\sim 0.3-0.4$ dex), especially in the range of N2 parameter ($-1.0 < {\rm N2} < -0.5$) covered by MASSIV galaxies (see Table~\ref{eml} and Figure~\ref{distrib}).}\label{compacalib}
\end{figure}
In the local Universe metallicity gradients in spiral galaxies are commonly measured \citep{pageled81, vilacostas92, considere00, pilyugin04}. These gradients are generally negative (metallicity decreasing from the center to the outer parts) and their amplitude is typically $\gtrsim-0.1$~dex kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} as traced by the metallicity in H\,\textsc{ii} regions. In the Milky Way, a gradient of $-0.07$~dex kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} is observed.
Several physical processes can be responsible for such gradients \citep{gotz92}. Radial gas flows draining metal-rich interstellar gas from the outer parts of the galaxy into the center are believed to play a key role \citep{tinsley78}. It requires that the infall timescale of gas onto the disk is faster than the star formation
timescale. Indeed, \citet{koeppen94} has shown that the presence of both infall of pristine gas and radial flows into the disk is very efficient in creating an abundance gradient. \citet{phillipps91} further suggested that self-regulating star formation rates varying with the galactocentric distance could generate such gradients.
In contrast, for the case of interacting galaxies, \cite{rupke10} claim that radial flows of low-metallicity gas from the merging galaxies can explain the low oxygen abundances observed at their center. In these cases, the radial mixing of gas may flatten existing metallicity gradients.
At high redshifts, metallicity gradients are harder to detect as the gas-phase metallicity of individual galaxies can only be measured with a limited accuracy. Collisional emission lines from the metals and recombination lines from hydrogen and helium are the only indicators allowing to estimate the oxygen abundance in the gas-phase, needed for a direct comparison with the local galaxies.
In the present study, we used the ratio of the [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584 nitrogen line to the H$\alpha${} Balmer line as a proxy for the oxygen abundance. Computing this particular ratio has two practical advantages: the [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} and H$\alpha${} emission lines are very close in wavelength, so that {\it i)} the differential extinction due to dust attenuation can be neglected; and {\it ii)} the relative flux calibration can be considered to be constant over the spectral range.
To derive from this ratio the gas-phase oxygen abundance, we used the calibration proposed by \citet{pmc09}:
\begin{equation}
12 + \log(O/H) = 9.07 + 0.79\times \mathrm{N2}, \textrm{where } \mathrm{N2}=\log \frac{\mathrm{[N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{}}}
{\mathrm{H}\alpha}
\end{equation}
This calibration was computed using emission-line objects (star-forming galaxies and H\,\textsc{ii} regions) in the nearby universe with an accurate oxygen abundance obtained from the measurement of the electronic temperature. The calibration has an intrinsic scatter of 0.34 dex, mainly due to the second-order dependence of the N2 parameter on the ionisation parameter and on the nitrogen-to-oxygen abundance ratio. As shown in Figure~\ref{compacalib}, the PMC09 calibration of the N2 parameter used in this analysis is totally consistent, for both the low- and high-metallicity regime,
with other calibrations of the same parameter found in the literature. Although the N2 parameter was calibrated by PMC09 using data with a determination of O/H abundance based only on the ``T-method", and hence not very well defined for the high-metallicity regime, the PCM09 calibration agrees very well within its dispersion limits (about $0.3-0.4$ dex) with other relations that are partially based on photoionization models or strong-line
determinations of the metallicity \citep{denicolo02, PP04, nagaoetal06}. This is especially true in the range of N2 parameter ($-1.0 < {\rm N2} < -0.5$) covered by MASSIV galaxies (see Table~\ref{eml} and Figure~\ref{distrib}).
\subsection{Observed metallicity gradients}
\begin{figure*}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{gradz_r.pdf}
\caption{Metallicity gradient for the 26 MASSIV galaxies with
spatially-resolved metallicities. The $x$-axis represents the mean
radius (in kpc) of the region relative to the H$\alpha$
center. The $y$-axis indicates the corresponding metallicity in
dex ($12+\log(O/H)$). The red lines are the best fits to the data,
taking into account the errors on the metallicities. The yellow/blue/green
regions represent the $1\sigma$ errors associated to the
gradients. Blue label indicates the galaxies for which the
gradient is positive within $1\sigma$, the green ones are those
for which it is negative within the same limits. For each galaxy
we have indicated the dynamical (Rot=rotating disk, NRot=no rotation)
and environment (Iso=isolated, Int=interacting) classes.}\label{grad}
\end{figure*}
As reported in \S\ref{el}, we measured H$\alpha$ and [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} line fluxes in spatially-resolved regions for 26 galaxies. These regions, defined by H$\alpha${} isoflux contours, are centered around the H$\alpha$ peak in each galaxy, which most often corresponds to the kinematical center of the galaxy. The widths of the annular regions were adjusted such as to have a high enough SNR for the measurement of the [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} line and,
consequently, the N2 ratio. This allowed to quantify the radial behaviour of the H$\alpha${} and [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} lines, i.e.~of the gas-phase metallicity from the inner to the outer parts of each galaxy.
The derived metallicity gradients and the integrated metallicities are listed in Tab~\ref{metal}. The metallicity is estimated as a
function of radius --- each region having a mean radius and a metallicity (uncertainties on metallicity estimates are dominated by measurements errors). The radius of a region corresponds to the mean radius between its outer and inner contours. The radius of a contour is approximated by the radius of a perfect circle with the same perimeter. Depending on the galaxy inclination, the intrinsic deprojected radius can be underestimated up to a factor of $\sim 1.5$. Metallicities of the different regions in each galaxies are plotted in
\fig{grad}, along with the best fit line to the data. The figure shows that the detected radial gradients are in general very weak, some being positives and other negatives.
\begin{table}[!ht]
\caption{Integrated metallicity ($Z = 12 + \log(O/H)$), metallicity gradient, stellar and dark matter halo masses
of the MASSIV ``first epoch'' sample galaxies.}\label{metal}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{crrrr}
\hline
\hline
Galaxy & $Z$ & $\Delta_r Z$ & $\log(M^\star)$ & $\log(M_{\rm h})$ \\
& & [dex kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}] & [$M_\odot$] & [$M_\odot$] \\
(1) & (2) & (3) & (4) & (5) \\
\hline
020106882 & $8.73$ & $0.037 \pm 0.026$ & $9.99_{-0.22}^{+0.22}$ & $11.59_{-0.38}^{+0.20}$\\
020116027 & $8.42$ & $0.03 \pm 0.024$ & $10.09_{-0.23}^{+0.23}$ & $9.48_{-9.62}^{+0.38}$\\
020126402 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.09_{-0.25}^{+0.25}$ & $\dots$\\
020147106 & $8.49$ & $0.04 \pm 0.053$ & $10.10_{-0.13}^{+0.13}$ & $9.41_{-12.27}^{+2.87}$\\
020149061 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.18_{-0.23}^{+0.23}$ & $11.33_{-14.19}^{+2.86}$\\
020164388 & $8.58$ & $\dots$ & $10.13_{-0.31}^{+0.31}$ & $10.92_{-0.71}^{+0.26}$\\
020167131 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.08_{-0.20}^{+0.19}$ & $11.58_{-0.61}^{+0.24}$\\
020182331 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.72_{-0.11}^{+0.11}$ & $11.57_{-0.45}^{+0.22}$\\
020193070 & $8.89$ & $\dots$ & $10.15_{-0.20}^{+0.20}$ & $11.52_{-0.42}^{+0.21}$\\
020208482 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.17_{-0.16}^{+0.16}$ & $11.92_{-0.43}^{+0.21}$\\
020214655 & $8.76$ & $0.0035 \pm 0.015$ & $10.02_{-0.16}^{+0.16}$ & $10.46_{-1.63}^{+0.30}$\\
020217890 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $9.99_{-0.19}^{+0.19}$ & $\dots$\\
020239133 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $9.89_{-0.15}^{+0.15}$ & $11.84_{-0.56}^{+0.24}$\\
020240675 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $9.96_{-0.18}^{+0.18}$ & $10.26_{-13.12}^{+2.87}$\\
020255799 & $8.80$ & $\dots$ & $9.87_{-0.16}^{+0.16}$ & $8.74_{-11.19}^{+2.46}$\\
020261328 & $8.39$ & $\dots$ & $10.01_{-0.20}^{+0.20}$ & $11.41_{-11.45}^{+0.32}$\\
020278667 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.28_{-0.16}^{+0.16}$ & $10.95_{-13.71}^{+2.76}$\\
020283083 & $8.74$ & $0.045 \pm 0.026$ & $10.05_{-0.21}^{+0.21}$ & $10.56_{-0.46}^{+0.22}$\\
020283830 & $8.61$ & $\dots$ & $10.37_{-0.17}^{+0.17}$ & $12.02_{-0.30}^{+0.18}$\\
020294045 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $9.80_{-0.15}^{+0.15}$ & $12.43_{-0.55}^{+0.23}$\\
020306817 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $9.76_{-0.20}^{+0.20}$ & $\dots$\\
020363717 & $8.57$ & $0.0046 \pm 0.039$ & $9.68_{-0.20}^{+0.35}$ & $10.12_{-12.98}^{+2.86}$\\
020370467 & $8.75$ & $-0.022 \pm 0.054$ & $10.57_{-0.14}^{+0.14}$ & $10.35_{-12.70}^{+2.35}$\\
020386743 & $8.53$ & $0.0099 \pm 0.024$ & $9.88_{-0.20}^{+0.20}$ & $10.15_{-0.79}^{+0.26}$\\
020461235 & $8.78$ & $-0.078 \pm 0.023$ & $10.36_{-0.15}^{+0.15}$ & $11.07_{-0.41}^{+0.21}$\\
020461893 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $9.66_{-0.21}^{+0.21}$ & $10.60_{-0.54}^{+0.23}$\\
020465775 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.12_{-0.20}^{+0.20}$ & $10.72_{-0.54}^{+0.23}$\\
140083410 & $8.72$ & $-0.02 \pm 0.041$ & $10.07_{-0.18}^{+0.18}$ & $9.77_{-12.18}^{+2.41}$\\
140096645 & $9.23$ & $\dots$ & $10.40_{-0.23}^{+0.24}$ & $12.75_{-15.00}^{+2.24}$\\
140123568 & $8.75$ & $0.019 \pm 0.074$ & $9.73_{-0.39}^{+0.39}$ & $10.43_{-13.28}^{+2.85}$\\
140137235 & $8.65$ & $-0.051 \pm 0.055$ & $10.07_{-0.29}^{+0.29}$ & $10.67_{-0.36}^{+0.19}$\\
140217425 & $9.02$ & $0.023 \pm 0.0035$ & $10.84_{-0.17}^{+0.17}$ & $12.85_{-0.26}^{+0.16}$\\
140258511 & $8.95$ & $-0.061 \pm 0.037$ & $10.80_{-0.48}^{+0.48}$ & $11.54_{-0.48}^{+0.22}$\\
140262766 & $8.69$ & $0.098 \pm 0.11$ & $9.84_{-0.43}^{+0.43}$ & $11.42_{-14.27}^{+2.86}$\\
140545062 & $8.69$ & $-0.033 \pm 0.012$ & $10.60_{-0.18}^{+0.18}$ & $12.23_{-0.58}^{+0.24}$\\
220014252 & $8.78$ & $0.021 \pm 0.0088$ & $10.78_{-0.21}^{+0.21}$ & $11.57_{-0.50}^{+0.23}$\\
220015726 & $8.75$ & $0.00041 \pm 0.02$ & $10.77_{-0.27}^{+0.27}$ & $12.33_{-14.76}^{+2.43}$\\
220071601 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.81_{-0.56}^{+0.62}$ & $\dots$\\
220148046 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $11.22_{-0.17}^{+0.17}$ & $10.38_{-13.23}^{+2.85}$\\
220376206 & $8.40$ & $0.04 \pm 0.021$ & $10.67_{-0.27}^{+0.27}$ & $12.17_{-0.24}^{+0.15}$\\
220386469 & $8.32$ & $\dots$ & $10.80_{-0.16}^{+0.16}$ & $11.30_{-0.54}^{+0.23}$\\
220397579 & $8.38$ & $-0.022 \pm 0.02$ & $10.23_{-0.17}^{+0.17}$ & $8.18_{-9.16}^{+1.02}$\\
220544103 & $8.89$ & $0.0063 \pm 0.012$ & $10.71_{-0.27}^{+0.27}$ & $11.62_{-0.36}^{+0.20}$\\
220544394 & $8.55$ & $0.034 \pm 0.022$ & $10.34_{-0.23}^{+0.23}$ & $10.54_{-0.44}^{+0.21}$\\
220576226 & $8.75$ & $-0.0073 \pm 0.01$ & $10.31_{-0.23}^{+0.23}$ & $9.77_{-10.09}^{+0.49}$\\
220578040 & $8.64$ & $0.0031 \pm 0.013$ & $10.72_{-0.16}^{+0.17}$ & $12.48_{-14.33}^{+1.86}$\\
220584167 & $8.53$ & $-0.03 \pm 0.013$ & $11.21_{-0.24}^{+0.24}$ & $12.31_{-0.28}^{+0.17}$\\
220596913 & $\dots$ & $\dots$ & $10.68_{-0.30}^{+0.30}$ & $11.69_{-0.11}^{+0.08}$\\
910193711 & $8.77$ & $-0.0091 \pm 0.028$ & $9.99_{-0.18}^{+0.42}$ & $10.56_{-0.42}^{+0.21}$\\
910279515 & $8.60$ & $\dots$ & $10.79_{-0.14}^{+0.14}$ & $12.48_{-0.10}^{+0.08}$\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
\fig{histo_grad} (left panel) shows the distribution of metallicity gradients (in dex kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}) for the 26 MASSIV galaxies, for which we were able to measure [N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} in different regions. The histograms show the full sample (in black), the isolated galaxies (in red) and the interacting ones (in dashed blue), as classified in \S\ref{kin}. For the two latter distributions, we only considered objects classified with a high or medium confidence level (A or B), excluding two isolated galaxies classified with a low confidence level C (VVDS220578040 and VVDS910193711). In the majority of the cases, no clear gradient is detected: the median value of the total sample is $0.0040\pm 0.037$~dex kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}. The distributions for isolated (16 objects) and interacting (8 objects) galaxies show similar shapes, with median values $0.0018\pm 0.036$~dex kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} for the isolated galaxies, and $0.020 \pm 0.038$~dex kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} for interacting ones.
Interestingly though, for twelve of the 26 galaxies, a gradient is detected with a $>1\sigma$ confidence and with nearly the same proportion of positive (seven) and negative (five) gradients (see \fig{grad}). Thus, contrary to the global trend in the local Universe, where the gas-phase metallicity of disk galaxies generally decreases with galactocentric radius, seven of our galaxies have larger metallicities in the outskirts than in the center (where the center is defined as the maximum of the H$\alpha${} flux).
About 1/4 of our sample galaxies thus show a positive metallicity gradient at a $>1\sigma$ confidence level (see blue area in \fig{grad}). Of these, VVDS220376206 displays a positive gradient with $2\sigma$ confidence, while in the galaxies VVDS140217425 and VVDS220014252 a positive gradient of $\sim0.02$ ~dex.kpc$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} is detected with $>5\sigma$ confidence. Among the seven galaxies, four are classified as interacting systems, while the three other are isolated. One of the isolated galaxies, the secure case VVDS140217425, appears as a ``chained-galaxy'', with large clumps in the outskirts that could be interpreted as minor mergers. About half (4/8) of the interacting galaxies have a positive metallicity gradient while it concerns only 3/16 ($\sim 20$\%) of the isolated ones. We thus tentatively conclude that the majority of the galaxies showing a positive metallicity gradient are interacting. It is interesting to note also that among the four interacting systems, one galaxy only is classified as a rotating disk.
On the other hand, five galaxies display clear negative metallicity gradients at a $>1\sigma$ confidence level (of which one at $>2\sigma$ and three at $>3\sigma$ confidence level; see \fig{grad} and Table \ref{metal}). Among these five galaxies, three are isolated and two are interacting. Four of these five galaxies are classified as rotating disks.
Although rare, this is not the first time that positive gradients of oxygen abundance were found. Recently, \citet{werk10} reported a positive gradient in a local galaxy and proposed several scenarios to explain their discovery: (i) a radial redistribution of the metal-rich gas produced in the nucleus, (ii) supernovae blowing out metal-rich gas, enriching the IGM, then falling onto the outer parts of the disk, (iii) the result of a past interaction.
At high redshift, \cite{cresci10} have recently studied with SINFONI the metallicity distribution of three Lyman-break galaxies at $z\sim 3$ in the AMAZE/LSD sample. They were able to derive metallicity maps for the three galaxies with high SNR. In each case, they discovered a positive gradient, comparable to the
ones we have found. They favour the scenario in which these positive gradients would be produced by the infall of metal-poor gas into the center of the disks, diluting the gas and lowering its metallicity in the central regions. The authors claim that the discovery of positive gradients in high-redshift disks, pre-selected to be ``isolated'', is a direct evidence for cold gas accretion as a mechanism of mass assembly. Such a conclusion could be balanced arguing that a merger remnant can keep, during a transient phase with a typical timescale of $\sim 0.5$ Gyrs, an inversed metallicity gradient \citep[eg.][]{perez11, torrey11}.
In contrast, our study appears to show that among the seven detected positive gradients, only two galaxies are isolated, the others showing signs of interaction. Cold gas accretion toward the center of disks might thus not be the only process able to lower the central metallicity.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{histo_grad.pdf}\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{morph.pdf}
\caption{{\it Left}: Metallicity gradients distribution for 26
MASSIV galaxies. The histogram in black line represents the whole
sample, the red and dashed blue ones respectively the isolated and
interacting galaxies distribution. {\it Right}: Metallicity
gradients with respect to the kinematical type (from left to
right, Rotating Isolated, Non-Rotating Isolated, Rotating
Interacting, Non-Rotating Interacting).}
\label{histo_grad}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Relations with global galaxy properties}
\label{sec:behave}
Several authors found correlations between gas-phase metallicity gradients and other global physical parameters of galaxies. The observed metallicity gradients are a function of the morphological type \citep{vilacostas92, marquez02}: they are steep in late-type spirals and almost flat for early-type spirals. Further, in the local Universe the absolute value of the gradients seems to decrease with increasing luminosity (less luminous galaxies have steeper metallicity profiles) as predicted by modeling \citep{prantzos00} and verified by observations \citep{garnett97, vanZee98}.
Our high-redshift sample did not verify the latter correlations and we were not able to test a correlation with the morphological type, as we do not have that information for our MASSIV sample. The right panel of \fig{histo_grad} shows no clear trend between the strength of the metallicity gradient and the kinematical type, nor any correlations with their close environment (isolated or interacting). We can however notice that i) among the isolated objects, the non-rotating galaxies have on average flatter gradients than rotating disks, and ii) the fraction of positive gradients is higher in interacting systems compared with isolated galaxies.
One of the two weak correlations that might be present in our sample is shown in the left panel of
\fig{fig:gradsig}. The strength of the gradient seems to correlate with the velocity dispersion of the galaxy. The latter is derived on beam smearing corrected velocity dispersion maps obtained after velocity field modeling \citep[see][]{epinat11} and thus reflects the true velocity dispersion of the gas.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{grad_vs_sig.pdf}\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{grad_vs_Z.pdf}
\caption{{\it Left}: Metallicity gradient versus the mean velocity
dispersion of MASSIV galaxies. The black squares are the individual
galaxies, and the red ones represent the median values for 3 bins
of $\sigma_v$, along with the standard deviation in each bin
represented by the error bars. {\it Right}: Metallicity gradients versus
the integrated metallicity of each galaxy, the red line is the best
fit to the data.}\label{fig:gradsig}
\end{figure}
This apparent correlation seems to be driven by the fact that galaxies with high gas velocity dispersion show shallower, often positive, metallicity gradients. This correlation has, to our knowledge, not been observed previously in the local universe, where the velocity dispersion in late-type objects is usually low with $\sigma_v \sim 20$~km s$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} \citep{epinat10}. Could turbulent physical conditions in the ISM of high-redshift galaxies be at the origin of the shallow, sometimes positive gradients? This question is difficult to address here, considering the relatively low spatial resolution of our data and the scatter in \fig{fig:gradsig}. At face value, the positive gradients in our $z\sim 1.2$ galaxies might be related to the perturbed physical conditions/motions in the ISM of high-$z$ galaxies, as opposed to the continuous metallicity gradients observed in the relatively quiet ISM of the local spirals.
Finally, we observe as well a tentative anti-correlation between the metallicity gradient of each galaxy and its integrated metallicity (see \fig{fig:gradsig}, right panel). Metallicity gradients are more frequently negative in metal-rich galaxies and more frequently positive in low-metallicity galaxies. If real, this behaviour would support the scenario in which infall of metal-poor gas from the IGM into the center of the disks drives the positive gradients. This infall of pristine gas would be able to reverse the gradient by diluting the central gas metallicity, and lowering the overall metallicity of the galaxy at the same time. The main question would remain: where does the metal-poor gas come from? Accretion of cold gas from the DM reservoir and/or interaction-triggered gas infall/capture from companions?
\subsection{Gas infall rates}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1\linewidth]{mhalo_vs_infallt04.pdf}
\caption{Mean infall rates over 4~Gyr versus the mass of the hosting
DM halo of each MASSIV galaxies. The objects classified as
rotators are circled in black. On the lower left corner is
displayed a typical errorbar on the DM halo mass.}
\label{fig:infall}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1\linewidth]{infall_vs_sfr_erreur.pdf}
\caption{Mean infall rates versus the star formation rates derived
with the H$\alpha${} luminosity and corrected for extinction. The line is the best fit to
the data.}
\label{fig:infall_sfr}
\end{figure}
\label{sec:toy}
As suggested already by previous studies \citep[eg.][]{werk10, rupke10}, during an interaction, metal-poor gas from the outskirts of the galaxy could
radially flow towards the center and dilute the metallicity in the inner, high star-forming regions. At the same time, metal-enriched gas
could be transported to the outer parts during the interaction, overall resulting in a flattening of the metallicity gradient.
The two scenarios explaining the positive metallicity gradients \--- cold gas accretion and gas redistribution during interactions \--- have
in common that metal-poor gas needs to be transported efficiently to the center of the objects on time scales shorter than the star formation.
We consider the possibility of infall of pristine gas onto the disk in the context of a chemical evolution model in order to explain the
positive gradients. Our toy model for the chemical evolution of galaxies assumes (i) an instantaneous recycling approximation (IRA), (ii) the
infall of metal-free gas onto the disks, and (iii) radial flows of gas into the disks. This leads to the following equations:
\begin{eqnarray}
\frac{\partial g}{\partial t} + \frac{\partial }{r \partial r} (r v g) & = & -(1-R)\psi(t) + f\label{toy1}\\
\frac{\partial Z}{\partial t} + \frac{\partial }{r \partial r} (r v Z ) & = & y(1-R)\psi(t) - z(1-R)\psi(t)\label{toy2}
\end{eqnarray}
where $g$ is the gas surface density, $\psi$ is the star formation rate per unit area, $R$ is the ``returned fraction'', $f$ is the infall rate
(per unit area) of intergalactic metal-free gas, $Z = z g$ is the metal content, $y$ is the stellar yield, and $v$ is the velocity of the radial
gas flow (positive toward the outer parts). Following a Schmidt-Kennicutt law for the star formation rate density
($\Sigma_\psi = C g^n$, $C = 1.6\times 10^{-27}$, $n=0.7$) we solve these equations for each galaxies in our sample, assuming typical
values for $C$, $n$, $y$, $v$ and $R$ (see above and below). After combining equations (\ref{toy1}) and (\ref{toy2}), we end up with the
following equation allowing to derive the infall parameter $f$:
\begin{equation}
\label{eqz}
\frac{\partial z}{\partial t} + v\frac{\partial z}{\partial r} = y(1-R) C^{1/n} \psi^{1-1/n} - z C^{1/n} \psi^{-1/n} f
\end{equation}
Assuming the physical parameters involved in eq.~(\ref{eqz}) to remain constant for over $\sim 4$~Gyr (i.e.~valid for galaxies at $z \simeq 1.2$),
we derive a mean infall rate per unit area that can be integrated since the formation epoch. To this end, we use a true yield value of $y=0.019$,
and a returned fraction of $\sim 40$\%: $R = 0.4$ \citep{erb08}. The radial flow velocity of high-redshift galaxies is known to be higher than in local
spirals (e.g.~$\sim 1$~km s$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} in the case of the Milky Way). This velocity can be approximated to be the velocity towards the center of the migrating
clumps \--- in which the star formation takes place \--- which then leads to velocities of $10-50$~km s$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} \citep{bournaud07}. For our purpose,
we used for each MASSIV galaxy the estimated velocity dispersion reported in \cite{epinat11}.
For the star formation rates, we used those derived from the H$\alpha${} luminosity, corrected for extinction, and listed in Table~\ref{eml}.
Although the H$\alpha${} luminosity only reflects the instantaneous star formation rate, we assume it to be an average value
since the formation epoch. As our galaxies were selected to be star-forming, this is most likely an upper limit on the average star formation.
The so-calculated global infall rates range from a few to several hundreds $\mathrm{M_\odot yr^{-1}}$. These values are high compared to the
output of hydro-dynamical simulations of typical disk galaxies (50~M$_{\odot}$} \newcommand{\arsec}{$^{\prime\prime}$ yr$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}). However, the rate of infalling gas is believed to depend on the size and
mass of the host DM halo, being able to reach a few hundreds of M$_{\odot}$} \newcommand{\arsec}{$^{\prime\prime}$ yr$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${} for the most massive galaxies \citep{keres05, erb08}.
We have therefore derived DM halo masses for each galaxy in our sample (see Section \ref{sec:masses}) and compared it to our calculated infall
rates (see \fig{fig:infall}). As expected there is a tendency for galaxies to accrete more gas in the most massive halos. We further divided the sample in
three bins with respect to the (extinction-corrected) star formation rate. In that case, we noticed that galaxies with the highest SFR also have the highest
gas-infall rate, whereas galaxies with the lowest SFR show infall rates typical for local galaxies ($\sim$50~M$_{\odot}$} \newcommand{\arsec}{$^{\prime\prime}$ yr$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}).
Two MASSIV galaxies deviate from the global trend in \fig{fig:infall}. VVDS220397579, located at the left end of the graph, has a very low DM
halo mass but an important infall rate ($\sim 650~\mathrm{M_\odot yr^{-1}}$), while VVDS220376206 has by far the highest infall ($>10^3~\mathrm{M_\odot yr^{-1}}$)
and star formation ($>250~\mathrm{M_\odot yr^{-1}}$) rates . For VVDS220397579 it is very likely that its DM halo mass has been underestimated. Indeed, this
galaxy could be a face-on disk as the kinematical modeling returned a very low rotation velocity of $\sim 9$~km s$^{-1}$} \newcommand{\car}{$^{-2}${}. As the DM halo mass is directly proportional
to the maximum rotation velocity (see equation \ref{eq:mhalo}) the DM halo mass for VVDS220397579 is most probably only a lower limit.
In \fig{fig:infall}, we have circled the objects which, according to our kinematical classification, are isolated and rotating. For those objects the DM halo
mass is more reliable, and they appear indeed to have the largest DM halo masses. In order to investigate the relationship between the infall rate and the
star formation rate, we show in \fig{fig:infall_sfr} the mean infall rates against the SFRs corrected for extinction. As expected from equation~\ref{eqz}, a clear linear
correlation between these two quantities can be seen: the infall rates appear to be directly proportional to the star formation rates. The best fit to the data gives
a slope of $2.71$ for this relation, which is defined as the infall parameter $f_i$. This was already shown to be a typical value for galaxies at these redshifts \citep{erb08}.
\section{Summary and conclusions}
\label{sec:conclu}
This paper presents the chemical abundance analysis of the ``first epoch'' sample (50 galaxies) of the MASSIV survey. Complementary analyses focused on the kinematical classification and the fundamental scaling relations can be found in two companion papers \citep{epinat11, vergani11}, as well as a description of the whole MASSIV sample \citep{contini11}.
We have been able to measure emission lines ([N\,\textsc{ii}]6584{} and H$\alpha${}) in 34 integrated spectra of MASSIV galaxies. Within this sample, we have identified one galaxy hosting an AGN. Chemical abundance estimates could be obtained for the remaining 33 star-forming galaxies.
For 26 galaxies, we have been able to derive a metallicity gradient, defining annular regions around the peak of the H$\alpha${} flux (which corresponds, in most cases, to the kinematical center). While just over half of our sample is compatible with a zero metallicity gradient, about a quarter of the galaxies shows {\it positive} gradients: the metallicity increases from the center to the outer parts of the galaxy. Among these latter (seven) galaxies, four are classified as interacting systems, one is probably a chain galaxy, and two are classified as isolated.
Flat, more rarely positive, metallicity gradients have already been found in interacting galaxies in the local Universe. They are explained by the infall of metal-poor gas onto the central parts during the encounter \citep{werk10, rupke10}.
Two of our galaxies showing a positive metallicity gradient are classified as isolated and do not show any sign of recent interaction. Three analogue objects were reported as isolated disk galaxies at $z\sim3$ by \citet{cresci10}. In these cases, cold gas accretion onto the central regions of the disks seems to be the most plausible scenario. Even if tentative, there is a very interesting trend as a function of redshift. At $z\sim 3$ almost all isolated galaxies have a positive gradient, whereas this fraction drops to $\sim 15-20$\% at $\sim1.2$ and is almost equal to zero in the local universe. If cold accretion is the main process to explain the positive metallicity gradients in isolated disks, that suggests that the epoch where cold accretion dominates the mass assembly processes is at $z\geq 2$.
We noticed in our sample a tendency for galaxies with the highest gaseous velocity dispersion to have a shallow/positive gradient, which highlights the different physical conditions observed in the ISM of high-redshift galaxies (high velocity dispersion compared to local spirals). We discovered a weak correlation between gradient and global metallicity of the galaxy: metal-poor galaxies preferentially have flat/positive gradients while metal-rich ones tend to display negative metallicity gradients. This behaviour can also be explained by the infall of
metal-poor gas onto the center of the disks, diluting the overall metallicity.
Finally, applying a simple chemical evolution model with radial flows of gas, we estimated infall rates of pristine gas onto the disks. We found values up to several hundred of M$_{\odot}$} \newcommand{\arsec}{$^{\prime\prime}${} per years, and a tendency for the maximum infall rate to increases with the DM halo mass.
The analysis of the spatially-resolved metallicity of galaxies will be further extended to the full MASSIV sample, enabling a better statistics and hence a stronger interpretation in terms of galaxy assembly scenarios. The final sample will
also allow to establish the mass-metallicity and fundamental metallicity relations at $0.9 < z < 1.8$, adding constraints on the evolutionary status of star-forming galaxies at high redshifts.
\begin{acknowledgements}
We wish to thank L\'eo Michel-Dansac and Fr\'ed\'eric Bournaud for
their help and useful comments on this work. We thank also the referee for useful suggestions. This work has been partially supported by the
CNRS-INSU and its Programme National Cosmologie-Galaxies (France) and by the french ANR grant ANR-07-JCJC-0009. DV acknowledges the support from the INAF contract PRIN-2008/1.06.11.02.
\end{acknowledgements}
\newpage \bibliographystyle{aa} | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 6,779 |
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You can use the RAND() function. p = expcdf(x,mu) computes the exponential cdf at each of the values in x using the corresponding mean parameter mu. life of (Beta) = 2. Returns the exponential distribution. 1: Sum of squares about \u00afx for 1000 simulations. I'm using vba to build a schedule based on statistical data. In this simulation, you will investigate the distribution of averages of 40 exponential(0. In this podcast, you will learn Introduction to fraud detection 5 techniques for detecting fraud Benford's law Auto correlation Discontinuity at zero Analysis of distribution Learning systems & decision trees Implementing these techniques in Excel A word of caution. I have a data and after analysis i found that they are fitting only with lognormal Distribution and Largest Extreme Distribution, Could you please tell how i can convert them to normal Distribution \u2026 be notified via email. If \u03bb is the mean occurrence per interval, then the probability of having x occurrences within a given interval is:. This binomial distribution Excel guide will show you how to use the function, step by step. If you have a time series with a clear pattern, you could use moving averages \u2014 but if you don't have a clear pattern you can use exponential smoothing to forecast. exponential case). Exponential growth is growth that increases at a consistent rate, and it is a common occurrence in everyday life. The Exponential Distribution Cumulative Distribution function Mean E(X) = 1\/\u03bb Variance V(X) = 1\/ \u03bb2 The Exponential Distribution Memoryless property Pr{X>s+t|X>s} = Pr{X>t}, for all s, t >=0 Exponential Density often used in queueing systems for: Elapsed time between arrivals to a system Time required to service a transaction The Poisson. Exponential distribution Calculator - High accuracy calculation Welcome, Guest. Exponential growth and decay formula can be used in a particular situation if a quantity grows at regular intervals, the pattern of the function can be depicted and summarised in an algebraic. 1: The length of life of a certain type of electronic tube is exponentially distributed with a mean life of 500 hours. Exponential growth and exponential decay are common mathematical concepts used very frequently in modeling. The following describes the 3-step process of performing exponential smoothing of time-series data in Excel: Step 1 \u2013 Graph the Original Data in a Time-Series Plot The line chart is the most commonly-used Excel chart to graph time-series data. The exponential function with base 1 is the constant function y=1, and so is very uninteresting. Exponential Distribution on Brilliant, the largest community of math and science problem solvers. Areas Under Normal Distribution. First, you must know how to gather and organize data efficiently. The following graph shows a variety of distributions. Understanding Exponential Distribution. I'm having no luck trying to do this on VBA. That is our topic for this podcast session. The exponential distribution is a special case of the gamma distribution, which we will also encounter in this chapter. The exponential density and distribution functions are related by the fact that the second is just one minus the first. However, if you adjust the tables for the parameter estimation, you get Lilliefors' test for the exponential distribution. I'm using vba to build a schedule based on statistical data. As a worksheet function, the EXP function can be entered as part of a formula in a cell of a worksheet. Normal distribution probability density function is the Gauss function: where \u03bc \u2014 mean, \u03c3 \u2014 standard deviation, \u03c3 \u00b2 \u2014 variance, Median and mode of Normal distribution equals to mean \u03bc. Calculate the mean time to failure for non-repairable scenarios. Binomial Distribution is expressed as BinomialDistribution[n, p] and is defined as; the probability of number of successes in a sequence of n number of experiments (known as Bernoulli Experiments), each of the experiment with a success of probability p. It is a continuous analog of the geometric distribution. Returns the exponential distribution. 2, and we want to know the probability that X will be less than 10 or lies between 5 and 10. Note: must use reciprocal of mean) =EXPON. r\/excel \u2013 When to use manual calculation during a macro ; r\/excel \u2013 Why is my SUMIFS with date values returning 0?. To determine an appropriate model for a data distribution, you should consider curves from several distribution families. The cumulative hazard function for the exponential is just the integral of the failure rate or $$H(t) = \\lambda t$$. For a given value of x and parameter \u03bb the Excel EXPON. 2 for all of the simulations. I get it: I\u2019m guilty of using. The function returns the Weibull distribution. Expon_Dist method (Excel) 05\/22\/2019; 2 minutes to read +1; In this article. (Note that probability plots are based on the linearization of a specific distribution. Suppose an event can occur several times within a given unit of time. distribution. Evaluate alternative actions in a relative manner Exponential. The n th percentile of an observation variable is the value that cuts off the first n percent of the data values when it is sorted in ascending order. These three figures should be committed to memory if you are a Six Sigma GB\/BB. Properties of the distribution Edit Distribution Edit. For variables that follow a normal distribution, we can use the Excel RAND function to generate probabilities and, with the NORM. Independent events are assumed to occur at a constant rate. This Excel graph shows simple examples of linear, power law and exponential equations. A scalar input is expanded to a constant array with the same dimensions as the other input. Use the Help and type in the function name to get more information. The plot on the right is a normal probability plot of observations from an exponential distribution. For example, you can use ExponDist to determine the probability that the process takes at most 1 minute. In this lesson, we investigate the waiting time, W, until the \u03b1 th (that is, \"alpha\"-th) event occurs. This graph is an example of how a randomly generated data of power law distribution is very closely related to the observed data of family names, which suggests that the family names do follow the power law distribution very closely. You can then annualize it as needed. Random variates from the exponential distribution are generated using the expression \u2212M ln(U), where U is a uniform random variate. For example, you can use EXPON_DIST to determine the probability that the process takes at most 1 minute. In this case, H(t) = Z t 0 \u03bbe\u2212\u03bbs ds = 1\u2212e\u2212\u03bbt (4) Writing u = H(t) and solving for t, we have G(u) = \u2212 1 \u03bb ln(1\u2212u) (5) So, pseudocode for a function to generate such random variables would be float Expon. It turns out that the above statement is true for the exponential distribution (you will be asked to prove it for homework)! It is for this reason that we say that the exponential distribution is \"memoryless. We solve a waiting line problem in which the arrivals follow a Poisson distribution and the service times follow an exponential distribution. determine the parameters of a probability distribution that best t your data) Determine the goodness of t (i. The Standard Logistic Distribution 1. \"Hint\" given with this problem: If X follows an exponential distribution with parameter \u03bb, then \u03bbX follows an exponential distribution with parameter 1. For more details, see the Excel online documentation or statistical functions. It can also be used for the number of events in other specified intervals such as distance, area or volume. Today Courses Excel in math and science. For help in using the calculator, read the Frequently-Asked Questions or review the Sample Problems. A binomial distribution is one of the probability distribution methods. In the next figure we show an example of the exponential distribution extracted with values extracted from the R function rexp and a plot of the theoretical density of the poisson distribution. Note: must use reciprocal of mean) =EXPON. Below is an interactive list of all the Excel functions. Positive excess equals heavier tails than the normal. When you have collected data on your system or process, the next step is to determine what type of probability distribution one has. The size of R is the size of mu. Normal distribution cannot be used to model stock prices because it has a negative side, and stock prices cannot fall below zero. This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the EXPON. The function is new in Excel 2010, so is not available in earlier versions of Excel. Use Expon_Dist to model the time between events, such as how long an automated bank teller takes to deliver cash. The Poisson distribution represents the number of events in an interval of time, and the exponential distribution represents the time between these events. Use the Help and type in the function name to get more information. The useful life of an electrical component is exponentially distributed with a mean of 2,500 hours. IED has been studied by Keller and Kamath (1982) and Duran and Lewis (1989). All forms of (normal) distribution share the following characteristics: 1. Experienced Distribution Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the business supplies and equipment industry. See Dodson, B. Definition: Gamma distribution is a distribution that arises naturally in processes for which the waiting times between events are relevant. distribution. ARENA provides a wide range of distribution functions for modelling arrival times, process times etc. it describes the inter-arrival times in a Poisson process. by Marco Taboga, PhD. Returns the exponential distribution. x = log(1-u)\/(\u2212\u03bb) I am trying to reverse engineer, and trying to find out the rate parameter used in generating the data set. Due in class next week. We overcome this problem by developing the generalized truncated exponential distribution (GTED). EXCEL and the EXPONENTIAL DISTRIBUTION A common application of the exponential distribution is to model the time between events, such as determining the amount of time between a customer selecting \u201cwithdraw\u201d and the ATM dispensing the cash. The multivariate generalized normal distribution, i. Enhancing the Teaching of Moment Distribution Analysis Using Spreadsheet Karen C. Today Courses Excel in math and science. The other direction is actually more informative, i. Poisson Distribution Calculator. You can use the RAND() function. Since the exponential distribution is a special case of the Weibull with \u201a = 1, one way of analyzing the hazard rate is to \ufb02t the (more general) Weibull model and then test whether \u201a = 1. And then, the exponential is your waiting time. It turns out that the above statement is true for the exponential distribution (you will be asked to prove it for homework)! It is for this reason that we say that the exponential distribution is \"memoryless. Couple of questions - What is the best way to perform a capability analysis on the data? I've read about Ppk, and am not quite sure how to do this in excel, and interprete the results. When pasting into a document, make sure to paste the graph content rather than a link to the graph. Interactive Graph of the Exponential Distribution in Excel 2010 and Excel 2013; Interactive Graph of the Beta Distribution in Excel 2010 and Excel 2013; Interactive Graph of the Gamma Distribution in Excel 2010 and Excel 2013; Interactive Graph of the Poisson Distribution in Excel 2010 and Excel 2013; Solving Problems With Other Distributions. Exponential growth and exponential decay are common mathematical concepts used very frequently in modeling. Note: must use reciprocal of mean) =EXPON. Excel is a good utility program for data recording and plotting, and is actually used a lot by. For sample data, we will generate 5 series of random numbers, each from a different distribution. For example, the collection of all possible outcomes of a sequence of coin tossing is known to follow the binomial distribution. The exponential distribution describes the time for a continuous process to change state. Find the 32 nd, 57 th and 98 th percentiles of the eruption durations in the data set faithful. We will solve a problem with data that is distributed exponentially with a mean of 0. In practice, this means substituting the points for y and x in the equation y = ab x. The Weibull Distribution Distributions for other standard distributions, including the Exponential which is a special case of the Weibull distribution. The distribution with the density in Exercise 1 is known as the Weibull distribution distribution with shape parameter k, named in honor of Wallodi Weibull. Learn more about normal distribution in this article. \u2020 Application: Extension to the exponential distribution if the coe\u2013cient of variation is less than one 1. In addition, Excel can exponentiate (raise a number to a power) by inserting the caret symbol (^) after the number and inputting the desired power. This method can be used for any distribution in theory. Using the Weibull and Exponential Distributions to Model Survival Data Typically survival times will depend on covariates. which is the product of two density functions, an exponential distribution over squared radii: and a uniform distribution over angles: just like those mentioned above when generating points on the unit circle. Exponential Decay Formula. The exponential distribution is closely related to the Poisson distribution, and is also used for reliability engineering. By manipulating this expression algebraically this expression can be transformed to a linear format. The Microsoft Excel BETA. It's also used for products with constant failure or arrival rates. DIST(x, 1\/ , 1) Exponential Cumulative Distribution Function. Part 1: Sampling from a normal population. Where the Poisson distribution models the number of occurrences of an event in a specified time span, the exponential distribution models the time between these occurrences. The lognormal distribution is commonly used to model the lives of units whose failure modes are of a fatigue-stress nature. All the 329 functions and what they do. 2 : The Uniform Distribution: 5. The case where \u03b8 = 0 and m = 1 is called the standard lognormal distribution. The threshold parameter, \u03b8, if positive, shifts the distribution by a distance \u03b8 to the right. Written below is a part of a question that i am supposed to solve. Calculates the probability density function and lower and upper cumulative distribution functions of the exponential distribution. What's In It? For anyone who wants to be operating at a high level with the Excel Solver quickly, this is the book for you. Exponential Distribution The exponential distribution is given by the density function f (x) M e x x = M > 1 \u2212, 0 In this program module, the exponential is specified as Exponential(M), where M is the mean. Migration Guide from ATP In this chapter we discuss differences between the StatFi analysis procedures and the Analysis Toolpack (ATP) ones. Moreover, even if it is, there may be alternative methods for generating a rv distributed as F that is more e\ufb03cient than the inverse. A variable x is log-normally distributed if its natural logarithm is normally distributed. Beta distribution. Returns the exponential distribution. 2, and we want to know the probability that X will be less than 10 or lies between 5 and 10. The very first value of EMA in a time series may be assumed to be a simple moving average of n days\u2019 of prices. r\/excel \u2013 Drop Down Menu needs to return specific Value of Cell or \"0\" value. On the XLMiner ribbon, from the Applying Your Model tab, select Help - Examples, then Forecasting\/Data Mining Examples, and open the example data set, Airpass. On the left-hand side above is the exponential statement \"y = b x\". Let us generate a random sample of size 100 from beta distribution Beta(5, 2). -Quantitative\" video, and the excel file \"Rachev-distributions. In other words, if an event follows Poisson distribution what other even would have to follow the exponential distribution? 2. A triangular distribution is a continuous probability distribution with a probability density function shaped like a triangle. Poisson Distribution Calculator. Here\u2019s how to check if you have it, and what to do if you don\u2019t. Exponential distribution Where do you meet this distribution? The lengths of the inter-arrival times in a homogeneous Poisson process; Nuclear physics : The time until a radioactive particle decays. How To Fit Distributions in Excel. Properties depend on value of \"a\". I want to plot an exponential distribution, something like this for example: But I only know how to simulate a data frame that follow a exponential distribution and plot it. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having. A continuous random variable X is said to have an exponential distribution with parameter \u03bb>0, if its PDF is given by. To analyze the data in order to determine if the assumption of an exponential inter-arrival time distribution is reasonable you can use ExpertFit. Show that F X has the properties of a distribution function. Given a description of a real-world relationship, determine whether that relationship is linear or exponential. If this waiting time is unknown it can be considered a random variable, x, with an exponential distribution. TINV for the T distribution. No knowledge of waiting time theory is needed to understand the solution, everything is derived in the solution itself. Lecture 2 Maximum Likelihood Estimators. But it is particularly useful for random variates that their inverse function can be easily solved. Poisson Probability Calculator. Jan 01, 2016 \u00b7 In fact, for exponential distribution with lambda = 0. I\u2019m trying to set up conditional formatting to highlight cells in columns H through N if they equal the corresponding value in column E. The other direction is actually more informative, i. The exponential distribution has a constant mean excess loss function and is considered a medium tailed distribution. Excel is equipped with a multitude of statistical tables and formulas, and it is quite straightforward to use one of its functions for a normal distribution. plot(x,yp,type=\"l\",main=\"Exponential Distribution Function\") Plot the exponential distribution function with appropriate title. Consequently, the form of a probability plot for one distribution will be different than the form for another. It can be shown for the exponential distribution that the mean is equal to the standard deviation; i. Im using excel and used the randbetween(0,35) to give me random x and than I plotted it and got a plot that looked ok. The normal. The graphs of two other exponential functions are displayed below. 35 of my Perl::PDQ book shows you how to generate exponential variates in Perl. It's very unlikely that you'll ever work with any of these functions. My results are very weird. Use ExponDist to model the time between events, such as how long an automated bank teller takes to deliver cash. For a test against parametric alternatives, There are other one-parameter generalizations of the exponential distribution, including gamma (in -streg-), Pareto, Rayleigh. The exponential distribution is used to calculate the probability of occurrence of an event that is the result of a continuous decaying or declining process such as the time until a radioactive particle decays. Below is an interactive list of all the Excel functions. You observe the number of calls that arrive each day over a period of a year, and note that the arrivals follow. It's usually used for finance and economics. Time Series with Trend: Double Exponential Smoothing. Learn about the Exponential Probability Distribution and the EXPONDIST function. These three figures are often referred to as the Empirical Rule or the 68-95-99. Basically in a power lay function the exponent is constant, and in an exponential equation x the exponent is the variable x. I know how to get the points to graph. In addition, Excel can exponentiate (raise a number to a power) by inserting the caret symbol (^) after the number and inputting the desired power. Purpose of use Mistake in formula (Exponential distribution) Comment\/Request Formulas for lower and upper cumulative distribution are reversed. I am currently taking simulation class and am totally lost as it was couple years ago that i took my stat class. Normal Probability Plot of Data From an Exponential Distribution. and parameter \u03bb>0 which is also called the rate. 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\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:Introduction}
We begin with the duality for the finite multiple zeta(-star) values (FMZ(S)Vs) in Subsection \ref{subsec:Duality for FMZVs}. Next, we explain the duality for the finite star-multiple polylogarithms (FSMPs) in Subsection \ref{subsec:Duality for FSMPs}. Our main results are Theorem \ref{p-adic duality}, Theorem \ref{dual fn eq for 1-var}, and Theorem \ref{main cor}. The first two theorems are special cases of Theorem \ref{main cor}.
\subsection{Duality for FMZVs}
\label{subsec:Duality for FMZVs}
For any positive integer $n$ and an index $\mathbf{k} = (k_1, \dots, k_m)$, we define the truncated multiple harmonic sums $\zeta_n(\mathbf{k})$ and $\zeta_n^{\star}(\mathbf{k})$ by
\begin{align*}
&\zeta_n(\mathbf{k}):=\sum_{n \geq n_1> \cdots > n_m \geq 1}\frac{1}{n_1^{k_1}\cdots n_m^{k_m}}, \\
&\zeta_n^{\star}(\mathbf{k}):=\sum_{n \geq n_1\geq \cdots \geq n_m \geq 1}\frac{1}{n_1^{k_1}.\cdots n_m^{k_m}},
\end{align*}
respectively (we define $\zeta_n(\mathbf{k})$ as $0$ for an empty summation). Then, the multiple zeta value (MZV) $\zeta (\mathbf{k})$ and the multiple zeta-star value (MZSV) $\zeta^{\star}(\mathbf{k})$ are defined by $\zeta (\mathbf{k}):=\lim_{n \to \infty}\zeta_n(\mathbf{k})$ and $\zeta^{\star}(\mathbf{k}):=\lim_{n \to \infty}\zeta^{\star}(\mathbf{k})$, respectively when $k_1 \geq 2$. The duality theorem for MZVs $\zeta (\mathbf{k})=\zeta (\mathbf{k}')$ was conjectured firstly by Hoffman in \cite{Ho92} and proved by using the iterated integral (cf.\ \cite{Za}). Dualities for MZSVs are not found except a few cases (cf.\ \cite{KO}).
Recently, Kaneko and Zagier \cite{KZ} introduced the {\em finite} multiple zeta values (FMZVs) and several people are studying relations among FMZVs. The FMZV $\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}(\mathbf{k})$ and the finite multiple zeta-star value (FMZSV) $\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}^{\star}(\mathbf{k})$ are defined by $\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}(\mathbf{k}) := (\zeta_{p-1}(\mathbf{k})\bmod{p})_p$ and $\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}) := (\zeta_{p-1}^{\star}(\mathbf{k})\bmod{p})_p$ respectively in the $\mathbb{Q}$-algebra $\mathcal{A} = \left. \left( \prod_p\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z} \right) \right/ \left( \bigoplus_p\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z} \right)$, where $p$ runs over all prime numbers.
Around 2000, the duality theorem for FMZSVs was discovered and proved by Hoffman \cite[Theorem 4.6]{Ho}:
\begin{equation}
\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}) = -\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}^{\vee})
\label{Hoffman duality},\end{equation}
where $\mathbf{k}^{\vee}$ is the Hoffman dual of the index $\mathbf{k}$ (See Definition \ref{Hoffman dual}). This is a counterpart for the duality theorem for MZVs. Comparing with the duality of MZVs, it is worth mentioning that such a simple duality is satisfied by FMZSVs rather than by non-star FMZVs. The duality (\ref{Hoffman duality}) is one of basic relations among FMZ(S)Vs and some other proofs are given by Imatomi \cite[Corollary 4.1]{I} and Yamamoto \cite[p.\ 3]{Y}.
In order to rewrite the duality (\ref{Hoffman duality}) to relations for non-star FMZVs, let us recall terminologies of Hoffman's algebra.
Let $\mathfrak{H}:=\mathbb{Q}\langle x, y\rangle$ be a non-commutative polynomial algebra in two variables and $\mathfrak{H}^1:= \mathbb{Q}+\mathfrak{H}y$ its subalgebra. Let $z_k:=x^{k-1}y$ for a natural number $k$ and $z_{\mathbf{k}}:=z_{k_1}\cdots z_{k_m}$ for an index $\mathbf{k}=(k_1, \dots, k_m)$. Then, $\mathfrak{H}^1$ is generated by $z_k \ (k=1, 2, \dots)$ as a non-commutative algebra. We define the $\mathbb{Q}$-linear map $Z_{\mathcal{A}}\colon \mathfrak{H}^1 \to \mathcal{A}$ characterized by $Z_{\mathcal{A}}(1)=1$ and $Z_{\mathcal{A}}(z_{\mathbf{k}})=\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}(\mathbf{k})$ for each index $\mathbf{k}$. We also define an algebra automorphism $\psi \colon \mathfrak{H}^1 \to \mathfrak{H}^1$ by $x\mapsto x+y$ and $y \mapsto -y$. In this setup, Hoffman proved that the duality theorem (\ref{Hoffman duality}) is equivalent to the following relations for FMZVs:
\begin{theorem}[{\cite[Theorem 4.7]{Ho}}]
For any word $w \in \mathfrak{H}^1$, we have
\begin{equation*}
\psi (w) - w \in \mathrm{ker}(Z_{\mathcal{A}}).
\end{equation*}
\label{equivalent theorem}\end{theorem}
Next, we recall the $\mathbb{Q}$-algebra $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ introduced by Rosen \cite{Ro}. For any positive integer $n$, we define $\mathcal{A}_n$ to be the quotient ring $\left. \left( \prod_p\mathbb{Z}/p^n\mathbb{Z} \right) \right/ \left( \bigoplus_p \mathbb{Z}/p^n\mathbb{Z} \right)$. Then, the rings $\{\mathcal{A}_n\}$ becomes a projective system by natural projections and we define $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ to be the projective limit $\varprojlim_n \mathcal{A}_n$. We equip $\mathcal{A}_n$ with the discrete topology for each $n$ and $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ with the projective limit topology. The $\mathbb{Q}$-algebra $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ is complete and not locally compact. There exist natural projections $\pi \colon \widehat{\mathbb{Z}}=\prod_p\mathbb{Z}_p \twoheadrightarrow \widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ and $\pi_n\colon \widehat{\mathcal{A}} \twoheadrightarrow \mathcal{A}_n$ for any $n$, where $\mathbb{Z}_p$ is the ring of $p$-adic integers. We redefine the FMZV $\zeta_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}(\mathbf{k})$ and the FMZSV $\zeta_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}^{\star}(\mathbf{k})$ to be $\pi ((\zeta_{p-1}(\mathbf{k}))_p)$ and $\pi ((\zeta_{p-1}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}))_p)$, respectively as elements of $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}$. Furthermore, $\zeta_{\mathcal{A}_n}(\mathbf{k}) := \pi_n(\zeta_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}(\mathbf{k}))$ and $\zeta_{\mathcal{A}_n}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}) := \pi_n(\zeta_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}))$ in $\mathcal{A}_n$. We define the element $\mathbf{p} := \pi((p)_p) \in \widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ and we also denote $\pi_n(\mathbf{p}) \in \mathcal{A}_n$ by $\mathbf{p}$ by abuse of notation. We can check that the topology of $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ is the $\mathbf{p}$-adic topology (See Subsection \ref{subsec:adelic ring}).
Let $\widehat{\mathfrak{H}}^1$ be the completion of $\mathfrak{H}^1$. Namely, $\widehat{\mathfrak{H}}$ is defined as the non-commutative formal power series ring $\mathbb{Q}\langle \! \langle x, y \rangle \! \rangle$ and $\widehat{\mathfrak{H}}^1:=\mathbb{Q}+\widehat{\mathfrak{H}}y$. Then, the weighted finite multiple zeta function $Z_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}\colon \widehat{\mathfrak{H}}^1 \to \widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ is defined by
\[
\sum_{\mathbf{k}}a_{\mathbf{k}}z_{\mathbf{k}} \mapsto \left( \sum_{\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k}) < n}a_{\mathbf{k}}\zeta_{\mathcal{A}_n}(\mathbf{k})\mathbf{p}^{\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})} \right)_n,
\]
where $a_{\mathbf{k}} \in \mathbb{Q}$ and $\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})$ is the weight of the index $\mathbf{k}$. The algebra automorphism $\psi$ on $\mathfrak{H}^1$ is extended continuously to the map on $\widehat{\mathfrak{H}}^1$ and we define a continuous algebra automorphism $\Phi\colon \widehat{\mathfrak{H}}^1 \to \widehat{\mathfrak{H}}^1$ by
\[
w \mapsto (1+y)\left( \frac{1}{1+y}\ast w \right).
\]
Here, the harmonic product $\ast \colon \mathfrak{H}^1\times \mathfrak{H}^1 \to \mathfrak{H}^1$ is defined $\mathbb{Q}$-bilinearly and inductively by
\begin{equation*}
w\ast 1=1\ast w = w, \ z_kw_1\ast z_lw_2 = z_k(w_1\ast z_lw_2)+z_l(z_kw_1\ast w_2)+z_{k+l}(w_1\ast w_2)
\end{equation*}
for any positive integers $k, l$ and words $w, w_1, w_2 \in \mathfrak{H}^1$ and $\ast$ is extended naturally to the product on $\widehat{\mathfrak{H}}^1$. Rosen generalized Theorem \ref{equivalent theorem} as follows:
\begin{theorem}[{Asymptotic duality theorem \cite[Theorem 4.5]{Ro}}]
For any $w \in \widehat{\mathfrak{H}}^1$, we have
\begin{equation*}
\psi(w)-\Phi (w) \in \mathrm{ker}(Z_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}).
\end{equation*}
\end{theorem}
On the other hand, Zhao, Sakugawa, and the author proved the straightforward generalization of the duality (\ref{Hoffman duality}) to an $\mathcal{A}_2$-relation (\cite[Theorem 2.11]{Z} and \cite[The equality (40)]{SS}). We can rewrite the relation as the following symmetric form:
\begin{equation*}
\zeta_{\mathcal{A}_2}^{\star}(\mathbf{k})+\zeta_{\mathcal{A}_2}^{\star}(1, \mathbf{k})\mathbf{p} = -\zeta_{\mathcal{A}_2}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}^{\vee})-\zeta_{\mathcal{A}_2}^{\star}(1, \mathbf{k}^{\vee})\mathbf{p}.
\label{A_2-duality}\end{equation*}
In this paper, we give the following $\mathbf{p}$-adic version of the duality (\ref{Hoffman duality}):
\begin{theorem}[The $\mathbf{p}$-adic duality theorem for FMZSVs]
Let $\mathbf{k}$ be an index. Then, we have
\begin{equation*}
\sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\zeta_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}^{\star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k})\mathbf{p}^i = - \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\zeta_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}^{\star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k}^{\vee})\mathbf{p}^i
\end{equation*}
in the ring $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}$.
\label{p-adic duality}\end{theorem}
\noindent Here, the notation $(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k})$ means $(\underbrace{1, \dots, 1}_i, k_1, \dots, k_m)$ for $\mathbf{k}=(k_1, \dots, k_m)$. We remark that if we take the $i=0$ part of the equality in the above theorem, then we recover the equality (\ref{Hoffman duality}).
\subsection{Duality for FSMPs}
\label{subsec:Duality for FSMPs}
In \cite{SS}, Sakugawa and the author introduced the finite (star-)multiple polylogarithms (F(S)MPs) and proved the following dual functional equation of FSMPs which is a generalization of Hoffman's duality theorem (\ref{Hoffman duality}):
\begin{theorem}[{Sakugawa-Seki \cite[Theorem 1.3]{SS}}]
Let $\mathbf{k}$ be an index. Then, we have
\[
\widetilde{\text{\rm \pounds}}_{\mathcal{A}, \mathbf{k}}^{\star}(t)-\frac{1}{2}\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}) = \widetilde{\text{\rm \pounds}}_{\mathcal{A}, \mathbf{k}^{\vee}}^{\star}(1-t)-\frac{1}{2}\zeta_{\mathcal{A}}^{\star}(\mathbf{k}^{\vee})
\]
in the ring $\mathcal{A}_{\mathbb{Z}[t]} = \left. \left( \prod_p \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}[t] \right) \right/ \left( \bigoplus_p \mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}[t] \right)$.
\label{SS thm}\end{theorem}
\noindent See Definition \ref{def of FMP} for the definition of FMPs.
In this paper, we prove the following $\mathbf{p}$-adic version of Theorem \ref{SS thm} which contains Theorem \ref{p-adic duality} as a special case:
\begin{theorem}
Let $\mathbf{k}$ be an index. Then, we have
{\small \begin{equation}
\sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\left( \widetilde{\text{\rm \pounds}}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, (\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k})}^{\star}(t)-\frac{1}{2}\zeta_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}^{\star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k})\right) \mathbf{p}^i = \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\left( \widetilde{\text{\rm \pounds}}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, (\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k}^{\vee})}^{\star}(1-t)-\frac{1}{2}\zeta_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}}^{\star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k}^{\vee})\right) \mathbf{p}^i.
\label{1-var}\end{equation}
}in the ring $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[t]} = \varprojlim_n \left. \left( \prod_p \mathbb{Z}/p^n\mathbb{Z}[t] \right) \right/ \left( \bigoplus_p\mathbb{Z}/p^n\mathbb{Z}[t] \right)$.
\label{dual fn eq for 1-var}\end{theorem}
We remark that if we take the $i=0$ part of the equality (\ref{1-var}), then we recover Theorem \ref{SS thm}. More generally, Sakugawa and the author proved the multi-variable and $\mathcal{A}_2$-version of Theorem \ref{SS thm} (\cite[Theorem 3.12]{SS}) and the main result of this paper is the $\mathbf{p}$-adic dual functional equation for the multi-variable FSMPs (= Theorem \ref{main cor}) which contains \cite[Theorem 3.12]{SS} and Theorem \ref{dual fn eq for 1-var} as special cases.
\subsection*{Outline of this paper}
This paper is organized as follows. In Section \ref{sec:Definitions}, we prepare some notations and define the finite multiple polylogarithms. In Section \ref{sec:reversal and duality}, we prove the $\mathbf{p}$-adic reversal theorem for FMPs and state the $\mathbf{p}$-adic duality theorem for FSMPs. In Section \ref{sec:Proof of main result}, we complete the proof of main results.
\section*{Acknowledgement}
The author would like to express his sincere gratitude to his advisor Professor Tadashi Ochiai for carefully reading the manuscript and helpful comments. The author also thanks Dr.\ Kenji Sakugawa for useful discussion and helpful advices. In addition, the author would like to thank the anonymous referee for pointing out several errors and useful suggestions. The proof of Proposition \ref{key proposition} was greatly shortened by his/her idea of using Lemma \ref{lemma by the referee}, though the author's original proof was based on more complicated calculations.
\section{Notations and Definitions}
\label{sec:Definitions}
For a tuple of indeterminates $\mathbf{t} = (t_1, \dots, t_m)$, we define $\mathbf{t}_1$, $1-\mathbf{t}$, $\mathbf{t}^{-1}$, and $\overline{\mathbf{t}}$ to be $(t_1, \dots, t_{m-1}, 1)$, $(1-t_1, \dots, 1-t_m)$, $(t_1^{-1}, \dots, t_m^{-1})$, and $(t_m, \dots, t_1)$ respectively. We use the notation $R[\mathbf{t}]$ as a polynomial ring $R[t_1, \dots, t_m]$ for a ring $R$.
\subsection{Indices}
\label{subsec:Indices}
We call a tuple of positive integers $\mathbf{k} = (k_1, \dots, k_m)$ an index and we define the weight $\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})$ (resp. depth $\mathrm{dep}(\mathbf{k})$) of $\mathbf{k}$ to be $k_1+\cdots +k_m$ (resp. $m$).
Let $\mathbf{k}=(k_1, k_2, \dots, k_m)$, $\mathbf{k}'=(k'_1, \dots, k'_m)$, and $\mathbf{l}=(l_1, \dots, l_n)$ be indices. Then, we define the reverse index $\overline{\mathbf{k}}$ of $\mathbf{k}$, the summation $\mathbf{k}\oplus\mathbf{k'}$, and the concatenation index $(\mathbf{k}, \mathbf{l})$ by
\begin{align*}
\overline{\mathbf{k}}&:=(k_m, \dots, k_1),\\
\mathbf{k}\oplus \mathbf{k'} &:=(k_1+k'_1, \dots, k_m+k'_m),\\
(\mathbf{k}, \mathbf{l}) &:= (k_1, \dots, k_m, l_1, \dots, l_n),
\end{align*}
respectively. If $\mathbf{l}$ is an index of the form
\[
\mathbf{l}=(k_1\Box k_2 \Box \cdots \Box k_m)
\]
in which $\Box$ is filled by the comma , or the plus $+$, then we denote $\mathbf{l} \prec \mathbf{k}$. We use the same notations for tuples of non-negative integers or indeterminates.
Let $W$ be the free monoid generated by the set $\{0, 1\}$. We set $W_1 := W1$. Then, there exist a bijection from the set of all indices $I$ to $W_1$ induced by the correspondence
\[
\mathbf{k} = (k_1, \dots, k_m) \mapsto \underbrace{0 \cdots 0}_{k_1-1}1\underbrace{0 \cdots 0}_{k_2-1}1 \cdots 1\underbrace{0 \cdots 0}_{k_m-1}1
\]
and we denote the bijection as $w$.
Let $\tau \colon W \to W$ be a monoid homomorphism defined by $\tau(0)=1$ and $\tau(1)=0$.
\begin{definition}[{cf. \cite[Section3]{Ho}}]
For an index $\mathbf{k}$, we define the Hoffman dual $\mathbf{k}^{\vee}$ of $\mathbf{k}$ by the relation $w(\mathbf{k}^{\vee})=\tau(w(\mathbf{k})1^{-1})1$.
\label{Hoffman dual}\end{definition}
\noindent For any index $\mathbf{k}$, $\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})=\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k}^{\vee})$ and $\mathrm{dep}(\mathbf{k})+\mathrm{dep}(\mathbf{k}^{\vee}) = \mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})+1$ hold.
\subsection{The ad\'elic ring}
\label{subsec:adelic ring}
In order to define the finite multiple polylogarithms, we introduce some ad\'elic rings in a general setting.
\begin{definition}
Let $R$ be a commutative ring and $\Sigma$ an infinite family of ideals of $R$. Then, we define the ring $\mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}$ for each positive integer $n$ by
\begin{equation*}
\mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma} := \left( \prod_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n \right) \left/ \left( \bigoplus_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n\right) \right. .
\end{equation*}
Then, $\{\mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}\}$ becomes a projective system by natural projections and we define the ring $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{R}^{\Sigma}$ by
\begin{equation*}
\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_R^{\Sigma} := \varprojlim_{n}\mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}.
\end{equation*}
We put the discrete topology on $\mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}$ for each $n$ and we define the topology of $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{R}^{\Sigma}$ to be the projective limit topology.
\label{def of adelic}\end{definition}
\begin{lemma}
We use the same notations as Definition $\ref{def of adelic}$ and we define the $I$-adic completion $\widehat{R}_I$ of $R$ to be $\varprojlim_n R/I^nR$. Then, there exists the following natural surjective ring homomorphism$:$
\[
\pi\colon \prod_{I \in \Sigma}\widehat{R}_I \longrightarrow \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_R^{\Sigma}.
\]
\label{surjection}\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
For a short exact sequence of projective systems of rings
\[
0 \longrightarrow \left\{ \bigoplus_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n \right\} \longrightarrow \left\{ \prod_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n \right\} \longrightarrow \left\{ \mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma} \right\} \longrightarrow 0,
\]
the system $\left\{ \bigoplus_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n \right\}$ satisfies the Mittag-Leffler condition. Therefore, there exists a natural surjection
\[
\prod_{I \in \Sigma}\widehat{R}_I \simeq \varprojlim_n \prod_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n \longrightarrow \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_R^{\Sigma}.
\]
\end{proof}
\begin{remark}
We assume that some topology of $R/I^n$ is defined for any $I \in \Sigma$. If we put the product topology on $\prod_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n$ and the quotient topology on $\mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}$ by $\prod_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n \twoheadrightarrow \mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}$, then the topology is indiscrete. However, we consider the discrete topology of $\mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}$ in this paper.
\end{remark}
\begin{lemma}
We use the same notations as Definition $\ref{def of adelic}$ and Definition $\ref{surjection}$. We assume that $I\widehat{R}_I$ is a principal ideal of $\widehat{R}_I$ for any $I \in \Sigma$. Furthermore, we define an ideal $\mathbf{I}$ of $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{R}^{\Sigma}$ to be $\pi ((I\widehat{R}_I)_{I \in \Sigma})$. Let $\pi_n$ be the natural projection $\pi_n\colon \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{R}^{\Sigma} \twoheadrightarrow \mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}$ for any positive integer $n$. Then, we have $\mathrm{ker}(\pi_n) = \mathbf{I}^n$. In particular, the topology of $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_R^{\Sigma}$ coincides with the $\mathbf{I}$-adic topology and $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_R^{\Sigma}$ is complete with respect to the $\mathbf{I}$-adic topology.
\label{I-adic}\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
Let $n$ be a positive integer. Take any element $x$ of $\mathrm{ker}(\pi_n)$. Then, there exists an element $\{x_I\}_{I \in \Sigma}$ of $\prod_{I \in \Sigma}\widehat{R}_I$ such that $x=\pi ((x_I)_{I \in \Sigma})$ by Lemma \ref{surjection}. By the commutative diagram
\begin{equation*}
\begin{CD}
\displaystyle \prod_{I \in \Sigma}\widehat{R}_I @>\pi>> \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_R^{\Sigma} \\
@V(\bmod{I^n})_{I \in \Sigma}VV @VV\pi_nV \\
\displaystyle \prod_{I \in \Sigma}R/I^n @>\rho_n>> \mathcal{A}_{n, R}^{\Sigma}
\end{CD}
\end{equation*}
we have
\[
\pi_n(x)=\pi_n \circ \pi ((x_I)_{I \in \Sigma})=\rho_n((x_I \bmod{I^n})_{I \in \Sigma}) = 0.
\]
Here, $\rho_n$ is the canonical projection. Therefore, there exists a subset $\Sigma'$ of $\Sigma$ such that $\Sigma \setminus \Sigma'$ is finite and $x_I \in I^n\widehat{R}_I$ for every $I \in \Sigma'$. We can take a generator $a_I$ of $I\widehat{R}_I$ for any $I \in \Sigma$ by the assumption. Then, there exists an element $\{y_I\}_{I \in \Sigma'}$ of $\prod_{I \in \Sigma'}\widehat{R}_I$ such that $x_I=a_I^ny_I$ holds for any $I \in \Sigma'$. We define $y_I$ to be zero for $I \in \Sigma \setminus \Sigma'$. Then, we have
\[
x=\pi ((x_I)_{I \in \Sigma}) = \pi ((a_I^ny_I)_{I \in \Sigma}) = (\pi((a_I)_{I \in \Sigma}))^n\cdot \pi ((y_I)_{I \in \Sigma}) \in \mathbf{I}^n
\]
and we obtain the inclusion $\mathrm{ker}(\pi_n) \subset \mathbf{I}^n$. The opposite inclusion is trivial and the last assertion follows from the fact that $\{ \mathrm{ker}(\pi_n)\}$ is a neighborhood basis of zero.
\end{proof}
In the rest of this paper, we only use the case $\Sigma = \{ pR \mid p \ \text{is a prime number}\}$ and we omit the notation $\Sigma$. We will define the finite multiple polylogarithms as elements of the $\mathbb{Q}$-algebra $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ in the next subsection. Let $\pi\colon \prod_p\widehat{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}_p \twoheadrightarrow \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ be the natural surjection obtained by Lemma \ref{surjection} where $\widehat{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}_p = \varprojlim_n\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]/p^n\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]$ is the $p$-adic completion of $\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]$. Let $\pi_n\colon \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]} \twoheadrightarrow \mathcal{A}_{n, \mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ be the natural projection for each $n$. The topology of $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ coincides with the $\mathbf{p}$-adic topology and $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ is complete with respect to the topology by Lemma \ref{I-adic}. Since an equality $\pi \left( \left( \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}a_i^{(p)}p^i\right)_p \right) = \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}(a_i^{(p)})_p\mathbf{p}^i$ holds, in order to obtain a $\mathbf{p}$-adic relation, it is sufficient to show the $p$-adic relations given by taking the $p$-components for all but finitely many prime numbers $p$. Here, $a_i^{(p)} \in \mathbb{Z}_{(p)}[\mathbf{t}]$ and $\mathbb{Z}_{(p)}$ is the localization of $\mathbb{Z}$ at $p$, and note that the opposite assertion does not hold in general.
\subsection{The finite multiple polylogarithms}
\label{subsec:The finite multiple polylogaarithms}
\begin{definition}
Let $n$ be a positive integer, $\mathbf{k} = (k_1, \dots , k_m)$ an index, and $\mathbf{t} = (t_1, \dots, t_m)$ a tuple of indeterminates. Then, we define the four kinds of the truncated multiple polylogarithms which are elements of $\mathbb{Q}[\mathbf{t}]$ as follows:
\begin{align*}
\text{\rm \pounds}_{n, \mathbf{k}}^{\ast}(\mathbf{t}) &:= \sum_{n\geq n_1> \dots >n_m\geq 1}\frac{t_1^{n_1}\cdots t_m^{n_m}}{n_1^{k_1}\cdots n_m^{k_m}},\\
\text{\rm \pounds}_{n, \mathbf{k}}^{\ast , \star}(\mathbf{t}) &:= \sum_{n\geq n_1\geq \dots \geq n_m\geq 1}\frac{t_1^{n_1}\cdots t_m^{n_m}}{n_1^{k_1}\cdots n_m^{k_m}},\\
\text{\rm \pounds}_{n,\mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}}(\mathbf{t}) &:= \sum_{n \geq n_1> \dots >n_m\geq 1}\frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{m-1}^{n_{m-1}-n_m}t_m^{n_m}}{n_1^{k_1}\cdots n_m^{k_m}},\\
\text{\rm \pounds}_{n, \mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\mathbf{t}) &:= \sum_{n\geq n_1\geq \dots \geq n_m\geq 1}\frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{m-1}^{n_{m-1}-n_m}t_m^{n_m}}{n_1^{k_1}\cdots n_m^{k_m}}.
\end{align*}
\end{definition}
\begin{definition}
Let $\mathbf{k} = (k_1, \dots , k_m)$ be an index and $\mathbf{t} = (t_1, \dots, t_m)$ a tuple of indeterminates. Then, we define the four kinds of the finite multiple polylogarithms which are elements of $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ as follows:
\begin{align*}
\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\ast}(\mathbf{t}) &:= \pi ((\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \mathbf{k}}^{\ast}(\mathbf{t}))_p) \ \ (\text{\emph{the finite harmonic multiple polylogarithm}}),\\
\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\ast, \star}(\mathbf{t}) &:= \pi ((\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \mathbf{k}}^{\ast, \star}(\mathbf{t}))_p) \ \ (\text{\emph{the finite harmonic star-multiple polylogarithm}}),\\
\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}}(\mathbf{t}) &:= \pi ((\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}}(\mathbf{t}))_p) \ \ (\text{\emph{the finite shuffle multiple polylogarithm}}),\\
\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\mathbf{t}) &:= \pi ((\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\mathbf{t}))_p) \ \ (\text{\emph{the finite shuffle star-multiple polylogarithm}}).
\end{align*}
This definition is well-defined since $\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \mathbf{k}}^{\circ, \bullet}(\mathbf{t})$ is an element of $\mathbb{Z}_{(p)}[\mathbf{t}]$ for each prime number $p$, $\circ \in \{\ast, \text{{\cyr sh}}\}$, and $\bullet \in \{\emptyset, \star\}$. We also define the finite multiple polylogarithm $\text{\rm \pounds}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \mathbf{k}}^{\circ, \bullet}(\mathbf{t})$ as elements of $\mathcal{A}_{n, \mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ by
\[
\text{\rm \pounds}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \mathbf{k}}^{\circ, \bullet}(\mathbf{t}) := \pi_n(\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\circ, \bullet}(\mathbf{t}))
\]
for each positive integer $n$, $\circ \in \{\ast, \text{{\cyr sh}}\}$, and $\bullet \in \{\emptyset, \star\}$.
We define 1-variable finite (star-)multiple polylogarithms as follows:
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\bullet}(t) &:= \text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\ast , \bullet} (t, \{ 1 \}^{m-1}) = \text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}} , \bullet} (\{ t \}^{m}) \in \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[t]},\\
\widetilde{\text{\rm \pounds}}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\bullet}(t) &:= \text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\ast , \bullet} (\{ 1 \}^{m-1}, t) = \text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{{\cyr sh}}} , \bullet} (\{ 1 \}^{m-1}, t) \in \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[t]},
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
where $t$ is an indeterminate and $\bullet \in \{ \emptyset , \star \}$.
\label{def of FMP}\end{definition}
\section{The $\mathbf{p}$-adic reversal theorem and the $\mathbf{p}$-adic duality theorem}
\label{sec:reversal and duality}
\subsection{The $\mathbf{p}$-adic reversal theorem for FMPs}
\label{subsec:Asymptotic reversal theorems}
The reversal relation for FMZVs (\cite[Theorem 4.5]{Ho}) has been extended to several general cases. For example, Rosen proved the $\mathbf{p}$-adic reversal relation for FMZVs in $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}$ (\cite[Theorem 4.1]{Ro}) and Sakugawa and the author proved the reversal relation for FMPs in $\mathcal{A}_{2, \mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ (\cite[Proposition 3.11]{SS}). Here, we prove the $\mathbf{p}$-adic reversal relation for FMPs in $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$.
\begin{theorem}Let $\mathbf{k} = (k_1, \dots, k_m)$ be an index, $\mathbf{t}=(t_1, \dots, t_m)$ a tuple of indeterminates, and $\bullet \in \{\emptyset, \star\}$. Then, we have the following $\mathbf{p}$-adic relation in $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}:$
\begin{equation*}
\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \overline{\mathbf{k}}}^{\ast, \bullet}(\mathbf{t})=(-1)^{\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})}(t_1\cdots t_m)^{\mathbf{p}}\sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\sum_{\substack{\mathbf{l}=(l_1, \dots, l_m) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\geq 0}^m \\ \mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{l})=i}}\left[ \prod_{j=1}^m\binom{k_j+l_j-1}{l_j}\right] \text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}\oplus \mathbf{l}}^{\ast, \bullet}(\overline{\mathbf{t}^{-1}})\mathbf{p}^i,
\end{equation*}
where $(t_1\cdots t_m)^{\mathbf{p}}=((t_1\cdots t_m)^p)_p \in \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$ and $\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}\oplus \mathbf{l}}^{\ast, \bullet}(\overline{\mathbf{t}^{-1}})$ is an element of $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}^{-1}]}$.
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
Let $p$ be a prime number. Since a $p$-adically convergent identity
\begin{equation*}
\frac{1}{(p-n)^k}=(-1)^k\sum_{l=0}^{\infty}\binom{k+l-1}{l}\frac{p^l}{n^{k+l}}
\label{p-adic reverse}\end{equation*}
holds for a positive integer $n < p$, by the substitutions $n_i \mapsto p-n_{m+1-i}$, we have
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \overline{\mathbf{k}}}^{\ast}(\mathbf{t}) &= \sum_{p-1 \geq n_1 > \cdots > n_m \geq 1}\frac{t_1^{n_1}\cdots t_m^{n_m}}{n_1^{k_m}\cdots n_m^{k_1}} \\ &= \sum_{p-1 \geq p-n_m > \cdots > p-n_1 \geq 1} \frac{t_1^{p-n_m}\cdots t_m^{p-n_1}}{(p-n_m)^{k_m}\cdots (p-n_1)^{k_1}} \\ &= (-1)^{\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})}(t_1\cdots t_m)^{p}\\ & \ \ \ \times \sum_{p-1 \geq n_1 > \cdots > n_m \geq 1}\sum_{(l_1, \dots, l_m ) \in \mathbb{Z}^m_{\geq 0}}\left[ \prod_{j=1}^m\binom{k_j+l_j-1}{l_j} \right]\frac{t_m^{-n_1}\cdots t_1^{-n_m}}{n_1^{k_1+l_1}\cdots n_m^{k_m+l_m}}p^{l_1+\cdots +l_m}\\ &= (-1)^{\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})}(t_1\cdots t_m)^p\sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\sum_{\substack{\mathbf{l}=(l_1, \dots, l_m) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\geq 0}^m \\ \mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{l})=i}}\left[ \prod_{j=1}^m \binom{k_j+l_j-1}{l_j} \right] \text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \mathbf{k}\oplus \mathbf{l}}^{\ast}(\overline{\mathbf{t}^{-1}})p^i
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
in the ring $\widehat{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}_p$. Therefore, we have the conclusion for non-star case. The star case is similar.
\end{proof}
\subsection{The $\mathbf{p}$-adic duality theorem for FSMPs}
\label{subsec:main results}
In this subsection, we state the main results. Let $\mathbf{k}$ be an index and $\mathbf{t}$ a tuple of $\mathrm{dep}(\mathbf{k})$ indeterminates. We define a $\mathbf{p}$-adically convergent series $\mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\star}(\mathbf{t})$ with FSSMPs-coefficients by
\begin{equation}
\mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\star}(\mathbf{t}) := \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\left( \text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, (\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k})}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{t})-\frac{1}{2}\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, (\{1\}^i, \mathbf{k})}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{t}_1)\right)\mathbf{p}^i.
\label{series}\end{equation}
\begin{theorem}
Let $w$ be a positive integer and $\mathbf{t}$ a tuple of $w$ indeterminates. Then, we have
\begin{equation*}
\mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(\mathbf{t}) = \mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(1-\mathbf{t})
\end{equation*}
in the ring $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$.
\label{main thm}\end{theorem}
We will give a proof of Theorem \ref{main thm} in the next section. Since finite multiple polylogarithms in (\ref{series}) are of shuffle type, the case $\mathbf{k}=\{1\}^w$ (= Theorem \ref{main thm}) is essential. In fact, the following lemma holds:
\begin{lemma}
Let $\mathbf{k}=(k_1, \dots, k_m)$ is an index, $w = \mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})$, $\mathbf{t} = (t_1, \dots, t_m)$ a tuple of indeterminates, and $\bullet \in \{\emptyset, \star\}$. Then, we have
\[
\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \bullet}(\mathbf{t})=\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \bullet}(\{0\}^{k_1-1}, t_1, \dots, \{0\}^{k_m-1}, t_m).
\]
\label{general index lemma}\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
We can easily check it by the definition of the finite shuffle multiple polylogarithms.
\end{proof}
The main result of this paper is as follows:
\begin{theorem}
Let $r$ be a positive integer, $\mathbf{k}_1, \dots, \mathbf{k}_r$ indices, and $\mathbf{t} = (t_1, \dots, t_r)$ a tuple of indeterminates. We define an index $\mathbf{k}$ to be $(\mathbf{k}_1, \dots, \mathbf{k}_r)$ and $\mathbf{k}'$ to be $(\mathbf{k}_1^{\vee}, \dots, \mathbf{k}_r^{\vee})$. Furthermore, we define $l_i$ and $l'_i$ by $l_i := \mathrm{dep}(\mathbf{k}_i)$ and $l'_i := \mathrm{dep}(\mathbf{k}_i^{\vee})$ respectively for $i=1, \dots, r$. Then, we have
\[
\mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\star}(\{1\}^{l_1-1}, t_1, \dots, \{1\}^{l_r-1}, t_r) = \mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}'}^{\star}(\{1\}^{l'_1-1}, 1-t_1, \dots, \{1\}^{l'_r-1}, 1-t_r)
\]
in the ring $\widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$.
\label{main cor}\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
We denote $\mathbf{k}_i$ and $\mathbf{k}^{\vee}_i$ as $(k_1^{(i)}, \dots, k_{l_i}^{(i)})$ and $({k'}_1^{(i)}, \dots, {k'}_{l'_i}^{(i)})$ respectively for $i=1, \dots, r$. Let $w:=\mathrm{wt}(\mathbf{k})$. Then, by Lemma \ref{general index lemma}, Theorem \ref{main thm}, and Definition \ref{Hoffman dual}, we have
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
& \hspace{5.5mm} \mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}}^{\star}(\{1\}^{l_1-1}, t_1, \dots, \{1\}^{l_r-1}, t_r) \\&= \mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(\dots, \{0\}^{k_1^{(i)}-1}, 1, \dots, \{0\}^{k_{l_i-1}^{(i)}-1}, 1, \{0\}^{k_{l_i}^{(i)}-1}, t_i, \dots ) \\ &= \mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(\dots, \{1\}^{k_1^{(i)}-1}, 0, \dots, \{1\}^{k_{l_i-1}^{(i)}-1}, 0, \{1\}^{k_{l_i}^{(i)}-1}, 1-t_i, \dots )\\ &= \mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(\dots, \{0\}^{{k'}_1^{(i)}-1}, 1, \dots, \{0\}^{{k'}_{l'_i-1}^{(i)}-1}, 1, \{0\}^{{k'}_{l'_i}^{(i)}-1}, 1-t_i, \dots ) \\ &= \mathcal{L}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \mathbf{k}'}^{\star}(\{1\}^{l'_1-1}, 1-t_1, \dots, \{1\}^{l'_r-1}, 1-t_r).
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
\end{proof}
By considering the case $r=1$, we obtain Theorem \ref{dual fn eq for 1-var}. Theorem \ref{p-adic duality} is obtained by the substitution $t=1$ in the equality (\ref{1-var}).
\section{Proof of theorem \ref{main thm}}
\label{sec:Proof of main result}
\begin{lemma}
Let $p$ be a prime number and $n$ a positive integer satisfying $n < p$. Then, we have the following $p$-adic expansion$:$
\[
(-1)^n\binom{p-1}{n} = (-1)^{p-1}\left( 1-\frac{p}{n} \right) \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\sum_{p-1 \geq m_1 \geq \cdots \geq m_i \geq n}\frac{p^i}{m_1 \cdots m_i}.
\]
\label{lemma by the referee}\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
We can calculate as follows:
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
(-1)^n\binom{p-1}{n} &= (-1)^n\binom{p-1}{p-1-n} = (-1)^n\frac{p-n}{n}\binom{p-1}{p-n} \\
&= (-1)^{p-1}\left( 1-\frac{p}{n}\right) \prod_{m=n}^{p-1}\left( 1-\frac{p}{m} \right)^{-1} \\
&= (-1)^{p-1}\left( 1-\frac{p}{n}\right) \prod_{m=n}^{p-1}\left( 1+\frac{p}{m}+\frac{p^2}{m^2}+\cdots \right) \\
&= (-1)^{p-1}\left( 1-\frac{p}{n}\right) \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\sum_{p-1 \geq m_1 \geq \cdots \geq m_i \geq n}\frac{p^i}{m_1 \cdots m_i}.
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
This completes the proof of the lemma.
\end{proof}
\begin{proposition}
Let $p$ be an odd prime number and $\mathbf{t} = (t_1, \dots, t_w)$ a tuple of indeterminates. Then, we have the following $p$-adic expansion$:$
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
&\sum_{p-1\geq n_1\geq \cdots \geq n_w\geq 1}(-1)^{n_1}\binom{p-1}{n_1}\frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{w-1}^{n_{w-1}-n_w}t_w^{n_w}}{n_1\cdots n_w}\\ &=\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\mathbf{t})+\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\left( \text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \{1\}^{w+i}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{t})-\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, (\{1\}^{i-1}, 2, \{1\}^{w-1})}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^{i-1}, \mathbf{t})\right)p^i.
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
\label{key proposition}\end{proposition}
\begin{proof}
By Lemma \ref{lemma by the referee}, we have
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
&\sum_{p-1\geq n_1\geq \cdots \geq n_w\geq 1}(-1)^{n_1}\binom{p-1}{n_1}\frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{w-1}^{n_{w-1}-n_w}t_w^{n_w}}{n_1\cdots n_w}\\
&= \sum_{p-1\geq n_1\geq \cdots \geq n_w\geq 1}\frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{w-1}^{n_{w-1}-n_w}t_w^{n_w}}{n_1\cdots n_w}\left( 1-\frac{p}{n_1} \right) \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\sum_{p-1 \geq m_1 \geq \cdots \geq m_i \geq n_1}\frac{p^i}{m_1 \cdots m_i} \\
&= \sum_{i=0}^{\infty}\sum_{p-1 \geq m_1 \geq \cdots \geq m_i \geq n_1 \geq \cdots n_w \geq 1}\left( 1-\frac{p}{n_1} \right) \frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{w-1}^{n_{w-1}-n_w}t_w^{n_w}}{m_1\cdots m_in_1\cdots n_w}p^i \\
&= \text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\mathbf{t})+\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\left( \text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, \{1\}^{w+i}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{t})-\text{\rm \pounds}_{p-1, (\{1\}^{i-1}, 2, \{1\}^{w-1})}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^{i-1}, \mathbf{t})\right)p^i.
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
This completes the proof of the proposition.
\end{proof}
\begin{proposition}
Let $N$ and $w$ be positive integers. Then, the following polynomial identity holds in $\mathbb{Q}[t_1, \dots, t_w]:$
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
&\sum_{N\geq n_1 \geq \cdots \geq n_w \geq 1}(-1)^{n_1}\binom{N}{n_1}\frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{w-1}^{n_{w-1}-n_w}(t_w^{n_w}-\frac{1}{2})}{n_1 \cdots n_w}\\
&=\sum_{N\geq n_1 \geq \cdots \geq n_w \geq 1}\frac{(1-t_1)^{n_1-n_2} \cdots (1-t_{w-1})^{n_{w-1}-n_{w}} \{ (1-t_w)^{n_w}-\frac{1}{2} \}}{n_1\cdots n_w}.
\end{split}
\label{modified maltivar identity}\end{equation*}
\label{symmetric identity}\end{proposition}
\begin{proof}
By \cite[Theorem 2.5]{SS}, we have
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
&\sum_{N\geq n_1 \geq \cdots \geq n_w \geq 1}(-1)^{n_1}\binom{N}{n_1}\frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{w-1}^{n_{w-1}-n_w}t_w^{n_w}}{n_1 \cdots n_w}\\
&=\sum_{N\geq n_1 \geq \cdots \geq n_w \geq 1}\frac{(1-t_1)^{n_1-n_2} \cdots (1-t_{w-1})^{n_{w-1}-n_{w}} \{ (1-t_w)^{n_w}-1 \}}{n_1\cdots n_w},
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
and by the substitution $t_w=1$, we have
\begin{equation*}
\begin{split}
&\sum_{N\geq n_1 \geq \cdots \geq n_w \geq 1}(-1)^{n_1}\binom{N}{n_1}\frac{t_1^{n_1-n_2}\cdots t_{w-1}^{n_{w-1}-n_w}}{n_1 \cdots n_w}\\ &= -\sum_{N\geq n_1 \geq \cdots \geq n_w \geq 1}\frac{(1-t_1)^{n_1-n_2} \cdots (1-t_{w-1})^{n_{w-1}-n_{w}}}{n_1\cdots n_w}.
\end{split}
\end{equation*}
By combining these two identities, we obtain the desired identity.
\end{proof}
In order to prove Theorem \ref{main thm}, it is sufficient to show the following theorem:
\begin{theorem}
Let $n$ and $w$ be positive integers and $\mathbf{t}$ a tuple of $w$ indeterminates. We define $\mathcal{L}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(\mathbf{t})$ to be
\begin{equation*}
\mathcal{L}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(\mathbf{t}) := \sum_{i=0}^{n-1}\left( \text{\rm \pounds}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^{w+i}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{t})-\frac{1}{2}\text{\rm \pounds}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^{w+i}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{t}_1)\right)\mathbf{p}^i.
\end{equation*}
Then, we have
\begin{equation}
\mathcal{L}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(\mathbf{t}) = \mathcal{L}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(1-\mathbf{t})
\label{A_n relation}\end{equation}
in $\mathcal{A}_{n, \mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$.
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
We prove the equality (\ref{A_n relation}) by induction on $n$. By combining Proposition \ref{key proposition} with Proposition \ref{symmetric identity}, we have
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
&\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\mathbf{t})-\frac{1}{2}\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\mathbf{t}_1)
+\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\left\{ \left( \text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^{w+i}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^i, \mathbf{t})-\frac{1}{2}\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^{w+i}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^{i}, \mathbf{t}_1) \right) \right. \\
&\hspace{21mm} - \left. \left( \text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, (\{1\}^{i-1}, 2, \{1\}^{w-1})}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^{i-1}, \mathbf{t})-\frac{1}{2}\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, (\{1\}^{i-1}, 2, \{1\}^{w-1})}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^{i-1}, \mathbf{t}_1)\right) \right\}\mathbf{p}^i\\
&=\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(1-\mathbf{t})-\frac{1}{2}\text{\rm \pounds}_{\widehat{\mathcal{A}}, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}((1-\mathbf{t})_1).
\end{split}
\label{last}\end{equation}
We see that the equality (\ref{A_n relation}) for $n=1$ holds by the projection $\pi_1 \colon \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]} \twoheadrightarrow \mathcal{A}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$. We assume that the equation (\ref{A_n relation}) for $n-1$ holds for any tuple of indeterminates.
By the equality (\ref{last}) and the projection $\pi_n \colon \widehat{\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]} \twoheadrightarrow \mathcal{A}_{n, \mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$, we have
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\mathcal{L}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(\mathbf{t})
&= \text{\rm \pounds}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(1-\mathbf{t})-\frac{1}{2}\text{\rm \pounds}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^w}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}((1-\mathbf{t})_1)\\
&\ \left.+\sum_{i=1}^{n-1}\left( \text{\rm \pounds}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^{w+i}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^{i-1}, t_0, \mathbf{t})-\frac{1}{2} \text{\rm \pounds}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^{w+i}}^{\scalebox{0.7}{\text{\cyr sh}}, \star}(\{1\}^{i-1}, t_0, \mathbf{t}_1) \right)\mathbf{p}^i\right|_{t_0=0}.
\end{split}
\label{t_0=0}\end{equation}
On the other hand, by the induction hypothesis, we have
\[
\mathcal{L}_{\mathcal{A}_{n-1}, \{1\}^{w+1}}^{\star}(t_0, \mathbf{t}) = \mathcal{L}_{\mathcal{A}_{n-1}, \{1\}^{w+1}}^{\star}(1-t_0, 1-\mathbf{t}).
\]
Therefore, the right hand side of (\ref{t_0=0}) coincides with $\mathcal{L}_{\mathcal{A}_n, \{1\}^w}^{\star}(1-\mathbf{t})$ and the equality (\ref{A_n relation}) for $n$ holds. Here, note that there exists the canonical isomorphism $\mathcal{A}_{n-1, \mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]} \simeq \mathbf{p}\mathcal{A}_{n, \mathbb{Z}[\mathbf{t}]}$.
\end{proof}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 4,047 |
{"url":"http:\/\/einsteintoolkit.org\/thornguide\/ExternalLibraries\/OpenCL\/documentation.html","text":"## OpenCL\n\nMay 9 2012\n\nAbstract\n\nOpenCL is a programming standard for heterogeneous systems, i.e.\u00a0for programming CPUs, GPUs, and other types of accelerators. OpenCL is implemented as a library, and OpenCL codes are compiled at run time by passing OpenCL routines, as strings, to the OpenCL library. This is di\ufb00erent e.g.\u00a0from CUDA, which is implemented as a language such as C or C++.\n\nThis thorn OpenCL provides the con\ufb01guration bits that ensure that Cactus applications can use OpenCL libraries.\n\n### 1 Introduction\n\nOpenCL describes itself as:\n\nOpenCL is the \ufb01rst open, royalty-free standard for cross-platform, parallel programming of modern processors found in personal computers, servers and handheld\/embedded devices. OpenCL (Open Computing Language) greatly improves speed and responsiveness for a wide spectrum of applications in numerous market categories from gaming and entertainment to scienti\ufb01c and medical software.\n\n### 2 Availability\n\nThere seem to be four OpenCL implementations available at this time. Unfortunately, they each have their drawbacks:\n\nAMD\nAvailable at http:\/\/developer.amd.com\/zones\/openclzone\/pages\/default.aspx. This supports both CPUs and ATI GPUs. Unfortunately, the OpenCL compiler seems to produce code with a low quality.\nApple\nIncluded with the operating system, available by default. This supports both CPU and GPU. The compiler is based on LLVM. Unfortunately, there seem to be serious bugs \u2013 for example, I can\u2019t get the $cos$ function to provide correct results.\nIntel\nAvailable at http:\/\/software.intel.com\/en-_us\/articles\/opencl-_sdk\/. This supports only (Intel?) CPUs. The compiler is based on LLVM, and the implementation is also based on Intel\u2019s TBB (Threading Building Blocks).\nNvidia\nAvailable at http:\/\/developer.nvidia.com\/opencl, included in their CUDA distribution. This supports only GPUs.\npocl\nOpen source, available at https:\/\/launchpad.net\/pocl. This OpenCL implementation has not yet been released (current version is 0.6), and is based on LLVM.\n\nIn addition, Wikipedia http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/OpenCL lists two IBM implementations for their Power processor and for Intel compatible CPUs, respectively. The latter may be identical with or similar to AMD\u2019s implementation.\n\nSince OpenCL can run on CPUs, good OpenCL implementation are available at no cost for virtually all platforms.\n\nIt is possible to install several OpenCL implementations (platforms) at the same time, to build against any one of them, and then to choose at run time which devices from which platforms to use. For example, it is possible to build an application using the Intel implementation, and then at run time use the Nvidia platform to access a GPU (assuming that both Intel and Nvidia implementations are installed). On Unix, this is implemented via a system-wide con\ufb01guration directory \/etc\/OpenCL\/vendors that lists all OpenCL platforms that will be available at run time.\n\n### 3 OpenCL Programming\n\nOpenCL is very similar to C. However, it di\ufb00ers from C in several key aspects:\n\n\u2022 much smaller run-time library, consisting mostly of mathematical functions (such as sqrt) and printf;\n\u2022 built-in support for \ufb01ne-grained and coarse-grainded multi-threading;\n\u2022 built-in support for vectorisation.\n\nGiven this, it is not possible to write a whole application in OpenCL. Instead, only the expensive parts (so-called compute kernels) are written in OpenCL, and are launched e.g.\u00a0from C or C++.\n\nIn addition, the hardware architecture of GPUs and other accelerators di\ufb00ers from CPUs in one key aspect:\n\n\u2022 memory is separate from the host (regular CPU) memory.\n\nThat means that one has to explicitly copy data between the host memory and the device memory before and\/or after calling compute kernels.\n\n### 4 OpenCL Programming in Cactus\n\nCactus supports OpenCL programming at several levels. At the lowest level, one can use this thorn OpenCL directly. While this works \ufb01ne, it is somewhat tedious because one has to write a certain amount of boilerplate code to detect and initialise the device, to copy data between host and device, and to build and run compute kernels.\n\nSince OpenCL is implemented as a library, the \ufb02esh knows only little about OpenCL. For example, there are no con\ufb01guration options to spedify an OpenCL compiler, since code is compiled at run time via a library call to which the source code is passed as string. There is, however, one way in which the \ufb02esh supports OpenCL: Files with a .cl su\ufb03x are converted into a string and placed into the executable. These strings have the type char\u00a0const\u00a0* in C, and can be accessed at run time under a (globally visible) name OpenCL_source_THORN_FILE, where THORN and FILE and are the thorn name and \ufb01le name, respectively. (This is also explained in the users\u2019 guide.)\n\n### 5 High-Level OpenCL Programming in Cactus\n\nCactus also o\ufb00ers a higher-level way of OpenCL programming, implemented in the thorns OpenCLRunTime and Accelerator.\n\nThorn OpenCLRunTime provides a convenient function for executing OpenCL code. This function expects, as input, a string containing the OpenCL kernel code, and then calls this code. Lower-level tasks such as identifying available compute devices, initialising them, compiling the kernel (once, and then remembering it), and handling arguments and parameters are taken care of automatically. Details are described in this thorn\u2019s documentation.\n\nThorn Accelerator simpli\ufb01es memory management for GPUs and other types of devices. One declares in the thorn\u2019s schedule which routines read and write what variables, and Accelerator then keeps track which variables need to be copied at what time. It keeps track where (host and\/or device) a variable has valid values, and copies data only when necessary, taking time level cycling, synchronisation, and I\/O into account. Details are described in that thorn\u2019s documentation.\n\nImplements:\n\nopencl\n\n### 8 Schedule\n\nThis section lists all the variables which are assigned storage by thorn ExternalLibraries\/OpenCL. Storage can either last for the duration of the run (Always means that if this thorn is activated storage will be assigned, Conditional means that if this thorn is activated storage will be assigned for the duration of the run if some condition is met), or can be turned on for the duration of a schedule function.\n\nNONE\n\n#### Scheduled Functions\n\nCCTK_WRAGH\n\nopencl_printinfo\n\nprint opencl system information\n\n Language: c Type: function","date":"2017-08-23 19:31:48","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 1, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.3992166817188263, \"perplexity\": 3813.4236165871184}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.3, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2017-34\/segments\/1502886123359.11\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20170823190745-20170823210745-00123.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
Q: Tricky Chain Rule/Differentation/Derivative/Ellipse problem
When I found the derivative I got:
$$\frac{1}{2}x+ 2y\frac{dy}{dx}=0$$
$$\frac{dy}{dx}=\frac{\frac{-1}{2}x}{2y}$$
$$\frac{dy}{dx}=\frac{-1x}{4y}$$
But I cannot plug in $(4, 0)$ and since point $Q$ is NOT in the circle equation.
By the way the "solution" is $$y = \frac{-x}{2\sqrt{3}} + \frac{2}{\sqrt{3}}$$
But I don't know how that is the solution? Since its from the answer key without steps shown
I mean I could guess and check the slope and plug in any value in the circle equation:
$$y = \pm \sqrt{1 - \frac{1}{4}x^{2}}$$
since the domain of $x$ is $(-2, 2)$.
But this is obviously not how you solve it.emphasized text
A: Notice, let point of tangency $P(h, k)$ on the ellipse hence it will satisfy the equation of the ellipse $\frac{x^2}{4}+y=1$ as follows $$\frac{h^2}{4}+k^2=1\tag 1$$
Now, the slope of the tangent at the point $(h, k)$ is $$\left(\frac{dy}{dx}\right)_{(h, k)}=\text{slope of line PQ joining the points}\ (h, k) \ \text{&}\ (4, 0) $$ $$\frac{-h}{4k}=\frac{k-0}{h-4}$$
$$-h^2+4h=4k^2\iff \frac{h^2}{4}+k^2=h\tag 2$$
Now, comparing (1) & (2), we get
$$h=1$$
Hence, setting this value of $h$ in (1), we get $$\frac{(1)^2}{4}+k^2=1$$ $$k^2=\frac{3}{4}\iff k=\pm\frac{\sqrt 3}{2}$$
Since, the point $P$ is in the first quadrant its y-coordinate $k$ will be positive i.e. $k=\frac{\sqrt 3}{2}$ so we have $P\left(1, \frac{\sqrt3}{2}\right)$
Hence, the equation of the tangent PQ joining the points $P\left(1, \frac{\sqrt3}{2}\right)$ & $Q(4, 0)$ is given as $$y-0=\frac{\frac{\sqrt3}{2}-0}{1-4}(x-4)$$
$$\color{red}{x+2y\sqrt 3-4=0}$$
A: Differentiate using Chain Rule getting equation of tangent ( some steps omitted )
$$ \frac{x x_P}{4} + \frac{y y_P}{1} =1 \tag{1} $$
You are given
$$ x=x_Q=4,y=y_Q=0, \rightarrow x_P= 1 \tag{2}$$
Substitute into equation of ellipse, you get $ y_P= \frac{\sqrt3}{2} \tag{3}$
Tangent line has equation:
$$\frac{x\cdot 1}{4} + \frac {y \sqrt 3}{2} =1. \tag{4}$$
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 9,258 |
{"url":"https:\/\/www.cuemath.com\/jee\/axiomatic-approach-probability\/","text":"Axiomatic Approach To Probability\n\nGo back to\u00a0 'Probability'\n\nUntil now, what we have been doing is simple: to evaluate the probability of any event E in a sample space S, we find the total number of outcomes, and the number of outcomes favorable to E, and we then have\n\n$P\\left( E \\right)=\\frac{n\\left( E \\right)}{n\\left( S \\right)} \\qquad\\qquad....... (1)$\n\nYou must not at all forget that this holds only if all the outcomes are equally likely, that is, we have no reason to suspect that any particular outcome will be more or less likely than another. For example, we saw that the sample space of tossing a fair coin or rolling a fair die consist of equally likely outcomes. (Note that two outcomes cannot be proved mathematically to be equally likely. We either assume beforehand the equal likelihood of outcomes, or we repeat the experiment an indefinitely large number of times, and thus show empirically (rather than mathematically) that the relative frequencies of the various outcomes approach the same value).\n\nNow, coming back to (1), we said that it will not hold if the various outcomes are not equally likely. For example, suppose that a die is constructed (using careful loading) such that\n\n$P\\left( 1 \\right)=P\\left( 2 \\right)=P\\left( 3 \\right)=\\frac{1}{6},\\,P\\left( 4 \\right)=\\frac{1}{3},\\,P\\left( 5 \\right)=\\left( \\frac{1}{8} \\right),\\,\\,P\\left( 6 \\right)=\\frac{1}{24}$\n\nFor such a die, the probability of rolling an odd number will be\n\n$P\\left( 1 \\right)=P\\left( 3 \\right)=P\\left( 5 \\right)=\\frac{1}{6}+\\frac{1}{6}+\\frac{1}{8}=\\frac{11}{24}$\n\nrather than\u00a0\\begin{align}\\frac{1}{2}\\end{align}\u00a0, which you would have got by doing (no. of odd outcomes \/ no. of total outcomes). This point is easy to understand yet mistakes are made!\n\nA curious reader might have a further issue. She might say, \u201cYou just talked about making a die with outcomes of unequal probabilities. For example, you said that\u00a0\\begin{align}P\\left( 5 \\right)=\\frac{1}{8}.\\end{align}\u00a0What is the basis for saying so? I understood the case of equally likely outcomes, where all probabilities are the same, but how did this figure of \\begin{align}\\frac{1}{8}\\end{align} come about ?\u201d Well, this number comes about by using a relative frequency approach to probability. When the die-maker says that the probability of a 5 coming up is \\begin{align}\\frac{1}{8}\\end{align} , what he must have done (either actually, or through a sophisticated computer simulation) is roll the die a very large number of times, and observe that 5 comes up (about) one-eight of the time. Thus the assertion.\n\nTo summarize, there are two ways we\u2019ve discussed to evaluate probabilities\n\n* Classical approach : this \u2018works\u2019 when all the outcomes are equally likely. If our event can happen in n ways out of a total possible of N, our required probability is n\/N\n\n* Frequency approach : this \u2018works\u2019 in general. To find the probability of an event, we repeat the experiment a very large number of times, say M, and observe how many times that particular event occurred, say m. m\/M then gives us the empirical probability of an event. In fact, we should be using this relation:\n\n$P\\left( \\text{event} \\right)=\\underset{M\\to \\infty }{\\mathop{\\lim }}\\,\\frac{m}{M}$\n\nthat is, we should be using the value of empirical probability only if the experiment is repeated an indefinitely large number of times.\n\nFinally, it must be said that both the approaches fail to stand up to the rigors of mathematics, because the former uses the vague phrase \u201cequally likely\u201d about which we can give no mathematical justification, while in the latter, we have no way to prove that the limit\u00a0\\begin{align}\\underset{M\\to \\infty }{\\mathop{\\lim }}\\,\\frac{m}{M}\\end{align}\u00a0will actually coverage to some value, because no experiment can be repeated an infinite number of times.\n\nMathematicians therefore, being very finicky about rigor, define probability as a function associated with any event and that satisfies three axioms:\n\nAxiom 1 : For any event E,\n\n$0\\le P\\left( E \\right)\\le 1$\n\nAxiom 2 : For the entire sample space S (that is, for the sure event),\n\n$P\\left( S \\right)=1$\n\nAxiom 3 : For mutually exclusive events\u00a0$${{A}_{i}},\\,\\,i=1,\\,\\,2,...,$$\n\n$P\\left( {{A}_{1}}\\cup {{A}_{2}}\\cup ... \\right)=P\\left( {{A}_{1}} \\right)+P\\left( {{A}_{2}} \\right)+....$\n\nThus, what we have here is three axioms that the probability of any event(s) must satisfy, but these three axioms in no way tell us how to actually measure probability associated with any event. Those interested in knowing more deeply about these axioms and the interpretation of probability should find plenty of resources on the World Wide Web. For present, this much background should suffice.\n\nBefore closing this section, let us see some more examples of how events are treated as subsets of a universal set of outcomes, the sample space. Events are denoted by A, B, C etc and the sample space by S. The complementary event of any event A is denoted by\u00a0$$\\bar{A}$$\u00a0.\n\n Relation Venn diagram (1)\u00a0$$P\\left( A \\right)+P\\left( {\\bar{A}} \\right)=P\\left( S \\right)=1$$ (2)\u00a0$$P\\left( A\\cap \\bar{B} \\right)=P\\left( A \\right)-P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)$$ (3)\u00a0$$P\\left( A\\cup B \\right)=P\\left( A \\right)+P\\left( B \\right)-P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)$$\n\nGeneralising this gives\n\n\\begin{align} & P\\left( {{A}_{1}}\\cup {{A}_{2}}\\cup ...\\cup {{A}_{n}} \\right)=\\sum\\limits_{i=1}^{n}{P\\left( {{A}_{i}} \\right)}-\\sum\\limits_{i<j}^{{}}{P\\left( {{A}_{i}}\\cap {{A}_{j}} \\right)}+\\sum\\limits_{i<j<k}^{{}}{P\\left( {{A}_{i}}\\cap {{A}_{j}}\\cap {{A}_{k}} \\right)} \\\\ &\\qquad\\qquad\\qquad\\qquad\\qquad\\qquad -...+{{\\left( -1 \\right)}^{n-1}}P\\left( {{A}_{1}}\\cap {{A}_{2}}...\\cap {{A}_{n}} \\right) \\\\ \\end{align}\n\nFor example,\n\n\\begin{align}& P\\left( {{A}_{1}}\\cup {{A}_{2}}\\cup {{A}_{3}} \\right)=P\\left( {{A}_{1}} \\right)+P\\left( {{A}_{2}} \\right)+P\\left( {{A}_{3}} \\right)-P\\left( {{A}_{1}}\\cap {{A}_{2}} \\right)-P\\left( {{A}_{2}}\\cap {{A}_{3}} \\right) \\\\ &\\qquad\\qquad\\qquad\\qquad -P\\left( {{A}_{3}}\\cap {{A}_{1}} \\right)+P\\left( {{A}_{1}}\\cap {{A}_{2}}\\cap {{A}_{3}} \\right) \\\\ \\end{align}\n\nTry proving this relation for three events using a Venn diagram\n\n (4)\u00a0\u00a0 $$P\\left( {{A}_{1}}\\cup {{A}_{2}} \\right)\\le P\\left( {{A}_{1}} \\right)+P\\left( {{A}_{2}} \\right)$$\n\nThis should be obvious. On the right side of the inequality, there is an extra contribution to the sum from\u00a0 $${{A}_{1}}\\cap {{A}_{2}}.$$ The equality holds only for mutually exclussive events.\n\nThis also generalises obviously to n events.\n\n(5)\u00a0 $$P\\left( {{{\\bar{A}}}_{1}} \\right)+P\\left( {{{\\bar{A}}}_{2}} \\right)\\ge 1-P\\left( {{A}_{1}}\\cap {{A}_{2}} \\right)$$\n\nTry to figure this out on your own. Using a Venn diagram would be a good idea.\n\nExample \u2013 11\n\nFor two events A and B, find the probability that exactly one of the two events occur.\n\nSolution: This can happen in two ways:\n\n Way\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Set of outcomes A occurs, B doesn\u2019t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0$$A\\cap \\bar{B}$$\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 B occurs, A doesn\u2019t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0$$\\bar{A}\\cap B$$\n\nNote that the two ways are ME. Thus, the required probability is\u00a0$$P\\left( A\\cap \\bar{B} \\right)+P\\left( \\bar{A}\\cap B \\right)$$\u00a0 , which from the second relation becomes\n\n$P\\left( A \\right)\\text{ }P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)+P(B)-P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)=P\\left( A \\right)+P(B)-2P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)$\n\nJustify this last expression using a Venn diagram, by shading the area it represents.\n\nExample \u2013 12\n\nFor two events A and B, show that\n\n$P\\left( B \\right)=P\\left( A \\right)\\cdot P\\left( B\/A \\right)+P\\left( {\\bar{A}} \\right)\\cdot P\\left( B\/\\bar{A} \\right)$\n\nSolution: This is straightforward, since\n\nP\\left( A \\right)\\cdot P\\left( B\/A \\right)=P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\,\\left\\{ \\begin{align}& \\text{recall the discuss in} \\\\ & \\text{the previous section} \\\\ \\end{align} \\right\\}\n\nand\n\n$P\\left( {\\bar{A}} \\right)\\cdot P\\left( B\/\\bar{A} \\right)=P\\left( \\bar{A}\\cap B \\right)$\n\nNow, since\u00a0$$A\\,\\,\\text{and}\\,\\,\\bar{A}$$\u00a0are mutually exclusive, we must have\n\n$P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)+P\\left( \\bar{A}\\cap B \\right)=P\\left( B \\right)$\n\nTRY YOURSELF - II\n\nQ. 1 For three events A, B, C, show that\n\n(a) P (at least two of A, B, C occur) =\n\n$P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)+P\\left( B\\cap C \\right)+P\\left( C\\cap A \\right)-2P\\left( A\\cap B\\cap C \\right)$\n\n(b) P (exactly two of A, B, C occur) =\n\n$P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)+P\\left( B\\cap C \\right)+P\\left( C\\cap A \\right)-3P\\left( A\\cap B\\cap C \\right)$\n\n(c) P (exactly one of A, B, C occurs) =\n\n$P\\left( A \\right)+P\\left( B \\right)+P\\left( C \\right)-2P\\left( A\\cap B \\right)-2P\\left( B\\cap C \\right)-2P\\left( C\\cap A \\right)+3P\\left( A\\cap B\\cap C \\right)$","date":"2021-05-12 09:10:39","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 16, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.9692795276641846, \"perplexity\": 793.9710868454321}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": false, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2021-21\/segments\/1620243991685.16\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20210512070028-20210512100028-00482.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
{"url":"https:\/\/chemistry.stackexchange.com\/questions\/116700\/what-molecules-are-produced-in-carbon-arc-lamp-and-how-do-they-produce-light","text":"# What molecules are produced in carbon arc lamp and how do they produce light?\n\nI am curious about the chemistry of the arc lamp (an indirectly for the incandescent bulbs) thus I would like to ask the following.\n\nIt is a common understanding that the electrons pushed inside an arc lamp -- let's assume a carbon one, that is with electrodes in graphite -- will collide on the atoms of the carbon crystal and increase their kinetic energy rising those in the cathode to about 3600 degrees and those in the anode to 4200 degrees. My questions are:\n\n1. Why is the cathode, where the electrons arrive first and at full energy, cooler than the anode?\n2. What kind of molecules are produced at the electrodes? It is said that carbon evaporates at the electrodes when the current is allowed to flow between them. What is the vapour of carbon? From wikipedia, dicarbon is listed, but what would be the reaction from graphite (pure carbon) to dicarbon?\n3. If dicarbon is produced by evaporation on the arc lamp, would that be produced also in the old incandescent lamps that used carbon filaments, such as that made by Edison?\n4. Does dicarbon react with oxygen? Does it oxidise to carbon dioxide or monoxide?\n5. And finally, how does dicarbon produce light? I imagine that it must be at a high energy state and photons are released with the decay of the electrons to their ground levels, is that correct? Is there some kind of quantitative measure of why arc lamps are more luminous than incandescent or halogen lamps?\n\nThank you\n\n\u2022 Hot matter emits light: sun, filament in incandescent bulb, embers. The spectrum depends on temperature (black body radiation). \u2013\u00a0Karsten Theis Jun 11 at 20:31\n\u2022 Could you edit your question to focus on one conceptual question? If you have more than one question, you can ask them in separate questions. \u2013\u00a0Karsten Theis Jun 13 at 3:30\n\u2022 but they are all related to the chemistry of the arc lamp and in particular how it produces light. If I split them, then there would be redundancy... \u2013\u00a0Gigiux Jun 13 at 6:23\n\n2. Good question! It would be interesting to see the relative abundance of allotropes of carbon deposited from a filament in vacuo. There is a metallic glisten to the deposit, so there might be graphite, carbon nanotubes or buckminsterfullerene. $$\\ce{C2}$$ would not be there for long, though.","date":"2019-12-14 01:12:46","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 1, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.5646170377731323, \"perplexity\": 1072.1495977958627}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": false, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2019-51\/segments\/1575540569332.20\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20191213230200-20191214014200-00297.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
James Herbert Budd (-) était un avocat et homme politique américain, membre du Parti démocrate. Il est membre de la Chambre des représentants des États-Unis de 1883 à 1885 avant d'être élu gouverneur de Californie de 1895 à 1899.
Biographie
James Budd est né le à Janesville dans le Wisconsin. À l'âge de 7 ans, il émigre vers l'ouest avec sa famille et s'installe à Stockton en Californie. Il est diplômé de l'Université de Californie à Berkeley en 1873. Au cours de sa scolarité à Berkeley, il est membre de la fraternité étudiante des Zeta Psi. En 1874, il est inscrit au barreau californien.
Sources
Notes et références
Naissance à Janesville (Wisconsin)
Naissance en mai 1851
Décès en juillet 1908
Personnalité politique américaine
Gouverneur de Californie
Décès à 57 ans | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 733 |
\section{Formulation of problem}
A real function $f(x)$ of a real variable $x$ is said to exhibit critical behaviour, with a
critical index $\beta$, at a finite critical point $x_c$, when in the vicinity of this point
it behaves as
\be
\label{1}
f(x) \simeq B (x_c - x)^\bt \qquad ( x \ra x_c - 0 ) \; .
\ee
The function can tend to infinity, if the critical index $\beta$ is negative, or to zero,
if this index is positive.
The critical behaviour can also occur at infinity, where the function behaves as
\be
\label{2}
f(x) \simeq B x^\bt \qquad ( x \ra \infty) \; ,
\ee
with the critical index $\beta$. Respectively, the function can tend to infinity, if $\beta$
is positive and to zero, if $\beta$ is negative. The critical behaviour at infinity can formally
be interpreted as the case, where the critical point is located at infinity.
Critical phenomena are widespread in physics. And it is an important problem of defining
the related critical indices. However, for realistic physical systems it is often impossible
to get exact solutions, but the sole thing one can do is to resort to perturbation theory for
obtaining the behavior of the sought function at small variable,
\be
\label{3}
f(x) \simeq f_k(x) \qquad ( x \ra 0) \; ,
\ee
where the function is approximated by an expansion
\be
\label{4}
f_k(x) = f_0(x) \left ( 1 + \sum_{n=1}^k a_n x^n \right ) \; ,
\ee
with $f_0(x)$ being a known factor. Without loss of generality, we may assume that
this prefactor has the form
\be
\label{4a}
f_0(x) = A x^\al \; .
\ee
Such expansions are usually asymptotic and strongly divergent not allowing for their use
at finite values of the variable.
In order to understand whether the function possesses critical behaviour, it is, first of all,
necessary to extrapolate the asymptotic expansion (\ref{4}) to finite and even large values
of the variable. Such an extrapolation can be accomplished by means of Pad\'{e} and Borel
summation or other techniques usually requiring the knowledge of many expansion terms
\cite{Baker_1,Kleinert_2}. In addition, these summation techniques not always are applicable,
as is discussed in Refs. \cite{Gluzman_3,Gluzman_4}. How would it be possible to obtain
reliable results for the critical indices employing a small number of terms in the asymptotic
expansion?
An efficient method of summation of divergent series has been developed in the frame of
self-similar approximation theory \cite{Yukalov_5,Yukalov_6,Yukalov_7,Yukalov_8}. A
variant of this method, called self-similar root approximants, has been shown by a number
of problems \cite{Gluzman_9,Yukalov_10,Yukalov_11,Gluzman_12,Gluzman_13,Yukalov_14}
to provide accurate {\it interpolation} formulae, when both the small-variable expansion and
the large-variable behaviour are known. The accuracy of such an interpolation was
demonstrated to be not worse and in many cases better than that of two-point Pad\'{e}
approximants, when these could be defined.
In the present paper, we generalize the method of self-similar root approximants for the
{\it extrapolation} purpose. We consider the situation, when only small-variable expansions
are given, and one needs to extrapolate such expansions to finite, or even infinite, values
of the variable, not knowing the large-variable behaviour of the sought functions. The main
attention will be payed to the problem of calculating the critical indices.
According to the general theory \cite{Yukalov_11,Gluzman_12,Gluzman_13,Yukalov_14},
a self-similar root approximant, based on the small-variable expansion (\ref{4}), has the
form
\be
\label{5}
\frac{f_k^*(x,n_k)}{f_0(x)} = \left ( \left (
( 1 + A_1 x)^{n_1} + A_2 x^2 \right )^{n_2} + \ldots + A_k x^k \right )^{n_k} \; ,
\ee
in which all parameters $A_j$ are found from the comparison of the like orders of the
re-expansion of equation (\ref{5}) in powers of $x$ with the given expansion (\ref{4}).
This method of equating the like powers of $x$ is sometimes called the
accuracy-through-order procedure. The internal powers are defined as
\be
\label{6}
n_j = \frac{j+1}{j} \qquad ( j = 1,2,\ldots,k-1) \; ,
\ee
while the external power $n_k$ plays the role of a control function to be determined from
additional conditions.
If the large-variable power $\beta$ in equation (\ref{2}) were known, then we could compare
the latter equation with the large-variable behaviour of the root approximant (\ref{5}) being
\be
\label{7}
f_k^*(x,n_k) \simeq B_k x^{\al+ k n_k} \; ,
\ee
where $\alpha$ is introduced in equation (\ref{4a}) and
\be
\label{8}
B_k = A \left ( \left ( \left ( A_1^{n_1} + A_2 \right )^{n_2} +
A_3 \right )^{n_3} + \ldots + A_k \right )^{n_k} \; .
\ee
This comparison yields the relation
\be
\label{9}
\al + k n_k = \bt
\ee
defining the external power
\be
\label{10}
n_k = \frac{\bt-\al}{k} \; ,
\ee
provided $\beta$ is known. This way of defining the external power has been used
in our previous papers on the application of the root approximants as interpolating
formulae. When several terms in the large-variable behaviour are known, then the
related powers prescribe the values for the corresponding number of external
powers $n_j$.
But now we consider the situation where the large-variable behaviour of the function
is not known, hence $\beta$ is not given. Moreover, the critical behaviour can happen
at a finite value $x_c$ of the variable $x$. The development of the method for defining
the critical index $\beta$ by employing self-similar root approximants is the aim of the
present paper.
\section{Method of defining critical indices}
Suppose we can construct several root approximants $f_k^*(x,n_k)$, in which the
external power $n_k$ plays the role of a control function. Following the idea of
self-similar approximation theory \cite{Yukalov_5,Yukalov_6,Yukalov_7}, it is possible
to treat the sequence $\{f_k^*(x,n_k)\}$ as a trajectory of a dynamical system, with
the approximation order $k$ playing the role of discrete time. A discrete-time
dynamical system is called cascade. Here it is termed the approximation cascade,
since its trajectory consists of the sequence of approximants. The cascade velocity
is defined by the Euler discretization formula
\be
\label{11}
V_k(x,n_k) = f_{k+1}^*(x,n_k) - f_k^*(x,n_k) +
(n_{k+1}- n_k ) \; \frac{\prt}{\prt n_k} \; f_k^*(x,n_k) \; .
\ee
The effective limit of the sequence $\{f_k^*(x,n_k)\}$ corresponds to the fixed point
of the cascade, where the cascade velocity tends to zero, as $k$ tends to infinity.
Having a finite number of approximants, the cascade velocity is not necessarily
tending to zero, but certainly has to diminish for the sequence being convergent. Thus,
the control functions $n_k = n_k(x)$, controlling convergence, are defined as the
minimizers of the absolute value of the cascade velocity
\cite{Yukalov_5,Yukalov_6,Yukalov_7,Yukalov_8}:
\be
\label{12}
| V_k(x,n_k(x)) | = \min_{n_k} | V_k(x,n_k) | \; .
\ee
A finite critical point $x_k^c$, in the $k$-th approximation, exists if the equation
\be
\label{13}
[ f_k^*(x_k^c,n_k) ]^{1/n_k} = 0 \qquad ( 0 < x_k^c < \infty )
\ee
enjoys a finite solution for $x_k^c = x_k^c(n_k)$. Then the critical index in the $k$-th
approximation is
\be
\label{14}
\bt_k = \lim_{x\ra x_k^c} n_k(x) \qquad ( 0 < x_k^c < \infty ) \; .
\ee
When we are studying the critical behaviour at infinity, which we denote as $x_c \sim \infty$,
keeping in mind that this case formally corresponds to the critical point at infinity, then
the critical index is
\be
\label{15}
\bt_k = \al + k \lim_{x\ra \infty} n_k(x) \qquad ( x_c \sim \infty ) \; ,
\ee
where $\alpha$ is defined in equation (\ref{4a}).
Thus the critical indices are defined, provided the control functions $n_k(x)$ are found.
However, the minimization of the cascade velocity (\ref{11}) poses some problems. First
of all, equation (\ref{12}) contains two control functions, $n_{k+1}$ and $n_k$. Hence it
is impossible to find two solutions from one equation. But it is possible to simplify the
problem, when minimizing velocity (\ref{11}), so that to get one equation for one control
function. This is admissible to accomplish in two ways.
For instance, keeping in mind that $n_{k+1}$ is close to $n_k$, equation (\ref{12}) reduces
to the {\it minimal difference condition}
\be
\label{16}
\min_{n_k} \left | f_{k+1}^*(x,n_k) - f_k^*(x,n_k) \right | \qquad
(k=1,2,\ldots ) \; .
\ee
In particular, one can look for a solution $n_k = n_k(x)$ of the equation
\be
\label{17}
f_{k+1}^*(x,n_k) - f_k^*(x,n_k) = 0 \; .
\ee
If the latter does not possess a solution for $n_k$, one has to return to form (\ref{16}).
In general, when nothing is known on the form of the sought function $f(x)$, the control
functions $n_k$, being the solutions of equation (\ref{17}), depend on the variable $x$.
But when we are looking for a function $f(x)$ in the vicinity of its critical point $x_c$,
where the function $f(x)$ acquires form (\ref{1}), the control functions are to be treated
as the limits of $n_k(x)$ for $x \ra x_c$. So that the control functions $n_k$, characterizing
the critical behaviour of $f(x)$ near a critical point $x_c$, become the numbers $n_k(x_c)$.
In what follows, writing for short $n_k$, we assume $n_k = n_k(x_c)$.
In the vicinity of a finite critical point, the function $f_k^*$ behaves as
\be
\label{18}
f_k^*(x,n_k) \simeq f_0(x) \left ( 1 - \; \frac{x}{x_k^c} \right )^{n_k} \qquad
( x \ra x_k^c - 0 ) \; .
\ee
Then condition (\ref{17}) becomes
\be
\label{19}
x_{k+1}^c(n_k) - x_k^c(n_k)= 0 \qquad (0 < x_k^c < \infty ) \; .
\ee
When the critical behaviour occurs at infinity, then it is convenient to introduce the
control function
\be
\label{20}
s_k \equiv k n_k \; ,
\ee
so that the large-variable behaviour of the root approximants reads as
\be
\label{21}
f_k^*(x,s_k) \simeq B_k(s_k) x^{\al + s_k} \qquad ( x \ra \infty ) \; .
\ee
As a result, the minimal difference condition
\be
\label{22}
f_{k+1}^*(x,s_k) - f_k^*(x,s_k) = 0
\ee
leads to the equation
\be
\label{23}
B_{k+1}(s_k) - B_k(s_k) = 0 \qquad ( x_k^c \sim \infty ) \; .
\ee
The other equation for defining control functions follows from the minimal velocity
condition (\ref{12}) by keeping in mind that $f_{k+1}^*$ is close to $f_k^*$ and usually
$n_{k+1}$ does not exactly coincide with $n_k$, because of which one has to consider
the {\it minimal derivative condition}
\be
\label{24}
\min_k \left | \frac{\prt}{\prt n_k} \; f_k^*(x,n_k) \right | \qquad
(k=1,2,\ldots ) \; .
\ee
In particular, one can look for the solution of the equation
\be
\label{25}
\frac{\prt}{\prt n_k} \; f_k^*(x,n_k) = 0 \; .
\ee
However, the minimal derivative condition cannot be applied directly, when the sought
function exhibits critical behaviour, where the function either diverges or tends to zero.
To apply this condition, it is necessary to extract from the function nondivergent parts.
For example, if the critical point is finite, one can study the residue of the function
$\partial \ln f_k^*/ \partial n_k$, for which we have
$$
\lim_{x\ra x_k^c} ( x_k^c - x) \; \frac{\prt}{\prt n_k} \; \ln f_k^*(x,n_k)
= n_k \; \frac{\prt x_k^c}{\prt n_k} \; .
$$
Therefore, instead of equation (\ref{25}), we get the condition
\be
\label{26}
\frac{\prt x_k^c}{\prt n_k} = 0 \qquad (0 < x_k^c < \infty ) \; .
\ee
And when the critical behaviour occurs at infinity, then we can consider
the limit
$$
\lim_{x\ra\infty} \; \frac{f_k^*(x,s_k)}{x^{\al+s_k} } = B_k(s_k) \; ,
$$
for which equation (\ref{25}), defining control functions, reduces to the form
\be
\label{27}
\frac{\prt B_k(s_k)}{\prt s_k} = 0 \qquad (x_k^c \sim \infty) \; .
\ee
To better explain the suggested techniques, let us consider a simple example, when
the sought function leads to the small-variable expansion
\be
\label{28}
f(x) \simeq 1 + a_1 x + a_2 x^2 \qquad ( x\ra 0 ) \; .
\ee
The first-order root approximant is
\be
\label{29}
f_1^*(x,n_1) = (1 + A x)^{n_1} \; ,
\ee
with
$$
A = A(n_1) = \frac{a_1}{n_1}
$$
found from the accuracy-through-order procedure. Note that this form (\ref{29}) reminds
us the Sommerfeld formula used in nuclear physics \cite{Sommerfeld_15}. Expression
(\ref{29}) possesses a finite critical point, provided there exists a finite positive value
\be
\label{A1}
x_1^c(n_1) = -\; \frac{1}{A(n_1)} = -\; \frac{n_1}{a_1} \; .
\ee
The second-order root approximant reads as
\be
\label{30}
f_2^*(x,n_2) = \left ( (1 + A_1 x)^2 + A_2 x^2 \right )^{n_2} \; ,
\ee
with the parameters
$$
A_1 = A_1(n_2) = \frac{a_1}{2n_2} \; , \qquad
A_2 = A_2(n_2) = \frac{a_1^2(1-2n_2)+4a_2n_2}{4n_2^2} \; .
$$
Now the finite critical point is given by a positive value
\be
\label{A2}
x_2^c(n_2) = \frac{-A_1(n_2) \pm\sqrt{-A_1(n_2)} }{A_1^2(n_2) + A_2(n_2)} \; .
\ee
The minimal difference condition (\ref{17}), in the form
\be
\label{A3}
f_2^*(x,n_1) - f_1^*(x,n_1) = 0 \; ,
\ee
is equivalent to the condition
\be
\label{A4}
x_2^c(n_1) - x_1^c(n_1) = 0 \; ,
\ee
which yields
\be
\label{A5}
n_1 = \frac{a_1^2}{a_1^2-2a_2} \; .
\ee
Hence the first-order critical point is
\be
\label{A6}
x_1^c(n_1) = -\; \frac{n_1}{a_1} = \frac{a_1}{2a_2-a_1^2} \; .
\ee
In what follows, keeping in mind the minimal difference condition, we shall write,
for simplicity, $x_1^c(n_1) = x_2^c(n_1) \equiv x_c$.
The corresponding root approximant (\ref{29}) acquires the form
\be
\label{A7}
f_1^*(x) = \left ( 1 - \; \frac{x}{x_c}\right )^{\bt_1} \qquad (0\leq x \leq x_c) \; ,
\ee
with the first-order critical index
\be
\label{A8}
\bt_1 = n_1 = \frac{a_1^2}{a_1^2-2a_2} \; .
\ee
The second-order critical index $\beta_2 = n_2$ is defined by the condition
\be
\label{A9}
\frac{\prt}{\prt n_2} \; x_2^c(n_2) = 0 \; .
\ee
When there is no finite critical point, but the critical behaviour happens at infinity,
then we have to consider the large-variable asymptotic forms for the root
approximants, with the substitution (\ref{20}). The first-order approximant gives
\be
\label{A10}
f_1^*(x,s_1) \simeq B_1(s_1) x^{s_1} \qquad (x\ra\infty) \; ,
\ee
where
$$
B_1(s_1) = A(s_1)^{s_1} \; .
$$
While the second-order approximant leads to
\be
\label{A11}
f_2^*(x,s_2) \simeq B_2(s_2) x^{s_2} \qquad (x\ra\infty) \; ,
\ee
with
$$
B_2(s_2) = \left [ A_1(s_2)^2 + A_2(s_2) \right ]^{s_2/2} \; .
$$
The first-order critical index $\beta_1 = s_1$ is found form the condition
\be
\label{A12}
B_2(s_1) - B_1(s_1) = 0 \qquad (\bt_1 = s_1) \; .
\ee
And the second-order critical index $\beta_2 = s_2$ can be obtained form the
condition
\be
\label{A13}
\frac{\prt B_2(s_2)}{\prt s_2} = 0 \qquad (\bt_2 = s_2)\; .
\ee
The final answer can be presented as the average
\be
\label{A14}
\bt^* = \frac{1}{2} \; (\bt_1 + \bt_2) \pm \frac{1}{2} \; | \bt_1 -\bt_2 | \; .
\ee
In the similar way, one can proceed to higher orders. However, our aim here is
to show that even in the lower orders we get rather accurate critical indices, which
is demonstrated for various problems in Secs. 4 to 12. The existence of numerical
convergence for higher orders is illustrated in Sec. 14. Section 15 concludes.
\section{Comparison with method of Pad\'{e} approximants}
Asymptotic series are often approximated by Pad\'{e} approximants. The latter is denoted
as $P_{M/N}(x)$ implying the ratio of a polynomial of order $M$ with respect to $x$ to
a polynomial of order $N$. The coefficients of the polynomials are defined by comparing
the like orders of expansions in powers of $x$ of the Pad\'{e} approximant and of the
sought function $f_k(x)$. To emphasize this fact, one often denotes the related Pad\'{e}
approximant as $P_{M/N}(x,f)$. These approximants provide the best approximation in the
class of rational functions \cite{Baker_1}. However the functions in the vicinity of their
critical points, in general, are non-rational. Therefore the direct use of Pad\'{e} approximants
for functions exhibiting critical behaviour is impossible. Really, a Pad\'{e} approximant
$P_{M/N}$ can have a pole that could be associated with a finite critical point, but the
related critical index would be an integer, while usually critical indices are not integers.
The same concerns the large-variable behaviour of $P_{M/N}(x)$, where the power of
$x$ is always an integer $M - N$.
The problem can be circumvented by means of the Dlog-Pad\'{e} method
\cite{Baker_1,He_15}. Then, instead of the function $f(x)$, one considers the function
\be
\label{B1}
g(x) \equiv \frac{d}{dx} \; \ln f(x) \; .
\ee
Near a finite critical point $x_c$, where the function $f(x)$ is of the form (\ref{1}),
function (\ref{B1}) behaves as
\be
\label{B2}
g(x) \simeq \frac{\bt}{x-x_c} \qquad ( x\ra x_c -0 ) \; .
\ee
Hence the pole here defines the critical point $x_c$, while the critical index is given by
the residue
\be
\label{B3}
\bt = \lim_{x\ra x_c} (x-x_c) g(x) \; .
\ee
When the sought function is represented by expansion (\ref{4}), function (\ref{B1}) takes
the form
\be
\label{B4}
\frac{d}{dx} \; \ln f_k(x) = \frac{\al}{x} + g_k(x) \; ,
\ee
in which the second term can be expanded in powers of $x$ yielding
\be
\label{B5}
g_k(x) \simeq \sum_{n=0}^k a_n' x^n \qquad ( x \ra 0 ) \; ,
\ee
with the coefficients $a'_n$ expressed through $a_n$. The finite series (\ref{B5}) can be
extrapolated by Pad\'{e} approximants $P_{M/N}(x,g)$, with $M + N \leq k$. The pole
nearest to zero of the latter approximant defines the critical point $x_c$, and the critical
index is given by the residue
\be
\label{B6}
\bt_{M/N} = \lim_{x\ra x_c} (x-x_c) P_{M/N}(x,g) \; .
\ee
For a function $f(x)$, with the critical behaviour at infinity, where it has form (\ref{2}),
function (\ref{B1}) behaves as
\be
\label{B7}
g(x) \simeq \frac{\bt}{x} \qquad ( x\ra\infty) \; .
\ee
This implies that the critical index can be obtained from the limit
\be
\label{B8}
\bt = \lim_{x\ra\infty} x g(x) \; .
\ee
It is clear that extrapolating the function $g_k(x)$ by Pad\'{e} approximants $P_{M/N}(x,g)$,
not all $M$ and $N$ are permitted, since in the large-variable limit the Pad\'{e} approximants
$P_{M/N}(x,g)$ exhibit different behaviour depending on the relation between $M$ and $N$:
\begin{eqnarray}
\nonumber
\lim_{x\ra\infty} P_{M/N}(x,g) = \left \{ \begin{array}{ll}
0 , ~ & ~ M < N \\
const , ~ & ~ M = N \\
\infty , ~ & ~ M > N \; .
\end{array} \right.
\end{eqnarray}
In order that the critical index (\ref{B8}) be finite, it is necessary to take the approximants
$P_{N/N+1}(x,g)$, so that the corresponding approximation
\be
\label{B9}
\bt_{N/N+1}(x,g) = \lim_{x\ra\infty} x P_{N/N+1}(x,g)
\ee
be finite.
As is known \cite{Baker_1}, for a given expansion of order $k$, one can construct the
whole table of Pad\'{e} approximants. This means that defining the critical indices
through the Dlog-Pad\'{e} method is not a uniquely defined procedure. And different
Pad\'{e} approximants can result in basically different values. Then it is not clear
which of these quantities to prefer.
For illustration, let us again consider the case of expansion (\ref{28}). We define
function (\ref{B5}) and construct the related Pad\'{e} approximants $P_{M/N}(x,g)$, with
$M+N\leq 2$. The simplest Pad\'{e} approximant here is
\be
\label{B10}
P_{0/1}(x,g) = \frac{b_0}{1+ b_1 x} \; ,
\ee
with the parameters
$$
b_0 = a_1 \; , \qquad b_1 = \frac{a_1^2-2a_2}{a_1} \; .
$$
The pole of approximant (\ref{B10}) yields the critical point
\be
\label{B11}
x_c = - \; \frac{1}{b_1} = \frac{a_1}{2a_2-a_1^2} \; .
\ee
The critical index
$$
\bt_{0/1} = \lim_{x\ra x_c} ( x - x_c ) P_{0/1}(x,g)
$$
becomes
\be
\label{B12}
\bt_{0/1} = \frac{b_0}{b_1} = \frac{a_1^2}{a_1^2-2a_2} \; .
\ee
In this case, comparing equations (\ref{B11}) with (\ref{A6}) and (\ref{B12}) with
(\ref{A8}), we notice that the simplest Dlog-Pad\'{e} approximation $P_{0/1}$ gives
the critical point and critical index coinciding with those of the first root
approximation. However, in the frame of the Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, the choice of
a particular Pad\'{e} approximant is not uniquely defined, since there are several
possibilities of choosing such Pad\'{e} approximants. Thus, we can take
\be
\label{B13}
P_{1/1}(x,g) = \frac{c_0 + c_1x}{1+c_2 x} \; ,
\ee
with the parameters
$$
c_0 = a_1 \; , \qquad c_1 = \frac{4a_2 - a_1^2}{2a_2 - a_1^2}\; a_2 \; , \qquad
c_2 = \frac{3a_2 - a_1^2}{2a_2 - a_1^2}\; a_1 \; .
$$
Then the critical point is
\be
\label{B14}
x_c' = -\; \frac{1}{c_2} = -\; \frac{2a_2 - a_1^2}{a_1(3a_2 - a_1^2)} \; .
\ee
And the critical index
$$
\bt_{1/1} = \lim_{x\ra x_c'} ( x - x_c') P_{1/1}(x,g)
$$
becomes
\be
\label{B15}
\bt_{1/1} = \frac{a_1^2(4a_2 - a_1^2)-4a_2^2}{2a_2 - a_1} \; .
\ee
These values can be quite different from the previously found. The critical points
(\ref{B14}) and (\ref{B11}) are connected by the relation
\be
\label{B16}
x_c' = -\; \frac{1}{(3a_2-a_1^2)x_c} \; ,
\ee
while the critical indices (\ref{B15}) and (\ref{B12}), by the relation
\be
\label{B17}
\bt_{1/1} = ( 2a_2 - a_1^2)^2 \; \frac{\bt_{0/1}}{a_1^2} \; .
\ee
As is seen from equality (\ref{B16}), under the condition $3 a_2 > a_1^2$, the critical
points $x_c$ and $x'_c$ are of different signs. Hence, if one of them is positive, the
other is negative, that is, does not exist as a physically acceptable solution. And the
critical indices $\bt_{1/1}$ and $\bt_{0/1}$ can be quite different. This is contrary to
the case of root approximants, where the second-order approximations for the critical
point (\ref{A2}) and the critical index (\ref{A9}) do not contradict the first-order values.
In the following sections, by treating a number of concrete examples, we show that the
Dlog-Pad\'{e} approximation, based on approximant (\ref{B13}), either does not possess
physical solutions or is worse than the values given by the root approximants. Moreover,
analyzing the numerical convergence of solutions in Sec. 14, we demonstrate that the
root approximants yield a sequence of solutions converging to the exact value of a critical
index, while the sequence, based on the Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, is divergent and results
in unphysical solutions.
\section{Susceptibility of two-dimensional Ising model}
Consider the two-dimensional Ising model characterized by the Hamiltonian
\be
\label{31}
\hat H = -\; \frac{J}{2} \sum_{\lgl ij\rgl} s_i^z s_j^z \qquad
\left ( s_j^z \equiv \frac{S_j^z}{S} \right )
\ee
on a square lattice, with the ferromagnetic interaction of nearest neighbours, for
spins $S_j^z = \pm 1/2$. The dimensionless interaction parameter is defined as
\be
\label{32}
g \equiv \frac{J}{k_B T} \; .
\ee
The susceptibility is known \cite{Baxter_16} to diverge at a critical point
\be
\label{33}
g_c = \frac{1}{2} \; \ln ( 1 + \sqrt{2} ) = 0.440687
\ee
as
\be
\label{34}
\chi(g) ~ \propto ~ ( g_c - g)^{-\gm} \; ,
\ee
with the critical index $\gamma = 7/4$. The weak-interaction or high-temperature
expansion of the susceptibility yields \cite{Butera_17} the series in powers of $g$,
\be
\label{35}
\chi(g) \simeq 1 + 4g + 12 g^2 \qquad (g\ra 0) \; .
\ee
Employing the method of Sec. 2, we find the critical point $g_c = 0.5$. The
first-order approximation for the critical index $\gamma_1 = 2$ differs from the exact
one by $14.29 \%$ and the second-order approximation $\gamma_2 = 1.846$ is accurate
within $5.49 \%$. Then the value of the index is estimated as
$$
\gm^* = 1.923 \pm 0.077 \; .
$$
Using high-temperature expansions for susceptibility \cite{Butera_17}, we have also
calculated the critical indices $\gamma$ for the three-dimensional Ising model with
different spins $S =1/2$, $3/2$, $5/2$, $7/2$, $1$, $2$, $3$, $4$, $5$, $\infty$. Since
the critical index should not depend on the spin value, we averaged the results for
different spins obtaining $\gamma^* = 1.2396 \pm 0.0621$, which is close to the index
$\gamma = 1.234 \pm 0.005$ found by other sophisticated methods \cite{Kleinert_18}.
Note that the technique of \cite{Yukalov_8} was employed for calculations for each spin
separately.
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, given in equation (\ref{B13}),
does not have physical solutions.
\section{Effective viscosity of hard-sphere suspensions}
The problem of perfectly rigid spherical inclusions randomly embedded into an
incompressible matrix is analogous to the problem of high-frequency effective viscosity
of a hard-sphere suspension \cite{Batchelor_19,Wajnryb_20,Cichocki_21}. The viscosity,
considered as a function of the variable
\be
\label{36}
\vp \equiv \frac{4\pi}{3} \; r_s^3 \rho \qquad
\left ( \rho\equiv \frac{N}{V} \right ) \; ,
\ee
in which $r_s$ is the sphere radius and $\rho$ is average density, exhibits the critical
behaviour
\be
\label{37}
\eta(\vp) ~ \propto ~ ( \vp_c - \vp)^{-\mu} \qquad ( \vp\ra \vp_c -0 ) \; ,
\ee
where \cite{Stauffer_22}
$$
\vp_c = 0.637 \; , \qquad \mu = 1.7 \; .
$$
The small $\varphi$-expansion reads as
\be
\label{38}
\eta(\vp) \simeq 1 + \frac{5}{2}\; \vp + 5.0022 \vp^2 \qquad (\vp\ra 0) \; .
\ee
Using our method, we find the critical point $\varphi_c = 0.666$. The critical index is
$\mu_1 = 1.665$, with the error $2 \%$ and $\mu_2 = 1.788$, with the error $5 \%$.
So the answer is
$$
\mu^* = 1.726 \pm 0.06 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, again does not provide
physical solutions.
\section{Conductivity in two-dimensional site percolation}
The problem of site percolation conductivity is studied within the framework of a
minimal model for transport of classical particles through a random medium
\cite{Nieuwenhuizen_23}. This minimal model, known as the Lorenz 2D gas, is
a particularly simple statistical hopping model allowing both for analytical consideration
and numerical simulations \cite{Nieuwenhuizen_23,Frenkel_24}. It can be realized
on a square lattice with a fraction of sites being excluded at random. The test
particle, or tracer, walks randomly with Poisson-distributed waiting times between
the moves. At every move the tracer attempts to jump on to one of the neighboring
sites also selected at random. The move is accepted if the site is not excluded.
Through the diffusion coefficient for the tracer one can express the macroscopic
conductivity \cite{Nieuwenhuizen_23}. The diffusion ceases to exist at the critical
density of the excluded sites. If $f$ stands for the concentration of conducting or
not excluded sites in the Lorenz model, then $x = 1 - f$ is the concentration of
excluded sites. In the vicinity of the site percolation threshold \cite{Grassberger_25}
the conductivity behaves as
\be
\label{39}
\sgm(x) ~ \propto ~ ( x_c - x)^t \qquad ( x\ra x_c -0 ) \; ,
\ee
with
$$
x_c = 0.4073 \; , \qquad t = 1.310 \; .
$$
Perturbation theory in powers of the variable $x = 1 - f$ gives \cite{Nieuwenhuizen_23}
for the two-dimensional square lattice the expansion
\be
\label{40}
\sgm(x) \simeq 1 - \pi x + 1.28588 x^2 \qquad ( x\ra 0) \; .
\ee
In our approach, we obtain the percolation threshold $x_c = 0.4305$ and the critical
index $t_1 = 1.352$, with an error $3 \%$ and $t_2 = 1.423$, with an error $8.6 \%$.
The final answer is
$$
t^* = 1.388 \pm 0.036 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, gives $t = 1.0896$,
which is worse than the above approximation, differing from the exact value by $17 \%$.
\section{Conductivity in three-dimensional site percolation}
The three-dimensional problem, similar to the two-dimensional one, treated in the previous
section, exhibits the critical behaviour \cite{Kirkpatrick_26,Hofling_27,Bauer_28}
as in equation (\ref{39}), with
$$
x_c = 0.688 \; , \qquad t = 1.9 \; .
$$
Perturbation theory gives
\be
\label{41}
\sgm(x) \simeq 1 - 2.52 x + 1.52 x^2 \qquad ( x\ra 0) \; .
\ee
Using our method, we get the critical point $x_c = 0.761$. And for the critical index
we have $t_1 = 1.918$, with an error $0.9 \%$ and $t_2 = 1.855$, with an error $2 \%$.
The answer is
$$
t^* = 1.887 \pm 0.032 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, based on the approximant $P_{1/1}$, yields $t = 1.782$, with
the error of $6 \%$, which is worse than the above value.
\section{Permeability of sinusoidal two-dimensional channel}
Let us consider the widely studied case of the two-dimensional channel bounded
by the surfaces
$$
z = \pm b \; ( 1 + \ep\cos x ) \; ,
$$
where $\varepsilon$ is termed {\it waviness}. The permeability possesses the critical
behaviour \cite{Adler_29}, when (in the case of $b = 0.5$) it tends to zero as
\be
\label{42}
K(\ep) \simeq 0.100035 (\ep_c - \ep)^t \qquad (\ep \ra \ep_c -0 ) \; ,
\ee
with
$$
\ep_c = 1 \; , \qquad t = \frac{5}{2} \; .
$$
An expression for permeability as a function of the waviness parameter can be derived
by perturbation theory in the form of an expansion in powers of the waviness
\cite{Adler_29,Malevich_30}. Thus, the permeability, for $b = 0.5$, has the expansion
\be
\label{43}
K(\ep) \simeq 1 - 3.14963\; \ep^2 + 4.08109\; \ep^4 \qquad (\ep\ra 0) \; .
\ee
With our method, we find $\varepsilon_c = 0.833$. For the critical index, we get
$t_1 = 2.184$, with an error $12.6 \%$ and $t_2 = 2.559$, with an error $2.37 \%$.
Thus we have
$$
t^* = 2.372 \pm 0.19 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, results in $t = 1.884$, whose
error is $25 \%$, which is less accurate than the above value.
\section{Ground-state energy of harmonium atom}
An $N$-electron harmonium atom is described by the Hamiltonian
\be
\label{44}
\hat H = \frac{1}{2} \sum_{i=1}^N \left ( -\nabla_i^2 + \om^2 r_i^2 \right ) +
\frac{1}{2} \sum_{i\neq j}^N \frac{1}{r_{ij} } \; ,
\ee
where dimensionless variables are used and
$$
r_i \equiv | \br_i| \; , \qquad r_{ij} \equiv | \br_i - \br_j | \; .
$$
Here we consider a two-electron harmonium atom with $N = 2$. The ground-state
energy for a rigid potential diverges \cite{Cioslowski_31} at large $\omega$ as
\be
\label{45}
E(\om) \simeq 3\om \qquad (\om\ra\infty) \; .
\ee
At a shallow harmonic potential, the energy can be expanded \cite{Cioslowski_31}
in powers of $\omega$ giving
$$
E(\om) \simeq \sum_{n=0}^k c_n \om^{(2+n)/3} \qquad (\om \ra 0 ) \; .
$$
In low orders, one has
\be
\label{46}
E(\om) \simeq c_0 \om^{2/3} + c_1 \om + c_2 \om^{4/3} \qquad (\om \ra 0 ) \; ,
\ee
with the coefficients
$$
c_0 = \frac{3}{2^{4/3}} = 1.19055 \; , \qquad
c_1 = \frac{1}{2} \; ( 3 + \sqrt{3}) = 2.36603 \; , \qquad
c_2 = \frac{7}{36}\; 2^{-2/3} = 0.122492 \; .
$$
Introducing the new variable
\be
\label{47}
x \equiv \om^{1/3} \; ,
\ee
equation (\ref{46}) reduces to
\be
\label{48}
E(x^3) \simeq c_0 x^2 ( 1 + a_1 x + a_2 x^2 ) \qquad ( x \ra 0 ) \; ,
\ee
with the coefficients
$$
a_1 = \frac{c_1}{c_0} = 1.98734 \; , \qquad a_2 = \frac{c_2}{c_0} = 0.102887 \; .
$$
Employing our method, we find the large $\omega$ behaviour
\be
\label{49}
E_1^*(\om) \simeq 2.322\; \om^{\bt_1} \qquad (\om \ra \infty)
\ee
and
\be
\label{50}
E_2^*(\om) \simeq 1.906\; \om^{\bt_2} \qquad (\om \ra \infty) \; ,
\ee
where
$$
\bt_1 = 1.018 \; , \qquad \bt_2 = 1.079 \; .
$$
The error of $\beta_1$ is $1.8 \%$ and of $\beta_2$, it is $7.9 \%$. The accuracy
is compared with the known numerical data \cite{Matito_32}. The resulting effective
critical index at infinity is
$$
\bt^* = 1.049 \pm 0.031 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, has no physical solutions.
\section{Compressibility factor of hard-sphere fluids}
The state of hard-sphere fluids is described by the compressibility factor
\be
\label{51}
Z = \frac{P}{\rho k_B T} = Z(y) \qquad
\left ( y \equiv \frac{\pi\rho}{6}\; a_s^3 \right ) \; ,
\ee
in which $P$ is pressure, $\rho$ is density, $T$ is temperature, $a_s$ is the sphere
diameter, and $y$ is called packing fraction \cite{Mulero_35}.
The compressibility factor exhibits critical behaviour at a finite critical point. This
behavior has been found from phenomenological equations
\cite{Wu_36,Tian_37,Tian_38,Wang_48} as
\be
\label{52}
Z(y) \simeq 2 (y_c - y)^{-t} \qquad ( y \ra y_c -0) \; ,
\ee
with the fitted parameters $y_c = 1$ and $t = 3$, although these are not asymptotically
exact values.
For low packing fraction, the compressibility factor is represented by the virial expansion
\be
\label{53}
Z(y) \simeq 1 + 4y + 10y^2 \; .
\ee
Using the method of Sec. 2, we find, with $y_c = 1$, the indices $t_1 = 4$ and $t_2 = 4.686$.
Therefore our prediction for the critical index is
$$
t^* = 4.343 \pm 0.34 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, gives $t = 4$.
\section{Expansion factor of polymer chain}
The expansion factor of a polymer chain, as a function of the dimensionless coupling
parameter $g$, can be expressed by the phenomenological equation
\cite{Muthukumar_39,Muthukumar_40}
\be
\label{60}
\al(g) = ( 1 + 7.52 g + 11.06 g^2 )^{0.1772} \; .
\ee
At large $g$, this gives
\be
\label{61}
\al(g) \simeq 1.531 g^\bt \qquad ( g \ra \infty ) \; ,
\ee
with the critical index at infinity $\beta = 0.3544$. One also considers the critical index
\be
\label{62}
\nu \equiv \frac{1}{2} \left ( 1 + \frac{\bt}{2} \right )
\ee
that here is $\nu = 0.5886$. Other numerical calculations \cite{Li_41} give $\nu = 0.5877$.
At small $g$, perturbation theory yields \cite{Muthukumar_39,Muthukumar_40} the expansion
\be
\label{63}
\al(g) \simeq 1 + \frac{4}{3} \; g - 2.075385 g^2 \qquad ( g \ra 0 ) \; .
\ee
By the method of Sec. 2, we obtain the critical behaviour
\be
\label{64}
\al_1^*(g) \simeq 1.544 g^{\bt_1} \qquad ( g \ra \infty ) \; ,
\ee
with the critical indices
$$
\bt_1 = 0.2999 \; , \qquad \nu_1=0.5750 \; ,
$$
the error being just $0.023 \%$. And the error of $\nu_2 = 0.5878$ is only $0.0013 \%$.
In this way,
$$
\nu^* = 0.5814 \pm 0.006 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, does not possess physical
solutions.
\section{Sedimentation coefficient of rigid spheres}
Sedimentation is a fundamental problem of studying how a suspension moves under
gravity. The considered dispersion is build of small rigid spheres with random positions
falling through Newtonian fluid under gravity. The mixture of solid particles and the
fluid in a container is assumed to be homogeneous. The particles settle out under gravity
at a rate depending, in particular, on concentration originating from hydrodynamic
interactions between particles. The basic quantity of interest is the sedimentation velocity
$U$, which is the averaged velocity of suspended particles, measured with respect to
the velocity $U_0$ with which a single particle would move in the suspending fluid under
the given force field in the absence of any other particles. This ratio is termed the
collective mobility or sedimentation coefficient. The dependence of the collective mobility
at low packing fractions is similar to the single-particle mobility, but quickly decreases
at high packing fractions. The problem of sedimentation reminds that of Darcy flow in a
porous medium, although their relation is not simple, because the physics of particle
interactions is rather different. More details on the physics of sedimentation can be
found in the paper by Batchelor \cite{Batchelor_42}.
The dimensionless sedimentation velocity $u \equiv U/U_0$ is considered as a function
of the packing fraction $f$. This velocity exhibits the critical behaviour
\be
\label{65}
u(f) ~ \propto ~ (1 - f)^\bt \qquad ( f \ra 1 - 0 )
\ee
at the critical point $f_c = 1$. The critical index, however, has been defined
differently by different authors. Thus Batchelor \cite{Batchelor_42} gives $\beta = 5$.
While other authors \cite{Beenakker_43,Brady_44,Ladd_45,Hayakawa_46} suggest $\beta = 3$.
Below we find the critical index being based on the expansion derived by Cichocki et al
\cite{Cichocki_47},
\be
\label{66}
u(f) \simeq 1 - 6.546 f + 21.918 f^2 \qquad ( f \ra 0 ) \; .
\ee
By the method of Sec. 2, setting $f_c = 1$, we find $\beta_1 = 3.0438$ and
$\beta_2 = 3.5660$. Therefore we predict the critical index
$$
\bt^* = 3.3049 \pm 0.26 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, has no physical solutions.
\section{Ground-state energy of Schwinger model}
The Schwinger model \cite{Schwinger_48,Banks_49} represents Euclidean quantum
electrodynamics with a Dirac fermion field, which is formulated as a lattice gauge theory
in $(1+1)$ dimensions. It enjoys many properties in common with quantum chromodynamics,
such as confinement, chiral symmetry breaking, and charge shielding, because of which
it has become a standard test bed for the study of numerical techniques. Here we consider
the model corresponding to a vector boson of mass $M(x)$ as a function of the
dimensionless variable $x \equiv m/g$, with $m$ being the electron mass and $g$ being
the coupling parameter. The ground-state energy is given by the expression $E - 2m$.
The energy, as a function of $x$, increases with $x$, reaching the asymptotic value
\cite{Striganesh_50,Coleman_51,Hamer_52,Hamer_53}
\be
\label{67}
E(x) \simeq 0.6418\; x^\bt \qquad ( x \ra \infty) \; ,
\ee
with the critical index at infinity $\beta = 1/3$.
At small $x$, there is the expansion \cite{Striganesh_50,Carrol_54,Vary_55,Adam_56}
\be
\label{68}
E(x) \simeq 0.5642 ( 1 - 0.38816\; x + 0.338001\; x^2 ) \qquad ( x \ra 0) \; .
\ee
Using the method of Sec. 2, we find $\beta_1 = - 0.2868$ that differs from the exact
$\beta = - 1/3$ by $13.96 \%$ and $\beta_2 = - 0.3360$ differing from the exact value
by $0.8 \%$. Thus, we get
$$
\bt^* = 0.311 \pm 0.02 \; .
$$
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, does not have physical solutions.
\section{Convergence of approximants for critical indices}
In the present section, we illustrate the numerical convergence of root approximants
applied for calculating critical indices. As an example, we consider the pressure $P(x)$ of
a fluctuating fluid membrane \cite{Seifert_58} as a function of stiffness $x$. This example
is of special interest, since it cannot be treated by Pad{\'e} approximants \cite{Gluzman_12}.
The pressure can be represented in the form
\be
\label{69}
P(x) = \frac{\pi^2}{8x^2} \; f(x) \; .
\ee
It has been found by Monte Carlo simulations \cite{Gompper_59} that the function $f(x)$
diverges at infinity as
\be
\label{70}
f(x) \simeq 0.06468 x^2 \qquad ( x \ra \infty) \; .
\ee
Hence, this function exhibits the critical behaviour at infinity with the critical index
$\beta = 2$.
At weak stiffness, the function $f(x)$ can be found \cite{Kastening_60} by perturbation
theory with respect to the stiffness, yielding the expansion
\be
\label{71}
f(x) \simeq \sum_{n=0}^k a_n x^n \qquad ( x \ra 0 ) \; ,
\ee
with the coefficients
$$
a_0 = 1 \; , \qquad a_1 = \frac{1}{4} \; , \qquad a_2 =\frac{1}{32} \; , \qquad
a_3 = 2.176347\times 10^{-3} \; ,
$$
$$
a_4 = 0.552721\times 10^{-4} \; , \qquad a_5 = - 0.721482 \times 10^{-5} \; , \qquad
a_6 = - 1.777848 \times 10^{-6} \; ,
$$
which can be complemented by two more coefficients $a_7 = a_8 = 0$.
We construct the root approximants
\be
\label{72}
f_k^*(x) = \left ( \left ( \left ( ( 1 + A_1 x)^2 + A_2 x^2 \right )^{3/2}
+ A_3 x^3 \right )^{4/3} + \ldots + A_k x^k \right )^{\bt_k/k} \; ,
\ee
defining the parameters $A_j$ from the accuracy-through-order procedure, as is
explained in Sec. 1. This gives the large-stiffness asymptotic forms
\be
\label{73}
f_k^*(x) \simeq B_k x^\bt_k \qquad ( x \ra \infty ) \; ,
\ee
where the amplitudes $B_k = B_k(\beta_k)$ are
\be
\label{74}
B_k = \left ( \left ( ( A_1^2 + A_2)^{3/2} + A_3 \right )^{4/3}
+ \ldots + A_k \right )^{\bt_k/k} \; .
\ee
In order to define the critical index $\beta_k$, we follow Sec. 2 and analyze the
differences
\be
\label{75}
\Dlt_{kn}(\bt_k) = B_k(\bt_k) - B_n(\bt_k) \; .
\ee
Composing the sequences $\Delta_{kn} = 0$, we find the related approximate values
$\beta_k$ for the critical indices. It is possible to investigate different sequences
of the conditions $\Delta_{kn} = 0$, the most logical from which are the sequences
of $\Delta_{k,k+1} = 0$ and of $\Delta_{k8} = 0$, with $k = 1,2,3,4,5,6,7$. The
results, presented in Table 1, show good numerical convergence of the approximate
critical indices $\beta_k$ to the exact value $\beta = 2$.
The Dlog-Pad\'{e} method, with the approximant $P_{1/1}$, again does not provide
physically acceptable solutions. And if we employ the approximant $P_{N/N+1}$, this
results in the sequence of the critical indices $-0.08095$, $2.5188$, $-5.3603$, and
$-2.19958$ for $N = 1,2,3,4$, respectively. As is evident, such a sequence is neither
convergent nor reasonable.
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|} \hline
$\bt_k$ & $\Dlt_{k,k+1}(\bt_k)=0$ & $\Dlt_{k8}(\bt_k)=0$ \\ \hline
$\bt_1$ & 24.9036 & 2.5052 \\ \hline
$\bt_2$ & 4.9344 & 2.4701 \\ \hline
$\bt_3$ & 3.4791 & 2.3887 \\ \hline
$\bt_4$ & 2.8459 & 2.2970 \\ \hline
$\bt_5$ & 2.3983 & 2.2018 \\ \hline
$\bt_6$ & 2.2040 & 2.1289 \\ \hline
$\bt_7$ & 2.0645 & 2.0645 \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{Critical indices $\bt_k$ for the problem of Sec. 14, obtained from the optimization
conditions $\Dlt_{kn}(\bt_k)=0$. The sequences of $\bt_k$ demonstrate numerical convergence
to the exact value $\bt=2$.}
\label{tab}
\end{table}
\section{Concluding comments}
The method of self-similar root approximants, proved earlier to provide accurate
{\it interpolation} for the sought function, when both the asymptotic expansions at
small and large variables are known. Now the method is generalized to the case when
only a small-variable expansion is available and the function can display critical
behaviour at a finite critical point or at infinity. We show how, having in hands only
a small-variable expansion, one can construct {\it extrapolation} formulas for the
sought function and to find its critical index. The method of defining critical indices
is illustrated by a large set of examples for various physical problems. It is shown
that the suggested approach makes it straightforward to calculate critical indices,
with a good accuracy, even when just a few terms of small-variable expansions are
available. When a number of terms in the small-variable expansion is given, the method
demonstrates numerical convergence to the exact indices, if the latter are known.
Following the idea of the approach, it is admissible to realize different variants of the
calculational scheme. For instance, instead of treating the sought function $f(x)$,
and its related $k$-order expansion $f_k(x)$, one can consider the inverse
expression $h_k(x) \equiv 1/f_k(x)$. Then, constructing the root approximants $h_k^*(x)$,
it is easy to return back to $f_k^*(x) = 1/h_k^*(x)$.
The other possibility can be useful, when the critical behaviour occurs at a finite critical
point $x_c$. By the change of the variable
$$
z = \frac{x}{x_c-x} \; , \qquad x = \frac{x_c z}{1+z} \;
$$
one shifts the critical point to infinity. And then finds the critical index as is explained
in Sec. 2.
We have checked both these variants for the examples considered and found that
they give close results for the critical indices, as compared to the direct method
exposed above.
In conclusion, the developed method of defining critical indices is general and can be
applied to different physical problems. The method works well even when other methods,
such as that of Pad\'{e} approximants, are not applicable.
\vskip 5mm
{\bf Acknowledgment}
\vskip 2mm
One of the authors (V.I.Y.) is grateful for discussions to E.P. Yukalova.
\newpage
| {
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} | 6,181 |
A 31 409-es számú közút egy rövid, öt számjegyű országos közút-szakasz a Pest megyei Gödöllő külterületén. Az M31-es autópálya és a 3-as főút találkozásának egyik csomóponti útja.
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Teljes hossza, az országos közutak térképes nyilvántartását szolgáló kira.gov.hu adatbázisa szerint 208 méter.
A csomópont további átkötő ágai: 31 405-ös Nagytarcsa felől, 31 406-os az M3-as felé, 31 407-es az M3-as felől, 31 408-as Nagytarcsa felé, 30 601-os a csomópontot északon lezáró körforgalmat elkerülve, Gödöllő–Budapest irányban és 31 410-es több más csomóponti ágat egyesítve Gödöllő felé.
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//
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// Any modifications to this file will be lost upon recompilation of the source schema.
// Generated on: 2022.06.28 at 02:49:33 PM PDT
//
package com.intuit.ipp.data;
import java.io.Serializable;
import java.math.BigDecimal;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAccessType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAccessorType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlElement;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlType;
import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.lang.Equals2;
import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.lang.EqualsStrategy2;
import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.lang.HashCode2;
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import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.lang.JAXBEqualsStrategy;
import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.lang.JAXBHashCodeStrategy;
import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.locator.ObjectLocator;
import org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons.locator.util.LocatorUtils;
/**
* Financial transaction representing transfer of
* funds between accounts.
* Non QB-writable.
*
*
* <p>Java class for Transfer complex type.
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*
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@XmlAccessorType(XmlAccessType.FIELD)
@XmlType(name = "Transfer", propOrder = {
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})
public class Transfer
extends Transaction
implements Serializable, Equals2, HashCode2
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@XmlElement(name = "FromAccountRef")
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@XmlElement(name = "Amount")
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@XmlElement(name = "ClassRef")
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/**
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/**
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this.transferEx = value;
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public boolean equals(ObjectLocator thisLocator, ObjectLocator thatLocator, Object object, EqualsStrategy2 strategy) {
if ((object == null)||(this.getClass()!= object.getClass())) {
return false;
}
if (this == object) {
return true;
}
if (!super.equals(thisLocator, thatLocator, object, strategy)) {
return false;
}
final Transfer that = ((Transfer) object);
{
ReferenceType lhsFromAccountRef;
lhsFromAccountRef = this.getFromAccountRef();
ReferenceType rhsFromAccountRef;
rhsFromAccountRef = that.getFromAccountRef();
if (!strategy.equals(LocatorUtils.property(thisLocator, "fromAccountRef", lhsFromAccountRef), LocatorUtils.property(thatLocator, "fromAccountRef", rhsFromAccountRef), lhsFromAccountRef, rhsFromAccountRef, (this.fromAccountRef!= null), (that.fromAccountRef!= null))) {
return false;
}
}
{
ReferenceType lhsToAccountRef;
lhsToAccountRef = this.getToAccountRef();
ReferenceType rhsToAccountRef;
rhsToAccountRef = that.getToAccountRef();
if (!strategy.equals(LocatorUtils.property(thisLocator, "toAccountRef", lhsToAccountRef), LocatorUtils.property(thatLocator, "toAccountRef", rhsToAccountRef), lhsToAccountRef, rhsToAccountRef, (this.toAccountRef!= null), (that.toAccountRef!= null))) {
return false;
}
}
{
BigDecimal lhsAmount;
lhsAmount = this.getAmount();
BigDecimal rhsAmount;
rhsAmount = that.getAmount();
if (!strategy.equals(LocatorUtils.property(thisLocator, "amount", lhsAmount), LocatorUtils.property(thatLocator, "amount", rhsAmount), lhsAmount, rhsAmount, (this.amount!= null), (that.amount!= null))) {
return false;
}
}
{
ReferenceType lhsClassRef;
lhsClassRef = this.getClassRef();
ReferenceType rhsClassRef;
rhsClassRef = that.getClassRef();
if (!strategy.equals(LocatorUtils.property(thisLocator, "classRef", lhsClassRef), LocatorUtils.property(thatLocator, "classRef", rhsClassRef), lhsClassRef, rhsClassRef, (this.classRef!= null), (that.classRef!= null))) {
return false;
}
}
{
IntuitAnyType lhsTransferEx;
lhsTransferEx = this.getTransferEx();
IntuitAnyType rhsTransferEx;
rhsTransferEx = that.getTransferEx();
if (!strategy.equals(LocatorUtils.property(thisLocator, "transferEx", lhsTransferEx), LocatorUtils.property(thatLocator, "transferEx", rhsTransferEx), lhsTransferEx, rhsTransferEx, (this.transferEx!= null), (that.transferEx!= null))) {
return false;
}
}
return true;
}
public boolean equals(Object object) {
final EqualsStrategy2 strategy = JAXBEqualsStrategy.INSTANCE;
return equals(null, null, object, strategy);
}
public int hashCode(ObjectLocator locator, HashCodeStrategy2 strategy) {
int currentHashCode = super.hashCode(locator, strategy);
{
ReferenceType theFromAccountRef;
theFromAccountRef = this.getFromAccountRef();
currentHashCode = strategy.hashCode(LocatorUtils.property(locator, "fromAccountRef", theFromAccountRef), currentHashCode, theFromAccountRef, (this.fromAccountRef!= null));
}
{
ReferenceType theToAccountRef;
theToAccountRef = this.getToAccountRef();
currentHashCode = strategy.hashCode(LocatorUtils.property(locator, "toAccountRef", theToAccountRef), currentHashCode, theToAccountRef, (this.toAccountRef!= null));
}
{
BigDecimal theAmount;
theAmount = this.getAmount();
currentHashCode = strategy.hashCode(LocatorUtils.property(locator, "amount", theAmount), currentHashCode, theAmount, (this.amount!= null));
}
{
ReferenceType theClassRef;
theClassRef = this.getClassRef();
currentHashCode = strategy.hashCode(LocatorUtils.property(locator, "classRef", theClassRef), currentHashCode, theClassRef, (this.classRef!= null));
}
{
IntuitAnyType theTransferEx;
theTransferEx = this.getTransferEx();
currentHashCode = strategy.hashCode(LocatorUtils.property(locator, "transferEx", theTransferEx), currentHashCode, theTransferEx, (this.transferEx!= null));
}
return currentHashCode;
}
public int hashCode() {
final HashCodeStrategy2 strategy = JAXBHashCodeStrategy.INSTANCE;
return this.hashCode(null, strategy);
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 9,334 |
Officer Edward (Rocky) Graziano was the first motorcycle officer killed in the line of duty in New Hampshire. He was a member of the Nashua Police Department for three years at the time of his death. He had also served as a member of the Middlesex County Police Department in Massachusetts and as the interim chief of the Durham Police Department.
During the early morning hours on August 14, 1964, while on patrol of the D.W. Highway, Officer Graziano's motorcycle was struck by a vehicle from the next lane. The vehicle then came into his lane pinning him beneath it. He was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. He was 26 years old.
He left behind his wife, Sylvia, and three children; Mark (5), Brian (4), and Keri (6 months). | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 9,747 |
Duke Interdisciplinary Studies
Mellon Grant to Strengthen Humanities Curriculum and Foster New Collaborations
May 10, 2018 May 10, 2018 Sarah Dwyer
Duke University will expand on its commitment to a strong humanities curriculum and forge new collaborations beyond campus with a $3 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, President Vincent E. Price said Friday.
The funding will establish Humanities Unbounded, which will run from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2023. The initiative will focus on three major areas:
Developing new collaborative curricula models that blend undergraduate education with faculty research and graduate student training
Deepening Duke's relationships with liberal arts colleges and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)
Piloting a new teaching partnership with Durham Technical Community College.
"Duke has long been engaged in building the future of the humanities, both through undergraduate teaching and faculty scholarship," Price said. "We are grateful for the support of the Mellon Foundation, which will help us strengthen existing partnerships and forge new connections on our campus and beyond."
Humanities Unbounded will build on the success of Humanities Writ Large (HWL), an initiative aimed at changing the role of the humanities at Duke. HWL supported labs that integrated undergraduates with faculty and graduate students engaged in humanities and social science research. With Humanities Unbounded, Duke seeks to scale up these efforts, such as embedding the humanities' lab structure into humanities departments and curricula.
"We plan to develop nine humanities labs over the course of the grant, and we believe this will create innovative and flexible educational pathways that will expose more Duke students to the richness of humanistic thinking and its exciting research possibilities," said Gennifer Weisenfeld, dean of the humanities.
The program will be led by Weisenfeld, an art historian; historian Edward Balleisen, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies; and Ranjana Khanna, director of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke and professor of English, women's studies, and literature.
Humanities lab funding will support course development, research assistance, graduate student training, website and multimedia production, visits by external partners, research trips, student projects, and faculty and staff training in lab development and operations.
Humanities Unbounded will strengthen connections with liberal arts colleges and HBCUs through a series of two-year visiting faculty fellowships. The first year will be spent in residence at Duke, where fellows will conduct research and develop collaborative relationships. During the second year, fellows will receive funding to share their Duke experiences with their home campuses after returning to teaching, and to continue research collaborations.
Humanities Unbounded will also pilot a teaching partnership with Durham Technical Community College, which serves a diverse population of 20,000 students. The pilot will pair graduate student research assistants from Duke with Durham Tech faculty. The pairs will then work to develop innovative teaching modules that could include collaborative research, community‐based oral histories, the reorientation of syllabi around a case study approach, or the development of online resources. The project will focus on Durham Tech courses eligible for transfer credit, thereby preparing students to continue at four-year institutions.
"This new partnership will generate great benefits for both institutions," said William Ingram, president of Durham Tech. "It creates exciting opportunities for our instructors to further enhance and develop their pedagogy, and that will have long-term benefits for our curriculum."
Originally posted on Duke Today
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Duke Interdisciplinary Studies is powered by WordPress at Duke WordPress Sites. Please read the Duke Wordpress Policies. Contact the Duke WordPress team. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 6,487 |
\subsection{Permutation groups and categories associated to collections of their
subgroups} It is well-known (e.g., \cite[Expos\'{e} IV, \S2.4--2.5]{sga-4-1}
or \cite[\S8.1, Example 8.15 (iii)]{topos}) that the category Sm-$G$ of
smooth $G$-sets and their $G$-equivariant maps is a topos. For a base
$B$ of open subgroups of $G$, considered as a poset, let $\mathcal C_B$
be the small full subcategory of Sm-$G$ whose objects are the images
of the contravariant functor $B\to\text{Sm-}G$, $U\mapsto[U]:=G/U$.
Thus, any morphism in $\mathcal C_B$ is epimorphic and
$\mathcal C_B([U],[V]):=\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits_G(G/U,G/V)=(G/V)^U=
\{g\in G~|~gVg^{-1}\supseteq U\}/V$.
We endow $\mathcal C_B$ with the maximal topology, i.e. we assume that
any sieve is covering. Then the sheaves of sets, groups, etc. on
$\mathcal C_B$ are identified with the smooth $G$-sets, groups, etc.:
${\mathcal F}\mapsto\mathop{\underrightarrow{\lim}}\limits_{U\in B}{\mathcal F}(U)$ (this is a smooth
$G$-set, since any element in it belongs to the image of some
${\mathcal F}(U)$ and the $U$-action on it is trivial by definition)
and $W\mapsto[U\mapsto W^U]$.
\section{Skew group rings and semilinear representations}
\label{semilin-repr}
We use the following slightly more general setting.
Let $A$ be a (unital) associative ring, $G$ be a semigroup acting on $A$,
i.e., a (unital) semigroup homomorphism $\rho:G\to\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{\mathrm{ring}}(A)$
is given. Denote by $A\langle G\rangle_\rho=A\langle G\rangle$ the unital
associative subring in $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{{\mathbb Z}}(A[G])$ generated by the natural
left action of $A$ and the diagonal left action of $G$ on $A[G]$. In other
words, $A\langle G\rangle$ is the ring of $A$-valued measures on $G$ with
finite support. Then $A\langle G\rangle$ is a $k$-algebra, where
$k:=A^{\rho(G)}$ is the fixed ring. If $\rho$ is injective then
$A\langle G\rangle$ is a {\sl central} $k$-algebra.
More explicitly, as a left $A$-module $A\langle G\rangle$ coincides
with $A[G]$. Multiplication is a unique distributive one such that
$(a[g])(b[h])=ab^{\rho(g)}[gh]$, where we write $a^h$ for the
result of applying of $h\in\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{\mathrm{ring}}(A)$ to $a\in A$.
An additive action of $G$ on an $A$-module $V$ is called
{\sl semilinear} if $g(a\cdot v)=a^g\cdot gv$ for any $g\in G$, $v\in V$
and $a\in A$. Then an $A$-module endowed with an additive semilinear
$G$-action is the same as an $A\langle G\rangle$-module.
The principal example of $A$ will be a field.
For a field $K$ endowed with a $G$-action, a $K$-{\sl semilinear
representation} of $G$ is a left $K\langle G\rangle$-module.
We say that a $K$-semilinear representation of $G$ is
{\sl non-degenerate} if the action of each element of $G$ is injective.
(Of course, this condition is redundunt if $G$ is a group rather than
a semigroup.) We omit the $G$-action on $K$ from notation and denote
by $k:=K^G$ the fixed field.
The non-degenerate $K$-semilinear representations of $G$ form an abelian
tensor $k$-linear category.
The category of smooth $K$-semilinear representations of $G$ is also $k$-linear abelian.
\vspace{4mm}
The following result will be used in the particular case of the trivial
$G$-action on the $A$-module $V$ (i.e., $\chi\equiv id_V$), claiming the
injectivity of the natural map $A\otimes_{A^G}V^G\to V$ (since $V_{id_V}=V^G$).
\begin{lemma} \label{inject} Let $A$ be a
division ring endowed with a
$G$-action $G\to\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits_{\mathrm{ring}}(A)$, $V$ be a $A\langle G\rangle$-module
and $\chi:G\to\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits_A(V)$ be an invertible $G$-action on the $A$-module $V$.
Set $V_{\chi}:=\{w\in V~|~\sigma w=\chi(\sigma)w
\text{ {\rm for all} $\sigma\in G$}\}$.
Then $V_{\chi}$ is a $A^G$-module and the natural map
$A\otimes_{A^G}V_{\chi}\to V$ is injective. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} This is well-known: Suppose that some elements
$w_1,\dots,w_m\in V_{\chi}$ are $A^G$-linearly independent,
but $A$-linearly dependent for a minimal $m\ge 2$.
Then $w_1=\sum_{j=2}^m\lambda_jw_j$ for some $\lambda_j\in A^{\times}$.
Applying $\sigma-\chi(\sigma)$ for each $\sigma\in G$ to both sides of the latter
equality, we get $\sum_{j=2}^m(\lambda_j^{\sigma}-\lambda_j)\chi(\sigma)w_j=0$,
and therefore, $\sum_{j=2}^m(\lambda_j^{\sigma}-\lambda_j)w_j=0$.
By the minimality of $m$, one has $\lambda_j^{\sigma}-\lambda_j=0$ for
each $\sigma\in G$, so $\lambda_j\in A^G$ for any $j$, contradicting to
the $A^G$-linear independence of $w_1,\dots,w_m$. \end{proof}
A $K$-semilinear representation $V$ of $G$ is called {\sl trivial}, if
the natural map $V^G\otimes_kK\to V$ (injective by Lemma \ref{inject}
with $\chi=id_V$) is bijective, i.e., if $V$ is isomorphic to
a direct sum of several copies of $K$ with $G$-action via $\rho$.
\vspace{4mm}
Now let the semigroup $G$ be totally disconnected and the homomorphism
$\rho$ be continuous. (We endow any set $H\subseteq\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits(\Psi_1,\Psi_2)$
of mappings between
sets $\Psi_1$ and $\Psi_2$ with topology, where a base
$\{U_{\alpha}\}_{\alpha}$ of open subsets of $H$ is indexed by the
mappings $\alpha$ of finite subsets $S_{\alpha}\subset\Psi_1$ to
$\Psi_2$ and $U_{\alpha}$ is the set of all elements of $H$ with
restriction $\alpha$ to $S_{\alpha}$.)
\begin{lemma} \label{semilin-gener} Let $K$ be a field,
$G\subseteq\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits_{\mathrm{field}}(K)$ be a group
of automorphisms of the field $K$. Let $B$ be such a system of
open subgroups of $G$ that any open subgroup contains a subgroup
conjugated, for some $H\in B$, to an open subgroup of finite index
in $H$. Then the objects $K[G/H]$ for all $H\in B$ form a system
of generators of the category of smooth $K$-semilinear
representations of $G$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Let $V$ be a smooth semilinear representation of $G$.
Then the stabilizer of any vector $v$ is open, i.e., the stabilizer
of some vector $v'$ in the $G$-orbit of $v$ admits a subgroup
commensurable with some $H\in B$. The $K$-linear envelope of the (finite)
$H$-orbit of $v'$ is a smooth $K$-semilinear representation of $H$,
so it is trivial, i.e., $v'$ belongs to the $K$-linear envelope of
the $K^H$-vector subspace fixed by $H$. As a consequence, there is a
morphism from a finite cartesian power of $K[G/H]$ to $V$, containing
$v'$ (and therefore, containing $v$ as well) in the image. \end{proof}
{\sc Example.} For an integer $N\ge 0$ denote by $\binom{\Psi}{N}$ the
set of all subsets in $\Psi$ of order $N$. Let $S\subseteq\mathbb N$ be
an infinite set. Let $G=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$.
Suppose that the $G$-action on $K$ is faithful. Then the objects
$K[\binom{\Psi}{N}]\cong\bigwedge_K^NK[\Psi]\cong\Omega^N_{K|k}$,
$[\{s_1,\dots,s_N\}]\leftrightarrow\prod_{1\le i<j\le N}(s_i-s_j)
[s_1]\wedge\dots\wedge[s_N]\leftrightarrow\prod_{1\le i<j\le N}(s_i-s_j)
ds_1\wedge\dots\wedge ds_N$, for $N\in S$ form a system of generators
of the category of smooth $K$-semilinear representations of $G$.
The representation $K[\binom{\Psi}{N}]$ is highly reducible: it will follow from
Lemma \ref{morphismes-entre-generat} that any finite-dimensional $k$-vector
space $\Xi$ of symmetric rational functions over $k$ in $N$ variables determines
a surjective morphism $K[\binom{\Psi}{N}]\to\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_k(\Xi,K)$, $[I]\mapsto[Q\mapsto Q(I)]$.
For any set $\Psi$ and a subset $T\subset\Psi$ denote by (i) $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|T}$
the pointwise stabilizer of $T$ in the group $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$; (ii)
$\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi,T}$ the setwise stabilizer of $T$ in the group $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$,
i.e., the normalizer of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|T}$ in $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$. Then (i) the
assumptions of Lemma \ref{semilin-gener} hold if $B$ is the set of
subgroups $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi,T}$ for a collection of subsets $T\subset\Psi$
with cardinality in $S$, (ii) $K[\binom{\Psi}{N}]$
is isomorphic to $K[\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}/\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi,T}]$ for any $T$ of order $N$.
\qed
\section{Finiteness conditions on permutation groups}
\subsection{Roelcke precompact groups}
\begin{defin} A permutation group $G$ is called {\bf Roelcke precompact}
if the set $U\backslash G/V$ is finite for any pair
of open subgroups $U,V\subseteq G$. \end{defin}
{\sc Example.} A locally compact group is Roelcke precompact if and only
if it is profinite, since it is a finite union of compact double cosets.
\begin{lemma} \label{equiv-pseudoprofinite} The following conditions
on a permutation group $G$ are equivalent:
\begin{enumerate} \item \label{v} tensor product of any pair of smooth
finitely generated representations of $G$ over a fixed field is again
finitely generated,
\item \label{vii} for any commutative ring $C$ endowed with a smooth
$G$-action, any associative $C$-algebra $A$ endowed with a smooth
$G$-action, any smooth finitely generated $A\langle G\rangle$-module
$V$ and any smooth finitely generated $C\langle G\rangle$-module $W$
the $A\langle G\rangle$-module $V\otimes_CW$ is finitely generated,
\item \label{vi} restriction of any smooth finitely generated
representation of $G$ to any open subgroup is again finitely generated,
\item \label{ii} $G$ is Roelcke precompact,
\item \label{iii} any open subgroup of $G$ is Roelcke precompact.
\end{enumerate} \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} The implications (\ref{iii})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{ii})
and (\ref{vii})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{v}) are trivial.
(\ref{ii})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{iii}). For any open subgroup $H$ of $G$
and any pair of open subgroups $U,V$ of $H$ the natural map
$U\backslash H/V\to U\backslash G/V$ is injective. As $U\backslash G/V$
is finite, so is $U\backslash H/V$, i.e., $H$ is Roelcke precompact.
(\ref{v})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{ii}). For any pair of subgroups $U,V$ of
$G$ one has the following decomposition of the representations of $G$:
$k[G/U]\otimes_kk[G/V]=\bigoplus_{O\in G\backslash(G/U\times G/V)}k[O]$,
so $k[G/U]\otimes_kk[G/V]$ is finitely generated if and only if the set
of orbits $G\backslash(G/U\times G/V)\cong U\backslash G/V$ is finite.
(\ref{ii})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{vii}). Any smooth finitely generated
$A\langle G\rangle$-module is a quotient of a finite sum of $A[G/U_i]$
for some open subgroups $U_i$ of $G$, so tensor product of a pair of
finitely generated $A\langle G\rangle$- and $C\langle G\rangle$-modules
is a quotient of a finite sum of $A\langle G\rangle$-modules
$A[G/U_i]\otimes_CC[G/V_j]=A[(G/U_i)\times(G/V_j)]$
for some open subgroups $U_i,V_j$ of $G$.
(\ref{ii})$\Leftrightarrow$(\ref{vi}). For any pair of subgroups $U,V$ of
$G$ one has the following decomposition of the representations of $U$:
$k[G/V]=\bigoplus_{O\in U\backslash G/V}k[O]$, so $k[G/V]$ is a finitely
generated representation of $U$ if and only if the set of orbits
$U\backslash G/V$ is finite. In particular, this shows implication
(\ref{vi})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{ii}).
Any smooth finitely generated representations of $G$ is a quotient of
a finite sum of $k[G/V_i]$ for some open subgroups $V_i$ of $G$, so
restriction to an open subgroup $U$ of $G$ of a finitely generated
representation of $G$ is a quotient of a finite sum of representations
$k[G/V_j]$ for some open subgroups $V_j$ of $G$. This proves (\ref{vi})
if we assume (\ref{ii}). \end{proof}
\begin{lemma} \label{ascending-chains-opens} Let $G$ be a
Roelcke precompact group and $U\subseteq G$ be an open subgroup.
Then the set of subgroups of $G$ containing $U$ is finite.
In particular, {\rm (i)} any ascending chain of open
subgroups eventually stabilizes, {\rm (ii)} any open subgroup is
contained in a maximal proper subgroup of $G$, {\rm (iii)} any
open subgroup is of finite index in a subgroup with no finite
extensions. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} There is a bijection between subgroups of $G$
containing $U$ and certain subsets of $U\backslash G/U$. However,
the set of subsets of the finite set $U\backslash G/U$ is finite.
\end{proof}
\begin{lemma} \label{lin-fin} Let $G$ be a Roelcke precompact group.
Then for any open subgroup $U\subseteq G$ the finite group $N_G(U)/U$
acts transitively and freely on the finite set $(G/U)^U$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} For any open subgroup $V\subseteq G$ the set
$(G/U)^V=\{g\in G~|~Vg\subseteq gU\}/U$ is identified with the set
$\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits_G(G/V,G/U)$ (which is the semigroup $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_G(G/V)$ if
$V=U$) by $[g]\mapsto([h]\mapsto[hg])$, $\varphi\mapsto\varphi([1])$.
This set is finite, since $(G/U)^V$ embeds into the finite set
$V\backslash G/U$.
If $U$ is a proper subgroup of $gUg^{-1}$ for some
$[g]\in(G/U)^U$ then we get a strictly increasing sequence of subgroups
in $G$: $U\subsetneqq gUg^{-1}\subsetneqq g^2Ug^{-2}\subsetneqq g^3Ug^{-3}
\subsetneqq\dots$, contradicting Lemma \ref{ascending-chains-opens} (i).
This means that the natural inclusion $N_G(U)/U\hookrightarrow(G/U)^U$
is bijective. \end{proof}
\section{Injectivity of trivial representations and admissibility}
For an abelian group $P$ and a set $S$ we denote by $P[S]^{\circ}$
the subgroup of the abelian group $P[S]$ consisting of the finite
formal sums $\sum_ia_i[s_i]$ for all $a_i\in P$, $s_i\in S$ with
$\sum_ia_i=0$. If $P$ is a module over a ring $A$ then $P[S]^{\circ}$
is naturally an $A$-submodule of the $A$-module $P[S]$.
Recall, that an injection $M\hookrightarrow N$ in an abelian category is
called an {\sl essential} extension if any subobject of $N$ has a non-zero
intersection with the image of $M$, cf. \cite[Ch. 6, \S2]{BucurDeleanu}.
In Definition~\ref{def-S-type} below, a class of groups $G$ (called the groups of
$\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type) will be introduced satisfying the assumptions of the following lemma.
\begin{lemma} \label{trivial-is-injective} Let $G$ be a
permutation group admitting a base of open subgroups $B$ such
that for any $V\subseteq U$ in $B$ the group $N_G(V)/V$ is finite
and the $(N_G(V)/V)$-action on the set $(G/U)^V\supseteq
(N_G(V)U)/U=N_G(V)/(U\cap N_G(V))$ is transitive, i.e.,
$(G/U)^V=(N_G(V)U)/U$. Let $R$ be a $\mathbb Q$-algebra and $M$ be an $R$-module
considered as a trivial $G$-module.
Then any essential extension $E$ of the $R[G]$-module $M$ is a
trivial $G$-module. In particular, if $M$ is an injective $R$-module
then (when endowed with the trivial $G$-action) it is an injective
object of the category of smooth left $R[G]$-modules. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Let $E$ be an essential extension of $M$ in the category
of smooth left $R[G]$-modules. Any element of $E$ spans a smooth
cyclic $R[G]$-module. Any smooth cyclic $R[G]$-module is isomorphic
to a quotient of a permutation module $R[G/U]$ for an open subgroup
$U$ in a base of open subgroups. I claim that the image of
$R[G/U]^{\circ}$ in $E$ has zero intersection with $E^G$,
and in particular, with $M$.
Indeed, suppose that the image $\beta\in E$ of an element
$\alpha\in R[G/U]^{\circ}$ is fixed by $G$.
The support of the element $\alpha$, i.e., a finite subset in $G/U$,
is pointwise fixed by an open subgroup $V\in B$; in particular, $\alpha$
is fixed by $V$. Then $g\alpha$ is well-defined for any $g\in N_G(V)/V$.
As the image $\beta$ of $\alpha$ is fixed by $G$ (and in particular, by $N_G(V)$),
the image of $\alpha':=\sum_{g\in N_G(V)/V}g\alpha$ in $E$ is $\#(N_G(V)/V)\beta$.
By one of the assumptions of the Lemma, the support of $\alpha$ is contained in
a (finite) $(N_G(V)/V)$-orbit, so the same holds for $\alpha'$, unless $\alpha'=0$.
On the other hand, $\alpha'$ is fixed by $N_G(V)$, and thus, it is a multiple of
the sum of the elements of a $N_G(V)$-orbit. But $\alpha'\in R[G/U]^{\circ}$,
so this multiple is zero, and therefore, $\beta=0$.
This means that the image of $R[G/U]^{\circ}$ in $E$ has no non-zero vectors
fixed by $G$. Therefore, $E$ is a quotient of a sum of trivial $G$-modules
$R[G/U]/R[G/U]^{\circ}=R$, i.e., $E$ is a trivial $G$-module. \end{proof}
\begin{lemma} \label{admissible-under-inj} Let $G$ be a
Roelcke precompact group, $B$ be a base of open subgroups of $G$
and $k$ be a field. Suppose that the trivial representations
$k$ of any $V\in B$ are injective as smooth $k[V]$-modules.
Then any smooth finitely generated $k[G]$-module $W$ is admissible, i.e.,
$\dim_kW^V<\infty$ for any $V\in B$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} As $H^0(V,W)$ is a direct summand of the $k[V]$-module $W$
for any $V\in B$, the natural map $H^0(V,W)\to H_0(V,W)$ is injective, so
$\dim_kH^0(V,W)\le\dim_kH_0(V,W)$. The $k[G]$-module $W$ is a quotient
of $\bigoplus_{i=1}^Nk[G/U_i]$ for some open subgroups $U_i\subseteq G$,
in particular, $H_0(V,W)$ is a quotient of
$H_0(V,\bigoplus_{i=1}^Nk[G/U_i])$, and thus, $\dim_kH_0(V,W)\le
\sum_{i=1}^N\dim_kH_0(V,k[G/U_i])=\sum_{i=1}^N\#[V\backslash G/U_i]<\infty$.
Combining all these inequalities, we get $\dim_kH^0(V,W)<\infty$.
\end{proof}
\begin{theorem} \label{admissibility} Let $G$ be a Roelcke precompact
group such that the group $N_G(V)$ acts transitively on $(G/U)^V$
for all $V\subseteq U$ from a base $B$ of open subgroups of $G$
and $k$ be a field of characteristic 0. Then any smooth finitely generated
$k[G]$-module $W$ is admissible (but there exist
infinite direct sums among admissible $k[G]$-modules). \end{theorem}
\begin{proof} For any triple $U_2\subseteq U_1\subseteq V$ in $B$
the projection $(G/U_1)^{U_1}\to(G/U_2)^{U_1}$ is surjective, so its
restriction $(V/U_1)^{U_1}\to(V/U_2)^{U_1}$ is surjective as well.
This means that $N_V(U_1)$ acts transitively on $(V/U_2)^{U_1}$,
and thus, any open subgroup $V$ of $G$ satisfies assumptions of
Lemma~\ref{trivial-is-injective}. Then Theorem follows from
Lemma~\ref{admissible-under-inj}, since any open subgroup $V$
of $G$ satisfies assumptions of Lemma \ref{trivial-is-injective}.
\end{proof}
\section{Filtered representations and local length-finiteness}
\begin{lemma} \label{length-upper-bound}
Let $G$ be a group, $W$ be a $k[G]$-module for a ring $k$, $B$
be a partially ordered set. Let $\{U_{\alpha}\}_{\alpha\in B}$
be a partially ordered exhausting collection of $k$-submodules
in $W$: $W=\bigcup_{\alpha}U_{\alpha}$. Let $G_{\alpha}$ be a
subgroup of the stabilizer in $G$ of the $k$-submodule $U_{\alpha}$.
Then length of the $k[G]$-module $W$ does not exceed
$\inf_{\beta}\sup_{\alpha\ge\beta}\mathrm{length}_{k[G_{\alpha}]}
U_{\alpha}$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Suppose that $n:=\inf_{\beta}\sup_{\alpha\ge\beta}
\mathrm{length}_{k[G_{\alpha}]}U_{\alpha}$ is finite and
$0=W_{-1}\subsetneqq W_0\subsetneqq W_1\subsetneqq W_2\subsetneqq\dots
\subsetneqq W_n\subseteq W$ is a chain of $k[G]$-submodules in $W$.
Choose some $e_i\in W_i\smallsetminus W_{i-1}$ and $\beta\in B$
such that $e_0,\dots,e_n\in U_{\beta}$. Then $0\subsetneqq W_0\cap
U_{\beta}\subsetneqq W_1\cap U_{\beta}\subsetneqq W_2\cap U_{\beta}
\subsetneqq\dots\subsetneqq W_n\cap U_{\beta}\subseteq U_{\beta}$
is a chain of $k[G_{\beta}]$-submodules in $U_{\beta}$
of length $n+1$, contradicting our assumptions. \end{proof}
\begin{corollary} Let $G$ be a permutation group, $B$ be a base
of open subgroups of $G$. Let $W$ be a smooth representation of
$G$ over a field $k$. Then $\mathrm{length}_{k[G]}W\le
\inf\limits_{V\in B}\sup\limits_{H\in B,~H\subseteq V}
\mathrm{length}_{k[N_G(H)]}W^H$. \end{corollary}
\begin{proof} In Lemma \ref{length-upper-bound} we take
$G_H=N_G(H)$ and $U_H=W^H$. \end{proof}
The following result is standard.
\begin{lemma} \label{simple-prod} Let $C$ be a finite-dimensional $k$-algebra
for a field $k$ and $A,B$ be associative unital $k$-algebras. Let $M$ be a
simple $A$-module and $N$ be a simple $B$-module. Suppose that $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_B(N)=k$.
Then {\rm (i)} $M\otimes_kN$ is a simple $A\otimes_kB$-module, {\rm (ii)}
the $A$- (and $A\otimes_kC$-) module $M\otimes_kC$ is of finite
length. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
(ii) is a trivial. (i) Fix a non-zero $A\otimes_kB$-submodule in $M\otimes_kN$
and a shortest non-zero element $\alpha=\sum_{i=1}^am_i\otimes n_i$
in it, i.e., $a\ge 1$ is minimal possible. Clearly, $\alpha$ is
a generator of $M\otimes_kN$ if $a=1$, so assume that $a>1$.
If the annihilators of $n_i$ in $B$ are not the same, say
$\mathrm{Ann}(n_i)$ is not contained in $\mathrm{Ann}(n_j)$,
then $(1\otimes\xi)\alpha$ is a shorter non-zero element
for any $\xi\in\mathrm{Ann}(n_i)\smallsetminus\mathrm{Ann}(n_j)$,
contradicting to the minimality of $a$. There remains the case
of coincident annihilators of $n_1,\dots,n_a$. In that case
$B/\mathrm{Ann}(n_1)\stackrel{\cdot n_i}{\longrightarrow}N$ are
isomorphisms. As $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_B(N)=k$, all these isomorphisms differ
by a non-zero multiple, and therefore, the images of the element
$1\in B/\mathrm{Ann}(n_1)$ under $\cdot n_i$ differ by a
non-zero multiple as well, i.e., the elements $n_1,\dots,n_a$
are proportional, so finally, $a=1$. \end{proof}
\subsection{$G$-closed subsets} \label{substructures}
Let $G\subseteq\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ be a permutation group. For a subset
$S\subset\Psi$ we call the set $\Psi^{G_S}$ the $G$-{\sl closure}
of $S$. We say that a subset $S\subset\Psi$ is $G$-{\sl closed}
if $S=\Psi^{G_S}$. Any intersection $\bigcap_iS_i$ of $G$-closed
sets $S_i$ is $G$-closed: as $G_{S_i}\subseteq G_{\bigcap_jS_j}$,
one has $G_{S_i}s=s$ for any $s\in\Psi^{G_{\bigcap_jS_j}}$, so
$s\in\Psi^{G_{S_i}}=S_i$ for any $i$, and thus, $s\in\bigcap_iS_i$.
This implies that the subgroup generated by $G_{S_i}$'s is dense
in $G_{\bigcap_iS_i}$ (and coincides with $G_{\bigcap_iS_i}$ if
at least one of $G_{S_i}$'s is open).
The $G$-closed subsets of $\Psi$ form a small concrete category with the
morphisms being all those embeddings that are induced by elements of $G$.
For a finite $G$-closed subset $T\subset\Psi$,
(hiding $G$ and $\Psi$ from notation) set $\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T):=N_G(G_T)/G_T$.
\subsection{Groups of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type}
\begin{defin} \label{def-S-type} A Roelcke precompact group $G$ is of
{\bf $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type} if {\rm (i)} the maps $(G/V)^V\to(G/U)^V$ are surjective for
all $V\subseteq U$ from a base $B$ of open subgroups of $G$, {\rm (ii)} for
each $U\in B$ the natural projection $N_U(V)\backslash(G/U)^V\to U\backslash
G/U$ is injective for sufficiently small $V\in B$. \end{defin}
{\sc Remarks.} 1. The condition (i) is the transitivity condition from
\cite[p.5, \S3.1]{GanLi}; (ii) is the bijectivity condition of \cite[p.5, \S3.2]{GanLi}.
2. Clearly, (i) any product of groups of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type is again of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type,
(ii) a locally compact group is of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type if and only if it is profinite
(as $B$ we take the set of all normal open subgroups of $G$).
\vspace{4mm}
{\sc Examples.} \label{examples-Sy} The following examples of groups $G$ of
$\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type are constructed as the groups of all permutations of an infinite
set $\Psi$ respecting an extra structure on $\Psi$. Thus, $G$ is a closed
subgroup of the group $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ of all permutations of the plain set
$\Psi$. As a base $B$ of open subgroups we take the subgroups $G_T$ for
some exhausting collection of finite $G$-closed subsets $T\subset\Psi$.
\begin{enumerate}\item $\Psi$ is a plain set, i.e., $G=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$.
Then (i) $G/G_T$ is the set of all embeddings $T\hookrightarrow\Psi$,
(ii) $(G/G_T)^{G_{T'}}$ consists of the embeddings $T\hookrightarrow T'$ (it is
clear that $\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T'):=N_G(G_{T'})/G_{T'}=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{T'}$ acts transitively on $(G/G_T)^{G_{T'}}$)
and (iii) the rule $[\sigma]\mapsto(\sigma(T)\cap T,\sigma|_{\sigma(T)\cap T})$
identifies the sets $G_T\backslash G/G_T$ and
$N_{G_T}(G_{T'})\backslash(G/G_T)^{G_{T'}}$ (if $\#T'\ge\#T$) with the set of
pairs $(T_0,\iota)$ consisting of a subset $T_0\subseteq T$ and an
embedding $\iota:T_0\hookrightarrow T$.
\item \label{GL-fixed} $G$ is the group of automorphisms of an infinite-dimensional
vector space $\Psi$ over a finite field identical on a marked finite-dimensional
subspace $V$, so all $G$-closed $T\subset\Psi$ contain $V$. Then (i) $G/G_T$ is
the set of all linear embeddings $T\hookrightarrow\Psi$ identical on $V$, and
(ii) $(G/G_T)^{G_{T'}}$ consists of the embeddings $T\hookrightarrow T'$
identical on $V$.
Clearly, (i) $\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T')$ is transitive on $(G/G_T)^{G_{T'}}$, (ii) the natural
projection $N_{G_T}(G_{T'})\backslash(G/G_T)^{G_{T'}}\to G_T\backslash G/G_T$
is injective, at least if $\dim T'\ge 2\dim T$. \item
The automorphism group of an infinite-dimensional projective space
$\Psi=\mathbb{P}(\mathbb{F}_q^S)$ over a finite field ${\mathbb F}_q$.
Then $G/G_T$ consists of the projective embeddings $T\hookrightarrow\Psi$
and $(G/G_T)^{G_{T'}}$ consists of the projective embeddings $T\hookrightarrow T'$.
The conditions of Definition~\ref{def-S-type} are verified in the same way as
in Example (\ref{GL-fixed}). \end{enumerate}
\begin{lemma} \label{lin-fin-length} Let $G$
be a group of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type. Then, for any left artinian $\mathbb Q$-algebra
$R$, a smooth $R[G]$-module is finitely generated if and only if it is of
finite length. In particular, the category of smooth left $R[G]$-modules
is a locally artinian and locally noetherian Grothendieck category. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Any smooth finitely generated $R[G]$-module is a quotient of a finite
sum of $R[G]$-modules of type $R[G/U]$ for some subgroups $U$ from
a fixed base $B$ of open subgroups of $G$. Therefore, it suffices
to check that the $R[G]$-modules $R[G/U]$ are of finite length.
Fix a base $B$ of open subgroups of $G$ as in definition of group of
$\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type, some $U\in B$ and set $\Psi:=G/U$. As $G$ is a group of
$\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type, $\Psi^V\cong H_V/(H_V\cap(U/V))$ is an $H_V$-orbit for
all $V\in B$, $V\subseteq U$, where $H_V:=N_G(V)/V$, so \begin{equation}
\label{end-bound}\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{F[H_V]}(F[\Psi^V])\cong F[\Psi^V]^{H_V\cap(U/V)}
\cong F[(H_V\cap(U/V))\backslash\Psi^V]\end{equation}
for any finite field extension $F|\mathbb Q$. The natural projection
$(H_V\cap(U/V))\backslash\Psi^V=(N_G(V)\cap U)\backslash\Psi^V\to
U\backslash\Psi$ is injective for sufficiently small $V$, and
therefore, length of the $F[H_V]$-module $F[\Psi^V]$ does not exceed
\[\dim_F\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{F[H_V]}(F[\Psi^V])=\dim_FF[(H_V\cap(U/V))
\backslash\Psi^V]\le\dim_FF[U\backslash\Psi]=\#[U\backslash\Psi].\]
For a fixed $V$, we choose $F$ so that the $F[H_V]$-module $F[\Psi^V]$
is a sum of absolutely simple modules. Clearly, length of the
$R[G]$-module $R[\Psi]$ does not exceed length of the
$(R\otimes F)[G]$-module $(R\otimes F)[\Psi]$. By Lemma
\ref{length-upper-bound}, length of the $(R\otimes F)[G]$-module
$(R\otimes F)[\Psi]$ does not exceed \[\sup_{V\in B}
\mathrm{length}_{(R\otimes F)[H_V]}((R\otimes F)[\Psi^V]).\]
On the other hand, by Lemma \ref{simple-prod} (i),
$\mathrm{length}_{(R\otimes F)[H_V]}((R\otimes F)[\Psi^V])=
\mathrm{length}_{(R\otimes F)}(R\otimes F)\cdot
\mathrm{length}_{F[H_V]}(F[\Psi^V])$, so finally,
$\mathrm{length}_{(R\otimes F)[G]}((R\otimes F)[\Psi])\le
\mathrm{length}_{R\otimes F}(R\otimes F)\cdot\#[U\backslash\Psi]$,
which is finite by Lemma \ref{simple-prod} (ii). \end{proof}
\section{Smooth representations: coinduction, simple objects
and injectives}
\subsection{Induction and coinduction} Let $A\subset R$ be a pair of associative
unital topological rings with a base of neighbourhoods of 0 given by a collection
of left ideals. The restriction functor $R\mbox{-mod}\to A\mbox{-mod}$ admits a
left adjoint $R\otimes_A(-)$ (induction): $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_A(E,W)=\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_R(R\otimes_AE,W)$.
Let $R\mbox{-mod}^{\mathrm{sm}}$ be the category of left $R$-modules
such that any element is annihilated by an open left ideal.
Then the restriction functor induces a functor
$R\mbox{-mod}^{\mathrm{sm}}\to A\mbox{-mod}^{\mathrm{sm}}$
admitting a right adjoint (coinduction), sending a smooth
$A$-module $E$ to the smooth part of the $R$-module $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_A(R,E)$:
$\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_A(W,E)=\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_R(W,\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_A(R,E)^{\mathrm{sm}})$. Clearly, if a
smooth $A$-module $E$ is injective then $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_A(R,E)^{\mathrm{sm}}$
is an injective smooth $R$-module. In particular, if the restriction
to $A$ of a smooth $R$-module $W$ is injective the adjunction
morphism $W\to\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_A(R,W)^{\mathrm{sm}}$ gives an embedding into
an injective smooth $R$-module.
Our only examples of such topological rings will be skew group
rings $A\langle G\rangle$ with the base of
open left ideals $I_U$ indexed by a base $B$ of open subgroups $U$
of $G$, where $I_U$ is generated by elements $u-1$ for all $u\in U$.
\begin{lemma} \label{finite-coset} For any group $G$, any finite collection
$H_1,\dots,H_N$ of subgroups of $G$ of infinite index and any finite collection of
$\xi_{ij}\in G$ one has $G\neq\bigcup_{i=1}^N(\coprod_{j=1}^M\xi_{ij}H_i)$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} We proceed by induction on $N\ge 1$, the case $N=1$ being trivial.
Suppose that $G=\bigcup_{i=1}^N(\coprod_{j=1}^M\xi_{ij}H_i)$ for some
$\xi_{ij}\in G$. If $H_s$ and $H_t$ are commensurable for some $s\neq t$
then $G=\bigcup_{i\neq t}(\coprod_{j=1}^{M[H_t:H_s\cap H_t]}\xi_{ij}'H_i)$
for some $\xi_{ij}'\in G$, contradicting the induction assumption, so
we further assume that $H_i$ are pairwise non-commensurable.
On a set of pairwise non-conmensurable subgroups of $G$ define the following relation
$H_1\preceq H_2$ if $[H_1:H_1\cap H_2]<\infty$. This is a partial order: if $H_1\preceq H_2$
and $H_2\preceq H_3$ then $[H_1\cap H_2:H_1\cap H_2\cap H_3]\le[H_2:H_2\cap H_3]<\infty$
(since the natural map $H_1\cap H_2/H_1\cap H_2\cap H_3\to H_2/H_2\cap H_3$ is injective).
Let $H_s$ be maximal among $H_i$ with respect to $\preceq$. Fix $\xi\in G$
outside the set $\xi_{s1}H_s\coprod\cdots\coprod\xi_{sM}H_s$. Then
$\xi H_s\subseteq\bigcup_{i\neq s}(\coprod_{j=1}^M\xi_{ij}H_i)$. Omitting those $\xi_{ij}$
for which $\xi H_s\cap\xi_{ij}H_i=\varnothing$ and replacing appropriately
the remaining $\xi_{ij}$'s, we may assume that $\xi^{-1}\xi_{ij}\in H_s$.
Finally, $H_s=\bigcup_{i\neq s}(\coprod_{j=1}^M\xi^{-1}\xi_{ij}H_i\cap H_s)$,
contradicting induction assumption. \end{proof}
\begin{lemma} \label{con} Let $G$ be a group and $E$ be an abelian group. For any subgroup
$H\supseteq G$ define the additive map \[\kappa_H:E[G/H]\to\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits(G,E)\quad\text{{\rm by}}
\quad e[g]\mapsto\left(\xi\mapsto\left\{\begin{array}{ll}e&\text{{\rm if} $\xi^{-1}\in[g]$}\\
0&\text{{\rm otherwise}}\end{array}\right.\right)\quad\text{{\rm for any $e\in E$
and $g\in G$}}.\] Let $\{H_i\}$ be a collection of pairwise non-commensurable subgroups
of $G$.
Then the map $\sum_i\kappa_{H_i}:\bigoplus_iE[G/H_i]\to\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits(G,E)$ is $G$-equivariant (if
$\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits(G,E)$ is endowed with the standard $G$-action: $\varphi^g(\xi):=\varphi(\xi g)$),
injective and factors through $\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits(H\backslash G,E)$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} As $\xi^{-1}\in[g]$ if and only if $(h\xi)^{-1}\in[g]$ for any $h\in H$,
$\kappa_H([g])(h\xi)=\kappa_H([g])(\xi)$ for any $h\in H$, i.e., $\kappa_H$ factors
through $\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits(H\backslash G,E)$. Namely, $\kappa_H$ transforms $e[g]$ to the
delta-function with non-zero value $e$ supported on $[g^{-1}]\in H\backslash G$.
Suppose that $\sum_i\kappa_{H_i}$ is not injective, so its kernel contains an element
$\sum_{t=1}^N\alpha_t$ for some non-zero $\alpha_t\in E[G/H_{i_t}]$. Let $H_{i_s}$ be
a maximal subgroup with respect to the partial order $\preceq$ defined
in the proof of Lemma \ref{finite-coset}. Then looking at the support of both sides
of the equality $-\kappa_{H_{i_s}}(\alpha_s)=\sum_{t\neq s}\kappa_{H_{i_t}}(\alpha_t)$,
we get an inclusion $H_{i_s}\subseteq\bigcup_{t\neq s}(\coprod_jH_{i_t}\xi_{tj})$ into
a finite union of cosets. But this contradicts to Lemma \ref{finite-coset},
so $\sum_i\kappa_{H_i}$ is injective.
To check the $G$-equivariantness ($\kappa_H(e[g'g])(\xi)=\kappa_H(e[g])(\xi g')$), it
suffices to note that $\xi^{-1}\in[g'g]$ if and only if $(\xi g')^{-1}\in[g]$. \end{proof}
\begin{lemma} \label{coinduction-gener} Let $G$ be a Roelcke precompact group and $H\subseteq G$
be an open subgroup. Let $R$ be an associative unitary ring endowed with the trivial $G$-action
and $E$ be a left $R$-module considered as a trivial $H$-module. Suppose that there is a
collection $\{G_{\Lambda}\}$ of pairwise non-commensurable open subgroups of $G$ such that
$\sum_{\Lambda}\#\{\text{{\rm finite $U$-orbits in $G/G_{\Lambda}$}}\}=\#(H\backslash G/U)$
for any $U$ from a base of open subgroups of $G$. Then the left $R[G]$-module $W$ coinduced
by $E$ {\rm (}i.e., the smooth part of $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{R[H]}(R[G],E)=\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits_H(G,E)${\rm )} is
isomorphic to $\bigoplus_{\Lambda}E[G/G_{\Lambda}]$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Lemma \ref{con} provides a natural injective morphism
$\sum_{\Lambda\subseteq J}\kappa_{\Lambda}:
\bigoplus_{\Lambda\subseteq J}E[G/G_{\Lambda}]\to W$. To check its surjectivity, we verify
the surjectivity of the induced maps $\bigoplus_{\Lambda\subseteq J}E[G/G_{\Lambda}]^U
\to W^U=\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits(H\backslash G/U,E)$, where $U$ runs over a base of open subgroups of $G$.
As $W^U$ is spanned by the delta-functions on $G_J\backslash G/U$, it suffices to check
the surjectivity in the case $E=\mathbb Z$, which in turn is equivalent to the cases where
$E$ runs over all prime fields. If $E$ is a field then the surjectivity is equivalent
to the coincidence of dimensions of the source and the target, i.e., to the equality
$\sum_{\Lambda}\#\{\text{finite $U$-orbits in $G/G_{\Lambda}$}\}=\#(H\backslash G/U)$.
\end{proof}
\begin{proposition} \label{coinduction} Let $G$ be the group of automorphisms
of a countable $\Psi$, which is either a set or a vector space over a finite field,
fixing a finite subset of $\Psi$. Let $R$ be an associative unitary ring endowed
with the trivial $G$-action, $J\subset\Psi$ be a $G$-closed finite subset and $E$ be
a left $R$-module considered as a trivial $G_J$-module. Then the left $R[G]$-module
coinduced by $E$ is isomorphic to $\bigoplus_{\Lambda}E[G/G_{\Lambda}]$, where
$\Lambda$ runs over the $G$-closed subsets of $J$. \end{proposition}
\begin{proof} As $G_{\Lambda}$ are pairwise non-commensurable, by Lemma \ref{coinduction-gener},
we only need to construct a bijection $\mu:H\backslash G/U\stackrel{\sim}{\longrightarrow}
\coprod_{\Lambda}\{\text{{\rm finite $U$-orbits in $G/G_{\Lambda}$}}\}$, where
$H=G_J$ and $U=G_T$ for $T$ running over the $G$-closed subsets of $\Psi$.
To each element $[\sigma]\in H\backslash G/U$ we associate the subgroup
$\langle H,\sigma U\sigma^{-1}\rangle$ (generated by $H$ and $\sigma U\sigma^{-1}$)
as $G_{\Lambda(\sigma)}$ and the class $[\sigma^{-1}]_{\Lambda}$ of
$\sigma^{-1}$ in $G/G_{\Lambda(\sigma)}$. Clearly, these $G_{\Lambda(\sigma)}$
and $[\sigma^{-1}]_{\Lambda}$ are well-defined and, in particular,
$[\sigma^{-1}]_{\Lambda(\sigma)}$ is fixed by $U$. This gives rise to
a map $\eta:H\backslash G/U\to\coprod_{\Lambda}(G/G_{\Lambda})^U$.
According to \S\ref{substructures}, $G_{\Lambda(\sigma)}=G_{J\cap\sigma(T)}$.
It is easy to see that (i) $\eta$ is bijective and (ii) any finite $G_T$-orbit
in $G/G_{\Lambda}$ consists of a single element, so we are done. \end{proof}
\subsection{Growth estimates}
Let $G\subseteq\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ be a permutation group such that for any integer
$N\ge 0$ the $G$-closed subsets of length $N$ form a non-empty $G$-orbit.
For each integer $N\ge 0$ fix a $G$-closed subset $\Psi_N\subset\Psi$
of length $N$, i.e., $N$ is the minimal cardinality of the subsets
$S\subset\Phi$ such that $\Psi_N$ is the $G$-closure of $S$.
For a division ring endowed with a $G$-action and an
$A\langle G\rangle$-module $M$ define a function
$d_M:{\mathbb Z}_{\ge 0}\to{\mathbb Z}_{\ge 0}\sqcup\{\infty\}$ by
$d_M(N):=\dim_{A^{G_{\Psi_N}}}(M^{G_{\Psi_N}})$.
\begin{lemma} \label{growth} Let $G$ be either $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ (and then $q:=1$) or the group
of automorphisms of an $\mathbb F_q$-vector space $\Psi$ fixing a subspace of finite dimension
$v\ge 0$. Let $A$ be a division ring endowed with
a $G$-action. If $0\neq M\subseteq A[G/G_{\Psi_n}]$ for some $n\ge 0$
then $d_M$ grows as a $q$-polynomial of degree $n$:
\[\frac{1}{d_n(n)}([N]_q-[n+m-1]_q)^n\le\frac{d_{m+n}(N)}{d_m(N)d_n(n)}
\le d_M(N)\le q^{vn}d_n(N)\le q^{vn}[N]_q^n\]
for some $m\ge 0$, where $[s]_q:=\#\Psi_s$ and $d_n(N)$ is the number of embeddings
$\Psi_n\hookrightarrow\Psi_N$ induced by elements of $G$,
which is $([N]_q-[0]_q)\cdots([N]_q-[n-1]_q)$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} As $M^{G_{\Psi_N}}\subseteq A[N_G(G_{\Psi_N})/(N_G(G_{\Psi_N})\cap G_{\Psi_n})]$
and (by Lemma \ref{inject}) $A\otimes_{A^{G_{\Psi_N}}}M^{G_{\Psi_N}}\to M\subseteq A[G/G_{\Psi_n}]$
is injective, there is a natural inclusion \[A\otimes_{A^{G_{\Psi_N}}}M^{G_{\Psi_N}}\hookrightarrow
A[N_G(G_{\Psi_N})/(N_G(G_{\Psi_N})\cap G_{\Psi_n})]=A[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(\Psi_N)/\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(\Psi_N|\Psi_n)],\]
if $n\le N$. (Here $\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(\Psi_N|\Psi_n)$ denotes the automorphisms of $\Psi_N$ identical on
$\Psi_n$.) Then one has $d_M(N)\le\#(\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(\Psi_N)/\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(\Psi_N|\Psi_n))=q^{vn}d_n(N)$.
The lower bound of $d_M(N)$ is given by the number of $G$-closed
subsets in $\Psi_N$ with length-0 intersection with $\Psi_m$.
Indeed, for any non-zero element $\alpha\in M\subseteq A[G/G_{\Psi_n}]$ there exist
an integer $m\ge 0$ and elements $\xi,\eta\in G$ such that $\xi\alpha$ is congruent
to $\sum_{\sigma\in\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(\Psi_n)}b_{\sigma}\eta\sigma$ for some non-zero collection
$\{b_{\sigma}\in A\}_{\sigma\in\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(\Psi_n)}$ modulo monomorphisms whose
images have intersection of positive length with a fixed finite $\Psi_m$. \end{proof}
Let $q$ be either 1 or a primary integer. Let $S$ be a plain set if $q=1$
and an $\mathbb F_q$-vector space if $q>1$. For each integer $s\ge 0$, we
denote by $\binom{S}{s}_q$ the set of subobjects of $S$ ($G$-closed subsets of $\Psi$,
if $S=\Psi$, where $G=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ if $q=1$ and $G=\mathop{\mathrm{GL}}\nolimits_{\mathbb F_q}(\Psi)$ if $q>1$) of length $s$.
In other words, $\binom{S}{s}_1:=\binom{S}{s}$, while $\binom{S}{s}_q$ is
the Grassmannian of the $s$-dimensional subspaces in $S$ if $q>1$.
\begin{corollary} \label{def-binom} Let $G$ be either $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ (and then $q:=1$)
or the group of automorphisms of an $\mathbb F_q$-vector space $\Psi$ fixing a
finite-dimensional subspace of $\Psi$. Let $A$ be a division
ring endowed with a $G$-action. Let $\Xi$ be a finite
subset in $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{A\langle G\rangle}(A[G/G_T],A[G/G_{T'}])$ for
some finite $G$-closed $T'\subsetneqq T\subset\Psi$. Then
\begin{enumerate}\item \label{any-is-essential} any non-zero
$A\langle G\rangle$-submodule of $A[\binom{\Psi}{m}_q]$ is essential;
\item\label{level} there are no nonzero isomorphic
$A\langle G\rangle$-submodules in $A[G/G_T]$ and $A[G/G_{T'}]$;
\item \label{kernel-of-finite} the common kernel
$V_{\Xi}$ of all elements of $\Xi$ is an essential
$A\langle G\rangle$-submodule in $A[G/G_T]$. \end{enumerate} \end{corollary}
\begin{proof} (\ref{any-is-essential}) follows from
the lower growth estimate of Lemma \ref{growth}.
(\ref{level}) follows immediately from Lemma \ref{growth}.
(\ref{kernel-of-finite}) Suppose that there exists a nonzero submodule
$M\subseteq A[G/G_T]$ such that $M\cap V_{\Xi}=0$. Then
restriction of some $\xi\in\Xi$ to $M$ is nonzero. If $\xi|_M$ is not
injective, replacing $M$ with $\ker\xi\cap M$, we can assume that
$\xi|_M=0$. In other words, we can assume that restriction to $M$ of
any $\xi\in\Xi$ is either injective or zero. In particular, restriction
to $M$ of some $\xi\in\Xi$ is injective, i.e. $\xi$ embeds $M$ into
$A[G/G_{T'}]$, contradicting to (\ref{level}). \end{proof}
\subsection{More notations and a description of injective cogenerators}
Let $G\subseteq\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ be a permutation group. For a finite $G$-closed subset
$T\subset\Psi$, denote by $V^{\Psi}_T$ the common
kernel of all morphisms of $G$-modules $\pi:\mathbb Z[G/G_T]\to\mathbb Z[G/G_{T'}]$
for all proper $G$-closed subsets $T'\subsetneqq T$.
{\sc Remarks.} 1. In this definition it suffices to consider only maximal $T'$ and only
the morphisms $\pi$ induced by the natural projections $G/G_T\to G/G_{T'}$,
since the elements of the $\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T')$-orbits of such $\pi$'s generate
$\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_G(\mathbb Z[G/G_T],\mathbb Z[G/G_{T'}])$.
2. Clearly, any endomorphism of $\mathbb Z[G/G_T]$ preserves $V^{\Psi}_T$,
so $V^{\Psi}_T$ is an $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_G(\mathbb Z[G/G_T])$-module.
3. For any subset $S\subseteq T$ such that $G_T=\bigcap_{t\in S}G_{\{t\}}$ the
induced map $\mathbb Z[G/G_T]\to\mathbb Z[\prod_{t\in S}G/G_{\{t\}}]$ is injective and
identifies $V^{\Psi}_T$ with $\mathbb Z[G/G_T]\cap\bigotimes_{t\in S}V^{\Psi}_{\{t\}}
\subseteq\bigotimes_{t\in S}\mathbb Z[G/G_{\{t\}}]$.
\vspace{4mm}
Let $k$ be a field of characteristic zero and $\Pi(T)$ be the set of isomorphism
classes of simple $k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]$-modules. (E.g., in the case $G=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ the
elements of $\Pi(T)$, called {\sl Specht} $k[\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_T]$-modules, correspond to the
partitions of cardinality of $T$ and they are absolutely irreducible.)
For each $\alpha\in\Pi(T)$ we choose its representative $\Gamma_{T,\alpha}$ and set
$D_{\alpha}:=\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]}(\Gamma_{T,\alpha})$, so $k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]\cong\bigoplus
_{\alpha\in\Pi(T)}\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{D_{\alpha}}(\Gamma_{T,\alpha})$. Then there are canonical
decompositions of $k[G\times\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]$-modules \begin{gather*}k[G/G_T]=\bigoplus
_{\alpha\in\Pi(T)}S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}\otimes_{D_{\alpha}}\Gamma_{T,\alpha}
\quad\mbox{and}\quad V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k=\bigoplus_{\alpha\in\Pi(T)}
V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}\otimes_{D_{\alpha}}\Gamma_{T,\alpha},\quad\mbox{where}\\
S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}:=\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]}(\Gamma_{T,\alpha},k[G/G_T])
\quad\mbox{and}\quad V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}:=
\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]}(\Gamma_{T,\alpha},V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k).\end{gather*}
The following results may be well-known to the experts.
\begin{theorem} \label{injective-cogenerators} Let $G$ be the group of automorphisms
of a countable $\Psi$, which is either a set or a vector space over a finite field, fixing
a finite subset of $\Psi$.
Let $k$ be a field of characteristic zero. Then
the following holds. \begin{enumerate} \item \label{} The $k[G]$-module
$V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ is simple for any $T$ and any $\alpha\in\Pi(T)$. In particular,
the $k[G]$-module $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$ is semisimple. Two $k[G]$-modules
$V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ and $V^{\Psi}_{T',\alpha'}$ are isomorphic if and only if
$T'=g(T)$ for some $g\in G$ and $g$ transforms $\alpha$ to $\alpha'$.
\item \label{simple-in-V} Any simple smooth $k[G]$-module $W$ is isomorphic to
$V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ for some finite $G$-closed subset $T\subset\Psi$ and $\alpha\in\Pi(T)$.
\item \label{socle} The minimal essential submodule of any module $M$ of finite
length coincides with its maximal semisimple submodule (the socle), which
is $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$ in the case $M=k[G/G_T]$.
\item \label{inj-hulls-simple} The smooth $k[G]$-module $S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ is
an injective hull of $V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$.
\item \label{all-indec-inj} The $k[G]$-module $S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ is indecomposable
for any $T$ and any $\alpha\in\Pi(T)$. Two $k[G]$-modules $S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$
and $S^{\Psi}_{T',\alpha'}$ are isomorphic if and only if $T'=g(T)$ for some $g\in G$
and $g$ transforms $\alpha$ to $\alpha'$. Any indecomposable injective smooth
$k[G]$-module is isomorphic to $S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ for some $T\subset\Psi$ and $\alpha\in\Pi(T)$.
\item \label{no-morphisms}
The simple subquotients of the $k[G]$-module $k[G/G_T]$ are isomorphic to $V^{\Psi}_{T',\alpha}$
for all finite $G$-closed subsets $T'\subset T$ and all $\alpha\in\Pi(T')$. \end{enumerate}
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof} Let us show first that (i) any smooth simple $k[G]$-module
$W$ can be embedded into $k[G/G_T]$ for a finite subset $T\subset\Psi$,
(ii) the smooth $k[G]$-module $k[G/G_T]$ is injective for any finite $T$.
Let $J\subset\Psi$ be a finite $G$-closed subset such that $W^{G_J}\neq 0$.
By Lemma~\ref{trivial-is-injective}, the trivial $k[G_J]$-module $k$ is
injective, so (i) any surjection of $k$-vector spaces $W^{G_J}\to k$ extends
to a surjection of $k[G_J]$-modules $\pi:W\to k$, (ii) the smooth part of
$\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits_{G_J}(G,k)$ is injective. Then $\pi$ induces a non-trivial, and thus
injective, morphism $W\to\mathop{\mathrm{Maps}}\nolimits_{G_J}(G,k)$, $w\mapsto[g\mapsto\pi(gw)]$. By
Proposition~\ref{coinduction}, this implies (i) that $W$ can be embedded into
$k[G/G_{\Lambda}]$ for a subset $\Lambda\subseteq J$, (ii) the injectivity of $k[G/G_T]$.
To see that any smooth simple $k[G]$-module $W$ can be embedded
into $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$ for a finite $G$-closed subset $T\subset\Psi$,
we embed $W$ into $k[G/G_T]$ for a minimal $T$. Then $W$ is, in fact,
embedded into $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k\subseteq k[G/G_T]$: otherwise $W$
embeds into $k[M^{\Psi}_{T'}]$ for a proper $G$-closed $T'\subset T$.
For any pair of finite $G$-closed subsets $T\subseteq T'\subset\Psi$, let us construct natural
isomorphisms \[k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]\stackrel{\sim}{\longrightarrow}\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(k[G/G_T]]),
\quad\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(k[G/G_T],k[G/G_{T'}])\stackrel{\sim}{\longrightarrow}\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}
(V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k,V^{\Psi}_{T'}\otimes k),\] where the latter space vanishes if $T\subsetneqq T'$.
As $k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]\cong\bigoplus_{\alpha\in\Pi(T)}\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{D_{\alpha}}(\Gamma_{T,\alpha})$,
this will imply that any endomorphism of $k[G/G_T]$ or of $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$ is
a composition of a projector and an automorphism. One has $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(k[G/G_T])\cong
k[G/G_T]^{G_T}=k[N_G(G_T)/G_T]=k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]$. The restriction $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(k[G/G_T],k[G/G_{T'}])
\to\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k,k[G/G_{T'}])$ is surjective, since $k[G/G_{T'}]$ is injective.
On the other hand, it is injective, since any $\varphi\in\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(k[G/G_T],k[G/G_{T'}])$
vanishing on $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$ factors through a $k[G]$-submodule of a finite
cartesian power of $k[G/G_{T''}]$ for a proper $G$-closed $T''\subsetneqq T$, while
$\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(k[G/G_{T''}],k[G/G_{T'}])=0$.
It follows from definition of $V^{\Psi}_T$ that $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k,k[G/G_{T'}])
=\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k,V^{\Psi}_{T'}\otimes k)$.
Next, let us show that the $k[G]$-module $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$ is semisimple.
Assuming the contrary, $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$ contains an indecomposable
$W'\supset W_1\neq 0$ with simple $W'/W_1$. There is an embedding
$\iota:W'/W_1\hookrightarrow k[G/G_{T'}]$ for some finite $G$-closed
$T'\subset\Psi$. As $k[G/G_{T'}]$ is injective, $\iota$ extends to $k[G/G_T]/W_1
\longrightarrow k[G/G_{T'}]$, so gives rise to a non-zero morphism $k[G/G_T]
\stackrel{\varphi}{\longrightarrow}k[G/G_{T'}]$, and thus, $\#T\ge\#T'$ if $T$ is
$G$-closed. If $\#T'<\#T$ then $\varphi|_{V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k}=0$,
so $\varphi|_{W'}=0$, which is contradiction. Thus, $\#T=\#T'$, which means that
$\varphi$ can be considered as an endomorphism in $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(k[G/G_T])$. As
$\varphi$ is a composition of a projector and an automorphism, we may assume that
$\varphi$ is a projector. Therefore, $W'\cong\varphi(W')\oplus(id-\varphi)(W')$,
so $\varphi$ embeds $W'/W_1$ into $\varphi(W')$ and $id-\varphi$ embeds
$W'/W_1$ into $W_1\cong(id-\varphi)(W')$, so $(\varphi,id-\varphi):
(W'/W_1)\oplus W_1\to\varphi(W')\oplus(id-\varphi)(W')$ is injective.
As the source and the target of $(\varphi,id-\varphi)$ are of the
same finite length, $(\varphi,id-\varphi)$ is an isomorphism.
In particular, $(W'/W_1)\oplus W_1\cong W'$ contradicting to the indecomposability of $W'$.
Our next task is to show that (i) the $k[G]$-module $V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ is simple
for any $T$ and any $\alpha\in\Pi(T)$ and (ii) two $k[G]$-modules $V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$
and $V^{\Psi}_{T',\alpha'}$ are isomorphic if and only if $T'=g(T)$ for some
$g\in G$ and $g$ transforms $\alpha$ to $\alpha'$. As we already know, $V^{\Psi}_T$
and $V^{\Psi}_{T'}$ are semisimple and $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_T,V^{\Psi}_{T'})=0$
for any finite $G$-closed subsets $T\subsetneqq T'\subset\Psi$. This implies that
$\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_T,V^{\Psi}_{T'})=0$ if $T$ and $T'$ are not of same length.
Then it suffices to check that $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha},V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha'})$
is a division ring if $\alpha=\alpha'$ or is zero otherwise. One has
$\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k)=\bigoplus_{\alpha\in\Pi(T)}\bigoplus_{\beta\in\Pi(T)}
\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}\otimes_{D_{\alpha}}\Gamma_{T,\alpha},
V^{\Psi}_{T,\beta}\otimes_{D_{\beta}}\Gamma_{T,\beta})$. The natural map
$k[\mathop{\mathrm{Aut}}\nolimits(T)]\cong\bigoplus_{\alpha\in\Pi(T)}\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{D_{\alpha}}(\Gamma_{T,\alpha})\to
\bigoplus_{\alpha\in\Pi(T)}\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}\otimes_{D_{\alpha}}\Gamma_{T,\alpha})$
is bijective, and therefore, since the composition of this map with the inclusion into
$\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k)$ is also a bijection, the complementary summand
$\bigoplus_{\alpha,\beta\in\Pi(T),~\alpha\neq\beta}\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}
\otimes_{D_{\alpha}}\Gamma_{T,\alpha},V^{\Psi}_{T,\beta}\otimes_{D_{\beta}}\Gamma_{T,\beta})$
of $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{k[G]}(V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k)$ vanishes.
The coincidence of the minimal essential submodule, the maximal
semisimple submodule and the essential semisimple submodule is a general statement:
any simple subobject of an object $M$ is contained in any essential subobject
of $M$, while any non-zero object of finite length contains a simple subobject.
By Corollary \ref{def-binom} (\ref{kernel-of-finite}), $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$
is essential in $k[G/G_T]$. As $V^{\Psi}_T\otimes k$ is semisimple, we are done.
As we already know, $k[G/G_T]$ is injective, so its direct summand $S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$
is injective as well. As $V^{\Psi}_T$ is the socle of $k[G/G_T]$, the $k[G]$-module
$V^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ is the socle of $S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$. As the socle of
$S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ is simple, $S^{\Psi}_{T,\alpha}$ is indecomposable.
By the evident induction on $\# T$, the simple
subquotients of the $k[G]$-module $k[G/G_T]$ are isomorphic to the
direct summands of the $k[G]$-modules $V^{\Psi}_{T'}\otimes k$ for all
$T'\subseteq T$. As any simple $k[G]$-module is a quotient of $k[G/G_T]$
for an appropriate $T\subset\Psi$, we get the claim. \end{proof}
\section{Noetherian properties of smooth semilinear representations
of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$}
\begin{lemma} \label{indecomp} Let $G$ be a group acting on a field $K$.
Let $U$ be a subgroup of $G$ such that $(G/U)^U=\{[U]\}$ {\rm (}i.e.,
$\{g\in G~|~gU\subseteq Ug\}=U${\rm )} and $[U:U\cap(gUg^{-1})]=\infty$,
unless $g\in U$. Then $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{K\langle G\rangle}(K[G/U])=K^U$ is a field,
so $K[G/U]$ is indecomposable. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Indeed, $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{K\langle G\rangle}(K[G/U])=(K[G/U])^U=K^U
\oplus(K[(G\smallsetminus U)/U])^U$. As $U(gUg^{-1})$
consists of $[U:U\cap(gUg^{-1})]$ classes in $G/(gUg^{-1})$,
we see that $(K[(G\smallsetminus U)/U])^U=0$. \end{proof}
{\sc Examples.} 1. Let $\Psi$ be an infinite set, possibly endowed with
a structure of a projective space. Let $G$ be the group of automorphisms
of $\Psi$, respecting the structure, if any. Let $J$ be the $G$-closure
of a finite subset in $\Psi$, i.e., a finite subset or a finite-dimensional
subspace. Let $U$ be the stabilizer of $J$ in $G$. Then $G/U$ is identified
with the set of all $G$-closed subsets in $\Psi$ of the same length as $J$.
2. By Lemma \ref{indecomp}, $K[G/U]$ is indecomposable in the following
examples: \begin{enumerate} \item $G$ is the group of projective
automorphisms of an infinite projective space $\Psi$ (i.e., either
$\Psi$ is infinite-dimensional, or $\Psi$ is defined over an infinite
field), $U$ is the setwise stabilizer in $G$ of a finite-dimensional
subspace $J\subseteq\Psi$. Then $G/U$ is identified with the
Grassmannian of all subspaces in $\Psi$ of the same dimension as $J$.
\item $G$ is the group of permutations of an infinite set $\Psi$,
$U$ is the stabilizer in $G$ of a finite subset $J\subset\Psi$.
Then $G/U$ is identified with the set $\binom{\Psi}{\#J}$ of all
subsets in $\Psi$ of order $\#J$.
\item $G$ is the automorphism group of an algebraically closed extension
$F$ of a field $k$, $U$ is the stabilizer in $G$ of an algebraically
closed subextension $L|k$ of finite transcendence degree. Then $G/U$ is
identified with the set of all subextensions in $F|k$ isomorphic to $L|k$.
\end{enumerate}
\begin{lemma} \label{no-simple-submod} Let $G$ be a group acting
on a field $K$. Let $U\subset G$ be a subgroup such that an element
$g\in G$ acts identically on $K^U$ if and only if $g\in U$. Then there
are no irreducible $K$-semilinear subrepresentations in $K[G/U]$,
unless $U$ is of finite index in $G$. If $G$ acts faithfully on $K$ and
$U$ is of finite index in $G$ then $K[G/U]$ is trivial. \end{lemma}
{\sc Example.} Let $G$ be a group acting on a field $K$; $U\subset G$
be a maximal proper subgroup. Assume that $K^U\neq K^G$. Then we are
under assumptions of Lemma \ref{no-simple-submod}.
More particularly, if $G=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$, $U=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi,I}$ (so
$G/U\cong\binom{\Psi}{\#I}$) and $K^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi,I}}\neq k:=
K^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}}$ for a finite subset $I\subset\Psi$ then there are no
irreducible $K$-semilinear subrepresentations in $K[\binom{\Psi}{\#I}]$.
\begin{proof} By Artin's independence of characters theorem (applied
to the one-dimensional characters $g:(K^U)^{\times}\to K^{\times}$),
the morphism $K[G/U]\to\prod_{(K^U)^{\times}}K$, given by
$\sum_gb_g[g]\mapsto(\sum_gb_gf^g)_{f\in(K^U)^{\times}}$, is injective.
Then, for any non-zero element $\alpha\in K[G/U]$, there exists
an element $Q\in K^U$ such that the morphism $K[G/U]\to K$, given by
$\sum_gb_g[g]\mapsto\sum_gb_gQ^g$, does not vanish on $\alpha$.
Then $\alpha$ generates a subrepresentation $V$ surjecting onto $K$.
If $V$ is irreducible then it is isomorphic to $K$, so $V^G\neq 0$.
In particular, $K[G/U]^G\neq 0$, which can happen only if index of
$U$ in $G$ is finite.
If $[G:U]<\infty$ set $U'=\cap_{g\in G/U}gUg^{-1}$. This is a normal
subgroup of finite index. Then $K[G/U']=K\otimes_{K^{U'}}K^{U'}[G/U']$
and $K^{U'}[G/U']\cong(K^{U'})^{[G:U']}$ is trivial by
Hilbert's theorem 90, so we get $K[G/U']\cong K^{[G:U']}$. \end{proof}
\begin{lemma} \label{restriction} Let $G$ be a permutation
group, $A$ be an associative ring endowed with a smooth
$G$-action and $U\subseteq G$ be an open subgroup. Then
any smooth $A\langle G\rangle$-module is also smooth when
considered as an $A\langle U\rangle$-module. Suppose that
the set $U\backslash G/U'$ is finite for any open subgroup
$U'\subseteq G$. Then the restriction of any smooth finitely generated
$A\langle G\rangle$-module to $A\langle U\rangle$
is a finitely generated $A\langle U\rangle$-module. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} The $A\langle G\rangle$-modules $A[G/U']$ for all open
subgroups $U'$ of $G$ form a generating family of the category of
smooth $A\langle G\rangle$-modules. It suffices, thus, to check
that $A[G/U']$ is a finitely generated $A\langle U\rangle$-module for all open
subgroups $U'$ of $G$. Choose representatives $\alpha_i\in G/U'$ of
the elements of $U\backslash G/U'$. Then $G/U'=\coprod_iU\alpha_i$,
so $A[G/U']\cong\bigoplus_iA[U/(U\cap\alpha_iU'\alpha_i^{-1})]$
is a finitely generated $A\langle U\rangle$-module. \end{proof}
{\sc Examples.} 1. The finiteness assumption of Lemma \ref{restriction}
is valid for any open subgroup $G$ of a group of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits$-type,
as well as for any compact group $G$.
2. The restriction functor splits the indecomposable generators
into finite direct sums of indecomposable generators via canonical
isomorphisms of $A\langle G_J\rangle$-modules $A[\binom{\Psi}{t}_q]
=\bigoplus_{\Lambda\subseteq J}M_{\Lambda}$, where $M_{\Lambda}$ is
the free $A$-module on
the set of all subobjects of $\Psi$ of length $t$ and meeting $J$ along $\Lambda$.
\begin{lemma} \label{level-of-quotient} Let $s\ge 0$ be an integer
and $M$ be a quotient of the $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module
$K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$ by a non-zero submodule $M_0$.
Then there is a finite subset $I\subset\Psi$ such that the
$K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|I}\rangle$-module $M$ is isomorphic to a
quotient of $\bigoplus_{j=0}^{s-1}K[\binom{\Psi\smallsetminus I}{j}]
^{\oplus\binom{\# I}{s-j}}$. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Let $\alpha=\sum_{S\subseteq J}a_S[S]\in M_0$ be
a non-zero element for a finite set $J\subset\Psi$. Fix some
$S\subseteq J$ with $a_S\neq 0$. Set $I:=J\smallsetminus S$.
Then the morphism of $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|I}\rangle$-modules
$K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|I}\rangle\alpha\oplus
\bigoplus_{\varnothing\neq\Lambda\subseteq I}
K[\binom{\Psi\smallsetminus I}{s-\#\Lambda}]\to K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$,
given (i) by the inclusion on the first summand and (ii)
by $[T]\mapsto[T\cup\Lambda]$ on the summand corresponding
to $\Lambda$, is surjective. \end{proof}
In the following result, our principal examples of the ring $A$ will be
division rings endowed with an $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action, though localization of
$\mathbb Z[x~|~x\in\Psi]$ at all non-constant indecomposable polynomials
gives one more example.
\begin{proposition} \label{noetherian-generators} Let $A$ be an associative
left noetherian ring endowed with an arbitrary $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action.
Then the left $A\langle U\rangle$-module $A[\Psi^s]$ is noetherian for
any integer $s\ge 0$ and any open subgroup $U\subseteq\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$.
If the $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action on $A$ is smooth then any smooth finitely generated
$A\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module is noetherian. \end{proposition}
\begin{proof} We need to show that any $A\langle U\rangle$-submodule
$M\subset A[\Psi^s]$ is finitely generated for all $U=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|S}$ with finite
$S\subset\Psi$. We proceed by induction on $s\ge 0$, the case $s=0$
being trivial. Assume that $s>0$ and the $A\langle U\rangle$-modules
$A[\Psi^j]$ are noetherian for all $j<s$. Fix a subset
$I_0\subset\Psi\smallsetminus S$ of order $s$.
Let $M_0$ be the image of $M$ under the $A$-linear projector
$\pi_0:A[\Psi^s]\to A[I_0^s]\subset A[\Psi^s]$ omitting all
$s$-tuples containing elements other than those of $I_0$. As $A$
is noetherian and $I_0^s$ is finite, the $A$-module $M_0$ is
finitely generated. Let the $A$-module $M_0$ be generated by the images of
some elements $\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_N\in M\subseteq A[\Psi^s]$.
Then $\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_N$ belong to the $A$-submodule
$A[I^s]$ of $A[\Psi^s]$ for some finite subset $I\subset\Psi$.
Let $J\subset I\cup S$ be the complement to $I_0$. For
each pair $\gamma=(j,x)$, where $1\le j\le s$ and $x\in J$, set
$\Psi^s_{\gamma}:=\{(x_1,\dots,x_s)\in\Psi^s~|~x_j=x\}$. This is
a smooth $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|J}$-set. Then the set $\Psi^s$ is the union
of the $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|J}$-orbit consisting of $s$-tuples of pairwise
distinct elements of $\Psi\smallsetminus J$ and of a finite union
of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|J}$-orbits embeddable into $\Psi^{s-1}$:
$\bigcup_{\gamma}\Psi^s_{\gamma}\cup\bigcup_{1\le i<j\le s}\Delta_{ij}$,
where $\Delta_{ij}:=\{(x_1,\dots,x_s)\in\Psi^s~|~x_i=x_j\}$ are diagonals.
As (i) $M_0\subseteq\sum_{j=1}^NA\alpha_j+
\sum_{\gamma\in\{1,\dots,s\}\times J}A[\Psi^s_{\gamma}]$, (ii)
$g(M_0)\subset A[\Psi^s]$ is determined by $g(I_0)$, (iii) for any
$g\in U$ such that $g(I_0)\cap J=\varnothing$ there exists
$g'\in U_J$ with $g(I_0)=g'(I_0)$ ($U_J$ acts transitively
on the $s$-configurations in $\Psi\smallsetminus J$),
one has inclusions of $A\langle U_J\rangle$-modules
\[\sum_{j=1}^NA\langle U\rangle\alpha_j\subseteq M\subseteq\sum_{g\in U}
g(M_0)\subseteq\sum_{g\in U_J}g(M_0)
+\sum_{\gamma\in\{1,\dots,s\}\times J}A[\Psi^s_{\gamma}].\]
On the other hand, $g(M_0)\subseteq g(\sum_{j=1}^NA\alpha_j)+
\sum_{\gamma\in\{1,\dots,s\}\times J}A[\Psi^s_{\gamma}]$
for $g\in U_J$,
and therefore, the $A\langle U_J\rangle$-module
$M/\sum_{j=1}^NA\langle U\rangle\alpha_j$ becomes a subquotient of the
noetherian, by the induction assumption, $A\langle U_J\rangle$-module
$\sum_{\gamma\in\{1,\dots,s\}\times J}A[\Psi^s_{\gamma}]$, so
the $A\langle U_J\rangle$-module $M/\sum_{j=1}^NA\langle U\rangle\alpha_j$
is finitely generated, and thus, $M$ is finitely generated as well. \end{proof}
\begin{corollary} \label{noetherian} Let $A$ be a left noetherian
associative ring endowed with a smooth $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action. Then
{\rm (i)} any smooth finitely generated left $A\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module
$W$ is noetherian if considered as a left
$A\langle U\rangle$-module for any open subgroup $U\subseteq\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$;
{\rm (ii)} the category of smooth $A\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-modules
is locally noetherian, i.e., any smooth finitely generated left
$A\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module is noetherian. \end{corollary}
\begin{proof} The module $W$ is a quotient of a finite direct
sum of $A[\Psi^m]$ for some integer $m\ge 0$, while $A[\Psi^m]$
are noetherian by Proposition \ref{noetherian-generators}.
\end{proof}
The next result generalizes a description of representations
$k[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$ of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ from \cite{CaminaEvans}.
\begin{lemma} \label{length-binom} In notation preceeding Corollary
\ref{def-binom}, let $q\ge 1$ be either 1 or a primary number, $S$
be a finite or infinite set (if $q=1$) or an $\mathbb F_q$-vector
space, $G$ be the automorphism group of $S$. Let the morphism of
$G$-modules $\partial_s^S:{\mathbb Z}[\binom{S}{s}_q]\to
{\mathbb Z}[\binom{S}{s-1}_q]$ be defined by
$[T]\mapsto\sum_{T'\subset T}[T']$. Then {\rm (i)}
$\partial_{s+1}^S\otimes\mathbb Q$ is surjective if and only if length
of $S$ is $>2s$, {\rm (ii)} the representation $\mathbb Q[\binom{S}{s}_q]$
of $G$ is of length $\min(s,\mathrm{length}(S)-s)+1$ and
{\rm (iii)} the irreducible quotients of its composition series are
absolutely irreducible and pairwise non-isomorphic. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Fix a subobject $T$ of $S$ of length $s$. Then any element
$\varphi\in\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_G({\mathbb Z}[\binom{S}{s}_q],{\mathbb Z}[\binom{S}{t}_q])$
is determined by the image of $T$. As $\varphi(T)$ is fixed by the
stabilizer of $T$ and the latter acts transitively on the set of all
subobjects of $S$ of length $t$ and with a given length of intersection
with $T$, one has $\varphi([T])=
\sum_{i=0}^{\min(s,t)}a_i\sum_{\mathrm{length}(T'\cap T)=i}[T']$
for a collection of coefficients $a_i\in\mathbb Q$ if $S$ is finite
and $\varphi([T])=a\sum_{T'\subseteq T}[T']$ for a coefficient
$a\in\mathbb Q$ if $S$ is infinite.
Assume first that $S$ is finite. Comparing the cases
$t=s$ and $t=s-1$ and arguing by induction, we see that (i)
${\mathbb Q}[\binom{S}{s}_q]$ is a direct sum of $s+1$ pairwise
non-isomorphic absolutely irreducible subrepresentation, (ii)
${\mathbb Q}[\binom{S}{s}_q]$ embeds into ${\mathbb Q}[\binom{S}{s+1}_q]$.
Assume that length of $S$ is $>2s$. The morphisms
$\partial^S_s\otimes\mathbb Q,\partial_{s-1}^S\otimes\mathbb Q,
\dots,\partial^S_1\otimes\mathbb Q$ are non-injective, but they
cannot drop length of modules by more than 1, since their
composition
$\partial^S_s\partial_{s-1}^S\cdots\partial^S_1$ is non-zero.
This means that their kernels are irreducible, and thus,
they are surjective.
Now assume that $S$ is infinite. Clearly, the surjectivity of
$\partial^S_s\otimes\mathbb Q$ and the irreducibility of its kernel
follows from the case of sufficiently large finite $S$. By Lemma
\ref{length-upper-bound}, length of ${\mathbb Q}[\binom{S}{s}_q]$
does not exceed $s+1$, so it is precisely $s+1$.
If length of $S$ is $\le 2s$ then $\partial^S_{s+1}\otimes{\mathbb Q}$
is not surjective, since then $\dim_{{\mathbb Q}}{\mathbb Q}[\binom{S}{s+1}_q]=
\#\binom{S}{s+1}_q<\#\binom{S}{s}_q=
\dim_{{\mathbb Q}}{\mathbb Q}[\binom{S}{s}_q]$.
There are no other irreducible subrepresentation if $S$ is infinite,
since ${\mathbb Q}[\binom{S}{s}_q]$ is injective and indecomposable,
cf. \cite[Proposition 6.9]{BucurDeleanu}. \end{proof}
\begin{corollary} In notation of Lemma \ref{length-binom}, let $A$
be a torsion-free commutative integral domain (or a division ring)
endowed with the trivial $G$-action. Then, any $G$-submodule
$M\subseteq A[\binom{S}{s}_q]$ with
$(M\otimes\mathrm{Frac}(A))\cap A[\binom{S}{s}_q]=M$ is
the kernel of $\partial^S_s\partial_{s-1}^S\cdots\partial_{s-i}^S$
for some $i$. In particular, the $A[G]$-module $A[\binom{S}{s}_q]$
is of length $s+1$ and $\partial_s^S\otimes A$ is surjective if $A$
is a division ring and length of $S$ is $>2s$. \qed \end{corollary}
\begin{corollary} Let $A$ be a left noetherian associative ring endowed
with a smooth $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action. Then {\rm (i)} any sum of smooth
injective left $A\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-modules
is again injective; {\rm (ii)} any smooth injective left
$A\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module is a sum of uniquely determined (upto
non-unique isomorphism) collection of indecomposable smooth injective
left $A\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-modules; {\rm (iii)} injective
hull of a smooth noetherian left $A\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module
is a finite sum of indecomposables. \end{corollary}
\begin{proof} (i) is \cite[Corollary 6.50]{BucurDeleanu} by Corollary
\ref{noetherian}; (ii) is \cite[Proposition 6.51]{BucurDeleanu},
again by Corollary \ref{noetherian};
(iii) is \cite[Proposition 6.41]{BucurDeleanu}. \end{proof}
For any $N,M\ge 0$, denote by $S_{M,N}$ the (purely transcendental over $k$ of
transcendence degree $N$) field of rational functions in $N$ variables over
a field $k$ symmetric both in the first $M$ and in the remaining $N-M$ variables.
For instance, (i) $S_{M,N}:=0$ if $N<M$, (ii) $S_{N,N}$ is the field of
symmetric rational functions in $N$ variables over $k$; (iii) $S_{N,N+1}$ is
the field of rational functions in the $(N+1)$-st variable over the field
$S_{N,N}$ of symmetric rational functions in the first $N$ variables.
For any $Q\in S_{M,N}$ and any $J\subseteq I\subset\Psi$ with
$\# I=N$ and $\# J=M$, denote by $Q(J\subseteq I)\in k(\Psi)$ the value
of $Q$ on the collection $I$, where the first $M$ arguments are in $J$.
\begin{lemma} \label{morphismes-entre-generat} Let $K=k(\Psi)$ for a field $k$.
Then there is a canonical isomorphism of $k$-vector spaces
\[\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K[\binom{\Psi}{N}],K[\binom{\Psi}{M}])
=\left\{\begin{array}{ll} S_{M,N},&\text{{\rm if $N\ge M$,}}\\
0,&\text{{\rm if $N<M$,}} \end{array}\right.\qquad Q:[T]\mapsto
\sum_{J\subseteq T}Q(J\subseteq T)[J].\]
Under this isomorphism, the
composition $K[\binom{\Psi}{N}]\stackrel{R}{\longrightarrow}
K[\binom{\Psi}{M}]\stackrel{Q}{\longrightarrow}K[\binom{\Psi}{L}]$
is given by \[(Q\circ R)(J_0\subseteq T):=\sum_{J_0\subseteq
J\subseteq T}Q(J\subseteq T)R(J_0\subseteq J),\quad\mbox{where length
of $J$ is $M$.}\] \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Fix a subset $I\subset\Psi$ of cardinality $N$ and a subset
$J_0\subset I$ of cardinality $M$. Then the morphisms $K[\binom{\Psi}{N}]
\to K[\binom{\Psi}{M}]$ are in one-to-one correspondence with the elements
of $K[\binom{\Psi}{M}]^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi,I}}$: to a morphism we associate its
value on $I$; any morphism is determined by its value on $I$. Any element
in $K[\binom{\Psi}{M}]^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi,I}}$ is of the form
$\sum_{J\subseteq I}Q_J[J]$, where $\sigma Q_J=Q_{\sigma(J)}$ for any
$\sigma\in\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_I$. In particular, $Q_J$ for all $J$ are determined by
$Q_{J_0}$ and $Q_{J_0}$ is a rational function over $k$ in variables
$I$ symmetric in the variables $J_0$ and in the variables
$I\smallsetminus J_0$, i.e., the space of morphisms is identified
with $S_{M,N}$. \end{proof}
\section{Triviality of the smooth finite-dimensional semilinear
representations of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$} The following result is analogous
to the case of general linear group of \cite[Proposition 5.4]{repr}.
\begin{lemma} \label{triviality-finite-dim} Let $K=k(\Psi)$
for a field $k$. Then
any smooth finite-dimensional $K$-semilinear
representation of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ is trivial. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Set $G:=\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ and let $b\subset V$ be a $K$-basis,
pointwise fixed by an open subgroup of $G$, so $b\subset V_I:=V^{G_I}$
for a finite subset $I\subset\Psi$. By Lemma~\ref{inject} (with
$\chi\equiv 1$), the multiplication maps $V_I\otimes_{K_I}K=
(V_I\otimes_{K_I}K_J)\otimes_{K_J}K\to V_J\otimes_{K_J}K\to V$
are injective for any subset $J\subseteq\Psi$ containing $I$, where
$K_J:=K^{G_J}$. The composition is an isomorphism, so
$V_I\otimes_{K_I}K_J\to V_J$ is an isomorphism as well.
In particular, $f_{\sigma}=id_V$ if $\sigma\in G_I$, where
$(f_{\sigma}\in\mathop{\mathrm{GL}}\nolimits_K(V))_{\sigma}$ is the 1-cocycle of
the $G$-action in the basis $b$. Clearly, (i) $f_{\sigma}$
depends only on the class $\sigma|_I$ of $\sigma$ in
$G/G_I=\{\text{embeddings of $I$ into $\Psi$}\}$, (ii)
$f_{\sigma}\in\mathop{\mathrm{GL}}\nolimits_{K_{I\cup\sigma(I)}}(V_{I\cup\sigma(I)})$.
Assume that $I,\sigma(I),\tau\sigma(I)$ are disjoint, $X,Y,Z$ are
the standard collections of the elementary symmetric functions in
$I,\tau(I),\tau\sigma(I)$, respectively. Then the cocycle condition
$f_{\tau\sigma}=f_{\tau}f_{\sigma}^{\tau}$
(where $f_{\sigma}^{\tau}\in\mathop{\mathrm{GL}}\nolimits_{K_{\tau(I)\cup\tau\sigma(I)}}
(V_{\tau(I)\cup\tau\sigma(I)})$) becomes $\Phi(X,Z)=\Phi(X,Y)\Phi(Y,Z)$
and $\Phi(Y,X)=\Phi(X,Y)^{-1}$, where $f_{\tau\sigma}=\Phi(X,Z)$, etc.
If $k$ is infinite then there is a $k$-point $Y_0$, where $\Phi(X,Y)$
and $\Phi(Y,Z)$ are regular. If $k$ is finite then there is a finite field
extension $k'|k$ and a $k'$-point $Y_0$, where $\Phi(X,Y)$ and $\Phi(Y,Z)$
are regular. Specializing $Y$ to such $Y_0$, we get $\Phi(X,Z)=\Phi(X,Y_0)
\Phi(Y_0,Z)=\Phi(X,Y_0)\Phi(Z,Y_0)^{-1}$. Then $\Phi(X,Y_0)$ transforms
$b$ to a basis $b'$ fixed by all $\sigma\in G$ such that $\sigma(I)$
does not meet $I$. As the elements $\sigma\in G$ such that $\sigma(I)$ does
not meet $I$ generate the whole group $G$, the basis $b'$ is fixed by entire
$G$. This gives an embedding of $V$ into a (finite) direct sum of copies of
$K\otimes_kk'$, which is itself a (finite) direct sum of copies of $K$,
and finally, so is $V$ as well. \end{proof}
\section{Structure of $K[\Psi]$}
\begin{lemma} \label{some-Exts} Let $K$ be a field endowed with a
smooth $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action. For any pair of integers $m,n\ge 0$ one has
$\mathop{\mathrm{Ext}}\nolimits^1(K[\Psi^m],K[\Psi^n])=0$ in the category of smooth $K$-semilinear
representations of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$. In particular, the restriction morphism
\[\rho_{m,n}:\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K[\binom{\Psi}{m}],
K[\binom{\Psi}{n}])\to\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}
(V,K[\binom{\Psi}{n}])\] is surjective if $V=K[\binom{\Psi}{m}]^{\circ}$
or if $m=1$, $K=k(\Psi)$ and $0\neq V\subseteq K[\Psi]$
(and injective if $n>0$). \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Consider first the case of $m=0$. Let
$0\to K[\Psi^n]\to E\to K\to 0$ be an extension. Choose a section
$v\in E$ (projecting to $1\in K$). Then $v\in E^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|I}}$
for a finite subset $I\subset\Psi$, and therefore,
$f_{\sigma}:=\sigma v-v\in(K[\Psi^n])^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|I\cup\sigma(I)}}
\subseteq K[(I\cup\sigma(I))^n]$ for any $\sigma\in\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$. Then
$f_{\sigma}=\sum_{\xi\in(I\cup\sigma(I))^n}a_{\sigma,\xi}[\xi]$.
Let $\sigma,\tau\in\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ be such elements
that $\#(I\cup\sigma(I)\cup\tau\sigma(I))=3\# I$. Then $f_{\sigma}^{\tau}
=\sum_{\xi\in(\tau(I)\cup\tau\sigma(I))^n}a_{\sigma,\tau^{-1}\xi}
^{\tau}[\xi]$ and $f_{\tau}=\sum_{\xi\in(I\cup\tau(I))^n}
a_{\tau,\xi}[\xi]$. From the 1-cocycle condition
$f_{\tau\sigma}=f_{\tau}+f_{\sigma}^{\tau}$ we see that $a_{\tau,\xi}=0$,
unless support of $\xi$ is contained either in $I$ or in $\tau(I)$.
Moreover, $a_{\tau,\xi}+a_{\sigma,\tau^{-1}\xi}^{\tau}=0$
if support of $\xi$ is contained in $\tau(I)$;
$a_{\tau\sigma,\xi}=a_{\sigma,\xi}$ if support of $\xi$ is contained in
$I$; $a_{\tau\sigma,\xi}=a_{\sigma,\tau^{-1}\xi}^{\tau}$
if support of $\xi$ is contained in $\tau\sigma(I)$.
Then the element $v':=v-\sum_{\xi\in I^n}a_{\sigma,\xi}[\xi]$ is fixed
by all elements $\sigma\in\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ such that $\#(I\cup\sigma(I))=2\# I$.
As such $\sigma$ generate the group $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$,
we get $v'\in E^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}}$, i.e., our extension is split.
Now let $m$ be arbitrary. We split $\Psi^m$ into disjoint union of
$\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-orbits $O$. For a fixed $O$, let $0\to K[\Psi^n]\to E
\stackrel{p}{\longrightarrow}K[O]\to 0$ be a smooth extension of
$K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-modules. We know already that
$0\to K[\Psi^n]\to p^{-1}(K\cdot[\xi])\stackrel{p}{\longrightarrow}K\cdot
[\xi]\to 0$ is a split extension of $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|J}\rangle$-modules
for any $\xi\in O$, where $J\subset\Psi$ is the support of $\xi$. Then we
can choose $v\in E^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi|J}}$ with $p(v)=[\xi]$. Such $v$ spans in
$E$ a $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-submodule identified by $p$ with
$K[O]$, i.e., the extension splits. Then the short exact sequence
$0\to V\to K[\binom{\Psi}{m}]\to K^N\to 0$ for some integer $N\ge 0$
induces the surjection $\rho_{m,n}$ with the kernel
$\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K,K[\binom{\Psi}{n}])$, which is
$K^{\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}}$ for $n=0$ and $0$ for $n>0$
(cf. Lemma \ref{no-simple-submod}). \end{proof}
\begin{lemma} \label{weight-1-quotients}
\label{non-zero-weight-1} The cokernel of any non-zero morphism of
$K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-modules $\varphi:K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]\to K[\Psi]$
is at most $(s-1)$-dimensional. In particular, any non-zero
submodule of $K[\Psi]$ is of finite codimension. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Fix a subset $\{b_1,\dots,b_{s-1}\}$
of $\Psi$ of order $(s-1)$. Then, for any element $b\in\Psi$, $b\neq b_i$,
the set $\{b,b_1,\dots,b_{s-1}\}$ is sent by $\varphi$ to a linear
combination of $b,b_1,\dots,b_{s-1}$ with non-zero coefficients,
and therefore, the image of $b$ in the cokernel of $\varphi$ is
a linear combination of images of $b_1,\dots,b_{s-1}$. \end{proof}
\begin{lemma} Let $K=k(\Psi)$ be endowed with the standard
$\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action. \begin{enumerate} \item There are natural bijections
\begin{enumerate} \item between the $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-submodules
of $K[\Psi]$ of codimension $s$ and the $s$-dimensional $k$-vector
subspaces in $k(T)$; \item between the isomorphism classes of
$K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-submodules of $K[\Psi]$ of codimension
$s$ and the $k(T)^{\times}$-orbits of the $s$-dimensional $k$-vector
subspaces in the space $k(T)$ of rational functions in one variable $T$.
\end{enumerate} \item An element $\sum_{t}q_t[t]\in K[\Psi]$
is a generator if and only if $\sum_{t}q_tQ(t)\neq 0$
for any $Q\in k(T)^{\times}$. \end{enumerate} \end{lemma}
{\it Proof.} \begin{enumerate} \item By Lemma \ref{non-zero-weight-1},
the $K$-vector space $K[\Psi]/M$ is finite-dimensional for any
non-zero $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-submodule $M$ of $K[\Psi]$,
so by Lemma \ref{triviality-finite-dim} the
$K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module $K[\Psi]/M$ is isomorphic to
a sum of copies of $K$, and therefore,
$M$ is the common kernel of the elements of a finite-dimensional
$k$-vector subspace of $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K[\Psi],K)$
(identified with the field of rational functions $k(T)$). Clearly,
the $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K[\Psi])^{\times}$-action
preserves the isomorphism classes of the common kernels (since
$\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K[\Psi])=k(T)$ is a field). On the
other hand, $\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K[\Psi]/M,K[\Psi])=0$
and (by Lemma \ref{some-Exts})
$\mathop{\mathrm{Ext}}\nolimits^1_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K[\Psi]/M,K[\Psi])=0$,
so the restriction morphism $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(K[\Psi])
\to\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}(M,K[\Psi])$ is an isomorphism, i.e.,
any morphism between $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-submodule $M$ of
$K[\Psi]$ is induced by an endomorphism of $K[\Psi]$ (identified
with an element of $k(T)$).
\item Any $Q\in k(T)^{\times}$ such that
$\sum_{t}q_tQ(t)=0$ determines a non-zero morphism $K[\Psi]\to K$ trivial
on the submodule generated by $\alpha:=\sum_{t}q_t[t]$, so $\alpha$ is
not a generator. If $\alpha$ generate a proper submodule $M\subset K[\Psi]$
then the quotient $K[\Psi]/M$ is finite-dimensional, so by
Lemma~\ref{triviality-finite-dim} it admits a quotient isomorphic to $K$.
Finally, any morphism $K[\Psi]\to K$ is given by some $Q\in k(T)^{\times}$.
\qed \end{enumerate}
\begin{lemma}
Let $K=k(\Psi)$ be endowed with the standard $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action.
Then the following conditions on a non-zero rational function $q(X,Y)$
over $k$ are equivalent \begin{enumerate} \item \label{not-gen}
$q:K[\binom{\Psi}{2}]\to K[\Psi]$, $[\{a,b\}]\mapsto q(a,b)[a]+q(b,a)[b]$,
is not surjective (in other words, $q(a,b)[a]+q(b,a)[b]$ is not a generator of $K[\Psi]$),
\item \label{cokern-nontr} the cokernel of $q:K[\binom{\Psi}{2}]\to K[\Psi]$
is isomorphic to $K$, \item \label{non-0-non-surj}
$q(X,Y)=(X-Y)S(Y)R(X,Y)$ for some $S$ and a symmetric $R$,
\item \label{exists-annul} there exists some $S(X)\neq 0$ such that
$q(a,b)S(a)+q(b,a)S(b)=0$, \item \label{exists-exact} there exists some
$S(X)$ such that the sequence
$K[\binom{\Psi}{2}]\stackrel{q}{\longrightarrow}K[\Psi]
\stackrel{S}{\longrightarrow}K$ is exact. \end{enumerate}\end{lemma}
\begin{proof} (\ref{cokern-nontr})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{not-gen}) and
(\ref{exists-exact})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{exists-annul}) are trivial;
(\ref{exists-annul})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{non-0-non-surj})$\Rightarrow$%
(\ref{cokern-nontr}) are evident.
(\ref{not-gen})$\Rightarrow$(\ref{exists-exact}). Let $A=\{a_0,\dots,a_s\}$
be a subset of $\Psi$ of order $s+1$. Then $A\smallsetminus\{a_j\}$ is
sent by $q$ to $\sum_{i\neq j}q(A\smallsetminus\{a_i,a_j\};a_i)\{a_i\}$,
so the image contains $s+1$ elements
$\sum_{i\neq j}q(A\smallsetminus\{a_i,a_j\};a_i)\{a_i\}$ for
$0\le j\le s$. In the case $s=2$ these three elements span a vector
space of dimension 2 or 3. The dimension is 2 if and only if $D:=\det
\left(\begin{matrix}q(a_0,a_1)&q(a_1,a_0)&0\\ 0&q(a_1,a_2)&q(a_2,a_1)\\ q(a_0,a_2)&0&q(a_2,a_0)
\end{matrix}\right)=q(a_0,a_1)q(a_1,a_2)q(a_2,a_0)+q(a_1,a_0)q(a_2,a_1)q(a_0,a_2)$ vanishes.
Let $q(X,Y)=P(X)S(Y)\prod_i\Phi_i(X,Y)^{m_i}$ be a decomposition
into a product of irreducibles. Then
\[D=R(a_0)R(a_1)R(a_2)(\prod_i(\Phi_i(a_0,a_1)\Phi_i(a_1,a_2)\Phi_i(a_2,a_0))^{m_i}
+\prod_i(\Phi_i(a_1,a_0)\Phi_i(a_2,a_1)\Phi_i(a_0,a_2))^{m_i}),\] where $R=PS$,
vanishes if and only if $\prod_i(\Phi_i(a_0,a_1)\Phi_i(a_1,a_2)
\Phi_i(a_2,a_0))^{m_i}$ is a skew symmetric function, i.e.,
$\prod_i\Phi_i(X,Y)^{m_i}$ is a skew symmetric function. \end{proof}
\section{Cyclicity of the smooth finitely generated semilinear
representations of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$}
The following result extends the existence of a cyclic vector in
any finite-degree non-degenerate semilinear representation of an
endomorphism of infinite order, cf., e.g., \cite[Lemma 2.1]{pgl}.
\begin{lemma} \label{surjectivity} Let $G$ be a permutation group,
$K$ be a field endowed with a smooth $G$-action such that any open
subgroup of $G$ contains an element inducing on $K$ an automorphism
of infinite order.
Then any smooth finitely generated $K\langle G\rangle$-module $W$ admits
a cyclic vector. \end{lemma}
\begin{proof} A finite system $S$ of generators of the
$K\langle G\rangle$-module $W$ is fixed by an open subgroup
$U\subseteq G$. By \cite[Lemma 2.1]{pgl}, the
$K\langle U\rangle$-module spanned by $S$ admits a cyclic vector $v$.
Then $v$ is a cyclic vector of the $K\langle G\rangle$-module $W$.
\end{proof}
\begin{corollary} \label{presentation-simple-semilin}
Let $K$ be a field endowed with a smooth faithful $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action.
Then any smooth simple left $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module
is isomorphic to $K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]/K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle\alpha$
for some $\alpha\in K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$. \end{corollary}
\begin{proof} By Lemma \ref{semilin-gener}, any smooth
simple left $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module is isomorphic
to a quotient of $K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$ for an appopriate $s\ge 0$ by
a left $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-submodule $V$. By Proposition
\ref{noetherian-generators}, the $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module $V$
is finitely generated, and thus, by Lemma \ref{surjectivity}, it is cyclic, i.e.,
it is generated by some $\alpha\in K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$. \end{proof}
\begin{corollary} Let $K=k(\Psi)$ for a field $k$. Then {\rm (1)} the $K$-semilinear
representations of $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$ of the following 4 classes, where $s\ge 0$
is integer, are indecomposable: {\rm (i)}$_s$ $K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$, where
$s\neq 1$, {\rm (ii)} the $K$-semilinear subrepresentations of $K[\Psi]$,
{\rm (iii)}$_s$ $K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]^{\circ}$, where $s\ge 2$; {\rm (2)} a pair of
such representations consists of isomorphic ones only if they belong to the
same class (i.e., to one of {\rm (i)}$_s$, {\rm (ii)}, {\rm (iii)}$_s$
for some $s$) and, in the case {\rm (ii)}, have the same codimension
in $K[\Psi]$. \end{corollary}
\begin{proof} This follows from $\mathop{\mathrm{End}}\nolimits_{K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle}
(K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]^{\circ})=k$ and Lemma \ref{morphismes-entre-generat}.
The short exact sequence $0\to V\to K[\Psi]\to K[\Psi]/V\to 0$ gives an
exact sequence $0\to\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits(K,K[\Psi]/V)\to\mathop{\mathrm{Ext}}\nolimits^1(K,V)\to\mathop{\mathrm{Ext}}\nolimits^1(K,K[\Psi])$.
By Lemma \ref{some-Exts}, $\mathop{\mathrm{Ext}}\nolimits^1(K,K[\Psi])=0$. By Lemma
\ref{non-zero-weight-1}, $\dim_K(K[\Psi]/V)$ is finite if $V\neq 0$,
so by Lemma \ref{triviality-finite-dim},
$\dim_k\mathop{\mathrm{Hom}}\nolimits(K,K[\Psi]/V)=\dim_K(K[\Psi]/V)$ if $V\neq 0$.
This implies that codimension of $V\neq 0$ in $K[\Psi]$ is
$\dim_k\mathop{\mathrm{Ext}}\nolimits^1(K,V)$. \end{proof}
\begin{conjecture} \label{indec-injectives} Let $K=k(\Psi)$ for a field
$k$ be endowed with the standard $\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}$-action. Then for any
$s\ge 0$ the indecomposable smooth $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module
$K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$ is injective. Any indecomposable injective
smooth $K\langle\mathop{\mathfrak{S}}\nolimits_{\Psi}\rangle$-module is isomorphic
to $K[\binom{\Psi}{s}]$ for some $s\ge 0$. \end{conjecture}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 6,689 |
{"url":"https:\/\/www.physicsforums.com\/threads\/convergence-of-a-sequence.230247\/","text":"Homework Help: Convergence of a sequence\n\n1. Apr 20, 2008\n\ngrothem\n\n1. The problem statement, all variables and given\/known data\nDetermine if the sequence is convergent or divergent\n{$$\\sqrt[n]{3^n+5^n}$$}\n\n2. Relevant equations\n\n3. The attempt at a solution\nI know I need to take the limit to find if it converges or diverges. But I'm not really sure what I need to do to it to take the limit.\n1. The problem statement, all variables and given\/known data\n\n2. Relevant equations\n\n3. The attempt at a solution\n\n2. Apr 20, 2008\n\nDick\n\nTake the log of the sequence. Write 3^n+5^n=5^n(1+(3\/5)^n). Does that help?\n\n3. Apr 21, 2008\n\nth3plan\n\nno need to that even, use the root test, and from there you can tell\n\n4. Apr 21, 2008\n\ngrothem\n\nI thought you could only apply the root test to a series, not a sequence, or does it not matter?\n\n5. Apr 21, 2008\n\nDick\n\nRight. The root test is not helpful for sequences.\n\n6. Apr 21, 2008\n\ngrothem\n\nso after taking the log I came up with 5(1+(3\/5)) = 8. Which I don't think is the right answer, did I do something wrong?\n\n7. Apr 21, 2008\n\nDick\n\nYes, quite a bit. Review your rules of logs. Try again. log([5^n*(1+3^n\/5^2)]^(1\/n)). What's your first step?\n\n8. Apr 21, 2008\n\ngrothem\n\noh ok....\n\nso I bring the 1\/n in front of the ln(5^n*(3\/5)^n)\n\nnow can I just take the limit from there?\n\n9. Apr 21, 2008\n\nDick\n\nCareful, you dropped a very important '1'. Now use log(a*b)=log(a)+log(b). Then the power rule again.\n\n10. Apr 21, 2008\n\ngrothem\n\nI came up with Limit as n tends to infinity of (ln(3)*(3\/8)^n + ln(5)*(5\/8)^n)\nand with those being geometric sequences with r < 1, the sequence is convergent.\n\n11. Apr 21, 2008\n\nDick\n\nThat's a long way from being correct. How did you get that?\n\n12. Apr 21, 2008\n\ngrothem\n\nI took the natural log and I got:\n\nLim 1\/n * ln(3^n+5^n)\n\nThen applying L'hospitals:\n\n(3^n*ln(3)+5^n*ln(5))\/(3^n+5^n)\n\nthen I simplified from there.\n\n13. Apr 21, 2008\n\nDick\n\nIf you want to go that way then fine. Then the 'simplification' went wrong. Try dividing numerator and denominator by 5^n. What's the limit of 3^n\/5^n?\n\n14. Apr 21, 2008\n\ngrothem\n\nok. The limit of 3^n\/5^n = 0\n\nSo after dividing through by 5^n, I'm left with ln(5). Which would be a divergent series\n\n15. Apr 21, 2008\n\nDick\n\nIt's a divergent series, but it's a convergent sequence. It converges to ln(5). But now remember you took the log of the original sequence.\n\n16. Apr 21, 2008\n\ngrothem\n\nOh ok. So raising ln(5) to power e gives me 5. So sequence converges to 5.\nThanks alot for the help!\n\n17. Apr 21, 2008\n\nDick\n\nYou're welcome. I think it would be a good exercise to try and do this without l'Hopital. You don't really need it, just use the rules of logs.\n\n18. Oct 23, 2008\n\njlu\n\nhow can i proof that ([sin0.4n][\/npi])2 converges and ([sin0.4n][\/npi]) diverges? n is between -infinity and +infinity\n\n19. Oct 23, 2008\n\ndirk_mec1\n\nWhat is the sequence? It isn't clear in the way you've written down.\n\n20. Oct 23, 2008\n\nDick\n\nOpen a new thread for a new question. Don't tag it onto an old thread. It won't get the attention it deserves. And try to post the question more legibly on the new thread. What is ([sin0.4n][\/npi])2? Do you mean (sin(theta*4n)\/(n*pi))^2??","date":"2018-08-15 05:27:04","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.8179110884666443, \"perplexity\": 1407.0610412840492}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": false, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2018-34\/segments\/1534221209884.38\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20180815043905-20180815063905-00050.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
Günther Hochgartz (10 July 1918 – 10 October 2005) was a West German politician. During World War II, he served as an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany and was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Awards and decorations
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 15 April 1944 as Hauptmann and Leader of the II./Grenadier-Regiment 187
References
Citations
Bibliography
1918 births
2005 deaths
People from Bocholt, Germany
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians
People from the Province of Westphalia
Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 4,193 |
v ator
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Twitter advertising revenue to triple in 2011
Ronny Kerr · January 24, 2011 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/1639
After an experimental 2010 made $45 million from ads, Twitter could make $150 million this year
One of our more popular stories from 2010 outed Twitter's new efforts in advertising as still highly experimental, just an exploration of the possibilities of one of the most popular microblogging platforms in the world. And that was just four months ago.
How quickly things can change.
Twitter could earn $150 million in advertising revenues this year, with the vast majority coming from the U.S., according to the latest forecast published by Internet market researcher eMarketer. Twitter declined to comment.
For a company that just raised $200 million at a $3.7 billion valuation, that might not seem like a lot of money. To compare, Facebook, which just raised $1.5 billion at a $50 billion valuation, is expected to collect $4.05 billion in 2011, more than doubling ad revenues from 2010. So Facebook raised a round seven and a half times bigger than Twitter's at a valuation that's 13.5 times bigger than Twitter's, but do these things really help explain why Facebook's revenue will be 27 times greater this year?
Perhaps that's not being fair, though.
After all, Twitter just started selling advertising for the first time last year and only made $45 million, entirely from U.S. buyers. In 2011 and 2012, eMarketer says the company will make $150 million and $250 million, respectively. That's some impressive growth no matter how you look at it, and the vast majority of it will still come from U.S. advertisers. Imagine if Twitter went full throttle on international advertising sales as well (Facebook's advertising revenues internationally are already growing faster than they are domestically).
But Twitter doesn't look prepared to go full throttle on advertising just yet.
Twitter appears to be taking a slow, gentle approach (maybe they're still experimenting and iterating?) instead of trying to capitalize on their massive network and endless hype all at once. On one hand, they could be missing an incredible opportunity by potentially letting the excitement over the Twitter service flutter away. On the other hand, to return to the Facebook case, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has proven to some extent that a focus on development of the service, not on revenues, can be successful both for capturing a wider audience and for building the business.
Maybe Twitter's slow experimentation will pay off, in the end. Do you think the company is intentionally taking things easy or will the site never monetize to the degree investors expect?
Ronny Kerr
I am a professional writer with a decade of experience in the technology industry. At VatorNews, I cover the zero-waste economy, venture capital, and cannabis. I'm also available for freelance hire.
Read more from our "Trends and news" series
Stratasan raises $26M to provide hospital systems with actionable healthcare analytics
The company also welcomed two new members to its board of directors
Steven Loeb
Tara AI raises $10M to speed up software development with machine learning
The company, whose team is made up of Google and Apple engineers, has saved teams 40% of their time
Digital prescribing platform Xealth adds $3M to its Series A
New investors include Atrium Health, Cleveland Clinic and MemorialCare Innovation Fund
Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs
Joined Vator on April 9, 2008
What is Twitter?
Twitter is an online information network that allows anyone with an account to post 140 character messages, called tweets. It is free to sign up. Users then follow other accounts which they are interested in, and view the tweets of everyone they follow in their "timeline." Most Twitter accounts are public, where one does not need to approve a request to follow, or need to follow back. This makes Twitter a powerful "one to many" broadcast platform where individuals, companies or organizations can reach millions of followers with a single message. Twitter is accessible from Twitter.com, our mobile website, SMS, our mobile apps for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, our iPad application, or 3rd party clients built by outside developers using our API. Twitter accounts can also be private, where the owner must approve follower requests.
Where did the idea for Twitter come from?
Twitter started as an internal project within the podcasting company Odeo. Jack Dorsey, and engineer, had long been interested in status updates. Jack developed the idea, along with Biz Stone, and the first prototype was built in two weeks in March 2006 and launched publicly in August of 2006. The service grew popular very quickly and it soon made sense for Twitter to move outside of Odea. In May 2007, Twitter Inc was founded.
How is Twitter built?
Our engineering team works with a web application framework called Ruby on Rails. We all work on Apple computers except for testing purposes.
We built Twitter using Ruby on Rails because it allows us to work quickly and easily--our team likes to deploy features and changes multiple times per day. Rails provides skeleton code frameworks so we don't have to re-invent the wheel every time we want to add something simple like a sign in form or a picture upload feature.
How do you make money from Twitter?
There are a few ways that Twitter makes money. We have licensing deals in place with Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft's Bing to give them access to the "firehose" - a stream of tweets so that they can more easily incorporate those tweets into their search results.
In Summer 2010, we launched our Promoted Tweets product. Promoted Tweets are a special kind of tweet which appear at the top of search results within Twitter.com, if a company has bid on that keyword. Unlike search results in search engines, Promoted Tweets are normal tweets from a business, so they are as interactive as any other tweet - you can @reply, favorite or retweet a Promoted Tweet.
At the same time, we launched Promoted Trends, where companies can place a trend (clearly marked Promoted) within Twitter's Trending Topics. These are especially effective for upcoming launches, like a movie or album release.
Lastly, we started a Twitter account called @earlybird where we partner with other companies to provide users with a special, short-term deal. For example, we partnered with Virgin America for a special day of fares on Virginamerica.com that were only accessible through the link in the @earlybird tweet.
What's next for Twitter?
We continue to focus on building a product that provides value for users.
We're building Twitter, Inc into a successful, revenue-generating company that attracts world-class talent with an inspiring culture and attitude towards doing business.
Twitter advertising still experimental
Facebook ad revenue to top $4 billion in 2011
Facebook affirms $500M round, adds $1 billion
Twitter in 2011 honing in on revenue, hiring
For Fundraising
Vator Investment Club (VIC) | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 3,635 |
Rello es una localidad y también un municipio de la provincia de Soria, comunidad autónoma de Castilla y León, España. Pueblo de la Comunidad de Villa y Tierra de Berlanga
Geografía
Este municipio, situado al sur de Soria tiene un área de 24,39 km².
Por el discurren los arroyos Carraparedes del Sapo, de la Vega y Hocecilla.
Medio ambiente
En su término e incluidos en la Red Natura 2000 los siguientes lugares:
Lugar de Interés Comunitario conocido como Altos de Barahona, ocupando 2437 hectáreas, la totalidad de su término.
Zona Especial Protección de Aves conocida como Altos de Barahona ocupando 2437 hectáreas, la totalidad de su término.
Historia
Tras la Reconquista perteneció a la Comunidad de Villa y Tierra de Berlanga hasta el siglo en que alcanzó el título de villa dentro del Señorío del Conde de Coruña. A la caída del Antiguo Régimen, la localidad se constituyó en municipio constitucional en la región de Castilla la Vieja, partido de Almazán, que en el censo de 1842 contaba con 58 hogares y 230 vecinos.
Demografía
A 1 de enero de 2010, la población ascendía a 25 habitantes, 14 hombres y 11 mujeres.
Patrimonio
Rello es una villa medieval amurallada, con castillo en uno de sus extremos y todo el caserío encerrado en lo alto de un risco de piedra caliza. En el término encontramos también una atalaya califal con inusual forma troncocónica, llamada Torre del Tiñón, a medio camino de Bordecorex, en la cual legendariamente se sitúa la muerte del caudillo Almanzor, que se retiraba malherido a Medinaceli.
Fue declarado Bien de Interés Cultural en la categoría de Conjunto Histórico el 8 de noviembre de 2001. El castillo figura en el catálogo de Bienes Protegidos de la Junta de Castilla y León en la categoría de Castillo con fecha de declaración 22 de abril de 1949.
Véase también
Bienes de interés cultural de la provincia de Soria
Municipios de la provincia de Soria
Localidades de entidad menor de la provincia de Soria
Provincia de Soria
Referencias
Bibliografía
Alice Becker-Ho, Là s'en vont les seigneuries, relato con fotografías del pueblo de Rello por Emmanuel Rioufol, Cognac, le Temps qu'il fait, 2003 (en francés)
Enlaces externos
Rello | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 2,020 |
package com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.activities;
import android.Manifest;
import android.bluetooth.BluetoothAdapter;
import android.bluetooth.BluetoothDevice;
import android.bluetooth.BluetoothManager;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.os.Build;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.support.design.widget.Snackbar;
import android.support.design.widget.TabLayout;
import android.support.v4.app.ActivityCompat;
import android.support.v4.content.ContextCompat;
import android.support.v4.view.ViewPager;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.RelativeLayout;
import android.widget.Toast;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.R;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.activities.registers.CarRegisterActivity;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.adapters.ViewPagerAdapter;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.bluetooth.BluetoothHelper;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.config.Constants;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.config.SessionSingleton;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.fragments.GasFragment;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.fragments.MonthlyExpensesFragment;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.fragments.MyCarFragment;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.fragments.ObdLogFragment;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.maps.LocationHelper;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.model.CombustiveType;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.model.Expense;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.model.ObdLog;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.persistence.ExpensesDAO;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.services.LoggingService;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.util.CSVHelper;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.util.ConnectionDetector;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.util.GPSTracker;
import com.ericmguimaraes.gaso.util.SharedPreferencesManager;
import com.google.firebase.auth.FirebaseAuth;
import com.google.firebase.auth.FirebaseUser;
import com.google.firebase.database.DatabaseError;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Locale;
import butterknife.Bind;
import butterknife.BindString;
import butterknife.ButterKnife;
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements ObdLogFragment.OnObdLogListFragmentInteractionListener, MyCarFragment.OnMyCarFragmentInteractionListener {
private static final String TAG = "MAIN_ACT";
@Bind(R.id.toolbar)
Toolbar toolbar;
@Bind(R.id.tabs)
TabLayout tabLayout;
@Bind(R.id.viewpager)
ViewPager viewPager;
@BindString(R.string.gas)
String gas;
@BindString(R.string.expense)
String expense;
@BindString(R.string.my_car)
String myCar;
@Bind(R.id.gsp_out)
RelativeLayout gpsRecyclerView;
@Bind(R.id.net_out)
RelativeLayout netRecyclerView;
@Bind(R.id.analysis_out)
RelativeLayout analysisRecyclerView;
@Bind(R.id.blue_out)
RelativeLayout blueRecyclerView;
private BluetoothAdapter mBtAdapter;
private final int refreshTime = 10000;
private Handler servicesHandler;
private Runnable statusChecker;
private ConnectionDetector connectionDetector;
private GPSTracker gpsTracker;
private boolean isGpsAlertShown = false;
private boolean isConnected = false;
private boolean isGpsConnected = false;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
ButterKnife.bind(this);
setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
init();
servicesHandler = new Handler();
statusChecker = new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
checkServicesStatus();
servicesHandler.postDelayed(statusChecker, refreshTime);
}
};
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.JELLY_BEAN_MR2) {
BluetoothManager bluetoothManager = (BluetoothManager) getSystemService(Context.BLUETOOTH_SERVICE);
if (bluetoothManager != null) {
mBtAdapter = bluetoothManager.getAdapter();
}
} else {
mBtAdapter = BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
}
}
@Override
public void onStartTripIsPressed(){
if (mBtAdapter == null) {
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), getString(R.string.bluetooth_not_found_error), Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
});
return;
}
if (requestLocationPermissions()) {
return;
}
if (!LoggingService.isRunning()) {
if (!mBtAdapter.isEnabled()) {
Intent btIntent = new Intent(BluetoothAdapter.ACTION_REQUEST_ENABLE);
startActivityForResult(btIntent, BluetoothConnectionActivity.REQUEST_ENABLE_BT);
} else {
String bluetoothDeviceAddress = SharedPreferencesManager.getInstance(getApplicationContext()).getDeviceKey();
if (bluetoothDeviceAddress.isEmpty()) {
Intent intent = new Intent(MainActivity.this, BluetoothConnectionActivity.class);
startActivityForResult(intent, BluetoothConnectionActivity.REQUEST_CONNECT_DEVICE);
} else {
Log.d(TAG, "Start tracking trip");
startBluetoothService(bluetoothDeviceAddress);
}
}
}
}
private boolean requestLocationPermissions() {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT > Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP_MR1
&& ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(getApplicationContext(), android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED
&& ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(getApplicationContext(), android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this, new String[]{
android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION,
android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
}, Constants.PERMISSION_REQUEST_LOCATION);
return true;
}
return false;
}
private void setupViewPager(ViewPager viewPager) {
ViewPagerAdapter adapter = new ViewPagerAdapter(getSupportFragmentManager());
adapter.addFragment(GasFragment.newInstance(), gas);
adapter.addFragment(MyCarFragment.newInstance(), myCar);
adapter.addFragment(MonthlyExpensesFragment.newInstance(), expense);
viewPager.setAdapter(adapter);
}
private void init(){
FirebaseUser user = FirebaseAuth.getInstance().getCurrentUser();
if(user==null)
goToLogin();
if(SessionSingleton.getInstance().currentCar==null)
firstAccess();
else
initUI();
}
private void initUI() {
setupViewPager(viewPager);
tabLayout.setupWithViewPager(viewPager);
viewPager.setCurrentItem(1);
}
private void goToLogin() {
Intent intent = new Intent(this,LoginActivity.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
private void firstAccess() {
Intent intent = new Intent(this, CarRegisterActivity.class);
intent.putExtra("first_access",true);
startActivity(intent);
finish();
}
@Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
startRepeatingTask();
BluetoothHelper.getInstance().initBluetoothHelper(this);
if(!BluetoothHelper.getInstance().isBluetoothSupported()){
blueRecyclerView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
}
}
public void showGpsLayout(){
gpsRecyclerView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
}
public void hideGpsLayout(){
gpsRecyclerView.setVisibility(View.GONE);
}
public void showNetLayout(){
netRecyclerView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
}
public void hideNetLayout(){
netRecyclerView.setVisibility(View.GONE);
}
public void showAnalysisLayout(){
analysisRecyclerView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
}
public void hideAnalysisLayout(){
analysisRecyclerView.setVisibility(View.GONE);
}
public void hideAnalysistLayout(){
analysisRecyclerView.setVisibility(View.GONE);
}
public boolean checkServicesStatus(){
boolean status = true;
connectionDetector = new ConnectionDetector(this);
gpsTracker = new GPSTracker(this);
if(!connectionDetector.isConnectingToInternet()) {
showNetLayout();
status = false;
isConnected = false;
} else {
hideNetLayout();
isConnected = true;
}
if(!gpsTracker.canGetLocation()){
status = false;
if(!isGpsAlertShown){
gpsTracker.showSettingsAlert();
isGpsAlertShown = true;
}
showGpsLayout();
isGpsConnected = false;
} else {
hideGpsLayout();
isGpsConnected = true;
}
return status;
}
void startRepeatingTask() {
statusChecker.run();
}
void stopRepeatingTask() {
servicesHandler.removeCallbacks(statusChecker);
}
@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
stopRepeatingTask();
}
public boolean isConnected() {
return isConnected;
}
public boolean isGpsConnected() {
return isGpsConnected;
}
@Override
public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode,
String permissions[], int[] grantResults) {
switch (requestCode) {
case LocationHelper.LOCATION_PERMISSION_REQUEST: {
if (grantResults .length > 0
&& grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
//TODO permission granted
} else {
//TODO permission denied
}
LocationHelper.isLocationPermissionAsked = true;
return;
}
case Constants.WRITE_ALL_SPENTS: {
if (grantResults .length > 1
&& grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED && grantResults[1] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED ) {
createCSVFile();
} else {
Snackbar.make(viewPager,"Não é possivel exportar os dados sem permissão.",Snackbar.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
LocationHelper.isLocationPermissionAsked = true;
}
}
}
@Override
public void onObdLogListFragmentInteraction(ObdLog log) {
//TODO do something with log
}
private void startBluetoothService(String bluetoothDeviceAddress) {
BluetoothDevice bluetoothDevice = mBtAdapter.getRemoteDevice(bluetoothDeviceAddress);
Intent intent = new Intent(MainActivity.this, LoggingService.class);
intent.setAction(LoggingService.SERVICE_START);
intent.putExtra("bluetoothDevice", bluetoothDevice);
startService(intent);
}
public void createCSVFile() {
final List<String[]> data = new ArrayList<>();
final SimpleDateFormat format = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy", Locale.FRANCE);
ExpensesDAO dao = new ExpensesDAO();
dao.findAll(new ExpensesDAO.OnExpensesReceivedListener() {
@Override
public void OnExpensesReceived(List<Expense> expenses) {
for(Expense s: expenses)
data.add(new String[]{
s.getUid(),
s.getCar().getModel(),
CombustiveType.fromInteger(s.getType()).toString(),
s.getStationName(),
format.format(s.getDate()),
Double.toString(s.getAmount())+"L",
Double.toString(s.getTotal())});
String msg = "";
String fileName = "gaso_gastos.csv";
if (ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(MainActivity.this, Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED
&& ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(MainActivity.this, Manifest.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(MainActivity.this,
new String[]{Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, Manifest.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE}, Constants.WRITE_ALL_SPENTS);
Log.e("writing expenses", "NO PERMISSION");
return;
}
try {
CSVHelper.createCSV(fileName, data);
msg = "Arquivo "+fileName+" foi salvo com sucesso.";
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e("SAVING_FILE",e.getMessage(),e);
msg = "Desculpe, tivemos um problema exportando o arquivo.";
}
Snackbar.make(viewPager,msg,Snackbar.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
@Override
public void onCancelled(DatabaseError databaseError) {
Snackbar.make(viewPager,Constants.genericError,Snackbar.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
});
}
@Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
Log.d(TAG, "onActivityResult");
switch (requestCode) {
case BluetoothConnectionActivity.REQUEST_CONNECT_DEVICE: {
if(resultCode==RESULT_OK) {
String address = data.getStringExtra(BluetoothConnectionActivity.BLUETOOTH_DEVICE_ADDRESS);
Log.d(TAG, "Device address -> " + address);
startBluetoothService(address);
}
break;
}
case BluetoothConnectionActivity.REQUEST_ENABLE_BT: {
Log.d(TAG, "Bluetooth enabled");
Toast.makeText(this, R.string.bluetooth_enabled_message, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
break;
}
}
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 7,684 |
require 'shipitron'
require 'shipitron/consul_keys'
require 'json'
module Shipitron
module Server
module Docker
class Configure
include Metaractor
include ConsulKeys
required :application
optional :registry
before do
configure_consul_client!
end
def call
username = fetch_scoped_key('docker_user')
password = fetch_scoped_key('docker_password')
if username && password
Logger.info `docker login --username #{username} --password #{password}`
if $? != 0
fail_with_error!(message: 'Docker login failed.')
end
end
if registry
case registry
when /docker\.io/
# do nothing
when /\d+\.dkr\.ecr\.us-east-1\.amazonaws\.com/
# ECR
config_file = Pathname.new('/home/shipitron/.docker/config.json')
config_file.parent.mkpath
config_hash = {}
if config_file.file?
config_file.open('rb') do |file|
json = file.read
config_hash = JSON.parse(json) rescue {}
end
end
config_hash['credHelpers'] ||= {}
config_hash['credHelpers'][registry] = 'ecr-login'
config_file.open('wb') do |file|
file.puts(JSON.generate(config_hash))
file.chmod(0600)
end
end
end
end
private
def application
context.application
end
def registry
context.registry
end
def fetch_scoped_key(key)
value = fetch_key(key: "shipitron/#{application}/#{key}")
value = fetch_key(key: "shipitron/#{key}") if value.nil?
value
end
end
end
end
end
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 4,467 |
John Alexander McCone, född 4 januari 1902 i San Francisco, Kalifornien, död 14 februari 1991 i Pebble Beach, Monterey County, Kalifornien, var en amerikansk affärsman och politiker som var chef för CIA mellan 1961 och 1965.
McCone mottog en ingenjörsexamen från University of California i Berkeley och 1933 hade han blivit vice VD för Consolidated Steel Corporation. 1937 lämnade han stålbranschen och bildade koncernen Bechtel-McCone, som designade och byggde raffinaderier och kraftverk i USA, Sydamerika och Mellanöstern.
1947 utnämndes McCone av president Harry Truman till Air Policy Commission. Följande år utsågs han till särskild assistent åt försvarsminister James Forrestal. 1950 blev han Under Secretary of the Air Force och 1951 återvände han till det privata näringslivet.
1958 utsågs McCone av president Dwight D. Eisenhower till ordförande för Atomic Energy Commission. Under hans två år på posten startade USA sitt "Atoms for Peace"-initiativ, där man försökte nå en överenskommelse med Sovjetunionen att förbjuda kärnvapentester. Ett förbud uppnåddes aldrig men 1959 inleddes ett samarbete inom kärnvapenforskningen.
McCone lämnade sin post med Eisenhower, men efter den misslyckade invasionen av Grisbukten 1961, utsågs han av president John F. Kennedy till Allen Dulles ersättare som chef för CIA. Under sina år på posten prioriterades underrättelseverksamheten snarare än dolda operationer. Dessa kvaliteter visade sig under Kubakrisen i oktober 1962 då CIA var de första som varnade för att Sovjetunionen planerade att placera missiler på Kuba. Detta förbättrade CIA:s trovärdighet hos president Kennedy och hans bror Attorney general Robert Kennedy.
McCone stannade på sin post efter mordet på John F. Kennedy 1963, men hade inte samma goda kontakt med president Lyndon Johnson som med Eisenhower och Kennedy. Han lämnade sin post 1965 och återvände till det privata näringslivet.
1987 mottog McCone Presidential Medal of Freedom av president Ronald Reagan.
Källor
John A. McCone, Head of C.I.A. In Cuban Missile Crisis, Dies at 89, Glenn Fowler, New York Times, 1991
Personer vid CIA
Personer inom USA:s näringsliv
Amerikanska politiker
Personer från San Francisco
USA:s energidepartement
Mottagare av Frihetsmedaljen
Födda 1902
Avlidna 1991
Män | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 92 |
Ariane har flere betydninger:
Ariadne – fransk navn for Ariadne fra den græske mytologi.
Ariane (raket) – en europæisk-udviklet løfteraket.
Ariane (opera) – opera af Jules Massenet.
Ariane (film) – film fra 1957 | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 2,407 |
{"url":"https:\/\/www.physicsforums.com\/threads\/plane-of-symmetry-in-alphabet-n.864946\/","text":"Plane of symmetry in alphabet N\n\nTags:\n1. Apr 1, 2016\n\nElena14\n\nMy teacher says that \"N\" has no plane of symmetry(POS). But shouldn't the plane shown with blue be POS?\nI understand that a plane of symmetry bisects a molecule into halves that are mirror images of each other. For this reason, this plane shown here should be the POS. Where am I wrong? View attachment 98339\n\n2. Apr 1, 2016\n\nmicromass\n\nAttachment doesn't show.\n\n3. Apr 1, 2016\n\nJoshy\n\nI'm not seeing it. The attachment isn't working, but I tried a few direct approaches, and I am assuming you are talking about $\\sigma_v$ operation:","date":"2018-05-27 01:57:23","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.4730246067047119, \"perplexity\": 1321.436221109816}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": false, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2018-22\/segments\/1526794867977.85\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20180527004958-20180527024958-00572.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
{"url":"https:\/\/crypto.stackexchange.com\/questions\/15334\/can-a-commutative-block-cipher-be-indistinguishable-from-a-random-permutation-f","text":"# Can a commutative block cipher be indistinguishable from a random permutation, for fixed key?\n\nDefine a commutative block cipher with keyspace the finite set $K$, and data space the finite set $S$, to be an application \\begin{align} E:K\\times S&\\mapsto S\\\\ (k,x)&\\mapsto E(k,x)\\text{ also noted }E_k(x)\\\\ \\text{such that }&\\forall k\\in K,\\forall x\\in S, \\forall y\\in S,\\text{ if }E(k,x)=E(k,y)\\text{ then }x=y\\\\ \\text{and }&\\forall k\\in K,\\forall k'\\in K, \\forall x\\in S,E(k',E(k,x))=E(k,E(k',x))\\\\ \\end{align} Note: the first property states that the application $E_k$ from $S$ to $S$ is injective, implying that it is a permutation of $S$ given this is a finite set, and that's standard for a cipher; the second property is what makes the cipher commutative.\n\nQuestion: what commutative block cipher do we have that is\n\n\u2022 conjectured computationally indistinguishable with effort polynomial in $\\log(|K|)$ from a random permutation for unknown random fixed key $k$, assuming the attacker can obtain ciphertext for iteratively chosen plaintext;\n\u2022 efficiently computable, at least in the encryption direction (and preferably for decryption as well)?\n\nIf there was none: do we have some proof this can't be achieved?\n\nIn this answer, I explored a variant of the Pohlig-Hellman Exponentiation Cipher $(k,x)\\mapsto E_k(x)=x^k\\pmod p$ but stalled with something that remains distinguishable from a random permutation due to a multiplicative property similar to that of naked RSA: $\\forall k\\in K,\\forall x\\in S, \\forall y\\in S, E_k(x\\cdot y\\bmod p)=E_k(x)\\cdot E_k(y)\\bmod p$.\n\nUpdate: the question as is was perfectly answered by poncho. Here is take two.\n\n\u2022 There could conceivably be a commutative block cipher whose outputs for a given key on an entry-wise unpredictable list of inputs are indistinguishable from being independently-and-uniformly distributed. $\\hspace{.42 in}$\n\u2013\u00a0user991\nMar 31, 2014 at 15:01\n\n## 1 Answer\n\nIt can't be achieved under the assumptions you are making, because the attacker can distinguish it by selecting an arbitrary $k'$, and checking if $E(k')$ commutes with the permutation in question. That is, to check a permutation $P$, we pick an arbitrary $x$, and check if:\n\n$E(k', P(x)) = P(E(k',x))$\n\nThis equation always holds if $P = E(k)$ for some value $k$, and rarely holds if $P$ is a random permutation.\n\n\u2022 That's very true! I used that very argument in the beginning of my answer linked to the question, but failed to apply it!! I need to find a different wording of the question, on the tune of: \"indistinguishable from a random set of permutations with the commutativity property\". I lean towards making that a different question, though.\n\u2013\u00a0fgrieu\nMar 31, 2014 at 15:54\n\u2022 @fgrieu, yes, maybe posting a separate question would be best. When you do, can you spell out how we choose a random set of permutations with the commutativity property? Is that notion uniquely defined?\n\u2013\u00a0D.W.\nMar 31, 2014 at 16:30\n\u2022 @fgrieu: actually, it sounds like what you really ask about are known plaintext attacks; given a random set of $(x, P(x))$ pairs, can we distinguish a random $P$ from $E(k)$? Given the Pohlig-Hellman cipher, we can distinguish it in this model; is that a fundamental property of all commutative ciphers, or is that just a side effect of how Pohlig-Hellman achieves commutativity and another commutative cipher might be secure in this model? Mar 31, 2014 at 21:51\n\u2022 @poncho: I think that I see how to make a variant of Pohlig-Hellman Exponentiation Cipher secure under known-plaintext while keeping commutativity, so that's not my question. I essentially add a fixed pseudo-random permutation on block input, its inverse on block output. However it inherits properties beyond what a commutative cipher is bound to have. I have a reworded question here.\n\u2013\u00a0fgrieu\nApr 1, 2014 at 6:57\n\u2022 @D.W.: In the definition of my new question, I leave it to an omnipotent referee to choose a random commutative cipher, and I do not see a problem with this: among the $(|S|!)^{|K|}$ ciphers with message space $S$ and keyspace $K$, some subset is commutative, and the hypothetical referee can pick a random element in that subset. BTW I fail to determine how many elements this subset has, even roughly.\n\u2013\u00a0fgrieu\nApr 1, 2014 at 7:21","date":"2023-01-29 18:48:13","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 1, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.8040739297866821, \"perplexity\": 1020.2502905496815}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 5, \"enable\": false}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2023-06\/segments\/1674764499758.83\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20230129180008-20230129210008-00734.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
\section{Introduction}
Conversational Recommender Systems (CRS) aim to make recommendations by learning users' preferences through interactive conversations~\cite{cikm18-saur,wsdm20-ear,nips18-redial}. CRS has become one of the trending research topics for recommender systems and is gaining increasing attention, due to its natural advantage of explicitly acquiring users' real-time preferences and providing a user-engaged recommendation procedure.
Based on different scenarios, various CRS have been proposed, either from the perspective of recommender systems, being an enhanced interactive recommender system~\cite{sigir18-crm,kdd18-q&r,wsdm20-ear}, or from the perspective of dialogue systems, being a variation of goal-oriented conversational systems~\cite{nips18-redial,emnlp19-goredial,lei2018sequicity}.
Most of these CRS assume that users always know what they want and the system passively and solely targets at making the successful recommendation on users' desired items.
Recently, several efforts have been made on developing multi-goal conversational recommender systems (MG-CRS)~\cite{durecdial,tgredial} that can proactively discover users' interests and naturally lead user-engaged dialogues with multiple conversation goals or topics, not just recommendations.
As the examples illustrated in Fig.~\ref{example}, MG-CRS is expected to dynamically adjust the conversational goals (\textit{e.g.}, from QA, Chit-chat, to Recommendation in Fig.~\ref{example}(a)) and adaptively lead the dialogue topics (\textit{e.g.}, from Alien, Hero, to Animation in Fig.~\ref{example}(b)).
Accordingly, the problem of MG-CRS can be decomposed into four tasks:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textit{Goal Planning} aims to plan the goal sequence to guide the conversation to the final recommendation.
\item \textit{Topic Prediction} predicts the appropriate topics\footnote{According to different applications, the topics can be specific topic classes (\textit{e.g.}, TG-ReDial), topical knowledge entities (\textit{e.g.}, DuRecDial), etc. } for the current conversational goal.
\item \textit{Item Recommendation} provides suitable items that meet the user's need.
\item \textit{Response Generation} produces appropriate natural language responses to users.
\end{itemize}
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth]{fig/example.pdf}
\caption{Two illustrative examples of Multi-goal CRS from DuRecDial~\cite{durecdial} and TG-ReDial~\cite{tgredial} datasets.}
\label{example}
\end{figure*}
Early works typically adopt modularized frameworks that address different tasks in MG-CRS with independent models. For example, \citet{durecdial} propose a CNN-based goal planning model to predict the next goal and a multi-GRU-based response model to jointly select topical knowledge and generate responses with the guidance of the predicted goal.
\citet{tgredial} propose three separated modules based on pre-trained language models for topic prediction, item recommendation, and response generation, while the conversational goals (Chit-chat or Recommend) at each turn are pre-defined. Due to the complexity of the whole problem of MG-CRS, some recent studies tend to simplify the MG-CRS problem by either (i) assuming some information (\textit{e.g.}, the goal sequence) is priorly known~\cite{aaai21-gokc,KERS} or (ii) only performing joint learning on some of the tasks (\textit{e.g.,} topic prediction and response generation)~\cite{topicrefine}, instead of solving the whole problem of MG-CRS.
Despite their effectiveness, there remain some limitations in the existing systems:
(i) The four tasks in MG-CRS are supposed to be closely related, while existing systems often learn each task individually without considering inter-task interactions for mutual enhancement.
(ii) In reality, it is impossible to always have the pre-defined goal sequences or topic threads for guiding the conversation, which is also the challenge that characterizes MG-CRS from other CRS. Therefore, all tasks are expected to be learned and inferred by the system automatically.
(iii) There are some substantial differences among the four tasks, including various task paradigms (from multi-label classification, ranking, to text generation) and diverse required information (\textit{e.g.,} dialogue context, user profile, knowledge base, etc.). It would be time-consuming and labor-intensive to design and train several independent models for these distinct tasks.
To tackle the aforementioned challenges, we propose a novel Unified MultI-goal conversational recommeNDer system, namely \textbf{UniMIND}, which unifies four tasks in MG-CRS into the same sequence-to-sequence (Seq2Seq) paradigm and utilizes prompt-based learning strategies to endow the model with the capability of multi-task learning.
In specific, motivated by recent successes of paradigm shifts~\cite{paradigm} on many NLP tasks, we reformulate each task in MG-CRS as a Seq2Seq problem. Seq2Seq is a general and flexible paradigm that can handle any task whose input and output can be recast as a sequence of tokens, and better leverage the semantic relationships between input and output.
For example, topic prediction is a multi-label classification problem, where the Seq2Seq paradigm can fully utilize the label semantics~\cite{coling18-sgm}.
Item recommendation requires to rank a list of candidate items, where we expand the original vocabulary of the Seq2Seq model with an extra item vocabulary to capture the relationship between context words and candidate items~\cite{kbrd}.
Furthermore, pre-trained language models (PLMs), \textit{e.g.,} GPT2~\cite{gpt2}, T5~\cite{t5}, have become the de-facto methods for dialogue generation tasks.
In order to adapt PLMs to each task of MG-CRS, we investigate prompt-based learning strategies~\cite{prompt} to manipulate the model behavior so that the PLM itself can be used to predict the desired output and facilitate multi-task learning.
The contributions are summarized as follows
\begin{itemize}
\item We propose a novel method, namely UniMIND, that tackle all tasks in MG-CRS with a unified model. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first attempt towards a unified framework for MG-CRS.
\item We reformulate all tasks in MG-CRS with diverse modeling paradigms into the same Seq2Seq paradigm to seamlessly unify the complex MG-CRS problem.
\item We investigate prompt-based learning strategies to enable the multi-task learning of all tasks in MG-CRS, and develop a special token prompting strategy that bridges the relationships within each type of information.
\item Experimental results on two benchmark MG-CRS datasets show that UniMIND achieves state-of-the-art performance on all tasks. Extensive analyses provide some new insights of the features in different types of dialogues, and some takeaways for future MG-CRS studies.
\end{itemize}
\section{Related Work}
\subsection{Conversational Recommendation}
Conversational recommender system (CRS)~\cite{crs-survey1,crs-survey2} generally consists of two main components: a dialogue component to interact with the user and a recommender component to select items for recommendations based on user preference. According to the form of conversation, existing mainstream CRS can be divided into two groups: attribute-based CRS and open-ended CRS~\cite{rid}.
Attribute-based CRS~\cite{cikm18-saur,sigir21-hoops,sigir21-compar,cikm21-crs,sigir21-learn2ask} asks clarification questions about the item attributes to acquire user preferences for making better recommendation.
For these CRS, the system usually asks questions about the user's preferences or makes recommendations multiple times, with the goal of achieving engaging and successful recommendations with fewer turns of conversations~\cite{kdd20-scpr,sigir21-crs,dasfaa21-crs}.
Open-ended CRS~\cite{nips18-redial,emnlp19-goredial,kdd20-redial-kg,kbrd} focuses on how to understand users' preferences and intentions from their utterances and interacts with user through natural language conversations.
All aforementioned studies on CRS typically target at a single goal, \textit{i.e.}, making successful recommendations.
Some latest studies~\cite{tgredial,durecdial,inspired} aim at solving the problem of multi-goal conversational recommender systems (MG-CRS), which involves a sequence of goals to lead a user-engaged conversation, such as recommendation, chit-chat, QA, topic-focused dialogue, etc.
Existing studies mainly focus on some of the tasks in MG-CRS.
For example, \citet{aaai21-gokc} and \citet{KERS} assume that the complete goal sequence is given and study the task as a knowledge-grounded response selection problem.
\citet{topicrefine} jointly predict the topics and generate responses without the consideration of item recommendation.
In order to tackle the entire problem of MG-CRS, we investigate a unified framework for all the tasks.
\subsection{Pre-trained Seq2Seq Models for Dialogue}\label{sec:related_plm}
Conventional dialogue systems~\cite{dialogue-survey} can be generally categorized into chitchat-based dialogue systems, which aim at conversing with users on open-domain topics, and task-oriented dialogue systems, which target at assisting users to accomplish certain goals.
Recently, both kinds of dialogue systems benefit from the advances in pre-trained Seq2Seq models, \textit{e.g.}, GPT-2~\cite{gpt2} and T5~\cite{t5}. For example, DialoGPT~\cite{dialogpt} and Plato~\cite{plato} extend GPT-2~\cite{gpt2} and BERT~\cite{bert}, respectively, to pre-train on open-domain conversational data for dialogue generation.
In task-oriented dialogue systems, several attempts have been made on leveraging pre-trained Seq2Seq models for generative dialogue state tracking~\cite{simpletod,emnlp21-dst-prompt}, or further applying multi-task dialogue pre-training over external dialogue corpora~\cite{soloist,pptod}.
In the scope of CRS, pre-trained Seq2Seq models are typically adopted as the response generation module~\cite{tgredial,topicrefine}.
In this work, we aim to maximize the utility of pre-trained Seq2Seq models on all tasks in MG-CRS.
\subsection{Paradigm Shift \& Prompt-based Learning}
In the past years, modeling for most NLP tasks have converged to
several mainstream paradigms~\cite{paradigm}, including Classification, Matching/Ranking, Sequence Labeling, Seq2Seq, etc.
Recent work has shown that models under some paradigms also generalize well on tasks with other paradigms.
For example, multi-label or multi-task classification may be challenging for conventional classification modeling, where \citet{coling18-sgm} adopt the Seq2Seq paradigm to better capture interactions between the labels and \citet{icml20-class-rank} adopt the Matching paradigm to predict whether the text is matched with the label with descriptions.
In order to better utilize powerful pre-trained language models (PLMs) with diverse pre-training paradigms, prompt-based learning~\cite{prompt} has been widely studied for shifting the target task to adaptive modeling paradigms with the PLM by using appropriate prompts.
Text classification tasks can also be solved by PLMs with the Masked Language Modeling (MLM) paradigm~\cite{acl21-class-mlm,eacl21-class-mlm,naacl21-class-mlm} or the Seq2Seq paradigm~\cite{t5}. In addition, several attempts have been made on adapting pre-trained Seq2Seq models to the task of document ranking~\cite{emnlp20-ranking-generation,emnlp20findings-ranking-generation}.
Some latest studies investigate paradigm shift or prompt-based learning on more diverse tasks, such as information extraction~\cite{acl22-infoext}, sentiment analysis~\cite{acl21-gabsa,emnlp21-quad}, etc.
In the field of dialogue systems, such paradigm shift techniques also bring inspiring progresses on task-oriented dialogue systems.
As mentioned in Section~\ref{sec:related_plm}, recent state-of-the-art performance~\cite{simpletod,emnlp21-dst-prompt} on dialogue state tracking is achieved by the reformulation of such a structure prediction task as a text generation task.
In addition, \citet{tickettalk} investigate the unified Seq2Seq paradigm for action prediction in transaction-based dialogue systems.
However, there are more complicated subtasks with diverse paradigms in MG-CRS, varying from multi-label classification, ranking/recommendation, to text generation.
In this work, we propose to unify all the subtasks with different paradigms in MG-CRS into Seq2Seq paradigm, and design prompt-based learning approaches for utilizing pre-trained Seq2Seq models for MG-CRS.
\section{Problem Definition}
Let $\mathcal{C}_t=\{c_1,...,c_{t-1}\}$ denote the dialogue context at the current conversation turn $t$. Correspondingly, let $\mathcal{G}_t=\{g_1,...,g_{t-1}\}$ and $\mathcal{K}_t=\{k_1,...,k_{t-1}\}$ denote the historical goal sequence and topic thread, respectively.
The CRS maintains a pre-defined set of goals $\mathbb{G}$, topics $\mathbb{K}$ to be predicted, and a large set of items $\mathbb{V}$ to be recommended during the conversation.
In some applications, there also exist the user profiles $\mathcal{P}_u$ for each user $u$, which can be historical item interaction data or certain personal knowledge.
Overall, MG-CRS aims to (1) plan the next goal $g_t\in \mathbb{G}$, (2) predict the next topic $k_t\in \mathbb{K}$, (3) recommend appropriate items $v_t\in\mathbb{V}$, and (4) produce a proper response $c_t$ for the current turn $t$.
Specifically, the problem of MG-CRS can be decomposed into the following four tasks:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textit{\textbf{Goal Planning}}. At each turn $t$, given the dialogue context $\mathcal{C}_t$ and the goal history $\mathcal{G}_t$, MG-CRS first selects the appropriate goal $g_t\in \mathbb{G}$ to determine where the conversation goes.
\item \textit{\textbf{Topic Prediction}}. The second task is to predict the next conversational topics $k_t\in \mathbb{K}$ for completing the planned goal $g_t$, with respect to the dialogue context $\mathcal{C}_t$, the historical topic thread $\mathcal{K}_t$, and the user profile $\mathcal{P}_u$ (if exists).
\item \textit{\textbf{Item Recommendation}}. If the selected goal $g_t$ is to make recommendations, the CRS should recommend an item $v_t\in\mathbb{V}$, based on the dialogue context $\mathcal{C}_t$ and the user profile $\mathcal{P}_u$ (if exists). In general, the recommended item $v_t$ is supposed to be related to the predicted topics $k_t$.
\item \textit{\textbf{Response Generation}}. The end task is to generate a proper response $c_t$ concerning the predicted topics $k_t$ for completing the selected goal $g_t$. When the goal is to make recommendation, the generated response is also expected to provide persuasive reasons for the recommended item $v_t$.
\end{itemize}
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.95\textwidth]{fig/method.pdf}
\caption{Overview and examples of the input and output sequences for UniMIND.}
\label{overview}
\end{figure}
\section{Method}\label{sec:method}
In this section, we first describe the paradigm shift that reformulates each task in MG-CRS into the unified Seq2Seq paradigm, and then introduce the prompt-based learning strategies for the multi-task learning of all tasks.
The overview and examples of the input and output sequences for UniMIND are illustrated in Fig.~\ref{overview}.
Overall, the learning and inference procedure consists of three stages, including multi-task learning, prompt-based learning, and inference.
\subsection{Unified Paradigm Shifts}\label{sec:paradigm}
\subsubsection{\textbf{Goal Planning}}
To dynamically adjust the conversation goal in the multi-goal conversational recommendation systems, \citet{durecdial} divide the task of goal planning into two sub-tasks, goal completion estimation and goal prediction. Goal completion estimation aims at estimating the probability of goal completion by performing a \textit{binary classification}.
Goal prediction aims to predict the next goal when the previous goal is completed by performing \textit{multi-task classification}:
\begin{equation}
\bm{y}_\text{GP} = \mathbf{CLS}(\mathbf{Enc}(\mathcal{C}_t,\mathcal{G}_t)) \in \{0,1\}^{|\mathbb{G}|},
\end{equation}
where $\mathbf{Enc}(\cdot)$ is the encoders that encode the dialogue context and the goal history, and $\mathbf{CLS}(\cdot)$ is a multi-task classifier. $|\mathbb{G}|$ is the total number of all possible goal classes.
We unify these two sub-tasks as one Seq2Seq task, which aims at directly generating the label of the next goal as natural language with a text generation model, \textit{i.e.,} $\mathbf{UniMIND}(\cdot)$:
\begin{gather}\label{eq:goal}
g_t = \mathbf{UniMIND}(\mathcal{C}_t,\mathcal{G}_t).
\end{gather}
The objective of the Goal Planning task $G$ is to maximize the sequential log-likelihood:
\begin{gather}
\mathcal{L}_G = \log p(g_t|\mathcal{C}_t,\mathcal{G}_t) = \sum^{L_g}_{l=1}\log p_\theta(g_{t,l}|g_{t,<l};\mathcal{C}_t,\mathcal{G}_t),
\end{gather}
where $L_g$ denotes the target length of the generated goal label. Such a paradigm shift can alleviate the error propagation in the two-stage classification method.
\subsubsection{\textbf{Topic Prediction}}
According to different applications, the topic can be knowledge entities or specific topic classes, and there are also different corresponding solutions.
For instance, \citet{durecdial} implicitly select the relevant knowledge triples by assigning attention weights to all candidate knowledge and then fusing them into a single vector.
\citet{tgredial} predict the next topics by performing a \textit{text matching} task:
\begin{equation}
{y_\text{KS}}_i = \mathbf{CLS}(\mathbf{Enc}(k_i), \mathbf{Enc}(\mathcal{C}_t, \mathcal{K}_t, \mathcal{P}_u)),
\end{equation}
where the predicted topic is ranked with the highest relevance score, \textit{i.e.}, $\arg\max_i {y_\text{KS}}_i$.
However, these approaches may fail to handle those scenarios with a large set of topics to be predicted. Besides, the fixed number of predicted topics may also affect the cases where there is no topic needed or multiple topics are involved.
We regard the topic prediction as an multi-label classification problem and reformulate it into the Seq2Seq paradigm, where the predicted labels are concatenated into a single sequence as the target sequence to be generated. A special token, \textit{e.g.}, ``\texttt{</k>}'', is used to separate each individual label.
\begin{align}\label{eq:topic}
k_t &= \mathbf{UniMIND}(\mathcal{C}_t, \mathcal{K}_t, \mathcal{P}_u, g_t),\\
\begin{split}
\mathcal{L}_K &= \log p(k_t|\mathcal{C}_t,\mathcal{K}_t, \mathcal{P}_u, g_t) \\
&= \sum^{L_k}_{l=1}\log p_\theta(k_{t,l}|k_{t,<l};\mathcal{C}_t, \mathcal{K}_t, \mathcal{P}_u, g_t),
\end{split}
\end{align}
where $L_k$ denotes the target length of generated sequence of topic labels, and $\mathcal{L}_K$ is the objective function of the Topic Prediction task $T$. The final prediction results can be recovered by splitting the sequence using ``\texttt{</k>}''.
By doing so, the MG-CRS will be more scalable and flexible to different situations, even when the number of possible topics is extremely large and variable.
In addition, it can be observed from Fig.~\ref{example} that the next topic is highly related to the dialogue context. And the Seq2Seq paradigm can make full use of the semantic relationships between the dialogue context and the predicted topic labels as well as among different topic labels.
\subsubsection{\textbf{Item Recommendation}}
There are two main-stream solutions for item recommendation in CRS: (i) Following traditional recommendation systems, the recommendation module~\cite{tgredial,kdd20-redial-kg} aims to rank all the items by computing the probability that recommend an item $v_i$ to the user $u$:
\begin{equation}
{y_\text{Rec}}_i = \mathbf{CLS}(e_i,\mathbf{Enc}(\mathcal{C}_t, \mathcal{P}_u)),
\end{equation}
where $e_i$ is the trainable item embedding, and the recommended item is ranked with the highest recommendation probability, \textit{i.e.}, $\arg\max_i {y_\text{Rec}}_i$.
(ii) Some studies~\cite{kbrd,rid} perform the item recommendation within an end-to-end CRS, by regarding the item set as an additional vocabulary for generation, \textit{i.e.}, each item index as a word in the expanded vocabulary.
Motivated by the second type of approach, we extend the idea of vocabulary expansion with the candidate item set to further take into account the semantic information of the item.
Specifically, the target sequence of the item recommendation task is composed of the item expressions in both the original vocabulary and the expanded item vocabulary.
For example, if the target item in a sample is ``\texttt{The Witness}'' with the item index as 100, then the target sequence for this sample will be ``\texttt{\_100\_ The Witness}''.
By doing so, not only can the model capture the relationship between context words and candidate items, but also exploit the semantic information of items.
\begin{align}
v_t &= \mathbf{UniMIND}(\mathcal{C}_t, \mathcal{P}_u, g_t, k_t),\\
\begin{split}
\mathcal{L}_R &= \log p(v_t|\mathcal{C}_t, \mathcal{P}_u, g_t, k_t) \\
&= \sum^{L_r}_{l=1}\log p_\theta(v_{t,l}|v_{t,<l};\mathcal{C}_t, \mathcal{P}_u, g_t, k_t),
\end{split}
\end{align}
where $L_r$ denotes the target length, and $\mathcal{L}_R$ is the objective function of the Item Recommendation task $R$.
In the inference, we just conduct decoding for one step and rank the largest probability of the item in the expanded item vocabulary to recommend:
\begin{equation}\label{eq:item}
v_t = \arg\max_{v^{(i)}\in\mathbb{V}} p_\theta(v^{(i)}|\texttt{[sos]};\mathcal{C}_t, \mathcal{P}_u, g_t, k_t),
\end{equation}
where \texttt{[sos]} denote the start-of-sentence token.
\subsubsection{\textbf{Response Generation}}
Since response generation is a standard text generation problem in the Seq2Seq paradigm, it does not require any paradigm shift.
\begin{align}\label{eq:resp}
c_t &= \mathbf{UniMIND}(\mathcal{C}_t, g_t, k_t, v_t),\\
\begin{split}
\mathcal{L}_D &= \log p(c_t|\mathcal{C}_t, g_t, k_t, v_t) \\
&= \sum^{L_d}_{l=1}\log p_\theta(c_{t,l}|c_{t,<l};\mathcal{C}_t, g_t, k_t, v_t),
\end{split}
\end{align}
where $L_d$ denotes the target length of generated responses, and $\mathcal{L}_D$ is the objective function of the Response Generation task $D$.
\subsection{Prompt-based Learning}
After unifying all tasks in MG-CRS into the Seq2Seq paradigm, each input and output sequence pair in each task forms an annotated data instance for training a unified encoder-decoder model.
Inspired by prompt-based learning~\cite{prompt,t5}, we add a task-specific prompt to the original input sequence to specify which task the model should perform as well as enrich the input with task-specific information.
As discussed in Section~\ref{sec:paradigm}, the combination of required information in the input sequence varies in different tasks.
In order to indicate each information segment with a specific type, all sub-sequences are concatenated with special segment tokens, such as \texttt{[user]}, \texttt{[system]}, \texttt{[goal]}, \texttt{[topic]}, \texttt{[item]}, \texttt{[profile]}, etc.
These special tokens are regarded as additional vocabulary with randomly initialized embeddings to be learned.
For instance, the original input $X$ can be represented as:
\begin{align*}
X_G=&\texttt{[goal]}g_1\texttt{[user]}c_1\texttt{[goal]}g_2\texttt{[system]}...\texttt{[user]}c_{t-1};\\
X_T=&\texttt{[profile]}\mathcal{P}_u\texttt{[topic]}k_1\texttt{[user]}c_1\texttt{[topic]}k_2\texttt{[system]}...\texttt{[user]}c_{t-1}\texttt{[goal]}g_t;\\
X_R=&\texttt{[profile]}\mathcal{P}_u\texttt{[user]}c_1\texttt{[system]}...\texttt{[user]}c_{t-1}\texttt{[goal]}g_t\texttt{[topic]}k_t;\\
X_D=&\texttt{[user]}c_1\texttt{[system]}...\texttt{[user]}c_{t-1}\texttt{[goal]}g_t\texttt{[topic]}k_t\texttt{[item]}v_t.
\end{align*}
Specific examples are presented in Fig.~\ref{overview}(b).
The input for prompt-based learning is composed of the original input sequence $X$ and a task-specific prompt $Z$. We investigate two types of task-specific prompts, namely \textit{Natural Language Prompt} and \textit{Special Token Prompt}.
\textbf{Natural Language Prompt (UniMIND$_\text{N}$).} Similar to T5~\cite{t5}, the natural language prompt employs a guidance sentence to indicate each task as follows:
\begin{align*}
Z_G&=``\texttt{Plan the next goal:}";\\ Z_T&=``\texttt{Predict the next topic:}";\\
Z_R&=``\texttt{Recommend an item:}";\\
Z_D&=``\texttt{Generate the response:}".
\end{align*}
\textbf{Special Token Prompt (UniMIND$_\text{S}$).} Another realization of the task-specific prompt is based on the special segment tokens as follows:
\begin{align*}
Z_G&=\texttt{[goal]};\quad Z_T=\texttt{[topic]};\\ Z_R&=\texttt{[item]};\quad Z_D=\texttt{[system]},
\end{align*}
which can be categorized into the family of \textit{continuous prompts}~\cite{prompt}.
Originally, the special segment tokens are designed to indicate the beginning of each type of information in the input sequence. Therefore, the learned representations are supposed to preserve the knowledge of the different forms or patterns of each type of information. For example, \texttt{[goal]} and \texttt{[topic]} can separate two groups of classification labels, while \texttt{[system]} can also distinguish the speaker features of the system responses from the user utterances.
\begin{algorithm}[t]
\caption{Learning and Inference Procedure}
\label{algo}
\KwIn{Train-set $\mathcal{D}_1=\{\mathcal{D}_G,\mathcal{D}_T,\mathcal{D}_R,\mathcal{D}_D\}=\{(X,Y,Z)_i\}_{i=1}^{|\mathcal{D}_1|}$;
Test-set $\mathcal{D}_2=\{(\mathcal{C},\mathcal{G},\mathcal{K},\mathcal{P}_u)_i\}_{i=1}^{|\mathcal{D}_2|}$; Pre-trained parameters $\theta$; Training epoch number $e_1$; Fine-tuning epoch number $e_2$; Loss function $\mathcal{L}_\theta$;}
// Multi-task Training\;
\For{$\mathit{epoch} = 1, 2, \ldots , e_1$}{
\For{Batch $B$ in Shuffle($\mathcal{D}_1$)}{
Use $B=\{(X,Y,Z)_i\}_{i=1}^{|B|}$ to optimize $\mathcal{L}_\theta$ in Eq.~(\ref{eq:loss})\;
}
}
// Prompt-based Learning\;
\For{Task $t$ in $[G,T,R,D]$}{
$\theta_t = \theta$\;
\For{$\mathit{epoch} = 1, 2, \ldots , e_2$}{
\For{Batch $B$ in Shuffle($\mathcal{D}_t$)}{
Use $B=\{(X,Y,Z)_i\}_{i=1}^{|B|}$ to optimize $\mathcal{L}_{\theta_t}$ in Eq.~(\ref{eq:loss})\;
}
}
}
// Inference\;
\For{Sample $d_i$ in $\mathcal{D}_2$}{
$d_i = (\mathcal{C},\mathcal{G},\mathcal{K},\mathcal{P}_u)_i$\;
Obtain $g_i$, $k_i$, $v_i$, $c_i$ in order via Eq.~(\ref{eq:goal}, \ref{eq:topic}, \ref{eq:item}, \ref{eq:resp}) using tuned model $\theta_G$, $\theta_T$, $\theta_R$, $\theta_D$, respectively\;
}
\KwOut{Models $\theta_G$, $\theta_T$, $\theta_R$, $\theta_D$; Prediction results $\{g,k,v,c\}_i^{|\mathcal{D}_2|}$.}
\end{algorithm}
\subsection{Multi-task Training and Inference}
The proposed UniMIND model is initialized with weights from a pre-trained LM in an encoder-decoder fashion, \textit{e.g.}, BART~\cite{bart} or T5~\cite{t5}.
The overall learning and inference procedure of UniMIND is presented in Algorithm~\ref{algo}, which consists of three stages, including multi-task training, prompt-based learning, and inference.
In the multi-task training stage, the model is trained to perform all tasks in MG-CRS with all training data.
Given the training sample $(X,Y,Z)$, the objective $\mathcal{L}_\theta$ is to maximize the log-likelihood:
\begin{equation}\label{eq:loss}
\mathcal{L}_\theta = \sum_{l=1}^L \log p_\theta(y_l|y_{<l};X,Z),
\end{equation}
where $L$ denotes the length of the target sequence. When applying the trained UniMIND to a specific task, we first use the same objective function as in the multi-task training stage, \textit{i.e.}, Eq.~(\ref{eq:loss}), to perform task-specific prompt-based learning.
In the inference stage, given a data sample $d = (\mathcal{C},\mathcal{G},\mathcal{K},\mathcal{P}_u)$, we perform the four tasks in order using corresponding tuned models.
Finally, the predicted output contains the next goal $g$, the next topic $k$, the recommended item $v$, and the generated response $c$.
\section{Experimental Setups}\label{sec:exp_setup}
\subsection{Research Questions}
The empirical analysis targets the following research questions:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{RQ1}: How is the performance of the proposed method on the end task of MG-CRS, \textit{i.e.}, Response Generation, compared to existing methods?
\item \textbf{RQ2}: How is the performance of the proposed method on each sub-task of MG-CRS, including Goal Planning, Topic Prediction, and Item Recommendation, compared to existing methods?
\item \textbf{RQ3}: How does the three-stage training and inference procedure as well as each sub-task contribute to the overall performance?
\item \textbf{RQ4}: What is the difference between multi-goal conversational recommender systems and traditional conversational recommender systems?
\end{itemize}
\begin{table}
\caption{Satistics of datasets.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lrr}
\toprule
Dataset & TG-ReDial & DuRecDial \\
\midrule
\#Dialogues&10,000&10,190\\
train/dev/test&8,495/757/748&6,618/946/2,626\\
\#Utterances&129,392&155,477\\
\#Goals&8&21\\
\#Topics/Entities&2,571&701\\
\#items&33,834&11,162\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{dataset}
\end{table}
\subsection{Datasets}
We conduct the experiments on two multi-goal conversational recommendation datasets, namely DuRecDial\footnote{\url{https://github.com/PaddlePaddle/Research/tree/48408392e152ffb2a09ce0a52334453e9c08b082/NLP/ACL2020-DuRecDial}}~\cite{durecdial} and TG-ReDial\footnote{\url{https://github.com/RUCAIBox/TG-ReDial}}~\cite{tgredial}. The dataset statistics are presented in Table~\ref{dataset}. We adopt the same train/dev/test split in the original datasets.
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{DuRecDial} is a goal-oriented knowledge-driven conversational recommendation dataset, which contains dialogues across multiple domains, including movie, music, restaurant, etc. The conversational goals and knowledge entities at each conversation turn are given. There are 21 types of conversational goals. We treat the knowledge entities as conversational topics, as the example in Fig.~\ref{example}(a). The dataset provides the user profiles with historical item interactions and the knowledge base related to each dialogue.
\item \textbf{TG-ReDial} is a topic-guided conversational recommendation dataset in the movie domain. We regard the labeled actions in the TG-ReDial dataset as the conversational goals at each turn. There are 8 types of conversational goals in TG-ReDial. An example is shown in Fig.~\ref{example}(b). The user profiles with historical item interactions are also given.
\end{itemize}
\subsection{Baselines \& Evaluation Metrics}
\subsubsection{Response Generation}
Since the original settings of TG-ReDial and DuRecDial have some differences, we compare to different groups of response generation baselines. For TG-ReDial, we consider the following baselines for comparisons:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{ReDial}~\cite{nips18-redial} and \textbf{KBRD}~\cite{kbrd} apply the hierarchical RNN and the Transformer architecture, respectively, for response generation in conversational recommendation.
\item \textbf{Trans.}~\cite{transformer} and \textbf{GPT-2}~\cite{gpt2} are two general text generation baselines, which are also adopted for the evaluation on the DuRecDial dateset.
\item \textbf{Union}~\cite{tgredial} and \textbf{TopRef.}~\cite{topicrefine} employ GPT-2 to generate the response conditioned on the predicted topic or the recommended item.
\end{itemize}
For DuRecDial, we compare to the following baselines:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{seq2seq}~\cite{seq2seq} and \textbf{PGN}~\cite{pgn} are two classic text generation methods. For seq2seq and Transformer, we also report the knowledge-grounded performance, \textit{i.e.}, seq2seq+kg and Trans.+kg.
\item \textbf{PostKS}~\cite{postks} is a knowledge-grounded response generation method.
\item \textbf{MGCG}\footnote{Following previous studies~\cite{aaai21-gokc,KERS}, we only compare our model with MGCG\_G, since MGCG\_R is a retrieval-based dialogue model.}~\cite{durecdial} adopts multi-type GRUs to encode the dialogue context, the goal sequence, and the topical knowledge and uses another GRU to generate responses.
\item \textbf{GOKC}~\cite{aaai21-gokc} and \textbf{KERS}~\cite{KERS} both assume that the goal sequence is given and focus on the knowledge-grounded response generation problem. Therefore, we also report their performance without the given goal sequence (``- w/o goal'').
\end{itemize}
For both datasets, we also adopt the vanilla \textbf{BART}~\cite{bart} as a baseline.
Following previous studies~\cite{durecdial,tgredial,aaai21-gokc,KERS}, we adopt word-level F1, BLEU, Distinct scores (Dist), and Perplexity (PPL) as automatic evaluation metrics.
\subsubsection{Goal Planning}
We compare to three text classification baselines:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{MGCG}~\cite{durecdial} employs two CNN-based classifiers to perform two sub-tasks, goal completion estimation and goal prediction.
\item \textbf{BERT} uses the dialogue context as the input for performing a classification task to predict the next goal.
\item \textbf{BERT+CNN} combines the obtained representations from MGCG and BERT to predict the next goal.
\end{itemize}
We adopt Macro-averaged Precision (P), Recall (R), and F1 as the evaluation metrics.
\subsubsection{Topic Prediction}
We compare to five methods:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{MGCG}~\cite{durecdial} adopts multi-type GRUs to encode the dialogue context, the historical topic sequence, and the user profile for performing a text matching task to rank the candidate topics.
\item \textbf{Conv/Topic/Profile/-BERT}~\cite{tgredial} utilizes BERT to encode historical utterances/topics/user profiles to rank the candidate topics, respectively.
\item \textbf{Union}~\cite{tgredial} combines the obtained representations from Conv/Topic/Profile-BERT.
\end{itemize}
Following \citet{tgredial}, we adopt Hit@$k$ as the evaluation metrics for ranking all the possible topics. Besides, we also report Micro-average P, R, and F1 of all the test instances. Since there are some responses that have no topic, if the prediction on a response with no gold labels is also empty, it means the model performs well and we set the P, R, F1 to 1, otherwise 0.
\subsubsection{Item Recommendation}
We compare to five recommendation baselines:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{GRU4Rec}~\cite{gru4rec} and \textbf{SASRec}~\cite{sasrec} apply GRU and Transformer, respectively, to encode user interaction history without using conversation data.
\item \textbf{TextCNN}~\cite{textcnn} and \textbf{BERT}~\cite{bert} adopt a CNN-based model and a BERT-based model, respectively, to encode the dialogue context without using historical user interaction data.
\item \textbf{Union}~\cite{tgredial} combines the learned representations from SASRec and BERT to make recommendations.
\end{itemize}
Following \citet{tgredial}, we adopt NDCG@$k$ and MRR@$k$ as the evaluation metrics.
\subsection{Implementation Details}
Most results of the baselines are reported in previous works. For reproducing some additional results, we implement those baselines with the open-source CRS toolkit, CRSLab\footnote{\url{https://github.com/RUCAIBox/CRSLab}}~\cite{crslab}. In order to make a fair comparison with other baselines, we choose BART$_\text{base}$ as the pre-trained Seq2Seq model for UniMIND, which shares a similar number of model parameters with BERT$_\text{base}$ and GPT-2.
The pre-trained weights of BART$_\text{base}$ are initialized using the Chinese BART\footnote{\url{https://huggingface.co/fnlp/bart-base-chinese}}~\cite{bart-chinese}.
We use the same hyper-parameter settings for these two datasets. The learning rate and the weight decay rate are set to be 5e-5 and 0.01, respectively. The max source sequence length and the max target sequence length are 512 and 100, respectively.
For DuRecDial dataset, we extract the knowledge triples concerning the predicted topical entities from the given knowledge base, and regard these knowledge triples as the complete topic context for the response generation task, whose maximum length is set to be 256.
We train all the baselines up to 20 epochs. For the proposed method, UniMIND, we conduct multi-task training for 15 epochs and prompt-based learning for 5 epochs.\footnote{The code will be publicly released via \url{https://github.com/dengyang17/UniMIND}.}
\section{Experimental Results}\label{sec:exp}
We evaluate the proposed method on both the end-to-end response generation and each sub-task of MG-CRS.
\subsection{Evaluation on Response Generation (RQ1)}
We conduct both automatic and human evaluation on the response generation task.
\subsubsection{\textbf{Automatic Evaluation}}
\begin{table}
\caption{End-to-end Evaluation of Response Generation on TG-ReDial. The mark $\bigcirc$ denotes that the ground-truth labels are given on both training and testing, $\checkmark$ denotes that the ground-truth labels are given for training only, and $\times$ for none. $^\dagger$ indicates statistically significant improvement ($p$<0.05) over \underline{the best baseline}.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model}&\multicolumn{2}{c}{Ground-truth}&\multicolumn{4}{c}{Evaluation Metrics}\\
\cmidrule(lr){2-3}\cmidrule(lr){4-7}
&Goal&Topic& F1 & BLEU-1/2 & Dist-2 & PPL \\
\midrule
ReDial$^*$~\cite{nips18-redial}&$\times$&$\times$&-&0.177/0.028&0.025&81.61\\
KBRD$^*$~\cite{kbrd}&$\times$&$\times$&-&0.221/0.028&0.025&28.02\\
Trans.$^*$~\cite{transformer}&$\times$&$\times$&-&0.287/0.071&0.083&32.86\\
GPT-2$^*$~\cite{gpt2}&$\times$&$\times$&-&0.279/0.066&0.094&13.38\\
Union~\cite{tgredial}&$\bigcirc$&$\checkmark$&-&0.280/0.065&0.094&\underline{7.22}\\
TopicRef.~\cite{topicrefine}&$\bigcirc$&$\checkmark$&-&\underline{0.294/0.086}&-&-\\
BART~\cite{bart}&$\times$&$\times$&\underline{32.80}&0.291/0.070&\underline{0.097}&7.59\\
\midrule
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{N}$&$\checkmark$&$\checkmark$&35.40$^\dagger$&0.310/0.089$^\dagger$&\textbf{0.200}$^\dagger$&6.81$^\dagger$\\
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{S}$&$\checkmark$&$\checkmark$&\textbf{35.62}$^\dagger$&\textbf{0.314/0.090}$^\dagger$&0.198$^\dagger$&\textbf{5.22}$^\dagger$\\
\bottomrule
\multicolumn{5}{l}{$^*$ Results reported from \citet{tgredial}.}
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:resp_tg}
\end{table}
\begin{table}
\caption{End-to-end Evaluation of Response Generation on DuRecDial. The mark $\bigcirc$ denotes that the ground-truth labels are given on both training and testing, $\checkmark$ denotes that the ground-truth labels are given for training only, and $\times$ for none. $^\dagger$ indicates statistically significant improvement ($p$<0.05) over \underline{the best baseline}.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model}&\multicolumn{2}{c}{Ground-truth}&\multicolumn{4}{c}{Evaluation Metrics}\\
\cmidrule(lr){2-3}\cmidrule(lr){4-7}
&Goal&Topic& F1 & BLEU-1/2 & Dist-2 & PPL \\
\midrule
seq2seq$^*$~\cite{seq2seq}&$\times$&$\times$&26.08&0.188/0.102&0.013&22.82\\
seq2seq+kg$^{**}$~\cite{seq2seq}&$\times$&$\checkmark$&24.52&0.165/0.079&0.013&24.75\\
PGN$^*$~\cite{pgn}&$\times$&$\times$&33.95 &0.243/0.161& 0.039& 24.28\\
PostKS$^*$~\cite{postks}&$\times$&$\checkmark$&39.87& 0.343/0.244& 0.056& 15.32\\
MGCG~\cite{durecdial}&$\checkmark$&$\checkmark$&42.04& 0.362/0.252& 0.081 &14.89\\
Trans.$^{**}$~\cite{transformer}&$\times$&$\times$&41.79& 0.393/0.288&0.050&9.78\\
Trans.+kg$^{**}$~\cite{transformer}&$\times$&$\checkmark$&44.73& 0.419/0.318&0.055&9.40\\
GPT-2~\cite{gpt2}&$\times$&$\times$&47.01& 0.392/0.295& 0.165& 15.56\\
GOKC~\cite{aaai21-gokc}&$\bigcirc$&$\checkmark$&47.28& 0.413/0.318& \underline{0.084}& 11.38\\
- w/o goal&$\times$&$\checkmark$&45.59&0.401/0.303& 0.081& 12.45\\
KERS~\cite{KERS}&$\bigcirc$&$\checkmark$&\underline{50.47}&\underline{0.463/0.362}&0.079&\underline{8.34}\\
- w/o goal&$\times$&$\checkmark$&48.95&0.450/0.351& 0.082& 8.76\\
BART~\cite{bart}&$\times$&$\times$&48.41&0.418/0.328&0.049&8.72\\
\midrule
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{N}$&$\checkmark$&$\checkmark$&\textbf{52.19}$^\dagger$&\textbf{0.479/0.398}$^\dagger$&0.079&\textbf{6.63}$^\dagger$\\
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{S}$&$\checkmark$&$\checkmark$&51.87$^\dagger$&0.477/0.397$^\dagger$&\textbf{0.086}&6.69$^\dagger$\\
\bottomrule
\multicolumn{7}{l}{$^*$ Results reported from \citet{aaai21-gokc}. $^{**}$ Results reported from \citet{KERS}.}
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:resp_du}
\end{table}
Table~\ref{exp:resp_tg} and Table~\ref{exp:resp_du} summarize the experimental results on the end task of MG-CRS, \textit{i.e.}, Response Generation, with different conversational recommender systems.
Most of the baseline systems simplify the whole MG-CRS problem by assuming the conversational goals are pre-defined ($\bigcirc$) at each turn or ignoring some tasks ($\times$), including the current state-of-the-art methods on both datasets, \textit{i.e.,} TopicRef. and KERS.
Given pre-defined goals, the systems perform much better than their original counterparts, \textit{e.g.}, GOKC and KERS, indicating the importance of the conversational goals in MG-CRS.
Besides, simply adapting pre-trained language models to response generation in MG-CRS fails to achieve a promising performance improvement, \textit{e.g.}, GPT-2 and BART.
Finally, UniMIND not only achieves the state-of-the-art performance on the content preservation metrics (F1, BLEU) but also has a promising performance on diversity (Dist) and fluency (PPL) on both datasets.
Overall, the experimental results provide the answer to \textbf{RQ1}: \textit{UniMIND substantially and consistently outperforms existing strong baselines, including those baselines with pre-defined goals, with a noticeable margin on Response Generation, which is the end task of MG-CRS.}
\subsubsection{\textbf{Human Evaluation}}
\begin{table}
\caption{Human Evaluation of Response Generation.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccc}
\toprule
Model & Fluency & Informativeness & Appropriateness & Proactivity \\
\midrule
GPT-2&1.36&1.39&1.25&1.71\\
Union&1.31&1.24&1.58&1.80\\
BART&1.81&1.31&1.40&1.77\\
\textbf{UniMind}$_\text{N}$&1.93&1.52&1.70&\textbf{1.96}\\
\textbf{UniMind}$_\text{S}$&\textbf{1.94}&\textbf{1.62}&\textbf{1.72}&\textbf{1.96}\\
\midrule
Human&1.98&1.90&1.99&1.98\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:human}
\end{table}
We conduct human evaluation to evaluate the generated response from four aspects:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{Fluency}: how fluent and coherent the generated response is?
\item \textbf{Informativeness}: how rich is the generated response in information?
\item \textbf{Appropriateness}: is the generated response appropriate for the current topic?
\item \textbf{Proactivity}: how well does the generated response proactively complete the current goal?
\end{itemize}
We randomly sample 100 dialogues from TG-ReDial and compare their responses produced by four methods (GPT-2, Union, BART, and UniMIND)\footnote{The generated responses of GPT-2 and Union on the TG-ReDial dataset are provided by \url{https://github.com/RUCAIBox/TG_CRS_Code}.}.
Three annotators are asked to score each generated response with \{0: bad, 1: ok, 2: good\}. These annotators are all well-educated research assistants. As the results presented in Table~\ref{exp:human}, UniMIND consistently outperforms these strong baselines from different aspects of human evaluation.
It is noteworthy that the scores on \textit{Appropriateness} and \textit{Proactivity} are substantially improved by UniMIND, which demonstrates that UniMIND can effectively lead a proactive conversation with appropriate content.
However, compared with the reference responses (Human), there is still much room for improvement on \textit{Informativeness} and \textit{Appropriateness} of the responses generated by UniMIND.
The human judgements further support the above answer to the \textbf{RQ1}: \textit{The responses generated by the proposed method preserve a higher degree of fluency, informativeness as well as explicitly reflect the target conversational topics and lead a proactive conversation, which contributes to a higher overall quality. }
\subsection{Evaluation on Each Task (RQ2)}
\subsubsection{\textbf{Evaluation on Goal Planning}}
\begin{table}
\caption{Evaluation of Goal Planning. $^\dagger$ indicates statistically significant improvement ($p$<0.05) over \underline{the best baseline}.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{TG-ReDial} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{DuRecDial} \\
\cmidrule(lr){2-4} \cmidrule(lr){5-7}
& P & R & F1 & P & R & F1\\
\midrule
MGCG&0.7546&0.8093& 0.7794&0.5739& 0.6324& 0.5787\\
BERT&0.8742&0.9004& 0.8858&0.9174& 0.9337& 0.9187\\
BERT+CNN&\underline{0.8777}& \underline{0.9182}& \underline{0.8971}& \underline{0.9248}& \underline{0.9357}& \underline{0.9229}\\
\midrule
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{N}$&0.8879$^\dagger$& 0.9403$^\dagger$& 0.9122$^\dagger$&\textbf{0.9327}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.9466}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.9357}$^\dagger$\\
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{S}$&\textbf{0.8887}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.9425}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.9137}$^\dagger$&0.9326$^\dagger$& 0.9369$^\dagger$& 0.9335$^\dagger$\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:goal}
\end{table}
Table~\ref{exp:goal} presents the experimental results on the Goal Planning task.
Among the baselines, BERT and BERT+CNN perform much better than MGCG by fine-tuning a BERT-based model to encode the contextual information from the dialogue history, which attaches great importance in determining where the conversation should go at the next turn.
Two variants of UniMIND achieve similar performance and both of them significantly outperform these baselines on two datasets.
\subsubsection{\textbf{Evaluation on Topic Prediction}}
\begin{table*}
\caption{Evaluation of Topic Prediction on TG-ReDial. We report P@1, R@1, and F1@1 scores for the matching-based baselines, which achieve the highest F1@$k$ scores. We regard the first generated topic as the top-ranked topic to compute the Hit@1 score for UniMIND. $^\dagger$ indicates statistically significant improvement ($p$<0.05) over \underline{the best baseline}.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model} & \multicolumn{6}{c}{TG-ReDial} \\
\cmidrule(lr){2-7}
& Hit@1 & Hit@3 & Hit@5 & P & R &F1 \\
\midrule
MGCG&0.3635& 0.5173& 0.6009& 0.5211&0.5013& 0.5079\\
Topic-BERT&0.4381& 0.5823& 0.6246&0.6221& 0.5548& 0.5772\\
Profile-BERT&0.0907& 0.1597& 0.2248& 0.3945&0.3740& 0.3808\\
Conv-BERT&0.4348& 0.5873& 0.6329&0.6264& \underline{0.5589}& 0.5814\\
Union&\underline{0.4420}&\underline{0.5923}&\underline{0.6374}&\underline{0.6301}& 0.5586& \underline{0.5824}\\
\midrule
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{N}$&0.7319$^\dagger$&-&-&0.6876$^\dagger$& 0.6915$^\dagger$& 0.6889$^\dagger$\\
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{S}$&\textbf{0.7351}$^\dagger$&-&-&\textbf{0.6912}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.6951}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.6925}$^\dagger$\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:know_tg}
\end{table*}
\begin{table*}
\caption{Evaluation of Topic Prediction on DuRecDial. We report P@1, R@1, and F1@1 scores for the matching-based baselines, which achieve the highest F1@$k$ scores. We regard the first generated topic as the top-ranked topic to compute the Hit@1 score for UniMIND. $^\dagger$ indicates statistically significant improvement ($p$<0.05) over \underline{the best baseline}.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model} & \multicolumn{6}{c}{DuRecDial} \\
\cmidrule(lr){2-7}
& Hit@1 & Hit@3 & Hit@5 & P & R &F1 \\
\midrule
MGCG&0.6639& 0.7510& 0.7810&0.6697&0.5419& 0.5880\\
Topic-BERT&0.6337& 0.7460& 0.7785&0.6957& 0.6015& 0.6289\\
Profile-BERT&0.4908& 0.6844& 0.7698&0.4576& 0.4036& 0.4181\\
Conv-BERT&0.7791& 0.8226& 0.8425&0.8122& 0.7065& 0.7377\\
Union&\underline{0.7877}& \underline{0.8462}& \underline{0.8696}&\underline{0.8327}& \underline{0.7270}& \underline{0.7582}\\
\midrule
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{N}$&\textbf{0.9056}$^\dagger$&-&-&\textbf{0.8981}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.8994}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.8978}$^\dagger$\\
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{S}$&0.9023$^\dagger$&-&-&0.8957$^\dagger$& 0.8964$^\dagger$& 0.8952$^\dagger$\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:know_du}
\end{table*}
Table~\ref{exp:know_tg} and Table~\ref{exp:know_du} present the experimental results on the Topic Prediction task.
Note that the results on TG-ReDial reported in \cite{tgredial} are based on the assumption that the target recommendation topic is given, so that all the baselines achieve a similar result, due to the strong supervision signal of the target topic.
In fact, without the guidance of the target topic, the task of topic prediction becomes more difficult, since the system is required to predict the next topic based on the coherency and relevancy to the dialogue context, the historical topic thread, and the user profile.
Therefore, we can observe that Profile-BERT barely works on the topic prediction task.
Overall, UniMIND significantly outperforms these strong baselines on both Hit scores and F1 scores, where the Hit@1 scores of UniMIND are even higher than the Hit@5 scores of Union.
Since it is difficult to determine the number of topic classes with these matching-based baselines, UniMIND owns remarkable flexibility and scalability to this multi-label classification problem, which is proven by the F1 scores.
\subsubsection{\textbf{Evaluation on Item Recommendation}}
\begin{table*}
\caption{Evaluation of Item Recommendation on TG-ReDial. $^\dagger$ indicates statistically significant improvement ($p$<0.05) over \underline{the best baseline}.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{TG-ReDial} \\
\cmidrule(lr){2-5}
& NDCG@10 & NDCG@50 & MRR@10 & MRR@50 \\
\midrule
GRU4Rec&0.0028&0.0062&0.0014&0.0020\\
SASRec&0.0092&0.0179&0.0050&0.0068\\
TextCNN&0.0144&0.0215&0.0119&0.0133\\
BERT&0.0246&0.0439&0.0182&0.0211\\
Union&\underline{0.0348}&\underline{0.0527}&\underline{0.0240}&\underline{0.0277}\\
\midrule
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{N}$&0.0306& 0.0499& 0.0236& 0.0277\\
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{S}$&\textbf{0.0386}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.0638}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.0283}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.0319}\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:rec_tg}
\end{table*}
\begin{table*}
\caption{Evaluation of Item Recommendation on DuRecDial. $^\dagger$ indicates statistically significant improvement ($p$<0.05) over \underline{the best baseline}.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{DuRecDial} \\
\cmidrule(lr){2-5}
& NDCG@10 & NDCG@50 & MRR@10 & MRR@50 \\
\midrule
GRU4Rec&0.2188& 0.2734& 0.1713& 0.1833\\
SASRec&0.3686& 0.4130& 0.3071& 0.3174\\
TextCNN&0.5049& 0.5344& 0.4516& 0.4584\\
BERT&0.5455& 0.5719& 0.4983& 0.5043\\
Union&\underline{0.5568}& \underline{0.5831}& \underline{0.5101}& \underline{0.5159}\\
\midrule
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{N}$&0.5986$^\dagger$& 0.6099$^\dagger$& 0.5922$^\dagger$& 0.5944$^\dagger$\\
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{S}$&\textbf{0.6343}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.6471}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.6291}$^\dagger$& \textbf{0.6318}$^\dagger$\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:rec_du}
\end{table*}
Table~\ref{exp:rec_tg} and Table~\ref{exp:rec_du} summarize the experimental results on the Item Recommendation task.
Among these baselines, due to the sparsity of the historical user-item interaction data, traditional recommendation methods (\textit{e.g.}, GRU4Rec and SASRec) fall short of handling the item recommendation task in MG-CRS, while text-based recommendation methods (\textit{e.g.}, TextCNN and BERT) show more promising performance. Union further improves the performance by combining the advantages of BERT and SASRec.
Without using the historical interaction data, UniMIND achieves competitive performance with Union.
In specific, UniMIND$_\text{S}$ significantly and consistently outperforms Union on both datasets and UniMIND$_\text{N}$ outperforms Union on DuRecDial.
Different from the observations on other tasks, UniMIND$_\text{S}$ performs much better than UniMIND$_\text{N}$ on item recommendation, showing that the natural language prompts can not fully utilize the relationships with the expanded item vocabulary.
Overall, the experimental results provide the answer to \textbf{RQ2}: \textit{UniMIND significantly outperforms existing strong baselines on each sub-task of MG-CRS. The strong performance can not only contribute to the final quality of the generated responses, but also provide useful and convenient adaptation for different sub-task applications.}
\section{Detailed Analyses \& Discussions}
In this section, we provide a variety of detailed analyses and discussions to look deeper into the proposed method. Note that the following analyses are all conducted with UniMIND$_\text{S}$, since this variant has generally better performance on both datasets according to Section~\ref{sec:exp}.
\subsection{Ablation Study (RQ3)}
\begin{table}
\caption{Ablation Study (Results on Response Generation).}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lcccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Model} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{TG-ReDial} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{DuRecDial} \\
\cmidrule(lr){2-3} \cmidrule(lr){4-5}
& F1 & BLEU-1/2 & F1 & BLEU-1/2 \\
\midrule
\textbf{UniMIND}$_\text{S}$&35.62&0.314/0.090&51.87&0.477/0.397\\
- w/o MTL&34.73&0.305/0.086&50.98&0.465/0.381\\
- w/o PL &33.94&0.299/0.084&50.67&0.454/0.373\\%
\midrule
\multicolumn{5}{l}{\textit{Response Generation}}\\
- OracleGen&39.43&0.350/0.104&55.07&0.525/0.444\\
- DirectGen&32.80&0.291/0.070&48.41&0.418/0.328\\
\midrule
\multicolumn{5}{l}{\textit{Goal Planning}}\\
- Oracle&36.78&0.328/0.097&53.28&0.498/0.417\\
- BERT+CNN&35.51&0.314/0.090&51.67&0.475/0.396\\
- w/o goal&35.13&0.309/0.086&50.97&0.467/0.380\\
\midrule
\multicolumn{5}{l}{\textit{Topic Prediction}}\\
- Oracle&38.22&0.336/0.100&52.68&0.492/0.413\\
- Union&34.32&0.301/0.084&51.09&0.469/0.383\\
- w/o topic&35.01&0.307/0.085&48.73&0.426/0.340\\
\midrule
\multicolumn{5}{l}{\textit{Item Recommendation}}\\
- Oracle&35.72&0.315/0.091&52.42&0.488/0.409\\
- Union&35.60&0.314/0.090&51.25&0.471/0.394\\
- w/o item&35.73&0.315/0.090&51.10&0.469/0.385\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{exp:ablation}
\end{table}
In order to investigate the effect of the proposed training procedure and each task, the results of the ablation study are presented in Table~\ref{exp:ablation}.
\subsubsection{Effect of Training Procedure}
We first evaluate the effectiveness of the multi-task learning and the prompt-based learning strategies.
``- w/o MTL'' denotes that we train four independent Seq2Seq models for each task.
``- w/o PL'' denotes that we only train one unified multi-task learning model for all tasks without task-specific prompt-based learning.
\textit{The results show that the best performance can only be achieved by combining multi-task learning and prompt-based learning}, which can answer the first part of \textbf{RQ3}.
\subsubsection{Effect of Each Sub-task}
Besides, we also present the performance of ``- OracleGen'', which denotes that the input sequence for response generation is composed of the ground-truth goals, topics, and items, while ``- DirectGen'' denotes the input sequence only contains the dialogue history.
The results show that the performance is improved by 15\%-25\% (DirectGen $\rightarrow$ OracleGen), which demonstrates the importance of these kinds of information in MG-CRS.
In addition, we further investigate the effect of each task, by replacing them with the ground-truth labels (``- Oracle'') or predicted results from other strong baselines (``- BERT+CNN'' and ``- Union''), or discarding the information (``- w/o'').
The results show that Topic Prediction and Goal Planning largely affect the final performance, where precisely predicting topics can bring the most prominent improvement on the final response generation.
However, Item Recommendation has the least effect on the final response generation for both datasets.
Overall, for the answer to the second part of \textbf{RQ3}, \textit{the experimental results show that all sub-tasks attach more or less importance to the final Response Generation task, among which Topic Prediction and Goal Planning are more influential than Item Recommendation.}
\subsection{Performance w.r.t. Goal Type (RQ4)}
\begin{table}
\caption{Performance w.r.t. Goal Type.}
\centering
\setlength{\tabcolsep}{1.1mm}{
\begin{tabular}{lcccccc}
\toprule
\multirow{2}{*}{Goal Type}&\multirow{2}{*}{\%}&Goal&Topic&\multicolumn{3}{c}{Response Gen.}\\
\cmidrule(lr){3-3}\cmidrule(lr){4-4}\cmidrule(lr){5-7}
&&F1&F1&F1&BLEU-1/2&Dist-2\\
\midrule
\multicolumn{7}{c}{TG-ReDial}\\
\midrule
Recommend.&54.4&\textbf{0.9629}&\textbf{0.8864}&37.6&0.337/0.072&0.218\\
Chit-chat&39.0&0.9428&0.3886&30.5&0.254/0.071&\textbf{0.327}\\
Rec. Request&31.9&0.8352&0.6926&\textbf{45.4}&\textbf{0.404/0.167}&0.251\\
\midrule
\multicolumn{7}{c}{DuRecDial}\\
\midrule
Recommend.&37.2&0.9235&0.7933&45.9&0.455/0.376&0.101\\
Chit-chat&15.5&0.8734&0.9787&41.7&0.396/0.309&\textbf{0.132}\\
QA&16.7&0.9298&0.9278&62.5&0.587/0.505&0.122\\
Task&11.3&\textbf{0.9456}&\textbf{0.9963}&\textbf{68.5}&\textbf{0.701/0.637}&0.114\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}}
\label{exp:goal_type}
\end{table}
In order to further analyze the characteristics of MG-CRS against traditional CRS, we present the performance with respect to different goal types in Table~\ref{exp:goal_type}.
In order to provide a comprehensive scope, we aggregate the results of several dominant goal types for each dataset.
For the TG-ReDial dataset that contains responses with multiple goals, the type-wise scores are averaged from all the samples that contain the goal type.
For the DuRecDial dataset that contains multi-domain dialogues, the type-wise scores are averaged from all the samples that contain the goal type across all domains.
On both datasets, ``\textit{Recommendation}'' is still the most important goal type with the largest number of samples in MG-CRS.
There are several notable observations as follows:
\begin{itemize}
\item As for Goal Planning, ``\textit{Recommendation}'' is the easiest goal type to plan for TG-ReDial, since this type always comes after ``\textit{Recommendation Request}''. However, the timing for ``\textit{Recommendation Request}'' would be more difficult to determine.
\item As for Topic Prediction, the topic labels in TG-ReDial are the abstractive conversational topics, while those in DuRecDial are the knowledge entities discussed in the current conversation.
The difference in annotations leads to the different observations in the two datasets.
For ``\textit{Chit-chat}'' dialogues, the abstractive topics are hard to predict in TG-ReDial, while the discussed entities can be effectively predicted in DuRecDial.
Conversely, for ``\textit{Recommendation}'' dialogues, the abstractive topics are often the genre of the recommended movies in TG-ReDial, while there might be multiple knowledge entities related to the recommended item in DuRecDial.
\item As for Response Generation, ``\textit{Chit-chat}'' dialogues reach the lowest scores on the content preservation metrics (\textit{i.e.}, F1 and BLEU), while achieving the highest scores on the diversity metrics (\textit{i.e.}, Dist) in both datasets.
This phenomenon is prevalent in chit-chat dialogue studies.
``\textit{Recommendation}'' dialogues reach the lowest scores on Dist, due to the similar expressions when making recommendations.
\end{itemize}
Therefore, we can derive the answer to \textbf{RQ4} from this analysis: \textit{The performance w.r.t. different goal types demonstrate the difficulties of MG-CRS, since there are some great differences among different types of dialogues, not just making recommendations in traditional conversational recommender systems.}
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.95\textwidth]{fig/case.pdf}
\caption{Case Study.}
\label{case}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Case Study}
In order to intuitively differentiate UniMIND from other baselines, Fig.~\ref{case} presents a specific dialogue from TG-ReDial.
At the $t$-$1$-th turn, the ground-truth conversational goal and topics are ``\textit{Chit-chat}'' and ``\textit{Love}'', which means that the system is expected to provide a causal response talking about love.
However, Union predicts the topic to be ``\textit{Starry Sky}'' in advance, due to the strong supervision signals of the target topics of the movie to be recommended.
Moreover, without the goal planning task, Union and BART tend to make recommendations frequently, since the majority of the conversational goals in MG-CRS is ``\textit{Recommendation}'' as shown in Table~\ref{exp:goal_type}.
This is likely to degrade the user experience.
UniMIND generates an appropriate response to discuss about love with the user, by making good goal planning and topic prediction.
At the $t$-th turn, the ground-truth conversational goal and topics are ``\textit{Movie Recommendation}'' and ``\textit{Love/Starry Sky}'', which means that the system is expected to recommend a movie about love and starry sky.
UniMIND can better capture the multiple topics and provide a more coherent response to the dialogue context.
\subsection{Error Analysis and Limitations}\label{sec:error}
Despite the effectiveness of the proposed UniMIND framework for MG-CRS, we would like to better understand the failure modes of UniMIND for further improvement in future studies.
After analyzing those cases with low human evaluation scores, we identify the following limitations and discuss the potential solutions:
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{Low Recommendation Success Rate}. All the baselines and UniMIND fail to reach a promising recommendation performance on TG-ReDial as shown in Table~\ref{exp:rec_tg}, due to the sparsity of the user-item interactions. Since the historical interaction data is not utilized in UniMIND, one possible direction is to study how to incorporate this kind of data into the Seq2Seq framework for improving the recommendation performance.
\item \textbf{Informativeness}. As shown in Table~\ref{exp:human}, there is still a gap between the generated and the ground-truth response on \textbf{Informativeness}. In order to diversify and enrich the information in dialogue systems, a common practice is to leverage open-domain dialogue corpus to post-train the generation model~\cite{dialogpt}, which can also be easily applied to our unified Seq2Seq framework.
\item \textbf{Error Propagation}. This is a typical issue of solving multiple tasks in sequential order. Table~\ref{error} presents the Exact Match (EM) scores between the generated input sequence and the oracle input sequence for each task, which inevitably go down along with the sequential completion of each task. There are some techniques studied to alleviate this issue in cascaded generation methods, such as introducing contrastive objectives~\cite{soloist} or noisy channel models~\cite{tacl21-noisy}.
\end{itemize}
\begin{table}
\caption{EM between generated and oracle input sequences.}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lccc}
\toprule
Dataset & Topic Pred. & Item Rec. & Response Gen. \\
\midrule
TG-ReDial&87.20\%&80.17\%&15.44\%\\
DuRecDial&92.32\%&89.16\%&84.74\%\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\label{error}
\end{table}
\section{Conclusions}
In this work, we propose a novel unified multi-task learning framework for multi-goal conversational recommender systems, namely UniMIND.
Specifically, we unify four tasks in MG-CRS into the same sequence-to-sequence (Seq2Seq) paradigm and utilize prompt-based learning strategies to endow the model with the capability of multi-task learning.
Experimental results on two MG-CRS datasets show that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance on each task with a unified model.
Extensive analyses demonstrate the importance of each task and the difficulties of handling different types of dialogues in MG-CRS.
This work is the first attempt towards a unified multi-task learning framework for MG-CRS. There are some limitations and room for further improvement.
As discussed in Section~\ref{sec:error}, the error analyses and limitation discussions shed some potential directions for future studies. For example, it can be beneficial to incorporate historical user-item interaction data into the unified framework for making better recommendations or leverage open-domain dialogue corpus to post-train the generation model for generating more informative and diverse responses. It would be also worth investigating approaches to alleviate the error propagation issue in the training procedure.
In addition, similar to other prompt-based learning studies, the proposed method can be extended to handle the low-resource scenarios or few-shot learning settings in MG-CRS, which will be more practical in real-world applications.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 8,951 |
\section*{Acknowledgements}
We would like to thank Ken Ono for suggesting this project, and for several helpful conversations. We thank William Craig and Badri Pandey, as well as the referee, for their comments on the exposition in this note. Finally, we are grateful for the generous support of the National Science Foundation (DMS 2002265 and DMS 205118), the National Security Agency (H98230-21-1-0059), the Thomas Jefferson Fund at the University of Virginia, and the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
\bigskip
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 7,976 |
Q: Mysql + PHP + Google Maps Api I have a database containing records of coordinates for squares.
using google maps api I would like to use the records on the database to draw the polygons.
I have some experience with PHP, and was thinking I could use PHP to pass database data to JavaScript.
I assume this can be done with XML, if so, would I write PHP to access the database and load the data into memory
PHP
require_once 'login.php';
$connection = new mysqli($db_hostname, $db_username, $db_password, $db_database);
if ($connection->connect_error) die ($connection->connect_error);
$query = "SELECT * FROM BC_BBA_SquaresCoordinates";
$result = $connection->query($query);
if (!$result) die ($connection->error);
$rows = $result->num_rows;
for($j=0;$j<$rows;++$j){
$result->data_seek($j);
$row = $result->fetch_array(MYSQLI_ASSOC);
}
$result->close();
$connection->close();
JS
downloadUrl("test1.php", function(data){
var xml = data.responseXML;
var row = xml.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("row");
for (var i = 0; i < row.length; i++){
var squarenum = row[i].getAttribute("SQUARE_ID");
}
});
I am not overly familiar with XML so possibly I am not coding the PHP correctly. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
A: I implemented part of this solution recently with XML. I did not draw any polygons (and would be interested to check out how you're doing that!), but I have been populating maps with lots of points stored in a MySQL db. I think I can help you work the XML. I wish I could point you to the sources I found and not just summarize them/share my solutions, but I couldn't turn them up quickly.
In the PHP, some clever person offered the parseToXML code somewhere, maybe here, it handles escaping characters. I used an iterative solution to generate the XML. Don't forget to specify that it's XML like the guy above echo "<?xml version='1.0' ?>"; or header("Content-type: text/xml"); before you start iterating AND close the opening tag (I used <markers>). I hope this helps.
PHP:
function parseToXML($htmlStr)
{
$xmlStr=str_replace('<','<',$htmlStr);
$xmlStr=str_replace('>','>',$xmlStr);
$xmlStr=str_replace('"','"',$xmlStr);
$xmlStr=str_replace("'",''',$xmlStr);
$xmlStr=str_replace("&",'&',$xmlStr);
return $xmlStr;
}
$mapquery = "select PropertyID, Latitude, Longitude, from map";
$mapresult = mysqli_query($dbConn,$mapquery);
if (!$mapresult) {
echo('Query Error');
quit();
}
header("Content-type: text/xml");
echo '<markers>';
if ($mapresult->num_rows > 0) {
while ($row = $mapresult->fetch_assoc()){
echo '<marker ';
echo 'propId="' . parseToXML($row['PropertyID']) . '" ';
echo 'lat="' . $row['Latitude'] . '" ';
echo 'lng="' . $row['Longitude'] . '" ';
echo '/>';
}
}
echo '</markers>';
JS
downloadUrl("map.php", function(data) {
var xml = data.responseXML;
var markers = xml.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("marker");
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var propId = markers[i].getAttribute("propId");
var point = new google.maps.LatLng(
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lat")),
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lng")));
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: point
});
}
});
A: Thank you for that,
I was able to draw ~11000 polygons on a google map using
var SquareCoords = [
{lat: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("latone")), lng: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lngone"))},
{lat: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lattwo")), lng: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lngtwo"))},
{lat: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("latone")), lng: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lngone"))},
{lat: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lattwo")), lng: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lngtwo"))},
{lat: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("latthree")), lng: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lngthree"))},
{lat: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("latthree")), lng: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lngthree"))},
{lat: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("latfour")), lng: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lngfour"))},
{lat: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("latfour")), lng: parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lngfour"))},
];
// Construct the polygon.
var drawSquare = new google.maps.Polygon({
paths: squareCoords,
strokeColor: '#FF0000',
strokeOpacity: 0.8,
strokeWeight: 3,
fillColor: '#FF0000',
fillOpacity: 0.35
});
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 1,923 |
{"url":"http:\/\/tex.stackexchange.com\/questions\/78941\/nested-enumerate-labels-with-parent-label-appended-plus-a-single-set-of-enclosin","text":"# Nested enumerate labels with parent label appended plus a single set of enclosing parentheses\n\nI want to have a list like\n\n(1) foo\n(1.1) foo\n(1.2) foo\n(2) foo\n\n\nI am using the package enumitem and\n\n\\begin{enumerate}[label=(\\arabic*)]\n\\item foo\n\\end{enumerate}\n\n\nI know that i can append the parent label with label*=, but that leads to (1).1.\n\nHas anybody an idea?\n\n-\nduplicate: nested-enumeration-numbering \u2013\u00a0cmhughes Oct 24 '12 at 19:29\n@cmhughes I don't think so -- the parenthesis problem is special. \u2013\u00a0lockstep Oct 24 '12 at 19:48\n@lockstep though making the parenthesis the only difference............hmmmm so \u2013\u00a0azetina Oct 24 '12 at 20:01\n@azetina Check the answers of the supposed \"original\" -- for the present question, you can use neither \\theenumi nor \\label*. \u2013\u00a0lockstep Oct 24 '12 at 20:03\n@lockstep You are right....i take it back \u2013\u00a0azetina Oct 24 '12 at 20:19\n\nThis is how it can be done using enumitem:\n\n\\documentclass{article}\n\\usepackage{enumitem}% http:\/\/ctan.org\/pkg\/enumitem\n\\begin{document}\n\\begin{enumerate}[label=(\\arabic*)]\n\\item foo\n\\begin{enumerate}[label=(\\arabic{enumi}.\\arabic*)]\n\\item foo\n\\item foo\n\\end{enumerate}\n\\item foo\n\\end{enumerate}\n\\end{document}\u200b\n\n\nYou need to define the nested labels without the labelling format of the parent. The counters for the levels of enumerate are enumi, enumii, enumiii, while \\arabic* refers to the current level counter.\n\n-\n\nYou can get this automatically, that is, forgetting to add [...] to each environment, with\n\n\\documentclass{article}\n\\usepackage{enumitem}\n\n\\newlist{jana}{enumerate}{3}\n\\setlist[jana,1]{label=(\\arabic*)}\n\\setlist[jana,2]{label=(\\arabic{janai}.\\arabic*)}\n\\setlist[jana,3]{label=(\\arabic{janai}.\\arabic{janaii}.\\arabic*)}\n\n\\begin{document}\n\\begin{jana}\n\\item A\n\\item A\n\\begin{jana}\n\\item B\n\\item B\n\\begin{jana}\n\\item C\n\\item C\n\\end{jana}\n\\end{jana}\n\\end{jana}\n\\end{document}\n\n\nChoose a more sensible environment name, of course, changing also the occurrence of the string; for instance, if you choose myenum, you will say \\arabic{myenumi}, \\arabic{myenumii} and so on.\n\nThis provides up to three levels, add more levels with the same pattern if needed.\n\nOne can also change the format of the labels: for instance\n\n\\newlist{labelist}{enumerate}{5}\n\\setlist[labelist,1]{label=(\\Alph*)}\n\\setlist[labelist,2]{label=(\\Alph{labelisti}.\\arabic*)}\n\\setlist[labelist,3]{label=(\\Alph{labelisti}.\\arabic{labelistii}.\\arabic*)}\n\\setlist[labelist,4]{label=(\\Alph{labelisti}.\\arabic{labelistii}.\\arabic{labelistiii}.\\arabic*)}\n\\setlist[labelist,5]{label=(\\Alph{labelisti}.\\arabic{labelistii}.\\arabic{labelistiii}.\\arabic{labelistiv}.\\arabic*)}\n\n\nwill define formats\n\n(A)\n(A.1)\n(A.1.1)\n(A.1.1.1)\n(A.1.1.1.1)\n\n-","date":"2016-06-27 04:04:36","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 1, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.8549994230270386, \"perplexity\": 4674.385167015433}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2016-26\/segments\/1466783395620.9\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00137-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
\subsection*{Related work}
Minkowski's theorem asserts that a convex set is uniquely determined,
up to translation, by the distribution of its normals on the
sphere. In the case of polyhedron, the precise statement is as
follows: given a set of normal vectors $\mathbf{n}_1,\hdots,\mathbf{n}_N$ in the unit
sphere, and a set of positive numbers $a_1,\hdots, a_N$ such that (i)
$\sum_{i=1}^N a_i \mathbf{n}_i = 0$ and (ii) the set of normals spans
$\mathbb{R}^d$, there exists a convex polytope with exactly $N$ faces and
such that the area of the face with normal $\mathbf{n}_i$ is $a_i$
\cite{min2}. Moreover, this polytope is unique up to translation. The
computational aspects related to Minkowski's theorem have been studied
using variational techniques on the primal problem \cite{little} or on
the dual problem \cite{carlier2004theorem,lachand}, but also from the
viewpoint of complexity theory \cite{gritz}.
Minkowski theorem can be interpreted as a reconstruction result, and
such a result comes with a corresponding stability question: if the
distribution of normals of two convex bodies are close to each other
(in a sense to be made precise), are the corresponding bodies also
close in the Hausdorff sense up to translation ? This question has
been studied extensively in the convex geometry literature, using the
theory surrounding the Brunn-Minkowski inequality, starting from two
articles by Diskant \cite{diskant, diskant2, schneider, hug}. Our
probabilistic convergence theorem bears some resemblance with
\cite{gardner2006convergence}, which studies a different inverse
problem in convex geometry, namely reconstructing a convex set from
its brightness function.
\subsection*{Contributions}
In the present paper, we suppose the existence of an underlying convex
body $K$, which is not necessarily a polytope, and from which a
probing device measures unit outer normals. Our input data is a set of
$N$ unit normals $(\mathbf{n}_i)_{1\leq i\leq N}$, which have been measured at
$N$ locations on the boundary $\partial K$ of $K$. These locations
have been chosen randomly and independently, and are uniformly
distributed with respect to the surface area on $\partial K$. Note
that from now on, we assume that \emph{only the measured normals are
known to us}, and not the locations they were measured at. The
question we consider is the following: given $\eta>0$, what is the
minimum number of such measurements needed so as to be able to
reconstruct with high probability a convex set $L_N$ which is $\eta$
Hausdorff-close to $K$ up to translation? Denoting $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}$ the
Hausdorff distance, we prove the following theorem:
\begin{theorem*}[Theorem~\ref{th:sampling}]
Let $K$ be a bounded convex set with non-empty interior and whose
boundary has $(d-1)$-area one. Given $p\in (0,1)$ and $\eta > 0$,
and
\[N \geq \mathrm{const}\left(K,d\right)
\cdot \eta^{\frac{d(1-d)}2 - 2d}\log(1/p)\] random normal
measurements, it is possible to construct a convex body $L_N$ such
that
\[\mathbb{P}\left(\min_{x\in \mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(x+K,L_N)\leq
\eta\right)\geq 1-p.\]
\end{theorem*}
In the course of proving this theorem, we introduce a very weak notion
of distance between measures on the unit sphere, which we call the
``convex-dual distance''. This distance is weaker than usual distances
between measures, such as the bounded-Lipschitz\footnote{The
bounded-Lipschitz distance coincides with the Wasserstein (or
Earthmover) distance with exponent one when the two measures have
the same total mass.} or the total variation
distances. Surprisingly, it is nonetheless sufficiently strong to
control the Hausdorff distance between two convex bodies in term of
the convex-dual distances between their distribution of normals, as
shown in Theorem~\ref{th:stab}. This theorem weakens the hypothesis in
the stability results of Diskant \cite{diskant,diskant2} and
Hug--Schneider \cite{hug}.
\subsection*{Notation}
The Euclidean norm and scalar product on $\mathbb{R}^d$ are denoted $\nr{.}$
and $\sca{.}{.}$ respectively. The unit sphere of $\mathbb{R}^d$ is denoted
$\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$, and $\mathrm{B}(x,r)$ is the ball centered at a point $x$ with
radius $r$. We call \emph{convex body} a compact convex subsets of the
Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^d$ with non-empty interior. The boundary of a
convex body $K$ is denoted $\partial K$. Also, we denote $\mathcal{H}^d(A)$
the volume of a set $A$, and $\mathcal{H}^{d-1}(B)$ the $(d-1)$-Hausdorff
measure of $B$. These notions coincide with the intuitive notions of
volume and surface area in dimension three. A \emph{(non-negative)
measure} $\mu$ over a metric space $X$ associates to any (Borel)
subset $B$ a non-negative number $\mu(B)$. It should enjoy also the
following additivity property: if $(B_i)$ is a countable family of
disjoint subsets, then $\mu(\cup_i B_i) = \sum_i \mu(B_i)$. We call
$\mu(X)$ the \emph{total mass} of $\mu$. The measure $\mu$ on $X$ is a
\emph{probability measure} if $\mu(X) = 1$. The unit Dirac mass at a
point $x$ of $X$ is the probability measure $\delta_x$ defined by
$\delta_x(B) = 1$ if $x$ belongs to $B$ and $\delta_x(B)=0$ if not.
\section{Minkowski problem and the convex-dual distance}
\label{sec:distance}
The problem originally posed by Minkowski concerns the reconstruction
of a convex polyhedron $P$ from its facet areas $(a_i)_{1\leq i\leq
N}$ and unit outer normals $(\mathbf{n}_i)_{1\leq i\leq N}$. This data can
be summarized by a measure on the unit sphere, and more precisely by a
linear combination of Dirac masses: $\mu_P = \sum_{1\leq i\leq N} a_i
\delta_{x_i}$. Minkowski's problem has been generalized to more
general convex bodies by Alexandrov using the notion of \emph{surface
area measure}.
Recall that given a convex body $K$ and a point $x$ on its boundary, a
unit vector $v$ is a \emph{unit outer normal} if for every point $y$
in $K$, $\sca{(x-y)}{v} \geq 0$. For $\mathcal{H}^{d-1}$-almost every point in
$\partial K$, there is a single outer unit normal, which we denote
$\mathbf{n}_K(x)$. The \emph{Gauss map} of $K$ is the map $\mathbf{n}_K: \partial
K \to \mathcal{S}^{d-1}$.
\begin{definition}
The \emph{surface area measure of $K$} is a measure $\mu_K$ on the
unit sphere. The measure $\mu_K(B)$ of a (Borel) subset $B$ of the
sphere $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ is the $(d-1)$-area of the subset of $\partial
K$ whose normals lie in $B$. In other words,
\begin{equation}
\label{sur}
\mu_K(B) := \mathcal{H}^{d-1}\left( \{x\in \partial K; \mathbf{n}_K(x) \in
B\}\right) = \mathcal{H}^{d-1}(\mathbf{n}_K^{-1}(B)).
\end{equation}
By definition, the total mass $\mu_K(\mathcal{S}^{d-1})$ of the surface area
measure is equal to the $(d-1)$-volume of the boundary $\partial
K$. In particular, the surface area of $K$ is a probability measure if
and only if $K$ has \emph{unit surface area}, i.e. $\mathcal{H}^{d-1}(\partial
K) = 1$.
\end{definition}
For instance, if $P$ is a convex polyhedron with $k$ $d$-dimensional
facets $F_1,\hdots,F_k$, the unit exterior normal $\mathbf{n}_P(x)$ is well
defined at any point $x$ that lies on the relative interior of one of
these facets. As noted earlier, the surface area measure of the
polyhedron $P$ can then be written as a finite weighted sum of Dirac
masses, $\mu_P = \sum_{i=1}^N \mathcal{H}^{d-1}(F_i) \delta_{\mathbf{n}_{F_i}},$
where the unit normal to the $i$th face is denoted $\mathbf{n}_{F_i}$.
Alexandrov's theorem \cite{Ale} generalizes the reconstruction theorem
of Minkowski mentioned in the introduction. It shows that a convex
body is uniquely determined, up to translation, by its surface area
measure. It also gives a characterization of the measures on the
sphere that can occur as surface area measures of convex bodies.
\begin{definition} Given a measure $\mu$ on the unit sphere
$\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$,
\begin{itemize}
\item[(i)] the $\emph{mean}$ of $\mu$ is the point of $\mathbb{R}^d$
defined by $\mathrm{mean}(\mu) := \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} x \mathrm{d} \mu_K(x)$. The
measure $\mu$ has \emph{zero mean} if this point lies at the
origin.
\item[(ii)] we say that the measure $\mu$ has \emph{non-degenerate
support} if for every hyperplane $H \subseteq \mathbb{R}^d$, the
inequality $\mu_K(\mathcal{S}^{d-1} \setminus H) > 0$
holds. Equivalently, $\mu$ has non-degenerate support if and only
its mass is not entirely contained on a single great circle of the
sphere.
\end{itemize}
\end{definition}
\begin{theorem*}[Alexandrov]\label{Ale}
Given any measure $\mu$ on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ with zero mean and
non-degenerate support, there exists a convex body $K$ whose surface
area measure $\mu_K$ coincides with $\mu$. Moreover, this convex
body is unique up to translation.
\end{theorem*}
\subsection{Convex-dual distance}
One of our goals in this article is to refine existing quantitative
estimates of uniqueness in Alexandrov's theorem. In other words, we
want to be able to express the fact that if the surface area measures
$\mu_K$ and $\mu_L$ are close to each other, then the convex bodies
$K$ and $L$ are also close to each other. For this purpose, we
introduce the convex-dual distance, a very weak notion of distance
between measures on the unit sphere.
The \emph{support function} of a convex body $K\subseteq \mathbb{R}^d$ is a
function $\mathrm{h}_K:\mathcal{S}^{d-1} \to\mathbb{R}$ on the unit sphere defined by the
formula $h_K(u) := \max_{x \in K} \sca{x}{u}$. We will use the
following known fact of convex geometry, whose proof is included for
convenience.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem:lipschitz}
If $K\subseteq \mathrm{B}(0,r)$, the support function $\mathrm{h}_K$ is
$r$-Lipschitz and $\abs{h_K} \leq r$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
Consider $u$ in the unit sphere, and $x$ in $K$ such that $\mathrm{h}_{K}(u)
= u\cdot x$. For any vector $v$ in the unit sphere,
\begin{align*}
\mathrm{h}_K(v) = \max_{y\in K} \sca{v}{y}
&\geq \sca{v}{x} = \sca{u}{x} + \sca{(v-u)}{x}\\
&\geq \mathrm{h}_K(u) - \nr{u - v} \nr{x} \\
&\geq \mathrm{h}_K(u) - r \nr{u - v}.
\end{align*}
Swapping $u$ and $v$ gives the Lipschitz bound. Moreover, for $v$ in
$\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$, we get by the Cauchy-Schwartz inequality
\begin{equation*}
\abs{\mathrm{h}_K(v)} = \max_{y\in K} \abs{\sca{v}{y}} \leq \nr{v} \max_{y\in Y} \nr{y} \leq r \qedhere
\end{equation*}
\end{proof}
\begin{definition}
Given two measures $\mu,\nu$ on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$, their
\emph{convex-dual distance} is defined by:
\begin{equation}
\label{condis}
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu, \nu) = \max_{K\subseteq \mathrm{B}(0,1)}
\abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_K \d \mu - \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_K\d\nu},
\end{equation}
where the maximum is taken over the set of convex bodies included in
the unit ball.
\end{definition}
The function $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}$ defined this way is non-negative and symmetric, and
it is easily seen to satisfy the triangle inequality on the space of
measures on the sphere $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$. However, nothing forbids \emph{a
priori} that for general measures the distance $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu)$
vanishes while $\mu\neq \nu$. The restriction of $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}$ to the space of
surface area measures of convex sets satisfies the third axiom of a
distance, i.e. given two convex bodies $K$ and $L$, the distance
$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_L)$ vanishes if and only if $\mu_K=\mu_L$. The proof of
this fact needs additional tools from convex geometry and is postponed
to Lemma~\ref{lemma:eq}.
\subsection{Comparison with other distances}
There are many notions of distances on spaces of measures. In this
paragraph, we compare the convex-dual distance with two of them. The
\emph{total variation} distance between two measures $\mu$ and $\nu$
on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ is defined by
\begin{equation*}
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\mu,\nu) = \sup_{B\subseteq \mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \abs{\mu(B) - \nu(B)},
\end{equation*}
where the supremum is taken on all Borel subsets. The
\emph{bounded-Lipschitz} distance defined by the following supremum,
where $\mathrm{BL}_1$ denotes the set of functions on the unit sphere that are
$1$-Lipschitz and whose absolute value is bounded by one:
\begin{equation*}
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{bL}}(\mu,\nu) = \sup_{f \in \mathrm{BL}_1} \abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} f \d \mu -
\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} f\d\nu}.
\end{equation*}
Lemma~\ref{lemma:weak} shows that the convex-dual distance is the
weakest of these three distances. This implies that a stability result
with respect to this distance is stronger than a stability result with
respect to $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}$ or $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{bL}}$. The main advantage for using the
convex-dual distance over the bounded-Lipschitz distance comes from
the fact that the set of support functions of convex sets included in
$\mathrm{B}(0,1)$ is \emph{much smaller} than the set $\mathrm{BL}_1$. We will show in
Section~\ref{sampling} the implications of this fact on the speed of
convergence of random sampling.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lemma:weak}
Given two measures $\mu,\nu$ on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$, $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu) \leq
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{bL}}(\mu,\nu) \leq \mathrm{const}(d) \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\mu,\nu).$
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
By Lemma~\ref{lem:lipschitz}, the support function $\mathrm{h}_K$ of a
convex set $K$ contained in the ball $\mathrm{B}(0,1)$ is $1$-Lipschitz and
$\abs{h_K}$ is bounded by one. This implies that $\mathrm{h}_K$ lies in
$\mathrm{BL}_1$, and therefore
\[\abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_K \d_\mu - \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_K \d_\nu} \leq \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{bL}}(\mu,\nu).\]
Taking the maximum over all such support functions gives
$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu) \leq \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{bL}}(\mu,\nu)$. The second inequality follows
from e.g. \cite{dud}, Theorem~6.15.
\end{proof}
\section{Stability in Minkowski Problem }
\label{min}
In this section, we refine existing stability results for Minkowski's
problem so as to obtain a stability result with respect to the
convex-dual distance between surface area measures. We rely and
improve upon existing stability results due to Diskant and
Hug--Schneider, using our definition of convex-dual distance and using
a $\mathcal{C}^0$ regularity estimate for Minkowski's problem due to Cheng
and Yau.
The following stability theorem is Theorem~3.1 in \cite{hug}, and is
deduced from earlier results of Diskant \cite{diskant,diskant2}, see
also \cite{schneider}. The \emph{inradius} of a convex body $K$ is the
maximum radius of a ball contained in $K$ and the \emph{circumradius}
is the minimum radius of a ball containing $K$.
\begin{theorem*}[Diskant, Hug--Schneider; Theorem~3.1 in \cite{hug}]
Let $K$ and $L$ be convex bodies with inradius at least $r>0$ and
circumradius at most $R < +\infty$. Then,
\begin{equation}
\min_{x\in \mathbb R^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(K+x, L)\leq \mathrm{const}(r,R,d)
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{bL}}^{1/d}(\mu_K,\mu_L).
\label{eq:hug}
\end{equation}
\end{theorem*}
The main drawback for applying this theorem in the setting of
geometric inference is that one makes an assumption regarding the
inradius and circumradius of the underlying set $K$ \emph{but also} a
similar assumption on the reconstructed set $L$. The second drawback
is that the right-hand side involves the bounded-Lipschitz distance
$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{bL}}$ instead of the weaker convex-dual distance $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}$. Our
improvements to the previous stability results can be summarized as
the the following theorem that obtains the same conclusions with
weaker hypothesis:
\begin{theorem}
\label{th:stab}
Given a convex body $K$ in $\mathbb{R}^d$, and for any measure $\mu$ on
$\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ with zero mean and such that $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu) \leq
\epsilon_0$, there is a convex set $L$ whose surface area measure
coincides with $\mu$ and
\begin{equation}
\min_{x\in \mathbb R^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(K+x, L)\leq c
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}^{1/d}(\mu_K,\mu),
\label{eq:stab}
\end{equation}
where $c$ and $\epsilon_0$ are two positive constants depending on $d$ and
$K$ only.
\end{theorem}
As we will see later, the constants in the theorem above depend on the
dimension, on the weak rotundity of the surface area measure $\mu_K$,
defined in the next paragraph, and on the area $\mathcal{H}^{d-1}(\partial
K)$. The exponent in the right-hand side of \eqref{eq:stab} is very
likely not optimal, but the optimal exponent is bounded from below by
$\frac{1}{d-1}$, as noted in \cite{hug}.
The remainder of this section is organised as follows. We introduce in
\S\ref{subsec:chengyau} the notion of weak rotundity of the surface
area measure of $K$, and show how the lower and upper bounds on the
inradius and circumradius in Diskant's theorems can be replaced by a
lower bound on the weak rotundity using a lemma of Cheng and
Yau. Then, we recall some known facts from the theory of stability in
Minkowski's theorem in \S\ref{subsec:stab}. Finally, we combine these
results in \S\ref{subsec:proofstab} to get a proof of
Theorem~\ref{th:stab}
\subsection{Weak rotundity}
\label{subsec:chengyau}
In this paragraph, we use a lemma of Cheng and Yau in order to remove
the assumption on the inradius and circumradius of one of the two
convex sets.
We call \emph{weak rotundity} of a measure $\mu$ on the unit sphere
the following quantity
\[ \mathrm{rotund}(\mu) := \min_{y \in \mathcal{S}^{d-1}}
\left(\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \max(\sca{y}{v},0) \mathrm{d} \mu(v)\right) \]
Note that the positivity of $\mathrm{rotund}(\mu)$ is equivalent to the
hypothesis that $\mu$ has non-degenerate support.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lemma:nondeg}
Given a measure on the sphere $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$, $\mathrm{rotund}(\mu) > 0$ if and
only if for any hyperplane $H\subseteq \mathbb{R}^d$ one has
$\mu(\mathcal{S}^{d-1}\setminus H) > 0$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
If there was a hyperplane $H=\{y\}^\bot$ such that the support of
$\mu$ is included in $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}\cap H$, one would have
\[ \mathrm{rotund}(\mu) \leq \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \max(\sca{x,y},0) \mathrm{d}\mu(x) =
\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1} \cap H} \max(\sca{x,y},0) \mathrm{d}\mu(x) = 0.\] Therefore,
if $\mathrm{rotund}(\mu) > 0$, the measure $\mu$ must have non-degenerate
support.
\end{proof}
More interestingly, Cheng and Yau \cite{cheng1976regularity}
established a quantitative lower bound on the inradius and an upper
bound on the circumradius of $K$ in term of weak rotundity of the
surface area measure of $K$. Note that in their statement, the
boundary $\partial K$ is assumed to be of class $\mathcal{C}^4$, but their
proof does not use this fact and can be extended verbatim to the
non-smooth case. A simpler proof of these bounds using John's
ellipsoid is presented in \cite[\S1.1]{guan1998monge}.
\begin{proposition}[Cheng-Yau lemma] Let $K$ be a convex body of
$\mathbb{R}^d$. Then, the inradius $r$ and circumradius $R$ of $K$ satisfy
the inequalities:
\begin{align*}
R &\leq \mathrm{const}(d) \left[\mu_K(\mathcal{S}^{d-1})\right]^{\frac{d}{d-1}} \mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K)^{-1}, \\
r &\geq \mathrm{const}(d) \left[\mu_K(\mathcal{S}^{d-1})\right]^{-d} \mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K)^d.
\end{align*}
\end{proposition}
The advantage of the weak rotundity of $\mu_K$ over the inradius and
circumradius of $K$ is that this quantity is stable with respect to
the convex-dual distance between measures on the sphere.
\begin{lemma}
Let $\mu,\nu$ be two measures on the unit sphere. Then,
\label{lemma:nondegstab}
\begin{align}
\abs{\mathrm{rotund}(\mu) - \mathrm{rotund}(\nu)} &\leq \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu),
\label{eq:rotstab}\\
\abs{\mu(\mathcal{S}^{d-1}) - \nu(\mathcal{S}^{d-1})} &\leq \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu).
\label{eq:massstab}
\end{align}
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
We prove Eq.~\eqref{eq:rotstab} first. Given a point $y$ on the unit
sphere, let $S_y$ denote the line segment joining the origin to
$y$. Then,
\[ \mathrm{h}_{S_y}(v) = \max_{x \in S_y} \sca{v}{x} = \max(\sca{v}{y},\sca{v}{0}) =\max(\sca{v}{y},0).\]
Define $f_\mu(y) := \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \max(\sca{y}{v},0) \mathrm{d} \mu(v)$
and define $f_\nu$ similarly. As a consequence of the definition of
the convex-dual distance, we obtain
\begin{align*}
\abs{f_\mu(y) - f_\nu(y)} &= \abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \max(\sca{y}{v},0) \mathrm{d} \mu(v) - \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \max(\sca{y}{v},0) \mathrm{d} \mu(v)}\\
&=\abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_{S_y}(v) \mathrm{d} \mu(v) - \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_{S_y}(v) \mathrm{d} \mu(v)} \leq \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu).
\end{align*}
We have just shown that the uniform distance between the functions
$f_\mu$ and $f_\nu$ is bounded by $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu)$. In particular, the
difference between the minimum of those functions is bounded by the
same quantity, i.e. $\abs{\mathrm{rotund}(\mu)-\mathrm{rotund}(\nu)} \leq
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu)$. Inequality \eqref{eq:massstab} is obtained simply by
plugging the support function of the unit ball, $\mathrm{h}_{\mathrm{B}(0,1)} = 1$, in
the definition of the convex-dual distance:
\begin{equation*}
\abs{\mu(\mathcal{S}^{d-1})- \nu(\mathcal{S}^{d-1})} = \abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_{\mathrm{B}(0,1)} \mathrm{d}(\mu- \nu)} \leq \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu,\nu)\qedhere
\end{equation*}
\end{proof}
\subsection{Background on stability theory}
\label{subsec:stab}
We need to introduce some tools from convex geometry in order to prove
Theorem~\ref{th:stab}. We make use of the following representations
for the volume $V(K)$ of a convex body $K$ and the first mixed volume
$\mathrm{V}_1(K, L)$ of $K$ with another convex body $L$. The reader can
consider these formulas as definitions. More details on mixed volumes
can be found in e.g. \cite[Chapter~5]{schneider}.
\[
\mathrm{V}(K)=\frac 1d \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}}h_K(u) d\mu_K(u) \qquad
\mathrm{V}_1(K, L) =\frac 1d \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} h_L(u) d\mu_K(u).
\]
The following inequality is called Minkowski's isoperimetric inequality:
\begin{equation}\label {ineq}\mathrm{V}^d_1(K,L) \geq \mathrm{V}^{d-1}(K) \mathrm{V}(L).\end{equation}
Equality holds in \eqref{ineq} if and only if the convex sets $K$ and
$L$ are equal up to homothety and translation. With $L$ equal to the
unit ball, one recovers the usual isoperimetric inequality since then,
$\mathrm{V}_1(K,L) = \frac{1}{d}\mathcal{H}^{d-1}(\partial K)$.
Minkowski's inequality implies that the convex-dual distance introduced
in Section~\ref{sec:distance} is indeed a distance between surface
area measures.
\begin{lemma} $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_L) = 0$ if and only if $\mu_K = \mu_L.$
\label{lemma:eq}
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
The hypothesis $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_L) = 0$ implies that for any compact
convex set $M$ contained in the unit ball, one has\begin{equation}
\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_M \mathrm{d} \mu_K = \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_M \mathrm{d}
\mu_L.
\label{eq:minkapp}
\end{equation}
If one replaces $M$ by $\lambda M$, with $\lambda > 0$, the two sides
of this equality are multiplied by $\lambda$. Thus,
Eq.~\eqref{eq:minkapp} holds for any convex body $M$, regardless of
the assumption that $M$ is contained in $\mathrm{B}(0,1)$. Taking $M = L$ in
Eq.~\eqref{eq:minkapp} we get
\begin{equation}
\mathrm{V}_1(K,L) = \frac{1}{d} \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_{L}(u) \mathrm{d} \mu_K(u) = \frac{1}{d}\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_L(u) \mathrm{d} \mu_L(u) = \mathrm{V}(L).
\end{equation}
Combining this with Minkowski's inequality implies
\begin{equation}
\mathrm{V}(L)^d = \mathrm{V}^d_1(K,L) \geq \mathrm{V}^{d-1}(K) \mathrm{V}(L). \label{eq:minapp}
\end{equation}
Exchanging the role of $K$ and $L$, we see that the volumes of $K$ and
$L$ agree, and the inequality \eqref{eq:minapp} becomes an
equality. Using the equality case in Minkowski's inequality, this
implies that $K$ and $L$ are equal up to homothety and
translation. Using again the equality of volumes of $K$ and $L$, we
see that the factor of the homothety has to be one. Consequently, $K$
and $L$ are translate of each other, and the surface area measures
$\mu_K$ and $\mu_L$ are equal.
\end{proof}
Minkowski's isoperimetric inequality is at the heart of Diskant's
stability results. Instead of using Diskant's theorems directly, we
will use the following consequence \cite[Theorem~7.2.2]{schneider}.
\begin{theorem}[Diskant, Schneider]
\label{th:ds}
Given two positive numbers $r<R$, there exists a positive constant
$c=\mathrm{const}(r,R,d)$ such that for any pair of convex bodies $K,L$ with
inradii at least $r$ and circumradii at most $R$, and
\begin{equation}
\epsilon := \max(\abs{V(K) - V_1(K,L)},\abs{V(L) - V_1(L,K)}), \label{eq:as}
\end{equation}
the following inequality holds:
\begin{equation}
\min_{x\in\mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(K,x+L) \leq c \epsilon^{\frac{1}{d}}.
\label{eq:thds}
\end{equation}
\end{theorem}
Note that there is one difference between the statement of
Theorem~7.2.2 there and the statement given in Theorem~\ref{th:ds}
here however. We replace the strong assumption that the surface area
measures of $K$ and $L$ are close in the total variation sense by a
consequence of this fact, namely Eq.~(7.2.6) there and
Eq.~\eqref{eq:as} here. This weaker assumption is sufficient for the
proof to work, as noted by Hug and Schneider in
\cite[Theorem~3.1]{hug}.
\subsection{Proof of Theorem~\ref{th:stab}}
Assume that $$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu) \leq \epsilon_0 := \min(\frac{1}{2}
\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K), \frac{1}{2} \mu_K(\mathcal{S}^{d-1})).$$ Then, the stability
results of Lemma~\ref{lemma:nondegstab} imply
\begin{align}
0 < \frac{1}{2}\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K) &\leq \mathrm{rotund}(\mu)\leq 2 \mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K),
\label{eq:ccy:1}\\
0 < \frac{1}{2}\mu_K(\mathcal{S}^{d-1}) &\leq \mu(\mathcal{S}^{d-1})
\leq 2\mu_K(\mathcal{S}^{d-1}).\label{eq:ccy:2}
\end{align}
In particular, by Lemma~\ref{lemma:nondegstab}, the measure $\mu$ has
non-degenerate support. Applying Alexandrov's theorem, there exists a
convex body $L$ such that $\mu=\mu_L$. Cheng and Yau's lemma and
Equations~\eqref{eq:ccy:1} and \eqref{eq:ccy:2} imply that the inradii
$r_K$ and $r_L$ of $K$ and $L$ are bounded from below by a constant
$r$. Similarly, the circumradii $R_K$ and $R_L$ are bounded by a
constant $R$. These constants $r$ and $R$ depend only on
$\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K)$ and $\mathcal{H}^{d-1}(\partial K)$. Now, by definition of
the mixed volumes,
\begin{align}
\abs{\mathrm{V}(K) - \mathrm{V}_1(K,L)}
&= \abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} (\mathrm{h}_K - h_L) \mathrm{d} \mu_K} \notag \\
&\leq \abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_K \mathrm{d} (\mu_K-\mu_L)} +
\abs{\int h_L \mathrm{d} (\mu_K-\mu_L)}.
\label{eq:st:1}
\end{align}
Since the stability theorem we are proving is up to translations, we
can translate $K$ and $L$ if necessary. The circumradii $R_K$ and
$R_L$ are bounded by $R$, and we therefore assume that $K$ and $L$ are
included in the ball $\mathrm{B}(0,R)$. This means that the bodies $K' =
\frac{1}{R} K$ and $L' = \frac{1}{R} L$ are included in the unit
ball. Note also that $\mathrm{h}_{L'} = R \mathrm{h}_L$. Putting the definition of the
convex-dual distance into Eq.~\eqref{eq:st:1}, this gives
\[
\abs{\mathrm{V}(K) - \mathrm{V}_1(K,L)}
\leq R \abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_{K'} \mathrm{d} (\mu_K-\mu_L)} +
R \abs{\int h_{L'} \mathrm{d} (\mu_K-\mu_L)}
\leq 2 R \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_L).
\]
The same inequality where $L$ and $K$ have been exchanged also holds,
and this allows us to apply Theorem~\ref{th:ds} with $\epsilon = 2R
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_L)$. Note that the constant that occurs in Eq.
\eqref{eq:thds} depends on quantities that depend on $\mathrm{rotund}(K)$,
$\mu_K(\mathcal{S}^{d-1}) = \mathcal{H}^d(\partial K)$ and $d$.
\label{subsec:proofstab}
\section{Random sampling}
\label {sampling}
Let $K$ be a convex body and $\mu_K$ its surface area measure. Note
that by measuring normals only, one cannot determine the area of
$\partial K$. Therefore, we assume that $K$ has unit surface area,
i.e. $\mu_K$ is a probability measure. We call \emph{random normal
measurements} a family of unit vectors $(\mathbf{n}_i)_{1\leq i\leq N}$ that
are obtained by measuring the unit outer normal at $N$ random
independent locations on $\partial K$, whose distribution is given by
the surface area on $\partial K$. Equivalently, the vectors
$(\mathbf{n}_i)_{1\leq i\leq N}$ are obtained by i.i.d. sampling from the
probability measure $\mu_K$. The \emph{empirical measure} associated
to $\mu_K$ is therefore defined by the formula $\mu_{K,N} := \frac 1N
\sum_{i=1}^N \delta_{\mathbf{n}_i}$. The main result of the article is the
following theorem.
\begin{theorem}\label{th:sampling}
Let $K$ be a convex body with unit surface area. Given a desired
probability $p\in (0,1)$, a desired error $\eta > 0$, and given
\[N \geq \mathrm{const}\left(K,d\right)
\cdot \eta^{\frac{d(1-d)}2 - 2d}\log(1/p)\] random normal
measurements it is possible to construct a convex body $L_N$ such that
\[\mathbb{P}\left(\min_{x\in \mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(x+K,L_N)\leq
\eta\right)\geq 1-p.\]
\end{theorem}
The exponents that we obtain are $N = \Omega(\eta^{-5})$ in dimension
two and $N = \Omega(\eta^{-9})$ in dimension three, and are most
likely not optimal.
\subsection{Zero-mean assumption}
Note that even if the mean of the the empirical measure $\mu_{K,N}$
will be close to zero with high probability, it will usually not be
exactly zero. However, this is a necessary condition for the existence
of a convex polytope $L$ such that $\mu_L= \mu_{K,N}$. The following
proposition shows that this equality can be enforced without
perturbing $\mu_N$ too much in the sense of the convex-dual distance
$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}$.
\begin{proposition}\label{prop:perturb}
Given any convex body $K$ with unit surface area, and any
probability measure $\nu$ on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$, there exists a
probability measure $\bar{\nu}$ on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ with zero mean such
that $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\bar{\nu},\mu_K) \leq 3 \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\nu,\mu_K)$.
\end{proposition}
\begin{lemma}
Given any probability measure $\nu$ on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ with mean $m$,
there exists a probability measure $\bar{\nu}$ on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ with
zero mean such that $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\nu,\bar{\nu}) \leq 2\nr{m}$.
\label{lemma:bar}
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
We only deal with the case of a probability measure on a finite set
$\nu = \frac{1}{N} \sum_{1\leq i\leq N} \delta_{x_i}$. The general
case can be obtained using the density of these measures in the
space of probability measures. Let $m$ denote the mean of $\nu$,
i.e. $m = \frac{1}{N} \sum_{1\leq i\leq N} x_i$. By convexity of
$\mathrm{B}(0,1)$, the point $m$ always lies inside the ball
$\mathrm{B}(0,1)$. Moreover, by strict strict convexity of the ball,
$\nr{m}=1$ occurs only when $\nu = \delta_m$. In this case, one can
check that if $\bar{\nu}$ is the uniform probability measure on
$\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ then $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\nu,\bar{\nu}) \leq 2$. We will assume from
now on that $\nr{m} < 1$ and set $\bar{\nu} = \frac 1N \sum_{1\leq
i\leq N}\lambda a_i \cdot \delta_{m_i},$ where
\[m_i=
\frac{x_i-m}{\nr{x_i-m}}, a_i= \|x_i-m\|, \lambda =
\left(\frac{1}{N}\sum_{1\leq i\leq N} a_i\right)^{-1} .\] By
construction, the measure $\bar{\nu}$ is a probability measure; and it
has zero mean:
\[ \frac{1}{N}\sum_{1\leq i\leq N} \lambda a_i m_i = \frac{1}{N}
\sum_{1 \leq i \leq N} \lambda a_i \frac{x_i - m}{a_i} =
\left(\frac{1}{N} \lambda \sum_{1 \leq i \leq N} x_i \right) - \lambda
m = 0.\] Second, we want to bound the convex-dual distance between
$\nu$ and $\bar{\nu}$. For that purpose, we consider a convex set $M$
included in the unit ball $\mathrm{B}(0,1)$ and $\mathrm{h}_M$ its support
function. We let $\hbar_M$ be the extension of the support function to
$\mathbb{R}^d$ by the same formula $\hbar_M(x) = \sup_{p\in M} \sca{x}{p}$. This
function is positively homogeneous, i.e. for $\lambda>0$,
$\hbar_M(\lambda v) = \lambda \hbar_M(v)$. We have:
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_M(v) \mathrm{d} (\nu-\bar{\nu})(v)} &= \frac{1}{N} \abs{\sum_{1\leq i\leq N} \mathrm{h}_M(x_i) - \sum_{1\leq i \leq N} \lambda a_i \mathrm{h}_M\left(\frac{x_i - m}{a_i}\right)} \\
&\leq \frac{1}{N} \sum_{1\leq i\leq N} \abs{\hbar_M(x_i) - \lambda a_i \hbar_M\left(\frac{x_i - m}{a_i}\right)}\\
&\leq \frac{1}{N} \sum_{1\leq i\leq N} \abs{\hbar_M(x_i) - \lambda\hbar_M\left(x_i - m\right)}
\label{eq:cdb1}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
From the first to the second line we used the triangle inequality, and
from the second to the third line we used the homogeneity of
$\hbar$. Finally, since $M$ is contained in the unit ball, the
function $\hbar_M$ is $1$-Lipschitz (this follows from the same proof
as in Lemma~\ref{lem:lipschitz}). Combining with $\hbar_M(0) = 0$, we get:
\begin{align*}
\abs{\hbar_M(x_i) - \lambda\hbar_M\left(x_i - m\right)}
&\leq \abs{\hbar_M(x_i) - \hbar_M\left(x_i - m\right)}
+ \abs{(1-\lambda) \hbar_M(x_i-m)} \\
& \leq \nr{m} + \abs{1-\lambda} \nr{x_i-m}
\end{align*}
Summing these inequalities, and using the definition of $\lambda$
gives us
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\frac{1}{N} \sum_{1\leq i\leq N} \abs{\hbar_M(x_i) - \lambda\hbar_M\left(x_i - m\right)}
&\leq \nr{m} + \abs{1-\lambda}\left(\frac{1}{N}\sum_{i=1}^N \nr{x_i-m}\right) \\
&= \nr{m} + \abs{1-\frac{1}{N}\sum_{i=1}^N \nr{x_i-m}}\leq 2\nr{m}
\label{eq:cdb2}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
We conclude using the definition of the convex-dual
distance and Eqs~\eqref{eq:cdb1}--\eqref{eq:cdb2}.
\end{proof}
\begin{proof}[Proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:perturb}]
We need to show that the mean $m$ of the measure $\nu$ is not too
far from zero. Given any point $x$ on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ and $K_x = \{x\}$
the convex set consisting of only $x$, one has $\mathrm{h}_{K_x}(v) :=
\max_{z\in K_x} \sca{z}{v} = \sca{x}{v}$. Therefore, using the
definition of the convex-dual distance and the fact that $\mu_K$ has
zero mean we obtain
\begin{align*}
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K, \nu) &\geq \abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \sca{x}{v} \d\mu_K(v) - \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \sca{x}{v}\d\nu(v))} \\
&=\abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \sca{x}{v}\d\nu(v)} =
\left|\sca{m}{v}\right| .
\end{align*}
Taking $x=m/\nr{m}$ in this inequality proves that $\nr{m}$ is bounded
by $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K, \nu)$. We can then apply Lemma~\ref{lemma:bar} to
construct $\bar{\nu}$. Using the triangle inequality
for $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}$ and $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\bar{\nu},\nu) \leq 2\nr{m}$, we get.
\begin{equation*}
\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\bar{\nu},\mu_K) \leq \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\bar{\nu},\nu) + \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\nu,\mu_K) \leq 2 \nr{m} + \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\nu,\mu_K) \leq 3\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\nu,\mu_K).\qedhere
\end{equation*}
\end{proof}
\subsection{Convergence of the empirical measure}
We consider a probability measure $\mu$ on the unit sphere, and we
denote by $\mu_N$ the empirical measure constructed from $\mu$,
i.e. $\mu_N = \frac{1}{N} \sum_{1\leq i \leq N} \delta_{X_i}$ where
$X_i$ are i.i.d random vectors with distribution $\mu$. The following
probabilistic statement determines the speed of convergence of $\mu_N$
to $\mu$ for the convex-dual distance.
\begin{proposition}
\label{prop:empirical}
Let $\mu$ be a probability measure on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$, and $\mu_N$ the
corresponding empirical measure. Then, $\mu_N$ converges to $\mu$ for
the convex dual distance with high probability. More precisely, for
any positive $\epsilon \leq \mathrm{const}(d)$ and any $N$, the following inequality
holds:
\begin{equation}
\label{prob}
\mathbb P\left[ \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_N, \mu_K)\leq \epsilon\right] \geq 1-2
\exp \left(\mathrm{const}(d)\epsilon^{\frac{1-d}2}-N\epsilon^2/2
\right).
\end{equation}
\end{proposition}
The proof of this proposition relies on the combination of a Theorem
of Bronshtein \cite[Theorem~5]{bro} with Chernoff's bound. Recall
that the \emph{$\epsilon$-covering number} $\mathcal{N}(X, \epsilon)$ of a metric
space $X$ is the minimal number of closed balls of radius $\epsilon$
needed to cover $X$. Let $\mathrm{C}_1$ be the set of convex bodies
contained in the unit ball $\mathbb{R}^d$, endowed with the Hausdorff
distance.
\begin{theorem*}[Bronshtein] Assuming $\epsilon \leq \epsilon_d :=
10^{-12}/(d-1)$, the following bound holds:
\[\log_2 (\mathcal{N}(\mathrm{C}_1, \epsilon)) \leq \mathrm{const}(d)
\epsilon^{\frac{1-d}{2}}.\]
\end{theorem*}
\begin{proof}[Proof of Proposition \ref{prop:empirical}]
By the theorem of Bronshtein, given any positive number $\epsilon$
smaller than $\epsilon_d$, there exists $n$ and $n$ convex body $K_1,\hdots,K_n$
included in the unit ball such that for any convex body $M \subseteq
\mathrm{B}(0,1)$ one has $\min_{1\leq i\leq n} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(K_i,M) \leq
\epsilon$. Moreover, the number $n$ can be chosen smaller than
\begin{equation}
n = \mathcal{N}(C_1,\epsilon) \leq \exp\left(\mathrm{const}(d) \epsilon^{\frac{1-d}{2}}\right).
\label{eq:br}
\end{equation}
We consider $N$ i.i.d. random points $X_1,\hdots,X_N$ on the unit
sphere whose distribution is given by the measure $\mu$. For a fixed
$i$, the support function $\mathrm{h}_{K_i}$ is bounded by one by
Lemma~\ref{lem:lipschitz}, and one can apply Hoeffding's inequality to
the random variables $(\mathrm{h}_{K_i}(X_k))_{1\leq k\leq N}$. By definition
of the empirical measure $\mu_N$, this gives
\begin{equation} \label{hoff}
\mathbb P\left(\left|\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}}
\mathrm{h}_{K_i}(x) \mathrm{d} \mu_N(x) - \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_{K_i} \mathrm{d}\mu
\right|\geq \epsilon\right)\leq 2 \exp (-2 N\epsilon^2).
\end{equation}
Taking the union bound, we get
\begin{equation} \label{eq:hoffub}
\mathbb P\left(\max_{1\leq i\leq n} \left|\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}}
\mathrm{h}_{K_i}(x) \mathrm{d} (\mu_N-\mu)(x)\right|\geq \epsilon\right)\leq 2 n \exp (-2 N\epsilon^2)
\end{equation}
Now, given any convex body $M$ included in the unit ball, there exists
$i$ in $\{ 1,\hdots, n\}$ such that the distance $\nr{\mathrm{h}_M - \mathrm{h}_{K_i}}
= \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(M,K_i)$ is at most $\epsilon$. Thus, for any probability measure
$\nu$ on the sphere,
\[\left|\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}}
\mathrm{h}_{K_i}(x) \mathrm{d} \nu(x) - \int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \mathrm{h}_{M} \mathrm{d}\nu
\right| \leq \abs{\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}} \nr{\mathrm{h}_{K_i}- \mathrm{h}_M}_\infty \mathrm{d}\nu}
\leq \epsilon,\]
and as a consequence,
\begin{equation}
\left|\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}}
\mathrm{h}_{M}(x) \mathrm{d} (\mu_N-\mu)(x) \right|
\leq \max_{1\leq i\leq n} \left|\int_{\mathcal{S}^{d-1}}
\mathrm{h}_{K_i}(x) \mathrm{d} (\mu_N-\mu)(x)
\right| + 2 \epsilon.
\label{eq:cov}
\end{equation}
The combination of inequalities \eqref{eq:hoffub} and \eqref{eq:cov}
imply that
\begin{equation}
\mathbb{P}(\d_C(\mu_{N},\mu)\geq 3\epsilon) \leq 2 \exp(\log(n) - 2N\epsilon^2)
\end{equation}
Using the upper bound on $n$ from Eq.~\eqref{eq:br} concludes the proof.
\end{proof}
\subsection{Proof of Theorem \ref{th:sampling}} We assume first that
$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_{K,N})$ is small enough, and more precisely that
$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_{K,N}) \leq \frac{1}{3}\epsilon_0$, where $\epsilon_0$ is the
constant given by Theorem~\ref{th:stab}. By
Proposition~\ref{prop:perturb} we can construct a probability measure
$\bar{\mu}_{K,N}$ with zero mean such that
\[\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\bar{\mu}_{K,N}) \leq 3 \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_{K,N}) \leq \epsilon_0.\]
This allows us to apply Theorem~\ref{th:stab} to the measure
$\bar{\mu}_{K,N}$. There exists a convex body $L_N$ whose surface area
measure $\mu_{L_N}$ coincides with $\bar{\mu}_{K,N}$ and moreover,
\[ \min_{x\in \mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(x+K,L_N) \leq c \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K,\mu_{L_N})^{\frac{1}{d}} = 3^{\frac{1}{d}} c \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_{K},\mu_{K,N})^{\frac{1}{d}}. \]
Therefore, using Proposition~\ref{prop:empirical}, and assuming $\epsilon \leq \frac{1}{3} \epsilon_0$, we have
\begin{align*}
\mathbb{P}\left[ \min_{x\in \mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(x+K,L_N) \leq 3^{\frac{1}{d}} c
\epsilon^{\frac{1}{d}}\right]
&\geq \mathbb{P}\left[ \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\mu_K, \mu_{K,N})\leq \epsilon\right]\\
&\geq 1-2 \exp \left(\mathrm{const}(d)\epsilon^{\frac{1-d}2}-N\epsilon^2/2
\right).
\end{align*}
Finally, we set $\eta = 3^{\frac{1}{d}} c \epsilon^{\frac{1}{d}}$, we get
\[\mathbb{P}\left[ \min_{x\in \mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(x+K,L_N) \leq \eta\right]
\geq 1-2 \exp \left[C \cdot \left(\eta^{\frac{d(1-d)}2}-N\eta^{2d}
\right)\right].\] for some constant $C$ that only depends on $d$ and
$K$, thus concluding the proof.
\section{Special case: polyhedra}
When the underlying convex body is a convex polyhedron, one can get
much better probabilistic bounds on the speed of convergence. This
model is quite simplistic, however, because of the assumptions that
each of the measured normals must coincide with the one of normals of
the underlying polyhedron. In particular, one cannot hope to extend
this result to handle noise. The proof of this proposition relies on
Theorem~2.1 of \cite{hug} and on a lemma of Devroye.
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[height=.4\linewidth]{cube}
\caption{Reconstruction of a unit cube from 300 random normal
measurements with a uniform noise of radius 0.05. The reconstruction
is obtained using the variational approach proposed in
\cite{lachand}.}
\end{figure}
\begin{proposition}
\label{prop:polyhedra}
Let $K$ be a convex polyhedron of $\mathbb{R}^d$ with $k$ facets,
non-empty interior and whose surface area $\mathcal{H}^{d-1}(\partial K)$
equals one. Then one can construct a convex polyhedron $L_N$ such
that
\[\mathbb{P}(\min_{x\in \mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(x+K,L_N) \leq \eta)\geq 1-p \]
from $N$ random normal measurements with $N \geq
\mathrm{const}(d,\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K),k)\cdot \eta^{-2(d-1)} \log(1/p).$
\end{proposition}
\begin{proof}[Proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:polyhedra}]
The surface area measure of $K$ can be written as $\mu_K =
\sum_{1\leq i \leq k} a_i \delta_{\mathbf{n}_i}$ where the areas $(a_i)$ sum
to one. It is well-known that the empirical measure $\mu_{K,N}$
constructed from a finitely support probability measures such as
$\mu_{K}$ converges to the probability measure $\mu_K$ in the total
variation distance with high probability. For instance, using
Lemma~3 in \cite{devroye1983equivalence} we get
\begin{equation}
\mathbb{P}(\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\mu_K,\mu_{K,N}) \geq \epsilon) \leq 3\exp(-N\epsilon^2/25),~\hbox{ assuming } \epsilon\geq \sqrt{20k/N}.\label{eq:poly1}
\end{equation}
Now, let $\nu$ be an instance of $\mu_{K,N}$ such that
$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\mu_K,\nu) \leq \epsilon$. The measure $\nu$ can be written as $\nu
= \sum_{1\leq i\leq k} b_i \delta_{\mathbf{n}_i}$, and the assumption that the
total variation distance between $\mu_K$ and $\nu$ is at most $\epsilon$
can be rewritten as $\sum_{1\leq i\leq k} \abs{a_i - b_i} \leq
\epsilon$. The measure $\nu$ does not necessarily have zero mean, but one
can search for a perturbed measure $\bar{\nu} = \sum_{1\leq i\leq k}
\bar{b}_i \delta_{\mathbf{n}_i}$ with zero mean. More precisely, we let
\[ \bar{\nu} = \arg\min \{ \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\nu,\bar{\nu}); \mathrm{mean}(\bar{\nu}) = 0 \}.\]
Solving this problem is equivalent to the minimization of a convex
functional on a finite-dimensional subspace. Moreover, since
$\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\nu,\mu_K) \leq \epsilon$, we are sure that $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\nu,\bar{\nu})
\leq \epsilon$, so that $\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\bar{\nu},\mu_K)\leq 2\epsilon$. Finally,
assuming $\epsilon$ small enough we have
\[ \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{C}}(\bar{\nu},\mu_K) \leq \mathrm{const}(d) \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\bar{\nu},\mu_K) \leq 2\epsilon \leq \frac{1}{2}\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K).\]
Using Lemma~\ref{lemma:nondegstab}, this inequality ensures that
$\mathrm{rotund}(\bar{\nu}) \geq \mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K)/2 > 0$. By
Alexandrov's theorem, there exists a convex set $L_N$ whose
surface area measure $\mu_{L_N}$ coincides with $\bar{\nu}$, and whose
inradius and circumradius can be bounded in term of the weak rotundity
$\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K)$. This allows us to apply Theorem~2.1 of \cite{hug} to
the sets $K$ and $L_N$ to show that
\begin{equation}
\min_{x\in \mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(K+x,L_N) \leq \mathrm{const}(d,\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K)) \epsilon^{\frac{1}{d-1}}
\label{eq:poly2}
\end{equation}
Combining Eqs \eqref{eq:poly1} and \eqref{eq:poly2}, we get
\begin{align*} \mathbb{P}\left(\min_{x\in \mathbb{R}^d} \mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{H}}(K+x,L_N) \geq \eta\right) &\leq
\mathbb{P}(\mathrm{d}_{\mathrm{TV}}(\mu_K,\mu_{K,N}) \geq c \cdot \eta^{d-1}) \\
&\leq \exp(-c \cdot N\eta^{2(d-1)})
\end{align*}
where $c$ depends on $d$ and $\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K))$. This probability
becomes lower than $p$, and the assumption in Eq~\eqref{eq:poly1} is
satisfied, as soon as
\begin{equation*}
N \geq \mathrm{const}(d,\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K),k)\cdot
\eta^{-2(d-1)} \log(1/p)
\end{equation*}
\end{proof}
\section{Discussion}
In this article, we introduced the convex-dual distance between
surface area measures. This distance is weaker than the
bounded-Lipschitz distance and is yet sufficient to control the
Hausdorff distance between convex bodies in term of the distance
between their surface area measures. This stability result has then
been used to deduce probabilistic reconstruction results
(Theorem~\ref{th:sampling}). The main open problem consists in
improving the exponent in the lower bound on the number of samples in
this theorem.
What would happen if we would have used the bounded-Lipschitz distance
in the probabilistic part of the proof of Theorem~\ref{th:sampling}
instead of the convex-dual distance? The lower bound on the number
$N$ of necessary normal measurements to get a Hausdorff error of
$\epsilon$ in the reconstruction would increase substantially:
\begin{equation}
N \geq \mathrm{const}\left(d,\mathrm{rotund}(\mu_K)\right)
\cdot \eta^{d(1-d) - 2d}\log(1/p).\label{eq:disc}
\end{equation}
In
particular, the exponents would become $N = \Omega(\eta^{-6})$ in
dimension two and $N = \Omega(\eta^{-12})$ in dimension three,
compared to $N=\Omega(\eta^{-5})$ and $N=\Omega(\eta^{-9})$ with our
analysis. This difference is due to the fact that the space $\mathrm{BL}_1$ of
functions on $\mathcal{S}^{d-1}$ that are $1$-Lipschitz and bounded by one is
\emph{much larger} than the space $\mathrm{C}_1$ of support function of
convex sets included in the unit ball. More precisely,
\[ \mathcal{N}(\mathrm{C}_1,\epsilon) = \Theta\left(\epsilon^{\frac{1-d}{2}}\right)
\hbox{ while } \mathcal{N}(\mathrm{BL}_1,\epsilon)=\Theta\left(\epsilon^{1-d}\right),
\]
where the constants in the $\Theta(.)$ notation only depend on the
ambient dimension.
It is therefore tempting to pursue in this direction, and to try to
consider a weaker dual distance between surface area measures,
i.e. defined with an even smaller space of functions. This idea is not
hopeless, as if one looks closely at the proofs of
Theorem~\ref{th:stab}, Lemma~\ref{lemma:nondegstab} and
Proposition~\ref{prop:perturb}, there are only a handful of probing
functions that are used to control the Hausdorff distance between two
convex bodies $K$ and $L$ as a function of their surface area measures
$\mu_K$ and $\mu_L$, and more precisely,
\[ \mathrm{C}_{K,L} = \left\{\mathrm{h}_K, \mathrm{h}_L\right\} \cup \left\{s_u; u\in \mathcal{S}^{d-1} \right\}
\cup \left\{\max(s_u,0); u \in \mathcal{S}^{d-1} \right\} \cup \{\mathrm{h}_{\mathrm{B}(0,1)}\},\]
where $s_u: x\mapsto \sca{u}{x}$. This set
of function is \emph{exponentially much smaller} than the set of
support functions of convex bodies included in the unit ball:
\[\mathcal{N}(C_{K,L},\epsilon) \simeq \mathrm{const}(d) \cdot \epsilon^{1-d} \ll \mathcal{N}(\mathrm{C}_1,\epsilon) \simeq \exp\left(\mathrm{const}(d)\cdot \epsilon^{\frac{1-d}{2}}\right).\]
However, turning this remark into an improvement of the probabilistic
analysis seems quite challenging, because in the probabilistic
setting, the second convex body $L_N$ is reconstructed from random
normal measurements and is itself random.
\subsection*{Acknowledgements.}
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of a grant from
Universit\'e de Grenoble (MSTIC GEONOR) and a grant from the French
ANR (Optiform, ANR-12-BS01-0007). The authors would also like to
thank the members of the associated team ECR G\'eom\'etrie et Capteurs
CEA/UJF between LJK-UJF and CEA-LETI bringing up this problem to their
attention.
\bibliographystyle{acm}
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\section{Introduction}
The systematic investigation of the supersymmetric backgrounds of standard \cite{giani}-\cite{huq} and massive \cite{romans} IIA supergravity
has been initiated in \cite{maxsusy} where the maximally supersymmetric backgrounds
have been classified. Furthermore, in \cite{n31iia} it has been shown, following a similar result for IIB supergravity in \cite{n31iib}, that all backgrounds preserving 31
supersymmetries are maximally supersymmetric. More recently, it has been found in \cite{iiageomI}, using spinorial geometry \cite{spingeom}, that there
are four different types of massive (IIA) backgrounds preserving one supersymmetry each associated to one of the four types of non-trivial orbits of the spin group $\mathrm{Spin}(9,1)$ on the 32-dimensional
Majorana spinor representation. Furthermore, the geometry of backgrounds
associated to orbits with isotropy groups $\mathrm{Spin}(7)$ and $\mathrm{Spin}(7)\ltimes \mathbb{R}^8$ has been
described \cite{iiageomI}.
The main purpose of this paper is to present the geometry of (massive) IIA backgrounds preserving one supersymmetry which are
associated to the orbit with isotropy group $\SU(4)$. The geometry of the backgrounds whose Killing spinor represents the remaining orbit, whose isotropy group is $G_2$, will be presented elsewhere.
A spinor representative of the orbit
with isotropy group $\SU(4)$ is
\begin{equation}
\epsilon =
f\left(1 + e_{1234}\right)
+ g_1 \left(e_5 + e_{12345}\right)
+ \iu g_2 \left(e_5 - e_{12345}\right)
\label{su4spinor}
\end{equation}
where $f$, $g_1$ and $g_2$ are real constants with $f \neq 0$, $g_2 \neq 0$, which later will be promoted to spacetime
functions. Note that if $g_2=0$, then the isotropy group enhances to $\mathrm{Spin}(7)$.
The spacetime of backgrounds preserving one supersymmetry does not necessarily undergo a reduction of its structure
group. Typically, one expects that
the Killing spinor will change orbit type from patch to patch. As the Killing spinor solves a parallel transport equation, it is no-where vanishing on the spacetime provided that the fields are smooth. However, the mere existence
of a no-where vanishing section of the Spin bundle does not impose a topological restriction
on the spacetime. In particular, the G-structure of the spacetime does not necessarily reduce. This is because the rank of the Spin bundle is much larger than the spacetime dimension and so no-where zero
sections are allowed.
Nevertheless, the spinors with the four different isotropy groups describe locally all possible geometries of backgrounds preserving one supersymmetry.
Furthermore, there are backgrounds for which the Killing spinor does not change orbit type.
The structure group of such backgrounds reduces to a subgroup of the stability group
of the corresponding orbit.
Having identified a representative spinor of the $\SU(4)$ orbit that we shall investigate, we
apply spinorial geometry \cite{spingeom} to turn the Killing spinor equations (KSEs) into a linear system for components of the fluxes and the spin connection. In this case, all these components
are automatically expressed in representations of $\SU(4)$. The solution of the linear
system reveals the conditions on the geometry implied by the existence of a Killing spinor
as well as an expression for the fluxes in terms of the geometry. The conditions on the geometry, given in (\ref{eqKilling}), (\ref{eqLiekappa}), (\ref{5ee}) and (\ref{5xee}),
for the existence of a Killing spinor with isotropy group $\SU(4)$ are rather mild. In particular,
it is required that the spacetime admits a time-like Killing vector field which leaves all the
fluxes invariant as well as the Killing spinor itself. In particular, the latter condition implies that the spinorial Lie derivative
of the Killing spinor along the time-like Killing vector bilinear vanishes. The two additional conditions will be described later.
The expression of the fluxes in terms of the geometry is not particularly illuminating.
This is in contrast to the $\mathrm{Spin}(7)$ and $\mathrm{Spin}(7)\ltimes \mathbb{R}$ cases in \cite{iiageomI} for which
the expressions are rather simple.
Because of this, we do not solve the linear system for the fluxes completely. Nevertheless
the vast majority of the fluxes are expressed in terms of the geometry and it is only a few
equations that are maintained in their linear system form.
Apart from the generic $\SU(4)$ backgrounds described above, there is a special class of $\SU(4)$ backgrounds for which $g_1=0$.
This special class of backgrounds is not an artefact of the gauge used to put the Killing spinor in the form (\ref{su4spinor}) as these backgrounds can also be characterised by the vanishing of
a scalar bilinear. The linear system in this special class of $\SU(4)$ models undergoes a dramatic simplification reminiscent that
of the IIB backgrounds associated with a pure spinor. The conditions on the geometry are the same as those of the generic backgrounds above. Now however,
the expression of the fluxes in terms of geometry is much simpler. We shall exploit this fact to completely solve the linear system and express the fluxes in terms of the geometry.
This paper has been organised as follows. In section two, we explain the solution of the KSEs
for generic $\SU(4)$ backgrounds and describe the geometry of spacetime. In section three,
we present the solution of the KSEs for the special class of $\SU(4)$ backgrounds with $g_1=0$.
In appendix~\ref{ap:conventions}, we describe our conventions and give some useful formulae.
In appendix~\ref{sforms}, we give the spinor form bilinears of the $\SU(4)$ invariant spinors.
In appendix~\ref{su4sol}, we present the linear system for a generic $\SU(4)$ invariant Killing spinor,
and in appendix~\ref{su4solzero} we give the solution of the linear system for the special case $g_1=0$.
\section{Solution of the KSEs for generic \texorpdfstring{$\SU(4)$}{SU(4)} backgrounds}
To solve the KSEs of (massive) IIA supergravity we promote $f, g_1$ and $g_2$ to real spacetime
functions and substitute the spinor $\epsilon$ in (\ref{su4spinor}) into the KSEs.%
\footnote{Throughout this paper we follow the conventions of \cite{iiageomI} for the
fields, spinors, KSEs and field equations.}%
\textsuperscript{,}\footnote{To get standard (non-massive) IIA supergravity,
put the mass parameter $S = 0$ in what follows.} We assume that $f, g_2$ do not vanish while
$g_1$ may vanish at some points but otherwise it is generically non-zero. Then we apply the spinorial geometric technique
described in \cite{spingeom} to turn the KSEs into a linear system which contains components of the
fluxes and of the spin connection as variables. All these components are naturally expressed in
$\SU(4)$ representations and so no further work is required to re-express the linear system
in terms of the representations of the isotropy group of the Killing spinor. Then, the linear system is solved by expressing some of the components of the fluxes in terms of the spin connection. In addition, the linear system imposes some conditions on the geometry of the spacetime.
In the context of spinorial geometry these appear as linear equations which involve
only the components of the spin connection as well as the functions $f, g_1$ and $g_2$ and the dilaton $\Phi$.
Typically these geometric conditions can be re-expressed in many different ways; one such way involves
the differentials of the fundamental forms of $\SU(4)$.
We do not present the linear system associated with the KSEs of (massive) IIA supergravity for the (\ref{su4spinor}) spinor in its original form as this is derived from the application
of spinorial geometry. Instead, we give a refined version which approaches the solution
of the linear system
in appendix~\ref{su4sol}, and in what follows we shall explore the properties of this solution.
\subsection{Geometry of spacetime}
To describe the geometry of spacetime, first note that from spinorial geometry considerations
there is a frame $e^A$ such
the spacetime metric can be written as
\begin{equation}
\ensuremath{\mathrm{d}} s^2= 2 e^+ e^- + \ensuremath{\mathrm{d}} s^2_{(8)}= -(e^0)^2 + (e^5)^2 + \ensuremath{\mathrm{d}} s^2_{(8)}~,
\end{equation}
where $\ensuremath{\mathrm{d}} s^2_{(8)}=2 \delta_{\alpha\bar\beta} e^\alpha e^{\bar\beta}$ is a metric transverse to the lightcone directions $e^+$ and $e^-$ and $\alpha, \beta=1,\dots, 4$ are holomorphic $\SU(4)$ frame indices.
Of course such a splitting is only on the tangent bundle of the spacetime and the metric potentially
depends on all spacetime coordinates.
Next let us consider the form bilinears of the Killing
spinor $\epsilon$ in (\ref{su4spinor}).
These are given in appendix~\ref{sforms}\@. Before we proceed
observe that under a boost in the $5$ direction, which is a gauge symmetry of the theory,
$f\rightarrow \ell f$ while $g_1, g_2\rightarrow \ell^{-1} g_1, \ell^{-1} g_2$. As a result,
we can choose the gauge $f^2=g_1^2+ g_2^2$.
In this gauge, one finds that the 1-form bilinears become
\begin{equation}
\ensuremath{K} = f^2 e^0~,\quad X = f^2 e^5~,
\label{kvector}
\end{equation}
after an additional trivial numerical normalization.
It now turns out that the geometric conditions \eqref{su4sol:part0logf}, \eqref{su4sol:part5logf},
\eqref{su4sol:Omega505}, \eqref{su4sol:Omega0trre},
\eqref{su4sol:Omega50ho}, \eqref{su4sol:Liedf},
\eqref{su4sol:Omegasymhoho0} and \eqref{su4sol:Omegasymhoaho0} imply that $\ensuremath{K}$
is associated with a Killing vector field, i.e.
\begin{equation}
\nabla_{(A} \ensuremath{K}_{B)} = 0~.
\label{eqKilling}
\end{equation}
In fact, this vector field leaves invariant all the other fields of the theory. This was
expected as it is well known that this 1-form bilinear generates a symmetry of the theory. In addition, the geometric
conditions imply that
\begin{equation}
[X,K]=0~.
\end{equation}
This is significant even though $X$ does not generate a symmetry for the backgrounds, as it is possible to adapt
local independent coordinates for both $K$ and $X$ so that the expression for the fields can be simplified. For example, if $K=\partial_\tau$
and $X=\partial_\sigma$, the spacetime metric can be written as
\begin{equation}
\ensuremath{\mathrm{d}} s^2=- f^{4} (\ensuremath{\mathrm{d}}\tau+ m)^2+ f^{4} (\ensuremath{\mathrm{d}}\sigma+n)^2 + \ensuremath{\mathrm{d}} s^2_{(8)}~,
\end{equation}
where $m$ and $n$ are 1-forms and $\ensuremath{\mathrm{d}} s^2_{(8)}$ is a metric in the directions transverse to $X$ and $K$. All the components of the
metric do not dependent on $\tau$ but they can depend on $\sigma$ and all the remaining coordinates of the spacetime.
Furthermore, one can verify that the geometric conditions \eqref{su4sol:part0logf}, \eqref{su4sol:part5logf},
\eqref{su4sol:part0logg}, \eqref{su4sol:Omega0trim},
\eqref{su4sol:LieOmega}, \eqref{su4sol:Liedf} and \eqref{su4sol:ahoahoOmega0}
can be expressed as
\begin{equation}
\Liederivative{\ensuremath{K}}\epsilon = 0~,
\label{eqLiekappa}
\end{equation}
where $\Liederivative{\ensuremath{K}}$ is the spinorial Lie derivative associated with
the Killing vector field $\ensuremath{K}$, i.e.
$ \Liederivative{\ensuremath{K}} = \ensuremath{K}^\mu\,\nabla_\mu
+ \tfrac{1}{4}\,\nabla_\mu\,\ensuremath{K}_\nu\,\Gamma^{\mu\nu}$.
Therefore, the Killing spinor $\epsilon$ is invariant under the motion generated
by $\ensuremath{K}$.
The two conditions above provide a geometric description of all conditions imposed
by the KSEs on the geometry of spacetime apart from
\eqref{su4sol:part5logg} and \eqref{su4sol:part5phi}. For the former one can show, after some calculation, that this condition
can be expressed as
\begin{equation}
\partial_5\log\frac{g}{\bar g}=\frac{\iu}{3!} \Liederivative{5} (\mathrm{Re}\, \epsilon_{A_1 A_2A_3A_4})\,
\mathrm{Im}\, \epsilon^{A_1 A_2A_3A_4}~,
\label{5ee}
\end{equation}
where
$g \equiv g_1 + \iu g_2$.
Similarly, \eqref{su4sol:part5phi} can be written as
\begin{equation}
\partial_5\Phi=\partial_5\log(g\bar g)-\frac{1}{6} \mathrm{Re}\,( \epsilon^{\gamma_1\gamma_2\gamma_3\gamma_4}
\nabla_{\gamma_1} \epsilon_{5\gamma_2\gamma_3\gamma_4})~.
\label{5xee}
\end{equation}
This concludes the discussion of the geometry.
\subsection{Fluxes in terms of geometry}
The solution of the linear system also expresses some of the components of the fluxes in terms of the
geometry. As these components are already in $\SU(4)$ representations, the solution of the linear system
presented in appendix~\ref{su4sol} is already in the required form. In particular denoting collectively
the 2-form, 3-form and 4-form field strengths with $G^k$, $k=2,3,4$, we first decompose them as
\begin{eqnarray}
G^k&=& e^0\wedge e^5\wedge G^k_{(k-2)}+ e^0\wedge G^k_{0(k-1)}+ e^5\wedge G^k_{5(k-1)}+ G^k_{(k)}
\cr &=&
e^+\wedge e^-\wedge G^k_{(k-2)}+ e^-\wedge G^k_{-(k-1)}+ e^+\wedge G^k_{+(k-1)}+ G^k_{(k)}~,
\label{dec}
\end{eqnarray}
where the subscript in the brackets denotes the degree of the form in the directions transverse
to $e^0$ and $e^5$ or equivalently $e^+$ and $e^-$. Furthermore each component $G^k_{(k-2)}$, $G^k_{0(k-1)}$, $G^k_{5(k-1)}$ and $G^k_{(k)}$, or equivalently $G^k_{(k-2)}$, $G^k_{-(k-1)}$, $G^k_{+(k-1)}$ and $G^k_{(k)}$,
is decomposed further in $SU(4)\subset SO(8)$ representations. The resulting components are given
it terms of the geometry as in appendix~\ref{su4sol}. It may appear that the corresponding expressions are not covariant as they contain components of the spin connection. However this is not the case. All the components of the spin connection that appear in the expressions for the fluxes in appendix~\ref{su4sol} actually transform
as tensors under $\SU(4)$ gauge transformations. So provided that the spacetime has an $\SU(4)$ structure these expressions patch in a covariant manner on the spacetime manifold $M$.
For example the $(1,2)$ and traceless part of $G^4_{-(3)}$ and $G^4_{+(3)}$ are given in (\ref{g478})
and (\ref{g479}), respectively, in terms of the geometry and the (1,2) and traceless component of
$H^3_{(3)}$. Note that this component of $H^3_{(3)}$
is not restricted by the KSEs. In a similar way one can read the remaining equations in appendix~\ref{su4sol}\@.
However, solving the equations involving the $P^-$ and $P^+$ projections in appendix~\ref{su4sol}, although possible, does not give an illuminating answer. As a result, we shall not attempt to give the full expression of the
fluxes in terms of the geometry. The form already presented in appendix~\ref{su4sol} is more economical.
\section{Solution of the KSEs for a special case of \texorpdfstring{$\SU(4)$}{SU(4)} backgrounds}
The special backgrounds that we shall be considering are those for which the scalar bilinear $\sigma$ in appendix~\ref{sforms} vanishes.
As $f \neq 0$, this condition implies that $g_1 = 0$. As the vanishing of a scalar
is a covariant statement, it can be imposed globally on a manifold because it is consistent
with the patching conditions. So this special class of backgrounds does not depend on the
choice of representative for the spinor $\epsilon$ in (\ref{su4spinor}).
These special IIA backgrounds are reminiscent of the IIB backgrounds in \cite{iibsu4} which admit a pure spinor
as Killing spinor. In particular, the linear system, as in the IIB case, simplifies considerably.
This particularly applies in the gauge $g \bar g=f^2$ that we shall use throughout. As a result
$f^2=g_2^2$ and so $f=\pm g_2$. In what follows we shall take $f=g_2$; the other case can be treated
symmetrically.
\subsection{Geometry of spacetime}
The geometry of spacetime is as that described in the generic case after imposing $g_1=0$ on all
geometric conditions in section 2.1. The only significant change is in equation (\ref{5ee})
where now $\partial_5 \log(g/\bar g)=0$.
\subsection{Fluxes in terms of geometry}
The expression of the fluxes in terms of the geometry is somewhat simpler in this
case. The linear system can be solved and the solution has been presented in appendix~\ref{su4solzero}\@.
It can be seen from the solution that not all components of the fluxes are given in terms of the
geometry. For example the traceless (1,1) component of $G_{+-{(2)}}^4$ and the traceless
(2,2) component of $G^4_{(4)}$ are not given in terms of the geometry and so they are not constrained
by the KSEs. The components
of the fluxes that are given in terms of the geometry have been expressed in terms of components
of the spin connection as well as in terms of components of the fluxes that are not constrained.
There are various ways to re-express these fluxes, for example in terms of the spinor
form bilinears given in appendix~\ref{sforms}\@.
For this one has to use the relation of these to the components of the spin connection as given in appendix~\ref{ap:conventions}\@.
\acknowledgments
UG is supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. GP is partially supported by the STFC grant ST/J002798/1.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 7,798 |
Browse bulletin items by A-Z
Issues 31 - 40
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Covid 19 Bulletins
COVID-19 Bulletin #8
Published: 9 July, 2021
Best Practice Bulletin: Issue 29
The Diabetes Toolkit is now online
Surge in cases of respiratory virus
Nurse prescribers now able to initiate Special Authority applications
New Zealand Formulary updates for July
PHARMAC medicine funding and supply issues
Paper of the week: Data on suicide among users of mental health services
If you haven't seen it already, take a look at our new Special Edition Best Practice Journal: The Diabetes Toolkit.
In this edition we comprehensively cover all aspects of management of people with type 2 diabetes, including lifestyle interventions, oral glucose-lowering medicines, a new injectable option, initiating insulin and monitoring for complications. We also review the latest evidence for diet and weight loss interventions in type 2 diabetes and take a focused look at the rising tide of type 2 diabetes among young people in New Zealand. As a bonus, we have also included our new feature: Clinician's Notepad, which can also be viewed here.
For your convenience, we have loaded each of the articles within the eBook onto the general section of our website, where they can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF and saved or printed.
If you would like to purchase a bound printed edition of the Diabetes Toolkit for yourself or your practice/workplace staff, please email us for details at contact@bpac.org.nz.
Latest surveillance data from ESR show a significant increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) across New Zealand in recent weeks. For the week ending 27th June there were 538 cases reported. Case numbers began to increase rapidly in late May and there have been 969 cases reported to date; this compares to an average number of 1,743 cases over a 22-week period in 2015-2019.
Young children and infants are particularly susceptible to RSV as they are more likely to not have had prior exposure, and therefore immunity, to the circulating RSV strain. RSV is usually self-limiting, but in some children it can lead to complications such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis; most cases of bronchiolitis are caused by RSV. For further information on managing a child with suspected bronchiolitis see: "Bronchiolitis: when to reassure and monitor, and when to refer".
Patient information on RSV is available from Health Navigator.
As of 1 July, 2021, registered nurse prescribers are now able to initiate and renew Special Authority applications for medicines they are eligible to prescribe (currently there are 14 medicines that this applies to). This change increases access to medicines for patients, e.g. those who are unable to consult with a general practitioner, nurse practitioner or secondary care specialist.
According to the Ministry of Health, there are currently 372 nurse prescribers in New Zealand working in primary care and speciality clinics. They can prescribe from a list of medicines for common and long-term conditions (including medicines in cardiovascular, blood and blood forming, nervous system, diabetes, musculoskeletal and respiratory therapeutic areas), and must be a part of a collaborative team.
New sections added to the NZF in the July, 2021, release include:
A new monograph for dulaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) for type 2 diabetes. N.B. Medsafe approval is still pending, therefore this medicine is not yet funded
New patient information leaflets for dulaglutide and empagliflozin + metformin
Changes to medicine monographs including allopurinol, colchicine, methylphenidate hydrochloride and risperidone, e.g. updated dosing regimens, changes to cautions, contra-indications and adverse effects
Changes to therapeutic notes for acute attacks of gout, venous thromboembolism and meningococcal vaccines
The following issues relating to medicine funding and supply have been recently announced by PHARMAC:
Diclofenac sodium 100 mg long-acting tablets are to be discontinued. It is anticipated that stock will run out in October, 2021 and these tablets will be delisted from the Pharmaceutical Schedule in May, 2022. Other formulations of diclofenac sodium are not affected by this change.
All formulations of pindolol, a beta blocker, are to be discontinued. No new patients should be started on this medicine. From 1 August, 2021, pindolol will only be funded for existing patients (pharmacists can endorse the prescription if they have a record of previous dispensing). Stock is anticipated to run out by the end of 2021 and pindolol will be delisted from the Pharmaceutical Schedule in May, 2022. For information on prescribing beta blockers, see: "Beta-blockers for cardiovascular conditions: one size does not fit all patients".
All formulations of prazosin, an alpha blocker used for hypertension, Raynaud's disease and benign prostatic hyperplasia, are to be discontinued. No new patients should be started on this medicine. From 1 August, 2021, prazosin will only be funded for existing patients (pharmacists can endorse the prescription if they have a record of previous dispensing). Stock is anticipated to run out by the end of 2021 and prazosin will be delisted from the Pharmaceutical Schedule in May, 2022. PHARMAC advises that doxazosin is a suitable alternative.
Cetomacrogol aqueous cream + glycerol is now back in stock. Shipping delays earlier in the year meant that this product was unavailable and alternative products had to be prescribed.
The Ministry of Health has recently published a report on suicide among people who have used specialist mental health services. As cause of death due to suicide is determined after a coronial inquiry, there is a lag in available data, therefore this report relates to deaths in 2016. An important message from the report is that not all people who commit suicide have a mental health condition, nor do all those with a mental health condition, or significant distress, seek treatment.
Key findings from the report
There were 524 deaths recorded as suicide in 2016
226 (43%) were users of inpatient mental health services; 4 died while receiving inpatient care, 7 died within one week of discharge and 50 died within 12 months of discharge
Average data from the previous five years showed that of those who committed suicide who were inpatients at a mental health service 2% died while receiving inpatient care, 6% died within one week of discharge and 29% died within 12 months of discharge
66% of mental health service users who committed suicide in 2016 were male; of those who committed suicide who were not mental health service users 77% were male
Among people using mental health services, the age-standardised rate of suicide by ethnicity was highest for European/other (146 per 100,000 service users), followed by Māori (126) and Pacific (56); however, among people who didn't use mental health services the age-standardised rate of suicide by ethnicity was highest for Māori (13.2 per 100,000 population), then European/other (6.2) and Pacific (4.7)
In 2017, bpacnz published an editorial, with guest commentary from mental health experts in New Zealand. The following is an excerpt: Only a portion of the total number of people who die by suicide are seen in general practice, therefore it is crucial that any opportunity for intervention is acted on. If in the course of a consultation a patient expresses verbally or non-verbally that their mood is low, they should be assessed for suicide risk. This can be done in a formal manner, but it is often best approached as a conversation, using clinical judgement as to how far the questions go. There is no one right way to ask about suicide, and the only wrong way is not to ask at all. The manner and tone of asking is more important than the words used. Be empathic, sensitive and non-judgemental, in a way that invites the patient to share the depth of their concern and despair.
For further reading, see: "Suicide prevention: what can primary care do to make a difference".
If you have any information you would like us to add to our next bulletin, please email: editor@bpac.org.nz
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\section{Introduction}
Automated medical image segmentation plays a key role in quantitative research\cite{Sirinukunwattana2017, Litjens2014} and diagnostics\cite{Litjens2017}. The performance of semantic segmentation networks depends partly on the receptive field of those networks. Wider receptive views allow for increased use of context and often comes at the benefit of higher accuracy\cite{chen2018encoder, Brugger2019}, but a limited amount of GPU memory forces a trade-off between network depth, width, batch size, and input image size.
The current de facto standard network architecture for segmentation in medical images are convolutional neural networks, specifically those following the U-Net architecture\cite{ronneberger2015u}. The original U-Net has a receptive field of 187 pixels at the computational cost of 30 million parameters. This receptive field of U-Net is static and bounded by the number of layers (23 convolutional layers) and downsample operations. Adding layers or whole levels can increase the receptive field, however, this comes at the cost of more parameters, computation and memory requirements. Furthermore, receptive field sizes need to be optimized for every individual segmentation task.
We propose to use a new family of neural networks, called Neural Ordinary Differential Equations (NODE)\cite{Chen2018}, a continuous depth deep neural network, within the U-Net framework to memory-efficiently provide an adaptive receptive view. We are the first to apply this technique on a segmentation task and show a proof-of-concept on the GlaS challenge dataset\cite{Sirinukunwattana2017}. This public challenge involved segmenting individual colon glands in histopathology images. We show that these NODEs can be used within the U-Net framework to improve segmentation results.
\textbf{Related work} \quad To increase the receptive field of a network, several extensions to the U-Net architecture have been proposed including dilated convolutions\cite{Folle2019, Li2019, Devalla2018, chen2018encoder} and reversible blocks\cite{Brugger2019}. Our approach is similar to reversible blocks, with the additional benefits of an adaptive receptive field per task and image.
\pagebreak
\textbf{Neural ODEs} \quad We will briefly introduce NODEs, for a more extensive write up we refer to the paper by Chen et al., 2018\cite{Chen2018}. NODEs can be understood as a continuous depth equivalent to residual neural networks (ResNets\cite{He2016}). Every block with parameters $\theta$ of a residual neural network calculates some transformation $f(h_t)$ on its input $h_t$:
\begin{equation}
h_{t+1} = h_t + f(h_t, \theta_t)
\end{equation}
where $t \in \{0 ... T\}$, $h_t \in \mathbb{R}^d$, and $f$ a differentiable function. In ResNets, $f$ consists of several convolutional layers. The update with residual $f(h_t)$ can be seen as a $\Delta t=1$ step of an Euler discretization of a continuous transformation. When we let $\Delta t \to 0$ we take more, smaller, steps using more layers, which in the limit becomes an ordinary differential equation (ODE), specified by a neural network:
\begin{equation}
\lim_{\Delta t \to 0} = \frac{h_{t+\Delta t}-h_t}{\Delta t} = \frac{\delta h_t}{\delta t} = f(h(t), t, \theta)
\end{equation}
ODEs can be solved using standard ODE solvers such as Runge-Kutta\cite{Runge1895,Kutta1901a}. To update the weights of the convolutional layers, we would need to backpropagate through the solver. This can be done in the same way as a regular CNN, however, this is not memory-efficient. Specifically, an ODE solver might need hundreds of function evaluations, leading to exploding memory requirements. Instead, the ODE solver is regarded as a `black box solver' and the gradients are computed via the \textit{adjoint method}. This approach involves another ODE that goes backward in time starting with the gradients of the original output w.r.t. the loss. Gradients w.r.t. the parameters $\theta$ are calculated by automatic differentiation, which can efficiently be performed during the reverse-mode second ODE (See \textbf{Algorithm 1} in Chen et al., 2018\cite{Chen2018}).
A NODE network has several advantages for semantic segmentation. (1) They are memory efficient since intermediate computations (e.g. activation maps) do not need to be stored. (2) They provide an adaptive receptive view, both during training and inference, since modern ODE solvers can alter the number of function evaluations (e.g. the number of times the convolutional layers are applied) to minimize approximation error. This also allows the end-user to make trade-offs between accuracy and inference speed at test time, to fit hardware requirements of embedded systems, for example. (3) Sharing parameters across the sequential layers (function evaluations) reduces the number of parameters and thus prevents overfitting.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
{\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{networks.pdf}}%
\caption{Schematic overview of U-Net and the proposed U-Node network. The U-ResNet architecture is equivalent to U-Node except for the ODE blocks.}
\label{figure:networks}
\end{figure*}
\section{Experiments}
The GlaS dataset\cite{Sirinukunwattana2017} consists of a training set with 85 images and a test set of 80 images. The majority are $775 \times 522$ pixel patches from scanned whole-slide histology images of the colon, where epithelial glands have been annotated (Fig. \ref{figure:results}, column 1 and 2). The test dataset is divided into two subsets; subset A (60 images) released earlier and subset B (20 images) released during the original MICCAI workshop. We report results on the combined test set and the individual subsets.
We train three models (see Fig. \ref{figure:networks}): (1) A baseline U-Net model\cite{ronneberger2015u}, with 30m parameters; (2) A U-Net with less filters and ODE blocks, termed U-Node, with 2m parameters; (3) The U-Node network, but conventionally trained, equal to one function evaluation per `ODE' block, with 2m parameters, termed U-ResNet.\footnote{Source code can be found at \url{https://github.com/DIAGNijmegen/neural-odes-segmentation}}
We train the models to predict the full segmentation mask and an eroded version to separate individual glands when post-processing. To handle the different image sizes and allow one image to fit on the GPU we downscale $1.5\times$ and reflection pad to $352 \times 512$ px. At train time we apply the following random augmentations: translation, flipping, rotation, elastic transformation, and color jitter. We use the Adam optimizer\cite{kingma:adam}, with mini-batches of eight images, a learning rate of $10^{-3}$ ($10^{-4}$ for U-Net otherwise training was unstable), and cross-entropy loss. We used ODE solvers from the torchdiffeq python package\cite{Chen2018} and used the fifth-order ``dopri5'' solver, with a $10^{-3}$ tolerance. We randomly take ten images from the training set as a tuning set. We trained for 600 epochs. We did not use early stopping, as the validation loss plateaued. At test time, we apply test-time augmentation and average predictions over the original, horizontal, and vertical flipped image.
\begin{table}[h]
\footnotesize
\centering
\caption{GlaS challenge metrics for the total test set and subsets (A, B)}
\label{tab:glas}
\begin{tabular}{lllll}
\toprule
\textbf{Method} & \textbf{Object Dice (A, B)} & \textbf{F1 score (A, B)} & \textbf{Hausdorff* (A, B)} & \textbf{Notes} \\
\midrule
U-Net & 0.868 (0.884, 0.819) & 0.841 (0.865, 0.768) & 69.6 (55.6, 111) & 30m parameters\\
U-ResNet & 0.757 (0.789, 0.660) & 0.689 (0.743, 0.523) & 122 (97.3, 199) & 2m parameters\\
U-Node & \textbf{0.881} (0.893, 0.842) & \textbf{0.861} (0.882, 0.801) & \textbf{59.5} (48.6, 92.4) & 2m parameters\\
\midrule
\midrule
Chen et al.\cite{Chen2016} & 0.868 (0.897, 0.781) & 0.863 (0.912, 0.716) & 74.2 (45.4, 160.3) & GlaS winner\\
Graham et al.\cite{Graham2019} & \underline{\textbf{0.902}} (0.919, 0.849) & \underline{\textbf{0.896}} (0.920, 0.824) & \underline{\textbf{54.7}} (41.0, 95.7) & SOTA\\
\bottomrule
\multicolumn{4}{l}{*a lower Hausdorff distance is better.} \\
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
{\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{overview_results.pdf}}%
\caption{Example patches of the test set with clear differences between the models. Each color denotes a gland. The black bar denotes the receptive field. NFE denotes the number of function evaluations in the network. Difficult images (first and last row) seem to require more evaluations.}
\label{figure:results}
\end{figure}
\section{Results}
We evaluate our models using the challenge metrics\cite{Sirinukunwattana2017}; a weighted Dice coefficient per gland (object Dice), a gland detection F1 score, and a weighted shape similarity metric based on the Hausdorff distance (where lower is better). Table \ref{tab:glas} shows the performance of our models.
\section{Discussion and conclusion}
This study investigated whether incorporating neural ordinary differential equations could be beneficial in semantic segmentation. The results show that the proposed U-Node network can efficiently use less parameters and improve segmentation compared to U-Net and U-ResNet. Qualitative result in Fig. \ref{figure:results} show that overall U-Node produces segmentations with less noise. Furthermore, the adaptive receptive field seems to help segment larger glands.
Due to the increased number of convolutional operations compared to U-Net, training is computationally heavier and slower for U-Node. Training with lower tolerances can provide a speed up, but at the cost of performance. We used the same number of levels as U-Net to force compression of the latent space, however, the training time of the model can be improved by reducing the number of ODEs, for example by only using ODEs in the encoder (down-path), or by decreasing the number of levels.
Graham et al.\cite{Graham2019} train a rotation equivariant network using group equivariant convolutions\cite{Cohen2016} to reach state-of-the-art performance on the GlaS challenge. A logical next step would be to combine our U-Node model with group equivariant convolutions, providing memory-efficient group equivariance for rotations with a large adaptive receptive field.
\subsubsection*{Acknowledgments}
We would like to thank Jasper Linmans for the useful discussions.
\medskip
\bibliographystyle{utphys}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 761 |
\section{Introduction}
\label{intro}
In this paper we study the sum rules obtained summing the inverse powers of the eigenvalues
of the Helmholtz equation on a heterogeneous sphere. For the special case of constant density
(to which we can arbitrarily assign the value $\Sigma=1$), one obtains that the eigenfunctions
are the spherical harmonics, $Y_{lm}(\theta,\phi)$, with $|m| \leq l$ and $l=0,1,2,\dots$,
and the corresponding eigenvalues, $l (l+1)$, are $2l+1$ degenerate.
The sum rule of order $p$ is thus defined in terms of the eigenvalues as~\footnote{Note that to obtain a finite result,
the zero mode, corresponding to $l=0$, has to be excluded from the series.}
\begin{equation}
Z_p = \sum_{l=1}^\infty \frac{2l+1}{(l (l+1))^p}
\end{equation}
with $p>1$.
For the case of an arbitrary density, $\Sigma(\theta,\phi)>0$ over the sphere, however,
the approach outlined above cannot be adopted, since it requires to calculate exactly
{\sl each} of the eigenvalues of the Helmholtz equation. A similar situation occurrs
in the calculation of the sum rules for quantum billiards on finite domains in the plane,
since the eigenvalues are known exactly only for a limited number of shapes (rectangle, circle, ellipse and
symmetric circular annulus, among others).
In particular, Itzykson, Moussa and Luck~\cite{Itzykson86} were able to obtain explicit integral
expressions for the sum rules of inverse powers of the Dirichlet eigenvalues of the Laplacian
on arbitrary domains in two dimensions using a conformal transformation from the domain to the unit
disk, without having to know the eigenvalues exactly. Berry~\cite{Berry86}
applied the method of Ref.~\cite{Itzykson86} to Aharonov-Bohm quantum billiards, obtaining explicit
expressions for different shapes. Steiner \cite{Steiner87} also discussed the sum rule for Aharonov-Bohm quantum billiard
of circular shape, extending an approach previously developed in \cite{Steiner85} for confinement potentials.
More recently Kvitsinky has considered the spectral sum rules for nearly circular domains, particularly a $N$-sided regular polygons~\cite{Kvitsinsky96}; Dittmar~\cite{Dittmar02} has obtained the sum rules for fixed and free membrane problems for simply connected domains of the plane, conformally transforming the domain into the unit disk. Sum rules for specific domains are obtained in Ref.~\cite{Dittmar11}. Dostani\'c~\cite{Dostanic11} has obtained the regularized trace of the inverse Dirichlet laplacian on
a bounded convex domain.
In a series of papers, Refs.~\cite{Amore13A, Amore13B, Amore14, Amore18}, we have derived
general integral expressions for the spectral sum rules of inhomogenous strings and membranes,
for different boundary conditions; the case of Neumann or periodic boundary conditions, discussed
in Ref.~\cite{Amore14}, requires a careful handling of the traces, which are in principle ill defined due to the singular contribution stemming from the zero mode. Ref.~\cite{Amore18}, finally, introduces a "regularized" sum rule, which is obtained
exploting the symmetries of a problem or different boundary conditions.
The purpose of this paper is to extend the approach outlined in Ref.~\cite{Amore14} to the case of the heterogenous sphere.
The paper is organized as follows: in section \ref{general} we describe the general approach and
define the sum rules in terms of the appropriate traces; in section \ref{pt} we obtain the
perturbative corrections to the energy of the lowest mode ("zero-mode"); in section \ref{order}
we derive the general integral expressions for the sum rules of order two and three, explicitly proving that
all divergent contributions cancel out, and we apply these results to a non-trivial example.
Finally, in section \ref{conclusions}, we draw our conclusions and discuss future work.
The expressions for the perturbative corrections to the energy of the fundamental mode
and for the integrals appearing in the sum rules of order two and tree for an arbitrary density
are reported in the Appendices \ref{appA} and \ref{appB} respectively.
\section{Exact sum rules: general expressions}
\label{general}
Our starting point is the Helmholtz equation on a unit 2-sphere, in presence of a
variable density
\begin{equation}
-\Delta \psi_n(\theta,\phi) = E_n \Sigma(\theta,\phi) \psi_n(\theta,\phi) \label{eq_Helmoltz_dens}
\end{equation}
where
\begin{equation}
\Delta \equiv \frac{1}{\sin \theta} \frac{\partial}{\partial \theta} {\sin \theta} \frac{\partial}{\partial \theta} + \frac{1}{\sin^2 \theta} \frac{\partial^2}{\partial \phi^2}
\nonumber
\end{equation}
is the angular part of the spherical Laplacian operator.
As discussed in Ref.~\cite{Amore10}, one can define $\Phi_n=\sqrt{\Sigma} \psi_n $
and cast this equation into the equivalent form
\begin{equation}
\frac{1}{\sqrt{\Sigma}} (-\Delta) \frac{1}{\sqrt{\Sigma}} \Phi_n(\theta,\phi) = E_n \Phi_n(\theta,\phi)
\label{eq_Helmoltz_dens2}
\end{equation}
in terms of the hermitian operator $\hat{O} \equiv \frac{1}{\sqrt{\Sigma}} (-\Delta) \frac{1}{\sqrt{\Sigma}}$.
Since the lowest eigenvalue of $\hat{O}$ vanishes, it is convenient to introduce
the modified operator, following Ref.~\cite{Amore14},
\begin{equation}
\hat{O}_\gamma \equiv \frac{1}{\sqrt{\Sigma}} (-\Delta +\gamma) \frac{1}{\sqrt{\Sigma}}
\end{equation}
where $\gamma$ is a constant parameter which will be eventually sent to zero.
Our ultimate goal is to obtain the Green's function associated with $\hat{O}_\gamma$ on the unit sphere; the first
step in this direction is to write the Green's function associated with the operator $(-\Delta+ \gamma)$ on the unit sphere,
which obeys the spectral decomposition
\begin{equation}
G_\gamma(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') = \frac{1}{4\pi \gamma} + \sum_{l=1}^\infty \sum_{m=-l}^l
\frac{Y_{lm}(\theta,\phi)Y_{lm}^\star(\theta',\phi')}{l (l+1)+\gamma}
\end{equation}
In particular, for $\gamma \rightarrow 0$ one can write
\begin{equation}
G_\gamma(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') = \frac{1}{4\pi \gamma} + \sum_{q=0}^\infty (-\gamma)^q
G^{(q)}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi')
\end{equation}
where
\begin{equation}
G^{(q)}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') \equiv
\sum_{l=1}^\infty \sum_{m=-l}^l \frac{Y_{lm}(\theta,\phi)Y_{lm}^\star(\theta',\phi')}{(l (l+1))^{q+1}}
\end{equation}
These functions obey the properties:
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
-\Delta G^{(0)}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') &= \frac{\delta(\phi-\phi') \delta(\theta-\theta')}{\sin\theta} - \frac{1}{4\pi} \nonumber \\
-\Delta G^{(q)}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') &= G^{(q-1)}_\gamma(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') \hspace{1cm} , \hspace{1cm} q=1,2,\dots \nonumber
\end{split}
\end{equation}
and
\begin{equation}
G^{(q+1)}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') =
\int d\Omega'' G^{(0)}(\theta,\phi,\theta'',\phi'') G^{(q)}(\theta'',\phi'',\theta',\phi') \nonumber
\end{equation}
Notice that $G^{(q)}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi')$ ($q=0,1,\dots$) are {\sl finite} since they do not contain
contributions from the mode $l=0$ (in Refs.~\cite{Amore13A,Amore13B,Amore14} we actually referred to
$G^{(0)}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi')$ as to a "regularized" Green's function).
Using the property
\begin{equation}
\sum_{m=-l}^l Y_{lm}(\theta,\phi) Y_{lm}^\star(\theta',\phi') = \frac{2 l+1}{4\pi} P_l(x(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi'))
\end{equation}
where $x(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') \equiv \hat{e}(\theta,\phi) \cdot \hat{e}(\theta',\phi')$ and $\hat{e}(\theta,\phi) \equiv \sin\theta \cos \phi \ \hat{i}
+ \sin\theta \sin \phi \ \hat{j} + \cos\theta \ \hat{k}$, we can cast the Green's functions in the form
\begin{equation}
G^{(q)}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') = \frac{1}{4\pi}
\sum_{l=1}^\infty \frac{2l+1}{(l (l+1))^{q+1}} P_l(x(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi'))
\end{equation}
It is worth noticing that the Green's function $G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega')$ is a special case of the generalized
Green's function discussed in Ref.~\cite{Szmytkowski06}:
\begin{equation}
\bar{G}_L(\Omega,\Omega') \equiv \sum_{\begin{array}{c}
l=0 \\
l \neq L \\
\end{array}} \sum_{m=-l}^l \frac{Y_{lm}(\Omega) Y_{lm}^\star (\Omega')}{L (L+1)-l (l+1)}
\end{equation}
and
\begin{equation}
G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') = - \bar{G}_0(\Omega,\Omega')
\end{equation}
The explicit expression for $G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega')$ is well-known and it can be found
in Refs.~\cite{Szmytkowski06, Freeden80, Englis98,Gustavsson01}
\begin{equation}
G^{(0)}(x) = \frac{1}{4\pi} \left[\log 2 - 1- \log(1-x) \right] \nonumber \\
\end{equation}
The formulas for the Green's functions of order one and two can be found in Refs.~\cite{Englis98,Gustavsson01}
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
G^{(1)}(x) &= \frac{1}{4\pi} \left[\log\left(\frac{1-x}{1+x}\right) \log\left(\frac{2}{1+x}\right) - \frac{1}{2} \log^2 \left(\frac{2}{1+x}\right) + {\rm Li}_2\left(-\frac{1-x}{1+x}\right) +1 \right] \nonumber \\
G^{(2)}(x) &= \frac{1}{4\pi} \left[ \frac{\pi^2}{6} -2 +2 \zeta(3) + \log\left(\frac{1-x}{2}\right) {\rm Li}_2\left(\frac{1-x}{2}\right) - {\rm Li}_2\left(\frac{1+x}{2}\right) - 2 {\rm Li}_3\left(\frac{1-x}{2}\right) \right] \nonumber
\end{split}
\end{equation}
where ${\rm Li}_\nu(z) \equiv \frac{z}{\Gamma(\nu )}\int_0^\infty \frac{t^{\nu -1}}{\left(e^t-z\right)} dt$
is the polylogarithm of order $\nu$ ($\nu >0$).
The Green's function associated with $\hat{O}_\gamma$ can be now expressed as
\begin{equation}
G_{\hat{O}_\gamma}(\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') = \sqrt{\Sigma (\theta,\phi)} G_\gamma (\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') \sqrt{\Sigma (\theta',\phi')}
\end{equation}
since
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\hat{O}_\gamma G_{\hat{O}_\gamma} &= \frac{1}{\sqrt{\Sigma (\theta,\phi)}} (-\Delta+\gamma) G_\gamma (\theta,\phi,\theta',\phi') \sqrt{\Sigma (\theta',\phi')} \nonumber \\
=& \frac{1}{\sqrt{\Sigma (\theta,\phi)}} \frac{\delta(\theta-\theta') \delta(\phi-\phi')}{\sin\theta} \sqrt{\Sigma (\theta',\phi')} \nonumber \\
=& \delta (\Omega-\Omega')
\end{split}
\end{equation}
Exploiting the invariance of the trace with respect to unitary transformations and using the completeness of the basis of the homogeneous
problem we can write the sum rule~\cite{Amore13A,Amore13B,Amore14}
\begin{equation}
Z_p(\gamma) \equiv \sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n(\gamma)^p}
\end{equation}
as
\begin{equation}
Z_p(\gamma) = \int \ G_{\hat{O}_\gamma}(\Omega_1,\Omega_2) \ \dots \ G_{\hat{O}_\gamma}(\Omega_p,\Omega_1) \ d\Omega_1 \dots d\Omega_p
\label{eq_trace}
\end{equation}
Unfortunately, eq.~(\ref{eq_trace}) is not very useful since it diverges as $\gamma \rightarrow 0$, due to
the singular behavior of $G_{\hat{O}_\gamma}$ in this limit. For this reason
it is then convenient to introduce the regularized sum rule
\begin{equation}
\tilde{Z}_p(\gamma) = \sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^p(\gamma)} = Z_p(\gamma) - \frac{1}{E_0(\gamma)^p}
\label{eq_Zp}
\end{equation}
by taking out the contributions stemming from the zero mode (we will discuss soon the calculation of
$E_0(\gamma)$ using perturbation theory for $|\gamma| \ll 1$).
Since $\tilde{Z}_p(\gamma)$ is now well behaved for $\gamma \rightarrow 0$, we conclude that
\begin{equation}
\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^p} = \lim_{\gamma \rightarrow 0} \left[ Z_p(\gamma) - \frac{1}{E_0(\gamma)^p}\right]
\end{equation}
Some remarks:
\begin{itemize}
\item For $\gamma \rightarrow 0$, $Z_p(\gamma)$ and $1/E_0(\gamma)^p$ can be Laurent expanded around $\gamma=0$:
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
Z_p(\gamma) &= z_{-p} \gamma^{-p} +z_{-p+1} \gamma^{-p+1} + \dots + z_0 + z_1 \gamma + \dots \nonumber \\
\frac{1}{E_0(\gamma)^p} &= \epsilon_{-p} \gamma^{-p} +\epsilon_{-p+1} \gamma^{-p+1} + \dots + \epsilon_0 + \epsilon_1 \gamma + \dots \nonumber
\end{split}
\end{equation}
\item The finiteness of $\lim_{\gamma\rightarrow 0} \tilde{Z}_p(\gamma)$ requires that
\begin{equation}
z_{-p} = \epsilon_{-p} \hspace{.5cm} , \hspace{0.5cm} z_{-p+1} = \epsilon_{-p+1}
\hspace{.5cm} , \hspace{0.5cm} \dots \hspace{.5cm} , \hspace{0.5cm} z_{-1} = \epsilon_{-1} \nonumber
\end{equation}
\item The singular (for $\gamma \rightarrow 0$) part of the heterogeneous Green's functions appearing in eq.~(\ref{eq_Zp}) may contribute to $z_0$ as long as it combines with suitable contributions from the remaining Green's functions, that are vanishing
with the appropriate strength (of course this is not the case if the spectrum does not contain a zero mode). It is easy
to check that $Z_p(\gamma)$ contains at most Green's functions of order $p+1$, $G^{(p+1)}$;
\item The calculation of $\tilde{Z}_p$ requires calculating the lowest eigenvalue using perturbation theory up to order $p+1$:
\begin{equation}
E_0 = E_0^{(1)} \gamma + E_0^{(2)} \gamma^2 + \dots \nonumber
\end{equation}
from which
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\frac{1}{E_0(\gamma)^p} &= \frac{1}{\gamma^p (E_0^{(1)})^p} - p \frac{E_0^{(2)}}{\gamma^{p-1} (E_0^{(1)})^{p+1} } \nonumber \\
+&
\frac{p}{2}\frac{1}{\gamma^{p-2} (E_0^{(1)})^{p+2}}
\left((p+1) (E_0^{(2)})^2-2 E_0^{(1)} E_0^{(3)}\right) + \dots \nonumber
\end{split}
\end{equation}
Specifically, for $p=2$ and $p=3$ one has
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\frac{1}{E_0(\gamma)^2} =& \frac{1}{\gamma ^2 \left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^2}-\frac{2 E_0^{(2)}}{\gamma \left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^3} +\frac{3 \left[ E_0^{(2)}\right]^2-2 E_0^{(1)} E_0^{(3)}}{\left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^4} + O(\gamma) \nonumber \\
\frac{1}{E_0(\gamma)^3} =& \frac{1}{\gamma ^3 \left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^3}
-\frac{3 E_0^{(2)}}{\gamma ^2 \left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^4}
-\frac{3 \left(-2 \left[ E_0^{(2)}\right]^2+E_0^{(1)} E_0^{(3)}\right)}{\gamma \left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^5}\nonumber \\
+& \frac{-10 \left[ E_0^{(2)}\right]^3+12 E_0^{(1)} E_0^{(2)} E_0^{(3)}-3 \left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^2 E_0^{(4)}}{\left[ E_0^{(1)} \right]^6} + O(\gamma) \nonumber
\end{split}
\end{equation}
\item The explicit expressions for the exact sum rules of order $2$ and $3$ are
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\tilde{Z}_2 &= \int G^{(0)}(\Omega_1,\Omega_2) \Sigma(\Omega_2) G^{(0)}(\Omega_2,\Omega_1) \Sigma(\Omega_1) d\Omega_1 d\Omega_2 \nonumber \\
-& \frac{1}{2\pi} \int \Sigma(\Omega_1) G^{(1)}(\Omega_1,\Omega_2) \Sigma(\Omega_2) d\Omega_1 d\Omega_2
\nonumber \\
-& \frac{3 \left[ E_0^{(2)}\right]^2-2 E_0^{(1)} E_0^{(3)}}{\left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^4} \nonumber \\
\tilde{Z}_3 =& \int G^{(0)}(\Omega_1,\Omega_2) \Sigma(\Omega_2) G^{(0)}(\Omega_2,\Omega_3) \Sigma(\Omega_3) G^{(0)}(\Omega_3,\Omega_1) \Sigma(\Omega_1) d\Omega_1 d\Omega_2 d\Omega_3 \nonumber \\
-& \frac{3}{2\pi} \int \Sigma(\Omega_1) G^{(1)}(\Omega_1,\Omega_2) \Sigma(\Omega_2) G^{(0)}(\Omega_2,\Omega_3) \Sigma(\Omega_3) d\Omega_1 d\Omega_2 d\Omega_3
\nonumber \\
+& \frac{3}{(4\pi)^2} \left( \int \Sigma(\Omega_1) G^{(2)}(\Omega_1,\Omega_2) \Sigma(\Omega_2) d\Omega_1 d\Omega_2 \right) \ \left( \int \Sigma(\Omega_3) d\Omega_3 \right)
\nonumber \\
-& \frac{-10 \left[ E_0^{(2)}\right]^3+12 E_0^{(1)} E_0^{(2)} E_0^{(3)}-3 \left[E_0^{(1)}\right]^2 E_0^{(4)}}{\left[ E_0^{(1)} \right]^6} \nonumber
\end{split}
\end{equation}
The expressions for higher order sum rules can be worked out in a completely similar way.
Before being able to cast $\tilde{Z}_2$ and $\tilde{Z}_3$ into a simpler form, we need to apply perturbation theory to derive
the explicit expression for $E_0(\gamma)$ up to a given order. This is done in the next section.
\end{itemize}
\section{Perturbation theory for the zero mode}
\label{pt}
Consider the eigenvalue equation for the lowest mode
\begin{equation}
(-\Delta + \gamma) \psi_0(\Omega) = E_0 \Sigma(\Omega) \psi_0(\Omega)
\label{Helmoltz_eq}
\end{equation}
and assume $\gamma \rightarrow 0$ and
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
\label{eqPT1}
E_0 &= \sum_{k=1}^\infty E_0^{(k)} \gamma^k \\
\label{eqPT2}
\psi_0(\Omega) =& Y_{00}(\Omega) + \sum_{k=1}^\infty \psi_0^{(k)}(\Omega) \gamma^k
\end{align}
\end{subequations}
By inserting these expressions inside the Helmholtz equation (\ref{Helmoltz_eq})
one obtains a system of equations, one for each order in $\gamma$.
Starting to zero order, one has the equation
\begin{equation}
-\Delta \psi_0^{(0)} = 0 \label{eq_PT0}
\end{equation}
from which we obtain the leading contributions to the eigenvalue and to the wave function (normalized over
the total solid angle)
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
E_0^{(0)} &= 0 \\
\psi_0^{(0)}(\Omega) &= Y_{00}(\Omega)
\end{align}
\end{subequations}
To first order one needs to solve the equation
\begin{equation}
-\Delta \psi_0^{(1)} + \psi_0^{(0)} = E_0^{(1)} \Sigma \psi_0^{(0)} \label{eq_PT1}
\end{equation}
Using eq.(\ref{eq_PT0}), we can project equation (\ref{eq_PT1}) over the zero mode, obtaining
\begin{equation}
E_0^{(1)} = \frac{4\pi}{\int \Sigma(\theta,\phi) d\Omega} \ .
\end{equation}
We now write the first order correction to the wave function as
\begin{equation}
\psi_0^{(1)}(\theta,\phi) = \sum_{l=1}^\infty \sum_{m=-l}^l c_{lm}^{(1)} Y_{lm}(\theta,\phi)
\end{equation}
and substitute inside equation (\ref{eq_PT1}).
With straightforward algebra we obtain
\begin{equation}
\psi_0^{(1)}(\theta,\phi) = \frac{E_0^{(1)}}{\sqrt{4\pi}} \int G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega'
\end{equation}
where $G^{(0)}$ is the regularized Green's function introduced earlier.
To order $k$ ($k \geq 2$) one obtains the equation
\begin{equation}
(-\Delta )\psi_0^{(k)}(\theta,\phi) + \psi_0^{(k-1)}(\theta,\phi) = \Sigma(\theta,\phi) \sum_{j=1}^{k-1} E_0^{(j)} \psi_0^{(k-j)}(\theta,\phi)
\end{equation}
The corrections of order $k$ to the eigenvalue and to the eigenfunction are obtained as done to order $1$ and they read
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
E_0^{(k)} &= - \frac{\sum_{j=1}^{k-1} E_0^{(j)} \langle \psi_0^{(0)} | \Sigma | \psi_0^{(k-j)} \rangle}{\langle \psi_0^{(0)} | \Sigma | \psi_0^{(0)} \rangle} \label{eq_EN_recur}\\
\psi_0^{(k)}(\Omega) &= \sum_{j=1}^k E_0^{(j)} \int d\Omega' G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') \psi_0^{(k-j)}(\Omega') \nonumber \\
-& \int d\Omega' G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \psi_0^{(k-1)}(\Omega') \label{eq_WF_recur}
\end{align}
\end{subequations}
The expressions for the perturbative corrections to the energy of the zero mode
up to fourth order, obtained solving recursively eqs.~(\ref{eq_EN_recur})
and (\ref{eq_WF_recur}), are reported in Appendix \ref{appA}.
\section{Exact sum rules of given order}
\label{order}
The final expressions for the sum rules can now be worked out, using the explicit expressions for the perturbative corrections to
$E_0$ obtained in the previous section. We will concentrate only on the sum rules of order two and three, although similar expressions
can be obtained also for sum rules of higher order.
In particular, for $\gamma \rightarrow 0$, we find that
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
Z_2(\gamma) &\approx \left(\frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega)d\Omega}{4\pi} \right)^2 \frac{1}{\gamma^2}
+ \frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega d\Omega'}{2\pi} \frac{1}{\gamma} \nonumber \\
+& \left[ \int G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') G^{(0)}(\Omega',\Omega) \Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega d\Omega' \right. \nonumber \\
-& \left. \frac{ \int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(1)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega d\Omega' }{2\pi} \right] + O(\gamma)
\end{split}
\end{equation}
and
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\frac{1}{E_0^2(\gamma)} &\approx \left(\frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega)d\Omega}{4\pi} \right)^2 \frac{1}{\gamma^2}
+ \frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega d\Omega'}{2\pi} \frac{1}{\gamma} \nonumber \\
+ & \left[ 2 \frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') G^{(0)}(\Omega',\Omega'') \Sigma(\Omega'') d\Omega d\Omega' d\Omega''}{\int \Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega} \nonumber \right. \\
- & \left. \left(\frac{ \int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega d\Omega' }{\int \Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega}\right)^2 - \frac{ \int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(1)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega d\Omega' }{2\pi} \right] \nonumber \\
+ & O(\gamma)
\end{split}
\end{equation}
As a result, we see that the singularities in $\tilde{Z}_2(\gamma)$ cancel identically for $\gamma \rightarrow 0$, as anticipated, and
the sum rule of order two is therefore
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^2} &=
\int G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega')\Sigma(\Omega') G^{(0)}(\Omega',\Omega)\Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega d\Omega' \nonumber \\
-& 2 \ \frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') G^{(0)}(\Omega',\Omega'') \Sigma(\Omega'')
d\Omega d\Omega' d\Omega''}{\int \Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega}\nonumber \\
+& \left( \frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega')\Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega d\Omega'}{\int \Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega} \right)^2
\end{split}
\end{equation}
In the case of the sum rule of order three we also obtain that the singularities for $\gamma \rightarrow 0$ cancel out
identically inside $\tilde{Z}_3(\gamma)$ and the sum rule reads
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^3} &=
\int G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega')\Sigma(\Omega') G^{(0)}(\Omega',\Omega)\Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega',\Omega'')\Sigma(\Omega'')
d\Omega d\Omega' d\Omega''\nonumber \\
- & 3 \ \frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega') \Sigma(\Omega') G^{(0)}(\Omega',\Omega'') \Sigma(\Omega'')
G^{(0)}(\Omega'',\Omega''') \Sigma(\Omega''') d\Omega d\Omega' d\Omega'' d\Omega'''}{\int \Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega}\nonumber \\
+ & 3 \ \frac{\left(\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega')\Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega d\Omega' \right)}{\left(\int \Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega\right)^2} \nonumber \\
\cdot & \left(\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega')\Sigma(\Omega') G^{(0)}(\Omega',\Omega'')\Sigma(\Omega'') d\Omega d\Omega' d\Omega''\right) \nonumber \\
-& \left( \frac{\int \Sigma(\Omega) G^{(0)}(\Omega,\Omega')\Sigma(\Omega') d\Omega d\Omega'}{\int \Sigma(\Omega) d\Omega} \right)^3
\end{split}
\end{equation}
Using the definitions in Appendix \ref{appB} one has
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^2} &= \mathcal{J}_1^{(0,0)} - \frac{1}{2\pi} \mathcal{I}_2^{(0,0)} + \left(\frac{ \mathcal{I}_1^{(0)} }{4\pi}\right)^2 \\
\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^3} &= \mathcal{J}_2^{(0,0,0)} - \frac{3}{4\pi} \mathcal{I}_3^{(0,0,0)} + \frac{3}{16 \pi^2} \mathcal{I}_1^{(0)} \mathcal{I}_2^{(0,0)} - \left(\frac{ \mathcal{I}_1^{(0)} }{4\pi}\right)^3 \label{exactsr}
\end{split}
\end{equation}
As an application we consider the density
\begin{equation}
\Sigma(\theta,\phi) = 1 + \kappa \ Y_{10}(\theta,\phi) = 1 + \frac{1}{2} \sqrt{\frac{3}{\pi }} \kappa \cos (\theta )
\nonumber
\end{equation}
where the requirement $\Sigma(\Omega)>0$ on the sphere implies the condition $|\kappa| < 2 \sqrt{\pi/3} \approx 2.04665$.
We have calculated explicitly the integrals appearing in the sum rules of order two and three:
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\mathcal{I}_1^{(0)} &= \frac{\kappa^2}{2} \nonumber \\
\mathcal{I}_2^{(0,0)} &= \frac{\kappa^2}{4} \nonumber \\
\mathcal{I}_3^{(0,0,0)} &= \frac{\kappa^2}{8} + \frac{\kappa^4}{120 \pi} \nonumber \\
\mathcal{J}_1^{(0,0)} &= 1 + \frac{\kappa^2}{8 \pi} \nonumber \\
\mathcal{J}_2^{(0,0,0)} &= 2 ( \zeta(3)-1) + \frac{3 \kappa^2}{32 \pi} \nonumber
\end{split}
\end{equation}
The explicit expressions for the sum rules (\ref{exactsr}) are
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^2} &= 1 + \frac{\kappa^4}{64 \pi^2} \\
\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^3} &= 2 (\zeta (3)-1) +\frac{11 \kappa^4}{640 \pi ^2}-\frac{\kappa ^6}{512 \pi ^3}
\end{split}
\label{sumruleexact}
\end{equation}
\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\bigskip\bigskip\bigskip
\includegraphics[width=12cm]{figure1.eps} \ \ \ \
\caption{$\left| \sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^2} - 1 \right|$ as a function of $\kappa$. The solid line is the exact result $\frac{\kappa^4}{64\pi^2}$, while the dotted, dashed and dot-dashed lines are the numerical results obtained approximating the eigenvalues with the Rayleigh-Ritz method with $l_{max}=30$,$60$ and $90$ respectively.}
\label{Fig_1}
\end{center}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\bigskip\bigskip\bigskip
\includegraphics[width=12cm]{figure2.eps} \ \ \ \
\caption{$\left| \sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^3} - 2 (\zeta(3)-1) \right|$ as a function of $\kappa$. The solid line is the exact result $\frac{\kappa^4}{64\pi^2}$, while the dotted, dashed and dot-dashed lines are the numerical results obtained approximating the eigenvalues with the Rayleigh-Ritz method with $l_{max}=30$,$60$ and $90$ respectively.}
\label{Fig_2}
\end{center}
\end{figure}
In Fig.~\ref{Fig_1} we have compared the exact result for $\left| \sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^2} - 1 \right| = \frac{\kappa^4}{64\pi^2}$, with the approximate sum rule obtained calculating the eigenvalues numerically with the Rayleigh-Ritz method, using the states with $1 \leq l \leq l_{max}$ and $|m|\leq l$, respectively with $l_{max}=30$ (dotted curve), $l_{max}=60$ (dashed curve) and $l_{max} = 90$ (dot-dashed curve).
The numerical sum rule is calculated using the lowest $N$ numerical eigenvalues ($N=320$, $1240$ and $2760$, respectively) and completing the series using the asymptotic behavior predicted by Weyl's law, $E_n^{(Weyl)} \approx n$, for $n \rightarrow \infty$:
\begin{eqnarray}
\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{E_n^2} \approx \sum_{n=1}^{N} \frac{1}{\left(E_n^{(RR)}\right)^2} + \sum_{n=N+1}^\infty \frac{1}{\left(E_n^{(Weyl)}\right)^2}
\end{eqnarray}
A similar result for the case of the sum rule of order three is displayed in Fig.~\ref{Fig_2}.
\section{Conclusions}
\label{conclusions}
We have used the method of Ref.~\cite{Amore14} to derive general integral formulas for the sums of
inverse powers of the eigenvalues of the Laplacian on a heterogeneous sphere with arbitrary density.
Due to the presence of a zero mode, i.e. of a mode with vanishing eigenvalue, the spectral sum rules
need to be "renormalized", by taking out the singular contribution of the fundamental mode: this
is achieved by performing an infinitesimal shift $\gamma$ on the Laplacian, thus rendering all the eigenvalues
finite and then subtracting the contributions stemming from the lowest eigenvalue, for a finite infinitesimal
shift (calculated using perturbation theory). The resulting sum rule is now analytical at $\gamma=0$ and
it corresponds to the sum over the non-vanishing eigenvalues.
We have applied our general formulas to a non--trivial problem, corresponding to the variable density
$\Sigma(\theta,\phi) = 1 +\frac{1}{2} \sqrt{\frac{3}{\pi}} \kappa \cos\theta$, with $|\kappa | < 2 \sqrt{\frac{\pi }{3}}$,
obtaining the exact expressions for the sum rules of order two and three as functions of $\kappa$.
These results have been verified numerically using the Rayleigh-Ritz method to calculate numerically the eigenvalues.
\section*{Acknowledgements}
The research of P.A. was supported by the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (M\'exico).
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 7,237 |
Q: Changing a ListView to RecyclerView I've just recently started to learn android and up until two days ago I didn't know what material design meant or that RecyclerView existed.
I've already implemented a list view on my app, though it's pretty basic and I should add features to it.
My question is: should I change my list to a RecyclerView even though the list is very limited in size, since every item is fully created by manual user's input?
Let me add that I did read about the differences, even here bit for the following reasons I still have my dilemma:
*
*As I said my list size will be limited by size, and since RecyclerView is all about recycling, is it really necessary here?
*Even though RecyclerView is "the future", I've seen it's missing features that ListView already has like items dividers and more, and I know these can still be implemented on RecyclerView, but is it worth the effort for my case?
Help will be much appreciated, thanks.
A: For a small limited list you can live with list view.If you don't need item animators, item decorators and layout managers you can live with list view.
Recycler view mandates the use of View Holder pattern which is not the case with list view.
The implementation of a recycler view is complex than that of list view.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 9,195 |
GIGA Journal Family is a publishing initiative of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) that brings together four international area studies journals. It comprises the GIGA journals Africa Spectrum, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, Journal of Politics in Latin America (JPLA) and Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs offering original research and empirical analysis on contemporary politics, society and economy of Africa, China, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Publishing Concept
The GIGA Journal Family was funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) as a pilot project in open-access publishing. Since the beginning of 2009 all socio-scientific journals of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies have been transformed into open-access journals which means their full content is freely online accessible without time delay or cost to the reader. In addition, it remains available in traditional printed format.
To ensure the journals' quality, all essays are evaluated in a double-blind peer-review process.
External links
GIGA Journal Family
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Africa Spectrum
Journal of Current Chinese Affairs
Journal of Politics in Latin America
Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs
English-language journals
German-language journals
Open access journals
Political science journals
Organizations established in 2009
International relations journals
Area studies journals | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 80 |
The workshop will be held in Cape Town, South Africa on April 22-25, 2016.
an accompanying manuscript formatted as a full paper (i.e., 11 pages in LNCS style).
affinity to the content presented.
Papers under review for a conference with a double-blind submission policy can be submitted anonymously. Reviewers will not be informed of the authors of the submission. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 4,656 |
{"url":"https:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/center-news\/how-thomas-jaggars-vision-became-hawaiian-volcano-observatory","text":"# How Thomas Jaggar's vision became the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory\n\nRelease Date:\n\nOne hundred years ago, Frank Perret, world-famous volcanologist, was watching the\u00a0lava lake\u00a0action in Halema\u2018uma\u2018u Crater. Honolulu businessmen and scientists impressed by his observations met to discuss how to continue them and to make a permanent observatory at K\u012blauea's summit a reality.\n\nLogo and motto of the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association, a private source of financial support for HVO for several decades. Thomas Jaggar's vision became the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.\n\n(Public domain.)\n\nTwo years earlier, when Thomas Jaggar first visited and hatched a plan for such a station, prominent Honolulu citizens pledged their support. But the total fell short of the amount required by Jaggar's employer and sponsor, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Frank Perret's work in 1911 removed any doubt about the utility and importance of continuous observation. The Honoluluans decided that it was time to act.\n\nA group of 23 men, prominent in business and science, met on October 5, 1911, in Honolulu. On the table was Thomas Jaggar's original 1909 proposal that asked for a commitment of $5,000 (more than$115,000 in 2011 dollars) per year for five years from Hawai\u2018i. The Territorial Governor attended, as well as representatives of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company, the Bishop Museum Trust, the Hawaii Promotion Committee (similar to the Hawaii Tourism Authority), the College of Hawaii, the Hilo Railroad, the Volcano House, and a long list of businesses and trusts.\n\n\"I believe,\" said the Governor, \"that the establishment of a permanent observatory is of intense economic as well as scientific importance to the world. By continuous observations it may be possible to predict volcanic and seismic disturbances all over the globe, with consequent saving of life and property. Then again the advantage to Hawaii from a publicity standpoint is considerable. If a national park is made at K\u012blauea and if scientists come here from all parts of the world to study the volcano, it will not be long before Hawaii is known to have the most interesting 'tame' volcano in the world.\"\n\nThose at the meeting were impressed by Perret's scientific accomplishments, his continuous observations, and the results of the publicity surrounding Perret's work. Scientific and geographic journals worldwide were carrying stories about his studies and adventures on the world's volcanoes, including those in Hawai\u2018i. It was so well advertised that, upon reaching the Volcano House, tourists first asked how to get to Halema\u2018uma\u2018u and then asked if Perret would still be there.\n\nAt the meeting in October, one participant expressed worries about the effects of commercial sponsorship on a mostly scientific endeavor like a volcano observatory. \"The blighting hand of commercialism\" might interfere with scientific research. \"Pele \u2026 is not so much interested in the promotion side of the question as the scientific.\"\n\nFor both scientific and promotional advantages, a committee was founded on that day in early October. Its purpose was to raise the necessary funds and otherwise aid in the establishment of a permanent station at the rim of Halema\u2018uma\u2018u Crater to track the changes in the nearly continuously active\u00a0lava\u00a0lake there. The 1909 pledges were renewed, based on Perret's successes and the long-awaited announcement that, after more than two years of delay, Professor Jaggar would return in January 1912 to continue the observations.\n\nThe committee was called the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association (HVRA), and it funded the daily operations of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory from July 1, 1912, to February 15, 1919, when HVO's operation was transferred to the Weather Bureau. Other than personal assistance to Perret and Jaggar by individuals such as Lorrin A. Thurston, and the donations by Hilo businesses for the construction of the HVO building (on the current site of the Volcano House Hotel), the contractual obligation of HVRA funds that started in July was the first regular financial support by a Hawai\u2018i entity. It was then that the effort truly became the \"Hawaiian\" Volcano Observatory.\n\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n### Volcano Activity Update\n\nA\u00a0lava lake\u00a0has been present within the Halema\u2018uma\u2018u Overlook\u00a0vent\u00a0over the past week, resulting in night-time glow visible from the Jaggar Museum. The lake, which is deep within the vent cavity and visible by Webcam, fluctuated in level several times over the past week in response to several deflation-inflation cycles at the summit.\n\nSeveral weeks ago, a new\u00a0fissure\u00a0opened on the upper east flank of Pu\u2018u \u2018\u014c\u2018\u014d cone, on K\u012blauea's east rift zone, and\u00a0lava\u00a0has continued to erupt from this eastern fissure over the past week. As with the Halema\u2018uma\u2018u lava lake, the activity level at Pu\u2018u \u2018\u014c\u2018\u014d has fluctuated, due to several deflation-inflation cycles over the last week. Eruptive vigor peaked around Monday, October 3, with flows extending to the northeast and southeast of Pu\u2018u \u2018\u014c\u2018\u014d's east flank. The lava lake within Pu\u2018u \u2018\u014c\u2018\u014d also became more active at this time, covering much of the crater floor. The flows on Pu\u2018u \u2018\u014c\u2018\u014d's east flank did not appear to extend farther than 1.8 km (1.1 miles) from Pu\u2018u \u2018\u014c\u2018\u014d this past week. By Thursday, October 6, very little flow-field activity was observed, due to the ongoing deflation, and the lava lake in Pu\u2018u \u2018\u014c\u2018\u014d crater had largely drained.\n\nOne\u00a0earthquake\u00a0beneath Hawai\u2018i Island was reported felt this past week. A magnitude-1.6 earthquake occurred at 10:07 p.m., HST, on Saturday, October 1, 2011, and was located 10 km (6 mi) southeast of K\u012blauea summit at a depth of 8 km (5 mi).","date":"2020-04-02 08:49:20","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.22757330536842346, \"perplexity\": 3682.69662704547}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2020-16\/segments\/1585370506870.41\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20200402080824-20200402110824-00269.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
Home » Articles by E (Page 3)
Author: E
Taurus Full Blue Moon October 2020 Will Stir Up Our Lives
By E October 26, 2020 October 26, 2020 Astrology
October 31st is a potent and magical day that brings a Blue Moon and the observed celebration of Samhain, which is where Halloween gets its roots. Across many cultures, this time of year is also believed to be when the veil between dimensions is at its thinnest. A Blue Moon…
Have You Ever Seen The Mesmerising Salt Formations Of Iran
By E October 15, 2020 October 15, 2020 Nature
Who knew salt could be so beautiful. Have you ever heard of the mesmerising salt rock in Iran? Million of years ago, the Persian Gulf was a much larger body of water than it is today, inundating large sections of the Arabian peninsula in the south and Iran in the…
By E October 9, 2020 October 9, 2020 Lifestyle
Yeah, yeah, we know, Christmas isn't for another two and a half months and talking about it too early tends to make people angry about it, but why not get a good head start on what you could be doing for this year? Now, every year, you probably want a…
Mother And Son Have Stunning 'Swirled' Blue-and-Black Eyes
A mother and son are captivating social media because of their stunning multi-colored eyes that are both blue and black. Elizabeth Tyler, 35, and her one-year-old son Liam Mexus have heterochromia iridum, a congenital condition that causes them both to have two different eye colors within one iris. However, while…
The Libra Super New Moon Is Going To Be Powerful, Prepare For Heated Energies
By E October 9, 2020 October 9, 2020 Astrology
The October 16th New Moon is the closest Super New Moon of the year and falls in the sign of Libra. Libra is all about balance, fairness, and justice, and these are qualities we are going to have to keep in mind under the intense energies this New Moon brings.…
30 Signs of Soul Exhaustion
Are you in a funk and feeling like you can't get out of it? Perhaps you're going through a traumatic event. Your heart and mind are preoccupied with what's going on in your life. Suddenly, your body starts reacting to the situation. Your body and mind are interconnected. So, when…
White Supremacist Group Posts The #ProudBoys Hashtag, The Gay Community Hijacks It
By E October 5, 2020 October 5, 2020 Inspirational
The Proud Boys recently made headlines by celebrating President Trump's reply at last week's debate, when he was asked to condemn white supremacists. Trump instead blamed "antifa and the left" for violence and told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by." Meanwhile, the FBI classifies the Proud Boys…
NASA Dropped New Images of Our Universe That Straight-Up Look Fake
By E October 5, 2020 October 5, 2020 Nature
The Chandra X-ray Observatory, the most powerful X-ray observatory ever built, has generated over 23 trillion bytes of data since it launched on July 23, 1999. From its highly elliptical orbit around Earth (the observatory makes it one-third of the way to the moon), Chandra has spotted some of the…
What The Last 3 Months Of 2020 Are Going To Look Like According To Astrology
2020 was always destined to be an ultra transformative year. While no one could have predicted exactly what was going to unfold, many of the cosmic alignments taking place this year have been linked to – mass disease, government control, unrest, and power struggles, but also major change and a…
Pluto Just Moved Direct in Capricorn, Bringing Major Changes
The end of Pluto in retrograde. Thus ending 6 onths of personal deaths, fallouts and difficult transformations. From April 2020 we are experiencing the "dark side" of our existence. Now it's time to walk back from the underworld. The time has started to live again. The stars made some heavy-duty… | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 6,920 |
Q: how to set up kamailio proxy server and route calls to twilio? i am trying to route all calls to twilio through kamailio proxy. with my config file, call gets connected and automatically drops after about 30 seconds. This is because ACK sent to twilio for 200 OK was not correct. Twilio expects ACK with ruri same as contact in 200 OK response, but kamailio sent was different. How to fix this error?
200 OK response, ACK forwarded and kamailio config file are postes in paste bin , please check below link.(its not easy to paste code here)
http://pastebin.com/hyLVTT23
now i am trying to change sip ruri by storing contact from htable for 200 and forward ack . But its not working, i cant store contact from 200 to htable and use in ack.Please see the code from config file ,by which i am tying.
if(status=="200")
{
$var(x) = $ct;
$var(c) = $(var(x){nameaddr.uri});
$sht(b=>ru)=$var(c);
exit;
}
if ( is_method("ACK") && $si=="64.2.142.90") {
$du = "sip:xxxxxxx.sip.twilio.com";
$ru=$sht(b=>ru);
forward();
exit;
}
A: For a proper analysis, the incoming ACK to Kamailio would be needed along with the one sent out by Kamailio.
I can try to guess what happens there. Looking at 200ok, there are 3 Record-Route headers, that means there are 3 SIP proxies routing this call. I assume Kamailio is on 107.21.211.20:5060 (this IP is not in Via stack of 200ok reply, making me think that the 200ok you pasted is the one from Kamailio sent back towards caller).
Then, the 2nd (54.69.159.69:5060) and 3rd (64.2.142.90) Record-Route headers in 200ok use lr=on parameter, which is quite specific for SER-like proxy (SER, older Kamailio (including OpenSER) or other variants).
I conclude that between caller and your Kamailio are two other such proxies. Very likely, the 2nd (54.69.159.69:5060) has NAT traversal routing logic. But it doesn't do it right. It looks at Contact header in 200ok and sees an private IP, concluding the callee is behind NAT and replacing Contact with source IP and port of 200ok, which are the ones of your Kamailio.
To confirm this, you would need to see the 200ok received by caller -- see the Contact header there. If this is confirmed, the solutions are:
1) get in contact with the owner of the 2nd proxy and tell him to do proper NAT traversal processing. If it is a proxy after another proxy, it should not do anything on that side of the SIP traffic. If it using Kamailio there, it must switch from using fix_nated_contact() to using set_contact_alias()/handle_contact_alias() for dealing with natted contacts and r-uri towards natted destinations (example is in default config file for latest kamailio versions like 4.2.x or 4.1.x)
2) if 1) is not a solution, then you have to fix it in your kamailio, that can be done by using set_contact_alias()/handle_contact_alias(). It appears that your kamailio is first hop next to twilio UA behind nat, so you should do it anyhow.
Note that solution 2) might not work if twilio UA is very restrictive on incoming r-uri -- the 2nd proxy processing will lose the ip of twilio UA. If it is the case, then you have to do additional tricks to store the original contact from 200ok sent by twilio. In can be done either via extra parameter in contact uri or using htable and store on kamailio memory, then use it when you receive the ACK (same will be needed for re-INVITE or BYE).
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 9,332 |
Q: The food is prepared or the food was prepared I want to invite people to have meal, and the meal is ready. Should I say 'the food is prepared' or 'the food was prepared'?
A: The word prepared in the sentence is an adjective. When you say the meal is prepared, it means that it's been made ready to be eaten, for example after cooking it.
The correct sentence is "the food is ready/prepared, not "...was ready/prepared", because you are talking of the present, not the past.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 7,578 |
import { LightningElement, api, wire, track } from 'lwc';
import { NavigationMixin } from 'lightning/navigation';
import { getObjectInfo } from 'lightning/uiObjectInfoApi';
import { getRecord } from 'lightning/uiRecordApi';
import { constructErrorMessage, extractFieldInfo, isNull, isUndefined, getNamespace } from 'c/utilCommon';
import { Rd2Service } from 'c/rd2Service';
import { PAYMENT_METHOD_CREDIT_CARD, PAYMENT_METHOD_ACH } from 'c/geConstants';
import RECURRING_DONATION_OBJECT from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c';
import FIELD_NAME from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.Name';
import FIELD_COMMITMENT_ID from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.CommitmentId__c';
import FIELD_STATUS from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.Status__c';
import FIELD_PAYMENT_METHOD from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.PaymentMethod__c';
import FIELD_CC_EXP_MONTH from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.CardExpirationMonth__c';
import FIELD_CC_EXP_YEAR from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.CardExpirationYear__c';
import FIELD_CC_LAST_4 from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.CardLast4__c';
import FIELD_ACH_LAST_4 from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.ACH_Last_4__c';
import FIELD_STATUS_REASON from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.ClosedReason__c';
import FIELD_NEXT_DONATION_DATE from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.npe03__Next_Payment_Date__c';
import FIELD_RD_ACCOUNT_NAME from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.npe03__Organization__r.Name';
import FIELD_RD_PRIMARY_CONTACT_LAST_NAME from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.npe03__Organization__r.npe01__One2OneContact__r.LastName';
import FIELD_RD_CONTACT_FIRST_NAME from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.npe03__Contact__r.FirstName';
import FIELD_RD_CONTACT_LAST_NAME from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.npe03__Contact__r.LastName';
import FIELD_RD_CONTACT_ID from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.npe03__Contact__c';
import FIELD_RD_ACCOUNT_ID from '@salesforce/schema/npe03__Recurring_Donation__c.npe03__Organization__c';
import ERROR_OBJECT from '@salesforce/schema/Error__c';
import header from '@salesforce/label/c.RD2_ElevateInformationHeader';
import loadingMessage from '@salesforce/label/c.labelMessageLoading';
import statusSuccess from '@salesforce/label/c.RD2_ElevateInformationStatusSuccess';
import statusElevatePending from '@salesforce/label/c.RD2_ElevatePendingStatus';
import statusElevateCancelInProgress from '@salesforce/label/c.RD2_ElevateCancelInProgress';
import textSuccess from '@salesforce/label/c.commonAssistiveSuccess';
import textError from '@salesforce/label/c.AssistiveTextError';
import textWarning from '@salesforce/label/c.AssistiveTextWarning';
import textNewWindow from '@salesforce/label/c.AssistiveTextNewWindow';
import flsErrorHeader from '@salesforce/label/c.geErrorFLSHeader';
import flsErrorDetail from '@salesforce/label/c.RD2_EntryFormMissingPermissions';
import insufficientPermissions from '@salesforce/label/c.commonInsufficientPermissions';
import contactSystemAdmin from '@salesforce/label/c.commonContactSystemAdminMessage';
import elevateDisabledHeader from '@salesforce/label/c.RD2_ElevateDisabledHeader';
import elevateDisabledMessage from '@salesforce/label/c.RD2_ElevateDisabledMessage';
import elevateRecordCreateFailed from '@salesforce/label/c.RD2_ElevateRecordCreateFailed';
import commonUnknownError from '@salesforce/label/c.commonUnknownError';
import viewErrorLogLabel from '@salesforce/label/c.commonViewErrorLog';
import updatePaymentInformation from '@salesforce/label/c.commonEditPaymentInformation';
import commonExpirationDate from '@salesforce/label/c.commonMMYY';
import getPermissionData from '@salesforce/apex/RD2_ElevateInformation_CTRL.getPermissionData';
import getError from '@salesforce/apex/RD2_ElevateInformation_CTRL.getLatestErrorMessage';
import getRecurringData from '@salesforce/apex/RD2_EntryFormController.getRecurringData';
const FIELDS = [
FIELD_NAME,
FIELD_PAYMENT_METHOD,
FIELD_COMMITMENT_ID,
FIELD_STATUS,
FIELD_STATUS_REASON,
FIELD_NEXT_DONATION_DATE,
FIELD_RD_ACCOUNT_NAME,
FIELD_RD_PRIMARY_CONTACT_LAST_NAME,
FIELD_RD_CONTACT_LAST_NAME,
FIELD_RD_CONTACT_FIRST_NAME,
FIELD_RD_CONTACT_ID,
FIELD_RD_ACCOUNT_ID
];
const OPTIONAL_FIELDS = [
FIELD_CC_LAST_4,
FIELD_ACH_LAST_4,
FIELD_CC_EXP_MONTH,
FIELD_CC_EXP_YEAR
];
const TEMP_PREFIX = '_PENDING_';
const STATUS_SUCCESS = 'success';
export default class rd2ElevateInformation extends NavigationMixin(LightningElement) {
@api recordId;
labels = Object.freeze({
header,
loadingMessage,
statusSuccess,
statusElevatePending,
statusElevateCancelInProgress,
textSuccess,
textError,
textWarning,
textNewWindow,
flsErrorHeader,
flsErrorDetail,
insufficientPermissions,
contactSystemAdmin,
elevateDisabledHeader,
elevateDisabledMessage,
elevateRecordCreateFailed,
commonUnknownError,
viewErrorLogLabel,
updatePaymentInformation,
commonExpirationDate
});
@track rdRecord;
@track fields = {};
@track status = {
message: this.labels.statusSuccess,
isProgress: false,
value: STATUS_SUCCESS,
icon: 'utility:success',
assistiveText: this.labels.textSuccess
};
@track error = {};
@track permissions = {
hasAccess: null,
hasKeyFieldsUpdateAccess : null,
hasKeyFieldsAccess: null,
showLastFourDigits: null,
showExpirationDate: null,
alert: ''
};
rd2Service = new Rd2Service();
isLoading = true;
isElevateCustomer = false;
isElevateRecord = false;
isElevateConnected = false;
showLastFourACH = false;
showLastFourCreditCard = false;
showExpirationDate = false;
displayEditModal = false;
commitmentURLPrefix;
defaultRecordTypeId;
get paymentMethod() {
return this.getValue(FIELD_PAYMENT_METHOD.fieldApiName);
}
get commitmentId() {
return this.getValue(FIELD_COMMITMENT_ID.fieldApiName);
}
get commitmentURL() {
return this.commitmentURLPrefix + this.commitmentId;
}
get nextDonationDate() {
return this.getValue(FIELD_NEXT_DONATION_DATE.fieldApiName);
}
get canEditPaymentInformation() {
return this.isElevateCustomer
&& this.permissions.hasKeyFieldsUpdateAccess;
}
/***
* @description Initializes the component with data
*/
connectedCallback() {
if (this.recordId) {
this.populatePermissionData();
this.populateRecurringData();
}
}
populatePermissionData() {
getPermissionData({recordId: this.recordId})
.then(response => {
this.isElevateCustomer = response.isElevateCustomer;
this.permissions.alert = response.alert;
this.commitmentURLPrefix = response.commitmentURLPrefix;
this.permissions.hasKeyFieldsAccess = this.isElevateCustomer === true
&& response.hasFieldPermissions === true
&& isNull(this.permissions.alert);
this.permissions.hasKeyFieldsUpdateAccess = response.hasRDSObjectUpdatePermission
&& response.hasFieldUpdatePermission;
this.permissions.showExpirationDate = response.showExpirationDate;
this.permissions.showLastFourDigits = response.showLastFourDigits;
if (this.isElevateCustomer === true) {
if (!isNull(this.permissions.alert)) {
this.handleError({
detail: this.permissions.alert
});
} else if (response.hasFieldPermissions === false) {
this.handleError({
header: this.labels.flsErrorHeader,
detail: this.labels.flsErrorDetail
});
} else {
this.getLatestErrorMessage();
}
}
})
.catch((error) => {
this.handleError(error);
})
.finally(() => {
this.checkLoading();
});
}
populateRecurringData() {
getRecurringData({ recordId: this.recordId })
.then(response => {
this.accountHolderType = this.rd2Service.accountHolderTypeFor(response.DonorType);
})
.catch((error) => {
this.handleError(error);
});
}
/***
* @description Retrieves Recurring Donation Object and fields labels/help text
*/
@wire(getObjectInfo, { objectApiName: RECURRING_DONATION_OBJECT.objectApiName })
wiredRecurringDonationObjectInfo(response) {
if (response.data) {
const rdObjectInfo = response.data;
this.setFields(rdObjectInfo.fields);
this.defaultRecordTypeId = rdObjectInfo.defaultRecordTypeId;
this.checkLoading();
}
if (response.error && this.hasKeyFieldsAccess()) {
this.handleError(response.error);
}
}
/***
* @description Tracks specified fields so when the Recurring Donation record is updated,
* this method is called to force refresh of the data and the component.
*/
@wire(getRecord, {
recordId: '$recordId',
fields: FIELDS,
optionalFields: OPTIONAL_FIELDS
})
wiredRecurringDonation(response) {
if (response.data) {
this.rdRecord = response.data;
const statusReason = this.getValue(FIELD_STATUS_REASON.fieldApiName);
if (statusReason === this.labels.statusElevatePending) {
this.status.isProgress = true;
this.status.message = this.labels.statusElevateCancelInProgress;
}
this.checkLoading();
}
if (response.error && this.hasKeyFieldsAccess()) {
this.handleError(response.error);
}
}
/**
* @description Get the lateset relevant error message for the Elevate Recurring Donation
*/
getLatestErrorMessage() {
getError({recordId: this.recordId})
.then(response => {
if (!isNull(response)) {
this.setErrorStatus(response);
}
})
.catch((error) => {
this.handleError(error);
})
.finally(() => {
this.checkLoading();
});
}
/***
* @description Checks if record detail page or user has access to the Elevate Information data fields
*/
hasKeyFieldsAccess() {
return this.isTrue(this.permissions.isElevateCustomer)
&& this.isTrue(this.permissions.hasKeyFieldsAccess);
}
/***
* @description Is the payment type ACH and the user has read perms to the two last4 fields?
*/
shouldShowLastFourACH() {
return this.paymentMethod === PAYMENT_METHOD_ACH
&& this.isTrue(this.isElevateCustomer)
&& this.isTrue(this.permissions.showLastFourDigits);
}
/***
* @description Is the payment type CreditCard and the user has read perms to the last4 fields?
*/
shouldShowLastFourCreditCard() {
return this.paymentMethod === PAYMENT_METHOD_CREDIT_CARD
&& this.isTrue(this.isElevateCustomer)
&& this.isTrue(this.permissions.showLastFourDigits);
}
/***
* @description Does the user have perms to show the Expiration Date fields?
*/
shouldShowExpirationDate() {
return this.isTrue(this.permissions.showExpirationDate) && this.paymentMethod === PAYMENT_METHOD_CREDIT_CARD;
}
/***
* @description Returns the expiration date as string in the format of MM/YYYY
*/
get expirationDate() {
return this.getValue(FIELD_CC_EXP_MONTH.fieldApiName) + '/' + this.getValue(FIELD_CC_EXP_YEAR.fieldApiName);
}
/***
* @description Returns the last 4 digits from the ACH account
*/
get lastFourDigitsAch() {
return this.getValue(FIELD_ACH_LAST_4.fieldApiName);
}
/***
* @description Returns the last 4 digits for a credit card
*/
get lastFourDigitsCreditCard() {
return this.getValue(FIELD_CC_LAST_4.fieldApiName);
}
/**
* @desciprtion launch Update Payment Information Modal
*/
openUpdatePaymentInformationModal() {
this.displayEditModal = true;
}
closeUpdatePaymentInformationModal() {
this.displayEditModal = false;
}
/***
* @description Generates URL for Elevate commitment
*/
navigateToCommitment() {
// Navigate to a URL
this[NavigationMixin.Navigate]({
type: 'standard__webPage',
attributes: {
url: this.commitmentURL
}
},
false
);
}
/**
* @description Checks if the form still has outstanding data to load
*/
checkLoading() {
if (this.isNot(this.isElevateCustomer) || this.isNot(this.permissions.hasKeyFieldsAccess)) {
this.isLoading = false;
} else {
this.isLoading = !this.isSet(this.isElevateCustomer)
|| !this.isSet(this.rdRecord)
|| !this.isSet(this.fields.name);
}
this.checkElevateStatus();
}
/**
* @description Determines if the Recurring Donation has commitment Id and
* if such Id is indeed created in Elevate.
*/
checkElevateStatus() {
const commitmentId = this.commitmentId;
this.isElevateRecord = !isNull(commitmentId);
this.isElevateConnected = this.isElevateRecord && !commitmentId.startsWith(TEMP_PREFIX);
this.showLastFourACH = this.shouldShowLastFourACH();
this.showLastFourCreditCard = this.shouldShowLastFourCreditCard();
this.showExpirationDate = this.shouldShowExpirationDate();
if (this.isElevateCustomer === true
&& this.isElevateRecord
&& !this.isElevateConnected
) {
this.handleError({
detail: this.labels.elevateRecordCreateFailed
});
if (this.status.value === STATUS_SUCCESS) {
this.setErrorStatus(this.labels.commonUnknownError);
}
}
}
/**
* @description Sets status and status message to error state
*/
setErrorStatus(errorMessage) {
this.status.message = errorMessage;
this.status.value = 'error';
this.status.icon = 'utility:error';
this.status.assistiveText = this.labels.textError;
}
/**
* @description Determines if the Boolean variable is defined and true
*/
isTrue(value) {
return this.isSet(value) && value === true;
}
/**
* @description Determines if the Boolean variable is defined and false
*/
isNot(value) {
return this.isSet(value) && value === false;
}
/**
* @description Determines if the variable is defined and has a value
*/
isSet(value) {
return !isUndefined(value) && !isNull(value);
}
/**
* @description Returns the Recurring Donation field value if the field is set and populated
*/
getValue(fieldName) {
return this.hasValue(fieldName)
? this.rdRecord.fields[fieldName].value
: null;
}
/**
* @description Determines if the Recurring Donation record is retrieved and
* its fields defined and populated
*/
hasValue(fieldName) {
return this.rdRecord
&& this.rdRecord.fields
&& !isUndefined(this.rdRecord.fields[fieldName])
&& !isNull(this.rdRecord.fields[fieldName].value);
}
/**
* @description Construct field describe info from the Recurring Donation SObject info
*/
setFields(fieldInfos) {
this.fields.name = extractFieldInfo(fieldInfos, FIELD_NAME.fieldApiName);
this.fields.commitmentId = extractFieldInfo(fieldInfos, FIELD_COMMITMENT_ID.fieldApiName);
this.fields.payment_method = extractFieldInfo(fieldInfos, FIELD_PAYMENT_METHOD.fieldApiName);
this.fields.ach_last_four = extractFieldInfo(fieldInfos, FIELD_ACH_LAST_4.fieldApiName);
this.fields.credit_last_four = extractFieldInfo(fieldInfos, FIELD_CC_LAST_4.fieldApiName);
this.fields.exp_month = extractFieldInfo(fieldInfos, FIELD_CC_EXP_MONTH.fieldApiName);
this.fields.exp_year = extractFieldInfo(fieldInfos, FIELD_CC_EXP_YEAR.fieldApiName);
}
/**
* @description Displays record error log page by navigating to
* the "ERR_RecordLog" Lightning Component wrapper displaying the "errRecordLog" LWC.
* The LC name has the namespace, or "c" in unmanaged package, followed by "__" prefix.
* The state attributes representing must be prefixed with "c__" prefix, see the following for more details:
* https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/component-library/documentation/lwc/lwc.use_navigate_add_params_url
*/
navigateToErrorLog() {
const namespace = getNamespace(ERROR_OBJECT.objectApiName);
const compName = (namespace ? namespace : 'c') + "__ERR_RecordLog";
this[NavigationMixin.Navigate]({
type: "standard__component",
attributes: {
componentName: compName
},
state: {
c__recordId: this.recordId
}
});
}
/**
* @description Clears the error notification
*/
clearError() {
this.error = {};
}
/***
* @description Handles error construction and its display
* @param error: Error Event
*/
handleError(error) {
this.error = (error && error.detail)
? error
: constructErrorMessage(error);
if (this.error.detail && this.error.detail.includes('RD2_ElevateInformation_CTRL')) {
this.permissions.hasKeyFieldsAccess = false;
this.permissions.showLastFourDigits = false;
this.permissions.showExpirationDate = false;
this.error.header = this.labels.insufficientPermissions;
this.isLoading = false;
}
}
/***
* @description data-qa-locator values for elements on the component
*/
get qaLocatorHeader() {
return `text Header`;
}
get qaLocatorError() {
return `error Notification`;
}
get qaLocatorSpinner() {
return `spinner Loading Message`;
}
get qaLocatorNoAccessIllustration() {
return `illustration NoAccess`;
}
get qaLocatorNoDataIllustration() {
return `div illustration NoData`;
}
get qaLocatorNoDataMessage() {
return `text NoData Message`;
}
get qaLocatorProgressRing() {
return `progress ring`;
}
get qaLocatorStatusIcon() {
return `icon Status`;
}
get qaLocatorStatusMessage() {
return `text Status Message`;
}
get qaLocatorCommitmentId() {
return `text Elevate Recurring Id`;
}
get qaLocatorLastFourDigits() {
return `text Last Four Digits`;
}
get qaLocatorExpirationDate() {
return `text Expiration Date`;
}
get qaLocatorLastFourDigits() {
return `text Last Four Digits`;
}
get qaLocatorExpirationDate() {
return `text Expiration Date`;
}
get qaLocatorNewWindow() {
return `link New Window`;
}
get qaLocatorViewErrorLog() {
return `link View Error Log`;
}
get qaLocatorUpdatePaymentInformation() {
return `link Update Payment Information`;
}
} | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 9,546 |
Q: When will $AB$ and $B$ have the same column space? Suppose $A\in \mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ and $B\in \mathbb{R}^{n\times m}$ with $n>m$ and $rank(B)=m$.
Now given $B$, I would like to find all $A$'s such that $AB$ and $B$ have the same column space.
A trivial solution would be $A=I_n$, but I would like to find all solutions (explicitly if possible? or any necessary and sufficient condition that $A$ need to satisify?)
A: Let $\{e_1,e_2,\ldots,e_n\}$ be the standard basis of $\mathbb R^n$ and $B=USV^T$ be a singular value decomposition. Since $U$ and $V$ are nonsingular,
\begin{aligned}
&\operatorname{range}(B)=\operatorname{range}(AB)\\
&\Leftrightarrow\operatorname{range}(U^TBV)=\operatorname{range}(U^TABV)\\
&\Leftrightarrow\operatorname{range}(S)=\operatorname{range}(U^TAUS).\\
\end{aligned}
As $B$ has rank $m$, the image of $S$ is $\operatorname{span}\{e_1,e_2,\ldots,e_m\}$. Therefore $\operatorname{range}(B)=\operatorname{range}(AB)$ if and only if the linear span of the first $m$ columns of $U^TAU$ is identical to $\operatorname{span}\{e_1,e_2,\ldots,e_m\}$. This means $U^TAU$ is in the form of $\pmatrix{X&\ast\\ 0&\ast}$. Hence the general solution is given by $A=U\pmatrix{X&\ast\\ 0&\ast}U^T$ where $X\in GL_m(\mathbb R)$.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 8,231 |
FTC's Interest in Mobile Apps Intensifies
By Carmelina G. Allis –
As reported in FTC Watch Issue No. 823 (Feb. 13, 2013), the Federal Trade Commission has plans to increase enforcement actions against mobile apps – including mobile medical apps.
During a Consumer Protection Conference sponsored by the American Bar Association earlier this month, FTC Commissioner Julie Brill and the former head of the agency's Bureau of Consumer Protection, David Vladeck, discussed the agency's renewed focus on advertising and consumer protection, and the need for more aggressive enforcement action against health claims, social media apps, and medical apps.
Commissioner Brill specifically referenced FTC's action during the fall 2011 ordering a company to stop making claims that its mobile medical app could cure acne. As we previously blogged, that was FTC's first case targeting health claims related to a mobile medical app sold in Apple's iTunes Store and Google's Android Marketplace under the names "AcneApp" and "Acne Pwner." The mobile apps claimed that the colored lights emitted from the mobile devices could treat acne.
The marketers of the acne apps were fined and the FTC barred them from making any further claims on the mobile apps without competent and reliable scientific evidence. As Commissioner Brill explained during the Conference, the laws that apply to traditional kinds of companies also apply to "cutting-edge social media apps," because there "'isn't any mobile 'exceptionalism' going on.'"
Despite FTC's action against the maker of the acne apps, we are not aware of FDA initiating an enforcement action against that company. As we previously blogged, FDA has proposed to exert regulatory authority over select mobile medical apps that meet the "device" definition in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and that are either used as an accessory to a regulated medical device, or transform a mobile platform into a regulated medical device. The FDA regulatory landscape for these products, although somewhat defined, is still being carved out, and enforcement actions against mobile medical app developers do not appear to be at the top of FDA's agenda.
The FTC, however, apparently has a different agenda on mobile apps. So if you market a mobile medical app, bear in mind the FTC initiative.
Categories: Medical Devices | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 4,534 |
{"url":"https:\/\/physics.stackexchange.com\/tags\/particle-physics\/new","text":"# Tag Info\n\n1\n\nBy definition the critical energy is a fixed value, you mixed up the notations. As you mentioned, the critical energy is the energy value where the ionization term and bremsstrahlung term are equal. So (based on the 1st and 2nd formulas in the question) the following equation holds: $$C_iZ\\ln{(E_c)}\/M=C_bZ^2E_c\/M^2$$ where $C_i$ and $C_b$ are the constant ...\n\n0\n\nIf $\\frac{\\partial}{\\partial t}B=0$, then $\\nabla \\times E=0 \\rightarrow E=-\\nabla \\phi$. That is the general form an electro-static potential. And of course $B=\\nabla \\times A$. You can plug these equations into the expression for the Lorentz force to find the generalized dynamics of a point charge in a static field; however I believe your question is about ...\n\n0\n\nTo have a clear understanding of what's going on requires a lot of knowledge. The basic idea is that using experimental, as well as theoretical data, one can constrain various SM parameters coming from different experiments and get out a best fit region in the $(\\bar\\rho,\\bar\\eta)$ plane for the unitarity triangle. Clearly being every measurement accompanied ...\n\n1\n\nMy question is why is this process defined with the second electron being emitted from the atom instead of just excited to a higher energy state sometimes. The atom is a unit tied up quantum mechanically . To observe transformations of an atom, there must be an interaction that can be measured. An emitted photon can be measured. An emitted electron can also ...\n\n-1\n\nIf I understand your thoughts correctly, and you had a typo when you said \"Could the 6 neutrons (you wanted to say electrons) and 6 protons cancel each other\", you expected a carbon atom to have the same number of protons and neutrons. If you know that there are carbon 13 (which has 7 neutrons) and carbon 14 (which has 8 neutrons), you may think ...\n\n-2\n\nCan Neutrons just be the cancelling out of Electrons and Protons charges, forming a neutral charge inside the nucleus and not an actual particle. What constitutes a unique particle might be the issue here. It is basically true that a neutron is an electron and a proton bound together by nuclear force (by contrast, a hydrogen atom is a proton and electron ...\n\n0\n\nLet me first note that Auger process is due to Coulomb interaction between electrons, so it may be beneficial to think of it in terms of the Fermi golden rule: $$w_{i_1 i_2\\rightarrow f_1 f_2}=\\frac{2\\pi}{\\hbar}|\\langle i_1, i_2 | V|f_1, f_2\\rangle|^2\\delta(\\epsilon_{i_1} + \\epsilon_{i_2} - \\epsilon_{f_1} - \\epsilon_{f_2})$$ One needs to be careful when ...\n\n6\n\nor is the theory we have have no correct and there is no need for further debate. You are a hundred years too late to be able to play with the models of nuclear physics. Physics reasearch at present has progressed to the level that has shown that protons and neutrons, not only are the two versions of the\"same\" particle called collectively a ...\n\n3\n\nYou seem to have a misunderstanding. As already pointed out in the comments, a black hole does not have infinite mass. In fact, the \"size\" of the black hole (to be precise, the radius of the event horizon since the actual singularity is believed to be point-like), is directly related to the black hole's mass (and only to the mass, since all the ...\n\n2\n\nUsually each laser is specified by emitted maximum power and light wavelength. Using energy-power relation $$E=P\\,t$$ and the fact that laser energy is the sum of energy of all photons emitted : $$E=n~h\\nu$$, one can calculate total number of photons $n$, given laser power $P$, wavelength $\\lambda$ and time window $t$ : $$n = \\frac {P\\lambda}{hc} ~t$$ ...\n\n6\n\nSimplest way? The $\\Delta^{++}\\sim uuu$ has to be a color singlet. It has spin 3\/2, so it is flavor and spin symmetric. But fermion quarks need to be in a fully antisymmetrized state. Can you make an SU(4) singlet out of three antisymmetrized copies of an SU(4) representation, the way you can for SU(3)? (No.) (By now, you simply experimentally check R in $e^+... 0 Yes. For reference, please see the derivation of the MB distribution by Landau and Lifshitz. Their derivation is very general. It depends only on the Gibbs distribution and the usual classical assumption about energy being the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy. 0 In the mathematics of quantum chromodynamics, the gluon is the operator which changes a quark's color. Gluons are therefore not color-neutral. (The easiest mental picture is that \"a\" gluon has a color and an anti-color, but it takes about a year to explain away all of the approximations in that model.) Color-charged objects are confined and ... 1 Lets make the comments into an answer: How does this relate to the image below? Are the black lines representative of gluons? The black line represent quarks, the wiggly ones gluons. So are gluons what mediate pion exchange, which is in turn what binds protons and neutrons with the strong nuclear force? The strong nuclear force is a spill over force from ... 2 It fits with the long discussion we had on this question : What is the connection between quantum optical photons and particle physics' photons? and the answers and comments therein. People working with quantum optics have a more general view of the term \"excitations of the electromagnetic field\". In the quantum field theory used in the standard ... 3 The \"size\" of a particle at rest such as the muon, is its Compton wavelength,$1\/m_\\mu$in natural units ($\\hbar=1, c=1$, easy to reinstate uniquely). You may then check that for the muon this is $$\\lambda_\\mu \\approx \\frac{1}{m_\\mu} \\approx 2~fm= 2 \\cdot 10^{-15}m,$$ a mere speck, close to nuclear size. You are contrasting this to tenths of ... 0 This answer is similar to Ron Maimon's but maybe it will be helpful. In short, the weak force doesn't violate parity; only the fermions do. There are no Dirac fermions in the Standard Model. There are no chiral projections in the Lagrangian because there's nothing for them to act on. There are no gamma matrices at all, just two-component Weyl spinors and ... 3 This feels like a perfect storm of misconceptions, unleashed by unscrupulous popular science writing. Helicity is Lorentz-variant, so, as you envision, may be reversed by changing your frame. It is either positive or negative; never left-or right handed. Chirality is relativistically invariant, so a left-handed particle is left-handed in any frame, and ... 7 The 2018 Particle Data Group gives a value of$880.2\\pm 1.0s for free neutron lifetime, as an average of the seven best measurements. As can be seen, the measurements have non-overlapping confidence intervals. As discussed in (Wietfeldt 2014) the different experimental methods do not agree on the value. Wietfeldt gives the formula of the lifetime as \\... 1 The photon goes at the speed of light in a vacuum or water, The photon is an elementary particle with mass zero. All zero mass elementary particles travel in vacuum with the velocity of classical electromagnentic waves,light , c, because of the Lorenz covariance of the quantum field theory. Light is an emergent phenomenon from a large number of photons, ... 2 The neutron is a spin 1\/2 neutral particle. That means the only magnetic property it can have is a dipole moment, and it must be aligned with the spin. It can have an electric dipole moment, but that is parity and time-reversal violating (see: Electric Dipole Moment of the neutron). Since it is neutral, but has a magnetic moment, it must have internal ... 3 I dont know what you mean by the two equations will become one equation. But in general, yes. There is a process called cherenkov radiation where, if a charged particle (ie an electron) moves faster than the speed of light in that material, then you get a flash of light (if you use a classical electric field this flash is equivalent to the sonic boom when ... 2 You may be confused by the phrasing of the statement: particles as excitations of a field. This peculiar way of saying it comes from quantum field theory. A 19th-century physicist --before quantum field theory was established-- would probably say \"light is the electromagnetic field moving through the vacuum\" or \"away from sources\". It's ... 2 Photons are excitations of electromagnetic field. These are part of the phenomenon that we call \"light\", so the phrasing in the book is misleading. Closer to the matter: all particles can be though of as excitations of some field. When the field is electromagnetic, they are called photons. In other words, the statement should be Photons are the ... 0 Historicaly: From theoretical considerations, in 1934 Hideki Yukawa predicted the existence and the approximate mass of the \"meson\" as the carrier of the nuclear force that holds atomic nuclei together. If there were no nuclear force, all nuclei with two or more protons would fly apart due to electromagnetic repulsion. Yukawa called his carrier ... 0 Your text sensibly assumes you have internalized the lesson of the previous page, p 483. For the Ws, couplings to the Higgs trail masses faithfully, scaled by a factor of 2, \\frac{ g^2}{4} W^- W^+ (v+h)^2 = \\frac{ g^2 v^2}{4} W^- W^+ + \\frac{ g^2 v}{2} W^- W^+ h + O(h^2)\\\\ =m_W^2 W^- W^+ + g_W m_W W^- W^+ h + O(h^2), $$where I have supplanted g_W=g,... 1 They're definitely wrong, because what sets a black hole apart is not its mass, but its density. For example a primordial black hole (if it exists) might have a mass of a large mountain, yet it would still be a black hole. On the other hand if you changed the question to \"what happens when a galactic body gets denser\" then the relation still falls ... 0 There is one thing that comes to my mind when thinking of the connection between the strong coupling constant \\alpha_{S} and the proton structure functions F_{1}\\left( x, Q^{2}\\right) and F_{2}\\left(x, Q^{2} \\right). When you studied elastic electron-proton scattering (such as in Mott or Rutherford scattering), you might have come across the term form ... 2 Before going to dangerous irrelevance, it helps to briefly recapitulate what irrelevance under RG means in itself. When thinking of an RG fixed point, the scaling behaviour at low energies\/long wavelengths is typically controlled only by a handful of relevant operators which dominate the physics, while all irrelevant terms progressively get smaller and ... 1 The electron is a spin 1\/2 particle. This severely limits the possible structure it can have. If we ignore the weak interaction, and only consider its charge, then it talks to the rest of the world through a photon vertex, e.g.: The figure shows a presumably structureless electron on the left (coupling through the Dirac matrices, \\gamma_{\\mu}, and a well ... 3 The models that describe photons used in quantum optics and in particle physics are one and the same: the Standard Model of particle physics (often replaceable with just its quantum electrodynamics component) as encased within the formalism of quantum field theory. Moreover, the definition of photons (more specifically, single-photon states of the field) are ... -2 What is important to keep in mind is what is considered the wave characterizing a particle in particle physics. The wave is a probability wave, the probability function given by the solution of the quantum mechanical equation corresponding to the given point particle in the table of elementary particles. That photons have a footprint of a particle as seen ... 2 Physicists used accelerators such as the Stanford Linear Collider to study high-energy collisions between electrons and positrons. These experiments found that neither particle has internal constituents at the length scales that the accelerator could probe. They behave as fundamental, non-composite particles, as the Standard Model of particle physics assumes.... 0 The answer is some kind of a compromise between the fact that the b-quark has a high mass, and the composition of the CKM matrix which governs weak decays of quarks. As one can quickly notice from the CKM matrix, each quark has the largest probability (order of 1) to evolve into a quark of the same generation (diagonal elements of the matrix): d<->u, s&... 0 This video has the definition also the history and the use of the effect mainly in neutrino experiments aiming at very high energy neutrinos. Very high energy cosmic rays hitting the atmosphere create air showers An air shower is an extensive (many kilometres wide) cascade of ionized particles and electromagnetic radiation produced in the atmosphere when a ... 1 The point is that we define the new coupling parameter e as$$e:=g\\sin\\theta_W=g'\\cos\\theta_W$$in order to avoid carrying around these longer expressions 1 As an analogy, consider a toss of two coins. The outcome of each coin toss can be heads (H) or tails (T): HH HT TH TT Since we don't care about the order of the coins (just as we don't care which W actually decayed to quarks\/leptons), we can write think of this as: HH 2*HT TT 0 I would like to add an explanation to @OON's statement that I_{3} is an eigenvalue to T^{3}: If we consider at least an SU(2)_{L}-doublet of the form$$ T^{3}\\psi = T^{3}\\begin{pmatrix} \\nu_{L} \\\\ e_{L} \\end{pmatrix}= \\frac{1}{2}\\sigma^{3}\\begin{pmatrix} \\nu_{L} \\\\ e_{L} \\end{pmatrix} = \\frac{1}{2}\\begin{pmatrix} 1 & 0 \\\\ 0 & -1 \\end{pmatrix}\\... 0I_3$denotes the eigenvalue of the$T_3$matrix corresponding to the fermionic field in the sum. In the very first equation you write the sum is not over electrons and neutrinos. Instead you have the left doublets on which$T_3$acts as the Pauli matrix, $$l_k= \\begin{pmatrix}\\nu_{Lk}\\\\e_{Lk}\\end{pmatrix}$$ (where$k$denotes the ... 1 You have two$W$. For the final state$qql\\nu$, one$W$decays to$qq$, the other to$l\\nu$. But the decay to$qq$could come either from the first W or the second W, thus you have the following possibilities : First possibility -first$W$decays to$qq$, thus the second$W$decays to$l\\nu$. -second$W$decays to$l\\nu$, thus the first$W$decays to$qq$. ... 3 You question begins An electromagnetic wave is made of an electric wave and a magnetic wave, so 2 waves. and asks \u201cHow many waves for a particle wave?\u201d However, I think it\u2019s important to realize that \u201cthere are two waves\u201d is just one model of the electromagnetic field, and it\u2019s not necessarily the best one. For one thing, electric field$\\vec E$and ... 1 Phonons do not have all the ingredients required in the Standard Model (local symmetry, three fermion generations, scalar multiplet, SSB). Is this the reason why phonon are not in the boson list of SM? The table of particles axiomatically assumed for the standard model consists of point elementary particles, i.e.non composite. Phonons by the your ... 3 The answers are good, but I need to explicitly state what is conceptually wrong in your question. An electromagnetic wave is made of an electric wave and a magnetic wave, so 2 waves. The classical electromagnetic wave is one wave, its intensity and direction depending on two variables that are a function of each other through the solutions of Maxwell's ... 1 Actually in electro-magnetic wave there is effectively only one \"wave\", because the electric and magnetic components are strictly coupled. (Not only in waves, but also in general.) Also photons and electro-magnetic waves are the \"exact\" same things. The names are only distinguished to emhpasise if we are talking about the particle ... 4 For a particle propagating through space, its wavefunction furnishes the probability of finding it in a given place which is a different number for every different place. This is a single-valued variable. Electromagnetic waves are very different; they propagate through space as the interplay between a linked pair of an electric field and a magnetic field, ... 0 The reason massive neutrinos is considered beyond-the-standard-model (BSM) is because even if you want to add neutrino mass in the most straight forward way -- add a right-handed neutrino current and having it couple to the Higgs, then just make that coupling arbitrarily small to match whatever the neutrino mass is -- it still leaves you with a problem. ... 3 Virtual particles are better regarded as a convenient way of representing terms in the infinite sums of quantum field theory than as particles. Feynman introduced his diagrams to organise the calculations but did not claim the virtual particles were \"real\" in any useful sense. They are not ontological explanations for things, but often used in ... 1 Look at it this way: It is the present day mathematical model of nature in the microcosm. Particles are quantum mechanical entities on which quantum numbers are absolutely attached , and a four vector$(E,p_x,p_y,p_z)$. If that four vector's length is fixed, it is called the invariant mass of the particle. If the length is variable within a mathematical ... 1 What I have so far understood from my limited knowledge of quantum field theory and standard model is that the unification of strong force with electroweak force is still a conjecture that needs to be verified by experiments. So far there has not been conclusive evidence of unification of two domains. The conjecture is that that at high enough energies the ... 1 One does not talk about dangerously irrelevant fixed point but of a dangerously irrelevant coupling (or operator). The gaussian fixed point of a$\\phi^4$theory (describing phase transitions in dimension$d\\geq 4$) has one relevant coupling (corresponding to the mass\/correlation length) and an infinity of irrelevant couplings (one marginally so in$d=4\\$). ...\n\nTop 50 recent answers are included","date":"2021-03-03 15:27:10","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 1, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.8772636651992798, \"perplexity\": 379.783081446024}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2021-10\/segments\/1614178366969.45\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20210303134756-20210303164756-00063.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
Ireland bailout: From €1,100 a week to living on the streets of Dublin
Homeless man's descent from full time worker to a tent in a car park shows the plight of Ireland's economic losers
• Henry McDonald
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 26 November 2010 18.58 GMT
Malcolm Quigley lost his job in a security company when it folded in the economic downturn. Photograph: Kim Haughton for the Guardian
Living in a tent inside an empty underground car park Malcolm Quigley's fall from full time worker and home owner to destitution personifies the plight of those who have lost out in Ireland's economic crash.
The 38-year-old tries to maintain his dignity despite having to shelter beneath an apartment block in south-west Dublin surrounded by discarded rotting food, drink bottles and the detritus of tin foil and used needles from heroin addicts who also use the place to shoot up.
Last Wednesday, like every other week day, he waits until the Tallaght Homeless centre opens so he can use their computers to apply for jobs.
"In the last two months I have written to seventeen different employers and only got one reply which was a 'No thank you.' But I have to keep trying," he says.
Articulate and surprisingly cheerful Quigley says he was earning around €850 (£720) a week working for an Irish security company which guarded building sites as well as an Argos store in the Liffey Valley shopping centre. At one stage during the Celtic Tiger boom he could make up to €1,100 a week with overtime.
When construction firms started to fold in the downturn his security company lost contracts and eventually went into liquidation. Over the last two years unemployment put a strain on his relationship, he split with his partner and left their family home in Mountmellick, Co Laois. He returned to his native Tallaght jobless and suffered a nervous breakdown.
"I came from a very stable, well-liked family here in Tallaght. Never did I think I would end up on the streets of the same part of Dublin where I grew up."
Until late autumn Quigley camped out each night below the sheltered entrance to a Catholic priory in the heart of Tallaght village. He has since moved into the subterranean car park for the winter although there are some nights when he gets a room in one of the city's hostels.
"Whether in the hostel or down here underground I feel like an outsider because I don't take drugs and I don't drink. A lot of homeless people you meet get into drugs because it takes the edge off their lives, especially the boredom. I try to pass the weekdays going into the centre, having a sandwich there, searching for jobs on the computer or going to the library in Tallaght."
As he approaches his tent and pulls down the front zip Quigley discovers a "squatter" asleep inside. Rather than get indignant Quigley just says "it's okay buddy sleep on, you're all right I've got a bed in the Maple Hostel tonight, don't worry." His companions living in the open around Tallaght village over the last eight months have included Polish migrant workers some of whom have turned to heroin.
Like Quigley they lost their jobs in the recession and found themselves unable to keep up their rental payments. Unlike the Irish on the streets he points out that the immigrants eventually have all their welfare payments taken off them. One of his Polish friends, known as Polish Pablo, went off the rails having lost his job at a major retail store at the start of this year.
Asked what he thinks of the tens of billions of euros the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank are pumping into the Irish banks, the institutions many in the republic blame for the country's ills, Quigley points to a bitter irony all around him.
There are hundreds of empty apartments all around Tallaght, the so-called ghost complexes built during the boom on cheap credit from banks that are now bust. They even include some flats in the block above where Quigley often beds down for the night. "There are 300,000 empty apartments and flats in this country and yet there are not enough beds in hostels to house people like me. That is why the organisations that work for the homeless hand out sleeping bags and tents.
"If the government cared they would open up some of those empty apartments for the homeless. After all the government owns the banks and the banks own the ghost apartments."
Quigley predicts that the looming cuts to social welfare, jobs and general austerity will drive more on to the streets and into crime. But he declines to denounce those held responsible for the malaise by most Irish people and instead focuses on his own recovery. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 7,322 |
{"url":"http:\/\/mathhelpforum.com\/algebra\/18926-help-picture-print.html","text":"# Help with Picture!\n\n\u2022 September 13th 2007, 06:10 PM\npeachgal\nHelp with Picture!\nhttp:\/\/i4.photobucket.com\/albums\/y109\/mal1cous\/math.jpg\n\nThe distance along a straight road is measured as shown in the diagram. If the distance between towns A and C is 67 Miles, find the distance between towns A and B.\n\u2022 September 13th 2007, 06:17 PM\nPlato\nQuote:\n\nOriginally Posted by peachgal\nThe distance along a straight road is measured as shown in the diagram. If the distance between towns A and C is 67 Miles, find the distance between towns A and B.[\/SIZE]\n\n$\\left( {5x - 2} \\right) + \\left( {2x + 6} \\right) = 67$\n\u2022 September 13th 2007, 06:23 PM\npeachgal\nQuote:\n\nOriginally Posted by Plato\n$\\left( {5x - 2} \\right) + \\left( {2x + 6} \\right) = 67$\n\nTHANKS SO MUCH!!! I did this and I got 9? Is that right? What do I do from here?\n\u2022 September 13th 2007, 06:44 PM\nJhevon\nQuote:\n\nOriginally Posted by peachgal\nTHANKS SO MUCH!!! I did this and I got 9? Is that right? What do I do from here?\n\nyes, x = 9. now what is the distance between A and B in terms of x?\n\u2022 September 13th 2007, 06:48 PM\npeachgal\nHuh? DO you mean, 5(9)-2= 43?????\n\n5x-2?\n\u2022 September 13th 2007, 06:51 PM\nJhevon\nQuote:\n\nOriginally Posted by peachgal\nHuh? DO you mean, 5(9)-2= 43?????\n\nyes.","date":"2016-02-13 14:07:14","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 2, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.7795556783676147, \"perplexity\": 1437.3373374197195}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.3, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2016-07\/segments\/1454701166650.78\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20160205193926-00258-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
package organizate.compumovil.udea.edu.co.services;
import android.app.Notification;
import android.app.NotificationManager;
import android.app.PendingIntent;
import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.media.RingtoneManager;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.CountDownTimer;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.support.v4.app.NotificationCompat;
import android.support.v4.content.LocalBroadcastManager;
import android.util.Log;
import organizate.compumovil.udea.edu.co.R;
import organizate.compumovil.udea.edu.co.activities.MainActivity;
/**
* Created by santiago on 6/9/16.
*/
public class Countdown extends Service {
private static final String TAG = "organizate.countdown";
CountDownTimer timerTask;
LocalBroadcastManager broadcaster;
long actual;
long tiempo;
String name;
String place;
public Countdown() {
}
@Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
return null;
}
@Override
public void onCreate() {
broadcaster = LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this);
Log.d(TAG, "Servicio creado...");
}
@Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
Log.d(TAG, "Servicio iniciado...");
Bundle bundle = intent.getExtras();
tiempo = bundle.getLong("time");
name = bundle.getString("name");
place = bundle.getString("place");
timerTask = new CountDownTimer(tiempo,1000) {
Intent intentMain = new Intent(getApplicationContext(), MainActivity.class);
PendingIntent pIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(getApplicationContext(), 0, intentMain, 0);
Notification notificacion = new NotificationCompat.Builder(getApplicationContext())
.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_alarm)
.setProgress((int)tiempo, 0, false)
.addAction(R.drawable.ic_alarm_off, "Terminar", null)
.addAction(R.drawable.ic_alarm_add, "Agregar 10 minutos", null)
.setContentIntent(pIntent)
.setContentTitle(name)
.setContentText(place + " - " + (tiempo / 1000) + " segundos restantes.")
.build();
@Override
public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {
notificacion = new NotificationCompat.Builder(getApplicationContext())
.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_alarm)
.setProgress((int)tiempo, (int) (tiempo - millisUntilFinished), false)
.addAction(R.drawable.ic_alarm_off, "Terminar", null)
.addAction(R.drawable.ic_alarm_add, "Agregar 10 minutos", null)
.setContentIntent(pIntent)
.setContentTitle(name)
.setContentText(place + " - " + (millisUntilFinished / 1000) + " segundos restantes.")
.build();
actual = millisUntilFinished;
startForeground(1, notificacion);
Intent intent = new Intent("tiempo");
intent.putExtra("tiempo", millisUntilFinished);
broadcaster.sendBroadcast(intent);
}
@Override
public void onFinish() {
Intent intentFin = new Intent("tiempo");
intentFin.putExtra("tiempo", 0);
broadcaster.sendBroadcast(intentFin);
Intent intent = new Intent(getApplicationContext(), MainActivity.class);
intent.putExtra("tiempo", 0);
Uri uri= RingtoneManager.getDefaultUri(RingtoneManager.TYPE_NOTIFICATION);
PendingIntent pIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(getApplicationContext(), 0, intent, 0);
Notification noti = new NotificationCompat.Builder(getApplicationContext())
.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_alarm)
.setProgress(100, 100, false)
.setContentIntent(pIntent)
.setContentTitle(name)
.setContentText(place + " - " + " finalizada.")
.build();
noti.sound = uri;
NotificationManager notificationManager = (NotificationManager)getSystemService(NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);
//Se esconde la notificación tras ser seleccionada
noti.flags |= Notification.FLAG_AUTO_CANCEL;
notificationManager.notify(0, noti);
stopForeground(true);
}
};
timerTask.start();
return START_NOT_STICKY;
}
@Override
public void onDestroy() {
timerTask.cancel();
Log.d(TAG, "Servicio destruido...");
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 5,493 |
\section{Introduction}
We present a simple $(2+\epsilon)$-approximation algorithm
for the maximum weight matching (MWM) problem
in the semi-streaming model.
Our algorithm is deterministic, single-pass,
requires only $O(1)$ processing time per incoming edge,
and
uses $O(n \log^2 n)$ bits of space for any constant $\epsilon>0$.
This improves upon the previously best known
approximation algorithm
of Crouch and Stubbs~\cite{CrouchS14},
which achieves an approximation ratio of $(4+\epsilon)$
and takes $O(\log n)$ time to process an edge.
Our main result is as follows.
\begin{theorem}
\label{thm: the main theorem}
There exists an algorithm in the semi-streaming model computing a $(2+\epsilon)$-approximation for MWM, using $O(\epsilon^{-1}n\log n \cdot (\log n + \log (1/\epsilon)))$ bits and having an $O(1)$ processing time.
\end{theorem}
The MWM problem is a classical problem in graph theory.
Its first efficient solution is due to Edmonds~\cite{Edmonds1965},
which was later improved by
Micali and Vazirani~\cite{MicaliV80}.
The MWM problem was one of the first to be considered
in the semi-streaming model
when this model was first presented~\cite{FeigenbaumKMSZ05},
and apparently the most studied problem in this model since
(see ``Related Work'').
In the first algorithms for the MWM problem in the semi-streaming model,
a matching is maintained at all times,
and is being updated according to the incoming edges.
More recent algorithms sort the edges
into weight classes,
keep a subset of each class,
and then find a matching in the union of these subsets.
Like previous algorithms,
our algorithm maintains a set of edges
from which the final matching is constructed;
however,
unlike some of the previous algorithms,
we do not maintain a matching at all times,
but only construct it in a post-processing stage.
Our main technical contribution is the
adaptation of the local-ratio technique for
maximization problems~\cite{BarYehudaE1985, Bar-NoyBFNS01}
to the semi-streaming model,
in a novel and simple manner.
Our work presents
a significantly better approximation ratio
for the MWM problem,
along with a new approximation technique
for optimization problems in the semi-streaming model.
For the maximum \emph{unweighted} matching problem,
a simple greedy algorithm yields a $2$-approximation.
This was observed in the very first paper
on the semi-streaming model~\cite{FeigenbaumKMSZ05},
and not improved since.
Any future improvement of the approximation factor
to a constant smaller than $2$
will also solve this long-standing problem.
\paragraph{Our Contribution}
When developing an algorithmic framework for a new model, it is natural to first address the most fundamental algorithmic problems.
Finding a large matching in a graph is indeed a fundamental problem,
which has been extensively studied in the model of semi-streaming graph algorithms.
Our algorithm uses an extension of a well studied
approximation framework,
the local-ratio technique,
while previous algorithm used clever ideas which were
specifically crafted for the problem and model.
As noted, a simple greedy algorithm gives a 2-approximation
for MWM in the unweighted case.
In the weighted case,
a 2-approximation can be achieved by first sorting the edges
from the heaviest to the lightest,
and then adding them greedily to form a matching.
However, in the semi-streaming model it is impossible to keep a list of all the edges in the memory in order to sort them.
Instead, the local-ratio technique allows us to
ignore some of the edges,
and run a greedy algorithm on the remaining edges, in an arbitrary order.
In this work,
we extend the local-ratio technique,
in a way that allows us to discard all but
$O(n\log n)$ of the edges,
complying with the memory restrictions of the model.
A simple local-ratio algorithm for the
MWM problem in the sequential model of computation
goes roughly as follows:
repeatedly select an edge with positive weight;
reduce its weight from the edge itself and
from all its neighboring edges;
push the edge into a stack
and continue to the next edge,
as long as there is an edge with positive weight;
finally,
unwind the stack and add the edges greedily
to the matching.
This procedure results in a 2-approximation for the MWM problem.
It can be extended to a $(2\alpha)$-approximation,
for $\alpha > 1$,
if at each step we reduce the weight of the processed edge
multiplied by $\alpha$ from its adjacent edges.
The challenge in translating this technique to the semi-streaming model is twofold.
First, we have to reduce edge weights from edges that are yet to arrive.
This is solved by saving,
for each node,
the total amount that should be reduced from each arriving
edge containing this node,
and reducing weight \emph{retroactively} from incoming stream edges.
The second, more substantial challenge,
is limiting the size of the stack,
so it can comply with the $O(n\polylog n)$
space bound.
It is not hard to come up with an execution of the above algorithm
where all edges are eventually stored
in the stack,
which may take $\Omega(n^2 \polylog n)$ bits of space.
To overcome this problem,
we \emph{remove edges} from within the stack,
\emph{during} the execution of the algorithm.
The traditional local-ratio technique was not designed to work under space limitations,
and thus does not guarantee any approximation ratio
if edges are removed from the stack.
The crux of our approach
is a variation of the local-ratio technique,
which provides conditions under which an edge may be removed from the stack
while incurring only a small loss
in the approximation ratio.
Specifically, we show that if an edge in the stack
is significantly lighter than its neighboring edge,
and this neighboring edge is added to the stack,
then removing the light edge has only a small effect on the total weight of the solution.
In order to use this conclusion,
we must first assure a steady increase
in the edge weights around each node.
This, in turn, requires another adaptation to the
classical local-ratio approach for the problem.
To assure the constant growth of the edge weights,
we increase the weight an edge reduces from its neighborhood by a multiplicative factor.
This results in another deterioration in the approximation ratio, but has the benefit of forcing the weights of edges in the stack to exhibit a geometrical growth pattern.
This, in turn, creates the conditions for our modified local-ratio theorem to show its strength, allowing us to keep the size of the stack within the model's limits.
Carefully choosing parameters that manage the trade-off between space and approximation ratio,
we achieve a $(2+\epsilon)$-approximation using $O(n\log^2 n)$ bits.
Finally, we note that the basic structure of the local-ratio technique,
namely processing the edges one by one in an \emph{arbitrary} order and then performing some postprocessing,
suits very naturally to the streaming environment. Combined with the machinery we develop here in
order to follow the semi-streaming space constraints,
we believe this technique can be applied to additional problems in the semi-streaming model
and in similar computational models.
\paragraph{Related Work}
The study of graph algorithms in the semi-streaming model was initiated by Feigenbaum et al.~\cite{FeigenbaumKMSZ05},
in order to tackle the problem of processing massive graphs whose edge set cannot be stored in memory.
The need for algorithms for such massive graphs is evident,
as they become increasingly common:
graphs representing social networks, graphs for metabolic interactions used in computational biology
and even the communication graph of the Internet,
are only a few examples.
Feigenbaum et al.\ were also
the first to study the MWM problem in the semi-streaming model,
and presented a $6$-approximation algorithm for it.
Their algorithm maintains a matching at all times:
when an edge arrives,
it checks if the new edge's weight
is more than double the sum of weights of its adjacent edges currently in the matching,
and if so,
the edge is added to the matching instead of its adjacent edges.
This idea was later adapted by McGregor~\cite{McGregor05} to achieve an approximation ratio of $5.828$,
by changing the threshold for inserting an edge to the matching
(McGregor also presents a $(2+\epsilon)$-approximation algorithm for the problem,
but using $O(\epsilon^{-3})$ passes on the input).
By using similar ideas,
while keeping deleted edges and reviving them later,
Zelke~\cite{Zelke12} achieves a $5.585$-approximation algorithm.
A different approach was taken
by Epstein et al.~\cite{EpsteinLMS11},
who achieve a $(4.911+\epsilon)$-approximation algorithm.
They use bucketing,
i.e., separate the edges into $O(\log n)$ weight classes,
find a matching in each bucket,
and then find the final matching in the union of these matching.
Crouch and Stubbs~\cite{CrouchS14} achieve an approximation
ratio of $(4+\epsilon)$
using related ideas,
but their algorithm uses weight classes
which are unbounded from above,
and thus are not disjoint.
Grigorescu et al.~\cite{GrigorescuMZ16}
have presented an improved analysis of the last algorithm,
claiming to achieve a $(3.5+\epsilon)$-approximation;
unfortunately, this analysis currently seems to contain an error.
The bucketing technique takes a heavy toll on the approximation factor,
and Crouch and Stubbs~\cite{CrouchS14}
prove this technique cannot give an approximation ratio
better than $3.5$.
To circumvent this bound,
we use a different
approximation framework,
the local-ratio technique.
To the best of our knowledge,
this is the first application of this technique in a streaming model.
Recently,
Ghaffari and Wajc~\cite{GhaffariW18} have shown a slight modification
to our algorithm,
that achieves the optimal $O(n\log n)$-bits bound,
assuming that the edge weights are integers of size polynomial in $n$.
One related problem is estimating size of the maximum matching in a graph~\cite{AssadiKL17,Kapralov13,KapralovKS14,GoelKK12}
which is known to be related to matrix rank approximation.
More general submodular-function matching problems
in the semi-streaming model have been considered by
Varadaraja\cite{Varadaraja11} and by Chakrabarti and Kale~\cite{ChakrabartiK14}.
The MWM problem was also considered in other streaming models,
such as the MapReduce model \cite{CrouchS14, LattanziMSV11},
the sliding-window model \cite{CrouchS14, CrouchMS13} and the turnstile stream model (allowing deletions as well as insertions)~\cite{Konrad15, AssadiKLY16, BuryS15, ChitnisCEHMMV16}.
Extending our technique to other computational models
is a challenge yet to be addressed.
\paragraph{Structure of this Paper}
We formally define the MWM problem and the semi-streaming model of computation
in Section~\ref{sec: preliminaries}.
In Section~\ref{sec: approximaton} we introduce the local-ratio theorem,
present a sequential 2-approximation local-ratio algorithm for MWM,
and discuss our variations to the theorem.
In Section~\ref{sec: semi streaming algo}
we extend the 2-approximation algorithm to a more involved
$(2+\epsilon)$-approximation algorithm for MWM,
analyze its performance,
and finally adapt it to the semi-streaming model.
\section{Preliminaries}
\label{sec: preliminaries}
Let $G=(V,E,w)$ be a simple graph with non-negative edge weights,
$w\in \mathop{\mathbb{R}}_{+}^E$
(we use vector notation for edge weights).
Denote $n=\size{V}$ and $m=\size{E}$;
for an edge $e$ denote
$N(e) = \set{e'\mid \size{e\cap e'}=1}$
called the \emph{neighboring edges} of $e$,
and $N^+(e) = N(e)\cup \set{e}$.
We usually assume edge weights
and their sums can be represented by $O(\log n)$ bits,
and discuss other weight functions at the end of the paper.
\paragraph{Maximum Weight Matching}
A \emph{matching} in $G$ is a set $M\subseteq E$ of edges
such that no two edges share a node.
A \emph{maximum weight matching} (MWM) in $G$
is a matching $M$ of maximum weight:
for every matching $M'$ in $G$,
we have $\sum_{e\in M} w[e] \geq \sum_{e\in M'} w[e]$.
A matching $M$ is identified with its indicator vector $x$,
defined by $x[e]=1$ if $e\in M$,
and $x[e]=0$ otherwise.
Thus, the weight of a matching $x$ is the value of the
inner product of $x$ and $w$, denoted $xw$.
A set of feasibility constrains on $x$ is induced
by the graph
in a straightforward manner:
$\forall e,e'\in E: \size{e\cap e'}=1\implies x[e]\cdot x[e']=0$.
\paragraph{Approximation Algorithms}
A feasible matching $x$ is said to be
a \emph{$p$-approximation} of a MWM in $G$,
for a constant $p\geq 1$,
if every matching $x^\ast$ satisfies
$x^\ast w \leq p\cdot xw$.
An algorithm returning a $p$-approximation
on every input graph
is said to be a \emph{$p$-approximation algorithm} for
the MWM problem,
and $p$ is called the \emph{approximation ratio}
of the algorithm.
Note that if $p'>p$ than a $p$-approximation algorithm
is also a $p'$-approximation algorithm.
The definition naturally extends to other optimization problems.
\paragraph{The Semi-Streaming Model}
In the semi-streaming model of computation, as in sequential models,
the goal is to compute parameters in some given graph. An algorithm in this model proceeds in iterations,
where in each iteration it receives an edge from the stream
and processes it.
Since the number of edges in the graph
might be too large to fit in memory,
we limit the algorithm to use only $O(n \polylog n)$ bits.
In addition,
we try to keep the processing times of the edges
as short as possible,
since a long processing time might result in
a queue of later incoming edges, exceeding the space limitations.
The algorithm is also allowed to perform pre-processing and post-processing,
but minimizing their times is of less importance.
\section{Approximating Maximum Weight Matching}
\label{sec: approximaton}
In this section we present the \emph{local-ratio} theorem for maximization problems~\cite{Bar-YehudaBFR04},
and use it to present a sequential 2-approximation algorithm for MWM.
We then present extensions of this technique
and use them
in order to adjust the sequential local-ratio algorithm
to the semi-streaming model,
incurring only a small loss in the approximation ratio.
\subsection{A Simple Local-Ratio Approximation Algorithm for MWM}
The basic building blocks of a local-ratio algorithm are
iterative \emph{weight reduction} steps.
Weight reduction step number $i$ starts with a graph
$G=(V,E,w_i)$,
and defines two new graphs,
composed of $(V,E)$ and new edge-weight functions:
the \emph{reduced graph}, which has weight function $w_{i+1}$,
and the \emph{residual graph}, which has weight function $\bar{w}_{i+1}$,
such that $w_i=w_{i+1}+\bar{w}_{i+1}$.
We start with the local-ratio theorem
for maximization problems~\cite[Theorem 9]{Bar-YehudaBFR04},
which we restate here for completeness.
Note that this theorem applies
even if $w_{i+1}$ takes negative values.
\begin{theorem}
\label{thm: lr original}
Let $w_i \in \mathop{\mathbb{R}}^m$ be a vector,
and consider the problem of maximizing the product $xw_i$
under a set of feasibility constraints.
Let $w_{i+1},\bar{w}_{i+1} \in \mathop{\mathbb{R}}^m$ be vectors such that $w_i=w_{i+1}+\bar{w}_{i+1}$.
If $x_i\in \mathop{\mathbb{R}}^m$ is a feasible solution
that is a $p$-approximation with respect to $w_{i+1}$
and with respect to $\bar{w}_{i+1}$,
then $x_i$ is a $p$-approximation with respect to $w_i$ as well.
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
Let $x_i^\ast, x_{i+1}^\ast$ and $\bar{x}_{i+1}^\ast$
be maximum feasible solutions with respect to
$w_i, w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$. Then
\begin{align*}
x_i^\ast w_i
&= x_i^\ast w_{i+1} + x_i^\ast \bar{w}_{i+1}\\
&\leq x^\ast_{i+1} w_{i+1} + \bar{x}^\ast_{i+1} \bar{w}_{i+1}\\
&\leq p \cdot x_i w_{i+1} + p \cdot x_i \bar{w}_{i+1}\\
&= p \cdot x_i w_i,
\end{align*}
where the first inequality follows from the maximality of $x^\ast_{i+1}$ and $\bar{x}^\ast_{i+1}$,
and the second from the assumption that $x_i$ is a $p$-approximation
with respect to $w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$.
\end{proof}
We apply weight reduction steps iteratively,
while ensuring that any $p$-approximate solution to $w_{i+1}$
can be easily extended into a $p$-approximate solution
to $\bar{w}_{i+1}$.
For the specific problem of MWM,
a weight reduction step is done by picking an arbitrary
edge $e\in E$ of positive weight and
reducing this weight from every $e' \in N^+(e)$.
This splits the weight vector $w_i$ into two vectors,
$w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$,
by setting
\begin{align*}
\bar{w}_{i+1}[e'] =
\begin{cases}
w_i[e] & e'\in N^+(e); \\
0 & \text{otherwise,}
\end{cases}
\end{align*}
and $w_{i+1} = w_i - \bar{w}_{i+1}$.
Any $2$-approximate solution $x_{i+1}$ for the reduced graph
can be easily extended into a $2$-approximate solution
for the residual graph
by making sure that at least one edge
$e' \in N^+(e)$ is in the solution:
if this is not the case,
we can add $e$ to the solution
without violating the constraints.
As $w_{i+1}[e]=0$, adding $e$ to the solution
does not reduce the solution's value with respect to $w_{i+1}$.
Thus, we get a 2-approximate solution
for both $w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$.
This simple technique is realized by Algorithm~\ref{alg: MWM-seq}.
First, it applies weight reduction steps iteratively
using edges of positive reduced weight,
splitting a weight function $w_i$ into
$w_{i+1}$ (reduced) and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$ (residual)
and keeping the edge in a stack.
When no edge with a positive reduced weight remains,
the algorithm unwinds the stack
and adds the edges greedily to the matching.
While unwinding the stack, it maintains a set of interim solutions $\set{x_i}$;
the local-ratio theorem guarantees
that every $x_i$ is a 2-approximate solution for $w_i$.
Finally, the algorithm returns $x_1$,
which is a 2-approximate solution for the original problem.
We note that this algorithm does not work in the semi-streaming model, as the stack can easily grow to contain $\Omega(n^2)$ edges.
\RestyleAlgo{boxruled}
\LinesNumbered
\begin{algorithm}[t]
\DontPrintSemicolon
\caption{\texttt{MWM-simple}($V,E,w$). A simple 2-approximation algorithm for MWM}
\label{alg: MWM-seq}
$S \gets $ empty stack \\
$w_1 \gets w$;
$i\gets 1$\\
\ForEach{$e_i\in E$ s.t. $w_i[e_i] \geq 0$}
{
$S.\text{push}(e_i)$ \\
$w_{i+1} \gets w_i$ \\
\lForEach(\tcp*[f]%
{Implicit: $\bar{w}_{i+1}[e'] \gets w_i[e_i]$})%
{$e' \in N^+(e_i)$}
{$w_{i+1}[e'] \gets w_i[e']- w_i[e_i]$}
$i \gets i+1$\\
}
$k\gets \size{S}$ \\
$x_{k+1} \gets \vec{0}$\\
\For{$i\gets k$ down to $1$}
{
$x_{i} \gets x_{i+1}$ \\
$e_i \gets S[i]$\\
\lIf{$\forall e\in N^+(e_i):$ $x_{i}[e] = 0$}
{
$x_{i}[e_i] \gets 1$
}
}
return $x_1$
\end{algorithm}
\subsection{Extending the Local-Ratio Technique}
We now extend the approximation techniques used
in Algorithm~\ref{alg: MWM-seq}.
This allows us to present another sequential approximation algorithm
for MWM
in the following section,
with a worse approximation ratio of $2+\epsilon$.
However,
from the new algorithm we derive the desired
approximation algorithm
for the semi-streaming model,
with no further increase in the approximation ratio.
If instead of reducing exactly $w_i[e]$
from the neighboring edges of $e$,
we reduce either $w_i[e]$ or $\alpha w_i[e]$ from each such edge,
for some $\alpha\geq 1$,
we get a $(2\alpha)$-approximation,
as formalized by the next lemma.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: residual is an approximate sol}
Let $w_i, w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$ be weight functions
and $e\in E$ an edge such that
\begin{align}
\bar{w}_{i+1}[e'] =
\begin{cases}
w_i[e] & e'=e; \\
\alpha w[e] \text{ or } w[e] & e'\in N(e); \\
0 & \text{otherwise,}
\end{cases}
\end{align}
and $w_{i+1}=w-\bar{w}_{i+1}$;
the choice between $w_i[e]$ and $\alpha w_i[e]$
can be arbitrary.
Let $x_i\in \{0,1\}^m$ be a matching.
If $x_i[e'] \neq 0$ for some $e'\in N^+(e)$,
then $x_i$ is a $(2\alpha)$-approximate solution for $\bar{w}_{i+1}$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
Let $x_i^\ast$ be any matching.
The definition of $\bar{w}_{i+1}$ guarantees that $x_i^\ast$ contains
at most two edges of non-zero weight in $\bar{w}_{i+1}$,
each of weight at most $\alpha w_i[e]$,
so $x^\ast \bar{w}_{i+1} \leq 2\alpha w_i[e]$.
On the other hand,
$x_i[e'] \neq 0$ for some $e'\in N^+(e)$,
so $w_i[e] \leq x_i \bar{w}_{i+1}$.
Using the last two inequalities, we get
$x^\ast \bar{w}_{i+1} \leq 2\alpha\cdot x_i \bar{w}_{i+1}$,
as desired.
\end{proof}
Next,
we note that if the optimal solution for the reduced graph
is greater than the optimal solution for the residual graph
by some multiplicative factor $p \geq 1$,
then it is also a $(1+1 / p)$-approximation for the original graph.
For large values of $p$,
an approximate solution for the reduced graph
gives roughly the same approximation ratio for the original graph,
which allows us to ignore the residual graph.
We formalize this in the next lemma.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: lr with omissions}
Let $w_i, w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$ be weight functions satisfying
$w_i= w_{i+1} + \bar{w}_{i+1}$ and
$w_{i+1}[e] \leq w_i[e]$ for all $e\in E$.
Let $x_{i+1}$ be a $\beta$-approximate solution for $w_{i+1}$.
If $x_{i+1} w_{i+1}$ is at least $p$ times larger than
any matching in $\bar{w}_{i+1}$,
then $x_{i+1}$ is a $(\beta+1/p)$-approximate solution
for $w_i$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
Let $x_i^\ast, x_{i+1}^\ast$ and $\bar{x}_{i+1}^\ast$
be matchings of maximum weights in
$w_i, w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$ respectively.
The assumptions imply
$x_{i+1}^\ast w_{i+1} \leq \beta x_{i+1} w_{i+1}$ and
$p \bar{x}_{i+1}^\ast \bar{w}_{i+1} \leq x_{i+1} w_{i+1}$,
so
\begin{align*}
x_i^\ast w_i
&= x_i^\ast w_{i+1} + x_i^\ast \bar{w}_{i+1}\\
&\leq x^\ast_{i+1} w_{i+1} + \bar{x}^\ast_{i+1} \bar{w}_{i+1}\\
&\leq \beta x_{i+1} w_{i+1} + (1/p) x_{i+1} w_{i+1}\\
&= (\beta+1/p) x_{i+1} w_{i+1}\\
&\leq (\beta+1/p) x_{i+1} w_i,
\end{align*}
where the last inequality follows from the fact that
$w_{i+1}[e] \leq w_i[e]$ for all $e\in E$.
\end{proof}
Let $w_1$ be a weight vector for the MWM problem,
and consider an iterative splitting of $w_i$ into
$w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$ for $k$ times.
The last lemma allowed us to ignore the residual graph once;
we now extend it to allow the iterative omission of the residual graph.
Denote $\alpha = \sqrt{1+\epsilon/2}$,
$\gamma = n^2 / \ln (\alpha)$,
and $\beta_i = 2\alpha(1+1/\gamma)^{k+1-i}$ for all $i$.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: approx-ratio}
Let $G=(V,E,w_1)$ a graph,
and $w_2,\ldots,w_{k+1}$ and $\bar{w}_2,\ldots \bar{w}_{k+1}$
sequences of reduced and residual weight functions
for $(V,E)$, respectively.
Assume that we generate a sequence of solutions
$x_{k+1},\ldots, x_1$,
such that $x_{k+1}$ is an optimal solution for $w_{k+1}$,
and that for $1\leq i \leq k$,
if $x_{i+1}$ is a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution
for $w_{i+1}$
then $x_i$ has the following properties:
\begin{enumerate}
\item
$x_i$ is a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution for $w_{i+1}$.
\item
At least one of the following holds:
\begin{enumerate}
\item $x_i$ is a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution for $\bar{w}_{i+1}$; or
\item $x_{i} w_{i+1} \geq (\gamma / \beta_{i+1}) x^\ast\bar{w}_{i+1} $
for every solution $x^\ast$.
\end{enumerate}
\end{enumerate}
Then
$x_1$ is a $\beta_1$-approximate solution for $w_1$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
We prove,
by induction on $i$ ranging from $k+1$ down to $1$,
that $x_i$ is a $\beta_i$-approximate solution for $w_i$.
The base, $i=k+1$, is trivial by the assumption on $x_{k+1}$.
Assume the claim is true for $x_{i+1}$,
then condition $1$ holds for $x_i$.
If condition $2(a)$ holds,
then by condition $1$
and the local-ratio theorem
(Theorem~\ref{thm: lr original}),
$x_i$ is a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution for $w_i$.
Because $\beta_i > \beta_{i+1}$,
$x_i$ is also a $\beta_i$-approximate solution for $w_i$.
If condition $2(b)$ holds,
then from condition $1$ and
Lemma~\ref{lem: lr with omissions} we deduce that
$x_{i}$ is a $(\beta_{i+1}+\beta_{i+1}/\gamma)$-%
approximate solution for $w_i$.
The definition of $\beta_i$ yields:
\begin{align*}
\beta_{i+1}+\beta_{i+1}/\gamma
&= (1+1/\gamma)\cdot 2\alpha(1+1/\gamma)^{k+1-(i+1)}\\
&= 2\alpha(1+1/\gamma)^{k+1-i}
= \beta_i.
\end{align*}
Specifically,
$x_1$ is a $\beta_1$-approximate solution for $w_1$,
and the proof is complete.
\end{proof}
\section{A Semi-Streaming Algorithm}
\label{sec: semi streaming algo}
We present a $(2+\epsilon)$-approximation algorithm
for the MWM problem using our extension of the local-ratio technique.
This algorithm is suitable for a streaming model which has no space constraints,
but not for the semi-streaming model.
We then present a lightweight variant of the algorithm,
which obeys the space constraints of the semi-streaming model.
The new algorithm is similar to Algorithm~\ref{alg: MWM-seq}:
it performs a series of weight reduction steps
defining a series of reduced weight functions $\set{w_i}$,
and then constructs a series of approximate solutions $\set{x_i}$.
To prove the desired approximation ratio is achieved,
we use Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio}
as a substitute for the local-ratio theorem.
We start by presenting the challenges
posed by the semi-streaming model,
and the ways in which the new algorithm deals with them.
Let $e_i$ be the edge considered in iteration $i$.
\paragraph{Retroactive weight reduction}
The sequential algorithm constructs $w_{i+1}$ from $w_i$
using an edge $e_i$,
by reducing $w_i(e_i)$ form the weight of every $e' \in N^+(e_i)$.
This cannot be done directly in the semi-streaming model,
as some edges of $N^+(e_i)$ might only arrive after $e_i$ is processed.
Instead, the algorithm keeps a variable $\phi_i(v) = \sum_{j=1}^i w_j[e_j]$
for every node $v\in V$.
When a new edge $e=(u,u')$ arrives,
its reduced weight is first computed,
by reducing $\phi_{i-1}(u)$ and $\phi_{i-1}(u')$ from its original weight.
\paragraph{Removing edges from the stack}
In the sequential algorithm,
the stack may grow to hold all of the graph edges.
Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio} presents conditions
under which an approximate solution for $w_{i+1}$
is also an approximate solution for $w_{i}$.
When these conditions are met,
we may remove the edge $e_i$ from the stack,
which we use in order to make sure that
the stack's size does not exceed $O(n \log n)$ edges.
\paragraph{Assuring edge-weight growth}
In order to make sure edges are removed from the stack,
we force a small but consistent growth in the edge weights
around each node.
Roughly speaking,
the edge weights grow geometrically by a multiplicative
$\alpha$ factor;
after a logarithmic number of new edges considered,
the weights grow large enough to allow the algorithm
to neglect the older edges and remove them from the stack.
\subsection{Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{}}
Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{} (Algorithm~\ref{alg: MWM}) has two phases:
in the first phase,
it iterates over the edges
and pushes chosen edges into a stack.
In the second phase,
the edges are popped out of the stack
and added greedily to the matching.
The algorithm begins with an edge-weight function $w_1$,
given as input.
For each node $v$,
the algorithm explicitly maintains a non-negative weight function $\phi_i(v)$,
which is used to filter edges (Line~\ref{line: filter light edges}):
an edge $e=(u,u')$ processed at iteration $i$ is \emph{light}
if $w_1[e] \leq \alpha(\phi_{i-1}(u) + \phi_{i-1}(u'))$,
and \emph{heavy} otherwise.
In iteration $i$,
the algorithm processes the incoming edges,
ignoring light edges until a heavy edge is encountered.
This edge, denoted by $e_i$, is used to update $w_{i}$ and $\phi_i(v)$.
Eventually,
all heavy edges are denoted with sub-indexes ($e_i$),
while the light edges are left un-tagged ($e$).
When an edge $e=(u,u')$ is processed in iteration $i$,
the algorithm performs all weight reduction steps on $e$
retroactively using $\phi_{i-1}(u)$ and $\phi_{i-1}(u')$,
to set the value of $w_i[e]$.
It decides between reducing $\phi_{i-1}(u) + \phi_{i-1}(u')$ or $\alpha(\phi_{i-1}(u) + \phi_{i-1}(u'))$ from the weight of $e$,
in a way that guarantees a geometric growth of $\phi$,
implying a bound on the size of the stack.
For every node $v$, we hold a queue $E_i(v)$.
This is a list of the heavy edges containing the node $v$
currently present in the stack.
Upon the arrival of a heavy edge $e_i=(u,u')$,
we perform a weight reduction step:
$\phi_{i-1}(u)$ and $\phi_{i-1}(u')$ are increased by $w_i[e_i]$,
and $e_i$ is pushed into the stack.
We also enqueue $e_i$ in $E_i(u)$ and $E_i(u')$.
If the size of $E_i(u)$ or $E_i(u')$ exceeds a certain bound,
we dequeue an edge from the exceeding queue,
and remove it from the stack.
For the sake of analysis,
we do not remove edges from the stack in Algorithm~\ref{alg: MWM},
but only replace them by a $\bot$ sign.
In the second phase, the algorithm unwinds the stack,
adding edges greedily to the matching while ignoring $\bot$ symbols.
The usage of the $\bot$ symbol is replaced by
deletion of the relevant edge
in the semi-streaming algorithm, presented in the next subsection.
\RestyleAlgo{boxruled}
\LinesNumbered
\begin{algorithm}[t]
\DontPrintSemicolon
\caption{\texttt{MWM-seq}($V,E,w$). A sequential approximation algorithm for MWM}
\label{alg: MWM}
$S \gets $ empty stack \\
$w_1 \gets w$;
$\phi_0\gets \vec{0}$;
$c_0\gets \vec{0}$ \, \tcp*{$c_i$ is only used for the proof}
$\forall v\in V: E_0(v) \gets $ empty queue\\
$i\gets 1$\\
\ForEach{$e=(u,u')\in E$}
{
\lIf(\tcp*[f]%
{Implicit: $\bar{w}_{j+1}[e] \gets \alpha w_j[e_j]$ for every $e_j\in N(e)$})%
{$w_1[e] \leq \alpha(\phi_{i-1}(u) + \phi_{i-1}(u'))$}%
{continue}%
\label{line: filter light edges}
$e_i \gets e$ \label{line: set ei}\\
$S.\text{push}(e_i)$\\
$w_i[e_i]\gets w_1[e_i]-
(\phi_{i-1}(u) + \phi_{i-1}(u'))$
\tcp*{Implicit: $\bar{w}_{j+1}[e_i] \gets w_j[e_j]$
\label{line: set ei's weight}
for every $e_j\in N^+(e_i)$}
$\phi_{i} \gets \phi_{i-1}$; $E_{i} \gets E_{i-1}$;
$c_{i} \gets c_{i-1}$\\
\ForEach{$v \in e_i$}
{
$c_i(v) \gets c_i(v) + 1$ \\
$E_i(v).\text{enqueue}(e_i)$ \\
$\phi_i(v) \gets \phi_{i-1}(v) + w_i[e_i]$
\label{line: update phiiv}\\
\If{$ (\alpha-1)\alpha^{\size{E_i(v)}-2} > 2\alpha\gamma$%
\label{line: omit obsolete edge}}
{
$e_j\gets E_i(v).\text{dequeue}()$
\label{line: dequeue}\\
$S[j] \gets \bot$ \\
}
}
$i \gets i+1$\\
}
$k\gets \size{S}$ \\
$x_{k+1} \gets \vec{0}$\\
\For{$i\gets k$ down to $1$}
{
$x_{i} \gets x_{i+1}$ \\
$e_i \gets S[i]$\\
\lIf{$e_i = \bot$}%
{continue}%
\label{line: edge deleted cond}
\lIf{$\forall e\in N(e_i):$ $x_{i}[e] = 0$}%
{$x_{i}[e_i] \gets 1$}%
\label{line: add edge cond}
}
return $x_1$
\end{algorithm}
We start the analysis of Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{} by proving that the
node-weight functions $\phi_i(v)$ grow geometrically with $i$.
In the algorithm,
the variable $c_i(v)$ counts the heavy edges containing $v$ that
arrive until iteration $i$.
Its value is not used in the algorithm itself;
we only use it in the proof,
to bound from below the growth $\phi(v)$.
In various places in the analysis we consider the expression $c_j(v) - c_i(v)$,
which is the number of heavy edges added to $v$ from iteration $i$ until iteration $j$. We eventually show that the reduced weights of heavy edges exhibit a growth pattern exponential in $c_j(v) - c_i(v)$.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: phi grows}
For every $v \in V$ and $j\geq i$,
$\phi_j(v) \geq \alpha^{c_j(v) - c_i(v)}\phi_i(v)$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
We fix $i$
and prove the lemma by induction on $j$, where $j\geq i$.
The base case, $j=i$, is trivial.
For $j>i$, we consider two cases:
if $v \notin e_j$ then $c_{j}(v) = c_{j-1}(v)$,
so $\phi_{j}(v) = \phi_{j-1}(v) \geq \alpha^{c_{j-1}(v) - c_i(v)}
= \alpha^{c_{j}(v) - c_i(v)}$
by the induction hypothesis.
Otherwise, $e_j=(v,u)$ for some $u\in V$,
and
\begin{align*}
\phi_{j}(v)
&= \phi_{j-1}(v) + w_j[e_j]
\tag{Line~\ref{line: update phiiv}} \\
&\geq \phi_{j-1}(v) + (\alpha-1)(\phi_{j-1}(v) + \phi_{j-1}(u))
\tag{Line~\ref{line: filter light edges}} \\
&\geq \phi_{j-1}(v) + (\alpha-1)\phi_{j-1}(v)
\tag{Line~\ref{line: set ei's weight}} \\
&= \alpha \phi_{j-1}(v)\\
&\geq \alpha\cdot \alpha^{c_{j-1}(v) - c_i(v)} \phi_i(v)
\tag{induction hypothesis} \\
&= \alpha^{c_{j}(v) - c_i(v)} \phi_i(v),
\tag{$v\in e_j$ implies $c_{j}(v) = c_{j-1}(v) +1$}
\end{align*}
as desired.
\end{proof}
Consider the sequences of reduced and residual
edge-weight functions,
$w_2, \ldots, w_{k+1}$ and $\bar{w}_2, \ldots, \bar{w}_{k+1}$,
induced by the algorithm.
Note that these weight functions are defined on the fly:
when an edge $e$ arrives,
it implicitly sets $w_{j+1}(e)$ and $\bar{w}_{j+1}(e)$
of each of its adjacent heavy edges $e_j$,
where $e_j$ may arrive before or after $e$.
Thus, the values of $w_i$ and $\bar{w}_{i}$
are completely determined only when the first phase ends,
and so does the length $k$ of the sequences.
The weight functions are defined inductively as follows.
We formally define $w_1 = w$,
where $w$ is the function given as input.
The edge $e_i$ is used to split
the weight function $w_i$ into $w_{i+1}$ and $\bar{w}_{i+1}$,
the latter defined by
\begin{align}
\bar{w}_{i+1}[e'] =
\begin{cases}
w_i[e_i] & e'=e_i; \\
w_i[e_i] & e'\in N(e_i) \text{ and $e'$ is heavy}; \\
\alpha w_i[e_i] & e'\in N(e_i) \text{ and $e'$ is light}; \\
0 & \text{otherwise.}
\end{cases}
\end{align}
and the former by
$w_{i+1} = w_i - \bar{w}_{i+1}$.
The length $k$ is the number of heavy edges
encountered in the first phase.
Note that $\bar{w}$ is non-negative,
so $w_i[e]$ is a non-increasing function of $i$,
for any fixed edge $e$.
The next lemma focuses on a node $v$ and two heavy edges adjacent to it,
$e_i$ and $e_j$.
It asserts that for $j>i$, the reduced weight at iteration $i+1$ of a heavy edge $e_j$ grows geometrically with respect to $w_i[e_i]$.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: edge weight inequality}
Let $e_i, e_j \in E$
such that $j > i$
and $e_i\cap e_j = \set{v}$.
Then $w_{i+1}[e_j]
>(\alpha-1) \alpha^{c_j(v)-c_i(v)-1} w_{i}[e_i]$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
The lemma follows by a simple computation.
As $w_j[e]$ is a non-increasing
\begin{align*}
w_{i+1}[e_j]
& \geq w_{j}[e_j]
\\
& \geq (\alpha-1) \phi_{j-1} (v)
\tag{Lines~\ref{line: filter light edges}
and~\ref{line: set ei's weight}} \\
& \geq (\alpha-1) \alpha^{c_{j-1}(v) - c_i(v)} \phi_i(v)
\tag{Lemma~\ref{lem: phi grows}} \\
& \geq (\alpha-1) \alpha^{c_{j-1}(v) - c_i(v)} w_i[e_i]
\tag{Line~\ref{line: update phiiv}} \\
& = (\alpha-1) \alpha^{c_{j}(v) - c_i(v) - 1} w_i[e_i]
\tag{$v\in e_j$ implies $c_{j-1}(v) = c_j(v) -1$}
\end{align*}
as desired.
\end{proof}
In the second loop of the algorithm,
the edges are taken out of the stack
and a solution is greedily constructed.
The algorithm's approximation ratio is
the approximation ratio of the solution $x_1$
on the original weight function $w_1$.
To bound this quantity,
we prove by induction that every $x_i$ is
a $\beta_i$-approximate solution for $w_i$.
We break our analysis into cases,
for which we need the next three lemmas.
First, we consider an edge $e_i$ which is evicted from the stack.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: xi case 1}
If $x_{i+1}$ is a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution for $w_{i+1}$
and the condition in Line~\ref{line: edge deleted cond} holds
for $e_i$,
then $x_i$ is a $\beta_i$-approximate solution for $w_i$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
Since the condition in Line~\ref{line: edge deleted cond} holds,
we have $x_i= x_{i+1}$.
This immediately guarantees that $x_i$ is a feasible solution and
that condition $1$ of Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio} holds.
We show that condition $2(b)$ of Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio}
holds as well.
As the condition in Line~\ref{line: edge deleted cond} holds,
we know that in some iteration $j$ of the first phase, $j>i$,
the condition in Line~\ref{line: omit obsolete edge} held.
That is,
for some endpoint $v$ of $e_i$, an edge $e_{j}$ with $e_i\cap e_{j}=\set{v}$ was enqueued into $E_{j}(v)$,
the condition
$(\alpha-1)\alpha^{\size{E_{j}(v)}-2} > 2\alpha\gamma$ held,
and $e_i$ was then dequeued from $E_{j}(v)$.
Every enqueue operation to $E_i(v)$ is accompanied by
an increases of $c_i(v)$ by $1$,
so when the condition in Line~\ref{line: omit obsolete edge}
was checked, $e_i$ and $e_{j}$ were the oldest and newest elements in $E_{j}(v)$, respectively,
and the size of $E_{j}(v)$ was exactly $c_{j}(v) - c_i(v) +1$.
Thus,
$(\alpha-1)\alpha^{c_{j}(v)-c_{i}(v) -1} \geq 2\alpha\gamma$.
Using this inequality and Lemma~\ref{lem: edge weight inequality},
we have
$$w_{i+1}[e_{j}]
\geq (\alpha-1)\alpha^{c_{j}(v)-c_{i}(v) -1} w_{i}[e_{i}]
\geq 2\alpha\gamma w_{i}[e_{i}].$$
Hence, the single edge $e_{j}$
is a matching of weight at least $2\alpha\gamma w_{i}[e_i]$
in $w_{i+1}$.
As $x_{i+1}$ is a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution for $w_{i+1}$,
we have $\beta_{i+1} x_{i+1}w_{i+1} \geq 2\alpha\gamma w_i[e_i]$.
The definition of $\bar{w}_{i+1}$ guarantees it has the following structure:
\begin{align}
\bar{w}_{i+1}[e'] =
\begin{cases}
w_i[e_i] & e'=e_i; \\
\alpha w_i[e_i]\text{ or } w_i[e_i] & e'\in N(e_i); \\
0 & \text{otherwise.}
\end{cases}
\end{align}
Thus, any solution $x^\ast$ for $\bar{w}_{i+1}$
contains at most two edges,
of weight at most $\alpha w_i[e_i]$,
i.e.\ $2\alpha w_i[e_i] \geq x^\ast \bar{w}_{i+1}$.
The last two inequalities guarantee any solution
$x^\ast$ satisfies
$$ (\beta_{i+1} / \gamma)x_{i+1}w_{i+1}
\geq 2\alpha w_i[e_i]
\geq x^\ast \bar{w}_{i+1} $$
so
$ x_{i}w_{i+1} = x_{i+1}w_{i+1}
\geq (\gamma/\beta_{i+1})x^\ast \bar{w}_{i+1} $,
and condition $2(b)$ of Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio} holds.
\end{proof}
We now turn to the case of an edge $e_i$ that is not evicted from the stack.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: xi case 2}
If $x_{i+1}$ is a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximation for $w_{i+1}$
and the condition on Line~\ref{line: edge deleted cond} does not hold for $e_i$,
then $x_i$ is a $\beta_i$-approximation for $w_i$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
If the condition on Line~\ref{line: add edge cond} holds,
then $x_i$ is derived from $x_{i+1}$
by adding $e_i$ to $x_{i+1}$.
The condition in this line,
together with the assumption that $x_{i+1}$ is a matching,
guarantee that $x_i$ is a matching.
Since $\bar{w}_{i+1} [e_i] = w_i[e_i]$
and $w_{i+1} = w_i - \bar{w}_{i+1}$,
we have $w_{i+1} [e_i] = 0$.
Hence, $x_i w_{i+1} = x_{i+1} w_{i+1}$,
so $x_i$ is also a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution
for $w_{i+1}$
and condition~$1$ of Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio} holds.
By Lemma~\ref{lem: residual is an approximate sol},
$x_i$ is a $(2\alpha)$-approximate solution for $\bar{w}_{i+1}$,
and because $2\alpha \leq \beta_{i+1}$ it is also
a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution to $\bar{w}_{i+1}$
and condition~$2(a)$ of Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio} holds.
Finally, if the condition in Line~\ref{line: add edge cond} does not hold, we set $x_i = x_{i+1}$.
Then $x_i$ is a feasible matching
satisfying condition~$1$ of Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio}.
The condition in Line~\ref{line: add edge cond} does not hold,
so $x_{i+1}[e']\neq 0$ for some $e'\in N^+[e_i]$,
and Lemma~\ref{lem: residual is an approximate sol} promises
$x_i$ is a $(2\alpha)$-approximation for $\bar{w}_{i+1}$.
As before,
$2\alpha \leq \beta_{i+1}$ proves that
condition~$2(a)$ of Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio} holds.
\end{proof}
Finally, we show that when the first phase ends,
none of the reduced edge weights is positive.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: last w is non-positive}
At the end of the first phase,
$w_{k+1}[e] \leq 0$ for all $e\in E$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
Consider an edge $e$.
If $e=e_i$ is heavy then
$\bar{w}_{i+1} [e_i] = w_i[e_i]$ and $w_{i+1} = w_i - \bar{w}_{i+1}$
imply $w_{i+1} [e_i] = 0$.
The monotonicity of $w_i[e]$ completes the proof.
If $e=(u,u')$ is a light edge considered in iteration $i$,
then $w_1[e] \leq \alpha(\phi_{i-1}(u) + \phi_{i-1}(u'))$.
Line~\ref{line: update phiiv} guarantees
$$\phi_{i-1}(u) =
\sum_{\set{e_j\left|\substack{ u\in e_j\\ j\leq i-1} \right.}}
w_j[e_j],$$
and a similar claim holds for $u'$.
On the other hand,
$w_{j+1} = w_j - \bar{w}_{j+1}$ and
$\bar{w}_{j+1}[e] = \alpha w_j[e_j]$ for all $e_j\in N(e)$.
Hence $w_{j+1}[e] = w_j[e]-\alpha w_j[e_j]$,
and a simple induction implies
$$w_i[e]
= w_1[e] -
\alpha \sum_{\set{e_j\left|\substack{e_j\in N(e)\\
j\leq i-1} \right.}}
w_j[e_j].$$
The last two equalities, together with the definition of $N(e)$,
imply
$w_i[e] = w_1[e] - \alpha (\phi_{i-1}(u) + \phi_{i-1}(u'))$.
The inequality $w_1[e] \leq \alpha(\phi_{i-1}(u) + \phi_{i-1}(u'))$
implies $w_i[e]\leq 0$ for all $e\in E$,
and the monotonicity of $w_i[e]$
completes the proof.
\end{proof}
We are now ready to prove the main theorem of this section.
\begin{theorem}
Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{} returns a $(2+\epsilon)$-approximation
for the MWM problem.
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
By Lemma~\ref{lem: last w is non-positive},
the first loop ends when $w_{k+1} \leq \vec{0}$,
so $x_{k+1}= \vec{0}$ is indeed an optimal solution for $w_{k+1}$.
Assume $x_{i+1}$ is a $\beta_{i+1}$-approximate solution for $w_{i+1}$.
From Lemmas~\ref{lem: xi case 1} and \ref{lem: xi case 2}
we conclude that in all cases the conditions of
Lemma~\ref{lem: approx-ratio} hold,
so $x_1$ is a $\beta_1$-approximate solution for $w=w_1$.
Substitute $\beta_1 = 2\alpha(1+1/\gamma)^{k}$,
$\alpha = \sqrt{1+\epsilon/2}$ and
$\gamma = n^2 / \ln (\alpha)$,
and note $k\leq m \leq n^2$,
to get
\begin{align*}
\beta_1
&\leq 2\alpha(1+1/\gamma)^{n^2}\\
&= 2\alpha \left(1+ (\ln \alpha) /n^2 \right)^{n^2}\\
& \leq 2\alpha e^{\ln \alpha}
= 2+\epsilon.
\end{align*}
The desired approximation ratio is achieved.
\end{proof}
\subsection{Implementing Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{} in the Semi-Streaming Model}
In the previous section we showed that
Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{} computes a $(2+\epsilon)$-approximation for MWM.
In the semi-streaming model,
we must obey space constraints in addition to maintaining a good approximation ratio.
In the presentation of the sequential algorithm
we ignored the space constrains:
we did not remove edges from the stack,
and we represented the temporary solutions as the vectors $x_i$
of size $\Theta(n^2)$.
In order to follow the space constraints,
we replace any insertion of $\bot$ into the stack
by a removal of the relevant edge,
and the vectors $x_i$ by a single set containing the current matching.
For the sake of completeness,
we present Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-semi}{} (Algorithm~\ref{alg: MWM semistream}),
an implementation of Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{} in the semi-streaming model.
The correctness of Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-semi}{}
is derived directly from the correctness of Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{},
so we only need to prove it obeys the space constraints.
After omitting notations and auxiliary variables from Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-seq}{},
we are left only with three types of data structures
in Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-semi}{}:
$M$ is the matching constructed,
$S$ is the stack
and $E(v)$ is a queue of edges from $S$ that
contain node $v$.
Every edge $(u,u')$ that is added to $S$
is also added to $E(u)$ and $E(u')$.
When $(u,u')$ is removed from $E(u)$ or from $E(u')$,
it is also removed from $S$,
implying $\size{S} \leq \sum_v \size{E(v)}$.
The next lemma bounds the size of $E(v)$ for every $v$.
\RestyleAlgo{boxruled}
\LinesNumbered
\begin{algorithm}[t]
\DontPrintSemicolon
\caption{\texttt{MWM-semi}($V,E,w$). A Semi-Streaming approximation algorithm for MWM}
\label{alg: MWM semistream}
$S \gets $ empty stack\\
$\phi\gets \vec{0}$\\
$\forall v\in V: E(v) \gets $ empty queue\\
\ForEach{$e=(u,u')\in E$%
\label{lineb: foreach begin}}
{
\lIf{$w[e] \leq \alpha(\phi(u) + \phi(u'))$}
{
continue
}
$S.\text{push}(e)$\\
$w'[e]\gets w[e]-(\phi(u) + \phi(u'))$ \\
\ForEach{$v \in e$
{
$E(v).\text{enqueue}(e)$ \\
$\phi(v) \gets \phi(v) + w'[e]$ \\
\If{$ (\alpha-1)\alpha^{\size{E(v)}-2} > 2\alpha\gamma$}
{\label{lineb: size ev cond}
$e'\gets E(v).\text{dequeue}()$\\
remove $e'$ from $S$
\label{lineb: foreach end}\\
}
}
}
$M\gets \emptyset$ \\
\While{$S \neq \emptyset$}
{
$e \gets S.\text{pop}()$\\
\lIf{$M\cap N(e) = \emptyset$}
{
$M \gets M \cup \set{e}$
}
}
return $M$
\end{algorithm}
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem: alg-space}
During the execution of Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-semi}{}, $|E(v)| =
O\left(\frac{\log n + \log (1/\epsilon)}{\epsilon}\right)$
for each $v\in V$.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
After each iteration of the loop in
Lines~\ref{lineb: foreach begin}--\ref{lineb: foreach end},
we have $(\alpha-1)\alpha^{\size{E(v)}-2} \leq 2\alpha\gamma$ for each $v\in V$:
this is true at the beginning;
$E(v)$ can grow only by 1 at each iteration;
and whenever the inequality does not hold,
an edge is removed from $E(v)$.
From the above inequality,
$\alpha = \sqrt{1+\epsilon/2}$, and $\gamma = n^2 / \ln (\alpha)$,
we derive an asymptotic bound on $\size{E(v)}$.
\begin{align*}
\size{E(v)}
&\leq \frac{\log \frac{2\alpha \gamma}{\alpha-1}}{\log\alpha} +2\\
&\leq \frac{\log \frac{2n^2 \alpha^2}{(\alpha-1)^2}}{\log\alpha} +2
\tag{$\ln\alpha>\frac{\alpha-1}{\alpha}$ for $\alpha>1$} \\
&= \frac{\log (2n^2) +2\log\alpha-2\log(\alpha-1)}{\log\alpha} +2\\
&\leq 6\frac{\log (2n^2) -2\log(\epsilon/6)}{\epsilon} +4
\tag{$\alpha-1>\epsilon/6$ and $\log\alpha>\epsilon/6$ for $0<\epsilon<6$} \\
&= O\left(\frac{\log n + \log (1/\epsilon)}{\epsilon}\right)
\end{align*}
as desired.
\end{proof}
From Lemma~\ref{lem: alg-space}
we conclude that, for a constant $\epsilon$,
Algorithm~\texttt{MWM-semi}{} maintains at most $O(n\log n)$ edges,
each represented by $O(\log n)$ bits,
giving a total space of $O(n\log^2 n)$ bits.
Our algorithm requires $O(1)$ time to process a new edge arriving from the stream,
and $O(n\log n)$ time for the post-processing step.
A similar analysis, without assuming $\epsilon$ is constant,
implies the main theorem of this paper.
\begin{theorem-repeat}{thm: the main theorem}
There exists an algorithm in the semi-streaming model computing a $(2+\epsilon)$-approximation for MWM, using $O(\epsilon^{-1}n\log n \cdot (\log n + \log (1/\epsilon)))$ bits and having an $O(1)$ processing time.
\end{theorem-repeat}
In our analysis we assume that the edge weights can be represented using $O(\log n)$ bits,
which is the case, e.g., for integer edge weights bounded by a polynomial in $n$.
If this is not the case, and the weights are integers bounded by some $W$, our algorithm requires $O(n(\log^2 n + \log W))$ bits, as it keeps a sum of weights for every node,
and does not keep edge weights at all.
\paragraph{Acknowledgments}
We thank Keren Censor-Hillel and Seri Khoury for helpful discussions,
Seffi Naor for useful comments on the presentation,
and the anonymous referees of SODA 2017 and ACM TALG for their comments.
\let\OLDthebibliography\thebibliography
\renewcommand\thebibliography[1]{
\OLDthebibliography{#1}
\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}
\setlength{\itemsep}{2pt plus 0.3ex}
}
\bibliographystyle{alpha}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 4,983 |
\section{The Flock vision}
In this section, we present our vision for {\em Flock\xspace}, a reference architecture to support the canonical data science lifecycle for EGML applications. {\em Flock} is our vehicle to explore assumptions (\S~\ref{sec:vantagepoint}), discover open problems and validate initial solutions (\S~\ref{sec:problems}).
We start from a key observation: {\em Machine Learning models are software artifacts derived from data.} The resulting dual nature of software artifacts and derived data provides us with a useful lens to understand the role of the DB community in the EGML revolution.
The lifecycle shown in Figure~\ref{fig:flock} begins with a (typically) offline phase, where a data scientist (and more and more frequently any software engineer) gathers data from multiple data sources, transforms them via several featurization steps and models reality using learning algorithms. Today, this phase is very manual and sadly closer to a black art than an engineering discipline. Looking at ML as software, we expect the ML and Software Engineering communities to provide us with automation~\cite{automl_book}, tooling, and engineering best practices---ML will become an integral part of the DevOps lifecycle. Looking at ML models as derived data, the DB community must address data discovery, access control and data sharing, curation, validation, versioning and provenance~(\S~\ref{sec:datamanagement}). Moreover, today's prevalent abstraction for data science is imperative Python code orchestrating data-intensive processing steps, each performed within a native library. This suggests that end-to-end ML pipelines can be approached as inherently optimizable dataflows (\S~\ref{sec:inference}).
The second stage in the lifecycle is entered when a model is selected and is ready to be deployed. Using the models-as-software lens, deployment consists of packaging the entire inference pipeline (model + all data preprocessing steps) in a way that preserves the exact behavior crafted by the data scientist in the training environment. Next, deployment envolves finding a suitable hosting infrastructure for scoring the model. Today's best practice is to package models in costly containers and hope that enough of the environment is preserved to ensure correctness\footnote{This is optimistic (e.g., is floating point precision guaranteed when running a container across Linux/Windows, x64/ARM?)}. Recall that in EGML settings individual decisions could be very consequential (e.g., loan acceptance, or choice of medical treatment), so ``average model accuracy'' is not a sufficient validation metric. Switching to our models-as-data lens, we observe that they must be subject to GDPR-style scrutiny, and their storage and querying/scoring must be secured and auditably tracked---e.g., \cite{carlini2018secret} has shown how to extract credit card numbers memoized in a trained neural network language model. Also, privacy and fairness implications must be handled carefully. Moreover, as the underlying data evolves, models need to be updated. To retain consistency for complex applications multiple models might have to be updated transactionally. DBMSs have long provided these type of enterprise features for operational data, and we propose to extend them to support model scoring. While this was our primary motivation, our early experiments suggest that in-DB model scoring actually allows us to deliver $5\times$ to $24\times$ speedups over standalone state of the art solutions!
Model predictions usually come in the form of single numbers or vectors of numbers (e.g.,\ the probability of each class in a classification problem). To act on a prediction, it must be transformed to domain terms (e.g.,\ the name of the winning class). But actions are typically more nuanced and involve policies that encode business constraints and might actually override a model's prediction under certain circumstances. Systematizing this policy space is important, as we have discussed in~\cite{floratou2017dhalion}.
Beside basic orchestration (of what happens when) in project lifecycle, management and governance for data and models throughout is vital. Access to a deployed model must be controlled, similar to how access to data or a view is controlled in a DBMS. Provenance here plays a key role and has two distinct applications---looking at models as software artifacts, we must be able to verify them or debug them, even as they evolve due to re-training. From a model-as-data viewpoint, we must be able to determine how a model was derived and from which snapshot of (training) data, in order to interpret the predictions and answer questions such as whether and why certain decisions were biased.
This leads to the need for pervasive and automated tracking of provenance from training through deployment to scoring (\S~\ref{sec:datamanagement}).
Given this context, we argue that: 1) the {\em ML development/training will happen in the Cloud}; 2) {\em Models must be stored and scored in managed environments such as a DBMS}; and 3) {\em Provenance needs to be collected across all phases}.
\section{The vantage point}
\label{sec:vantagepoint}
\noindent Our perspective on {\em what Enterprise-grade ML (EGML) will look like in 10 years} is shaped by multiple inputs.
\vspace{2mm}
{\noindent \em \large First-hand experience.} Collectively, the authors of this paper have extensive experience in using ML technologies in production settings, e.g., content recommenders~\cite{yahoo-coke}, spam filters~\cite{yahoo-spam}, big data learning optimizers~\cite{costLearner,cardLearner,raqo-full,raqo}, ML-based performance debuggers, Azure cloud optimizations based on customer load predictions, self-tuning streaming systems, and auto-tuning infrastructures for SQL~Server internals. Many of us have also been working on systems for ML technologies, including big data infrastructure \cite{hydra,hadoop,netco}, ML toolkits~\cite{ml.net,nimbus-ml,onnx-runtime}, and the systems that orchestrate it all in the cloud~\cite{azureml}.
This experience has led to one key insight: {\bf ``An ML model is software derived from data''}. This means that ML presents characteristics that are typical of software (e.g., it requires rich and new CI/CD pipelines), and of data (e.g., the need to track lineage)---hence, the database community is well positioned to play a key role in EGML, but much work is needed. We discuss some of the problems we tackle in \S~\ref{sec:problems}.
A second---and painfully clear---observation is that {\bf the actual model development represents less than 20\% of most data science project lifecycle}~\cite{kagglesurvey}. The majority of the time is spent on collecting and cleaning the data, with the reminder on operationalizing the best model.
\vspace{2mm}
{\noindent \em \large Conversations with enterprises.}
We have engaged with many large, sophisticated enterprises, including: (i) a financial institution seeking to streamline its loan approval process, (ii) a marketing firm identifying which customers to target for promotions, (iii) a sports company predicting athletes' performance, (iv) a health insurance agency aiming to predict patient recidivism, and (v) a large automotive company modeling recalls, customer satisfaction, and marketing.
A key learning from these conversations is that compared to ``unicorn'' ML applications like web search, these enterprise applications are characterized by smaller teams with domain expertise rather than deep algorithmic or systems expertise. On the other hand, their platform requirements are much more stringent around auditing, security, privacy, fairness, and bias.\footnote{This is not intended to suggest that unicorn applications do not share these requirements; rather, enterprise teams want off-the-shelf platforms that have a much higher level of support built-in, whereas unicorn teams have typically built everything from scratch.} This is particularly true for regulated industries. Existing ML technologies are not ready to support these applications in a safe, cost-effective manner. We also learned that is increasingly common for a data science project to produce a large number of localized/specialized models, rather than a single uber model---e.g., a scam-detection model per ATM vs a single global model. This creates novel challenges on model management, deployment, tracking, (transactional) rolling forward/backward among model versions etc. In short: {\bf Typical applications of ML are built by smaller, less experienced teams, yet they have more stringent demands}.
\vspace{2mm}
{\noindent \em \large GitHub analysis.}
To get a feel for trends in the broader data science community, we {\em downloaded and analyzed $>4$ million public Python notebooks from GitHub}, plus hundreds of thousands of data science pipelines from within Microsoft~\cite{dsonds}. Over 70\% of the notebooks focused on ML. Moreover, we analyzed hundreds of versions for popular Python packages. The details of this analysis are beyond the scope of this paper, but we make a few key observations. Figure~\ref{fig:coverage} shows the fraction of notebooks that would be completely supported, if we only covered the K most popular packages (for varying values of K). The shift between 2017 and 2019 suggests that the field is still expanding quickly (many more packages) but also that we are seeing an initial convergence (a few packages are becoming dominant). For example, \texttt{numpy}, \texttt{panda}s and \texttt{sklearn} are solidifying their position. We also observe very limited adoption of solutions for testing/CI-CD/model tracking (MLFlow~\cite{mlflow} is still not very popular despite its relevance to EGML).
Overall this suggests that {\bf systems aiming to support EGML must provide broad coverage, but can focus on optimizing a core set of ML packages.}
\begin{figure}
\centering\includegraphics[width=0.9\columnwidth]{figures/coverage_annotated.pdf}
\vspace{-2mm}
\caption{Notebook coverage (\%) for top-K packages.}
\label{fig:coverage}
\vspace{-2mm}
\end{figure}
\input{related-systems.tex}
\input{related-work.tex}
\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:intro}
Machine learning (ML) has proven itself in high-value consumer
applications such as search ranking, recommender systems and spam
detection~\cite{yahoo-spam, yahoo-coke}. These applications are built and
operated by large teams of experts, and run on massive dedicated
infrastructures.\footnote{ML.NET~\cite{ml.net} alone took dozens of
engineers over a decade.} The (exorbitant) human and hardware costs are
well justified by multi-billion dollar paydays. This approach is
entirely impractical when it comes to the (ongoing) mainstream adoption
of ML.
\interfootnotelinepenalty=10000
Enterprises in every industry are developing strategies for digitally
transforming their business at every level. The core idea is to
continuously monitor all aspects of the business, actively interpret the
observations using advanced data analysis---including ML---and integrate
the learnings into appropriate actions that improve business outcomes. We
predict that in the next 10~years, hundreds of thousands of small teams
will build millions\footnote{From our analysis on \textgreater4M Python notebooks from public GitHub repositories~\cite{dsonds}, we conservatively estimate that 10\% of the world's developers will use ML in
the next 10 years---totalling 20M engineering years.} of ML-infused applications---most just moderately remunerative,
but with huge collective value.
When it comes to leveraging ML in {\em enterprise} applications,
especially in regulated environments, the level of scrutiny for data
handling, model fairness, user privacy, and debuggability will be
substantially higher than in the first wave of ML applications. Consider
the healthcare domain: ML models may be trained on sensitive medical data,
and make predictions that determine patient treatments---copying CSV
files on a laptop and maximizing {\em average} model accuracy just
doesn't cut it! We refer to this new class of applications as {\em Enterprise Grade Machine Learning (EGML).}
In this paper, we speculate on how ML and database systems will evolve to
support EGML over the next several years. Database management systems
(DBMSs) are the repositories for high-value data that demands security,
fine-grained access control, auditing, high-availability, etc. Over the last 30~years, whenever
a new data-related technology has gained sufficient adoption, inevitably
DBMS vendors have sought to absorb the technology into their mainstream
products. Examples include Object-Oriented~\cite{oodbms}, XML~\cite
{xmldbms}, and Big Data~\cite{SQLServer2019} technologies. Indeed, ML is
no exception if we consider SQL Server Analysis Services~\cite{ssas}, SQL
Server R and Python integration~\cite{ssml}, and Big Query support for
ML~\cite{bigquery-ml}. {\em Is the future then that ML will be
assimilated by the DBMS?}
\begin{figure*}
\centering\includegraphics[width=1.9\columnwidth]{figures/flock}
\vspace{-2mm}
\caption{Flock\xspace reference architecture for a canonical data science lifecycle. }
\label{fig:flock}
\vspace{-2mm}
\end{figure*}
We believe that this is too simplistic, and understanding the path forward
requires a more careful look at the various aspects of EGML, which we divide
into three main categories: {\em model development/training}, {\em model
scoring} and {\em model management/governance}.
\indent \sstitle{Train in the Cloud.} First, we are witnessing an ongoing
revolution in frameworks for training an increasingly broad range of ML model
classes. Their very foundations are still undergoing rapid
development~\cite{chen2018neural}. Often, these developments happen in
conjunction with innovations in hardware. The rapidly expanding community of
data scientists who train models are developing sophisticated environments for
managing and supporting the iterative process of data exploration, feature
engineering, model training, model selection, model deployment, etc.---prominent examples include~\cite{mlflow, azureml}. These large, complex, evolving infrastructures are a
good fit with managed cloud service infrastructure. Moreover, model training
requires centralized data, is characterized by spiky resource usage, and
benefits from access to the latest hardware. This leads us to believe that model
training and development will happen in either private or public clouds.
\indent \sstitle{Score in the DBMS.} Second, while the models may be centrally
trained the resulting inference pipelines will be deployed everywhere: in the
cloud, on-prem, and on edge devices to make inferences (``scoring'') where the
data is. This raises the question of whether doing inference on data stored in a
DBMS can be done as an extension of the query runtime, without the need to
exfiltrate the data. We strongly believe this can and must be supported. It
appears likely that the most widely studied or promising families of models can
be uniformly represented \cite{mlflow,onnx}. Given a particular model we can
express how to score it (i.e., perform inference) on an input using an appropriate algebra, and compile these algebraic structures into highly optimized code for different
execution environments and hardware~\cite{tvm}. Taken together, these
observations suggest that we need to consider how to incorporate ML scoring as a
foundational extension of relational algebra, and an integral part of SQL query
optimizers and runtimes---we present a concrete proposal in
\S~\ref{sec:inference}.
\indent \sstitle{Governance everywhere.} Third, we believe that all data,
including deployed models---models are, in fact, best thought of as
derived data---and the inferences made using them, will need to be
robustly governed. The deployment of ML models and their use in
decision making via inference
leads to many significant challenges in governance. For example,
regulations such as GDPR~\cite{gdpr} and concerns such as model bias and
explainability motivate tracking provenance all the way from data used
for training through to decisions based on scoring of trained
models. In turn, this requires efficient support for versioning data.
While the ML community is focused on improvements in algorithms and
training infrastructures, we see massive need for the DB community to
step up in the areas of secure data access, version management, and
provenance tracking and governance---we discuss initial work in this area
in \S~\ref{sec:datamanagement}.
In summary, the future is likely {\em cloudy with a high chance of DBMS, and governance throughout.} We describe how our vision is shaped by customer conversations, data and market analysis, and our direct experience as well as present several open problems. We conclude by highlighting promising initial results from a few of the solutions that we are working on.
\section{Open Problems \& Advances}\label{sec:problems}
The vision for EGML we presented is an exciting one and presents many challenging problems. We summarize some key challenges below and present some of our ongoing work.
We focus on two categories that require attention from the DB community and are not well understood: 1) the systems support required to go from a trained model to decisions, and 2) data management for ML.
\subsection{From Model to Decision: Inference}
\label{sec:inference}
Much attention has been given to learning algorithms and efficient model training, but models only have value insofar as they are used for inference, to create insights and make decisions. This typically involves a complicated setup of containers for deploying the trained model (as executable code), with applications invoking them via HTTP/REST calls. Further, the containerized code often extends model inference with the implementation of complex application-level policies.
While this containerized approach offers a desirable decomposition of the problem between models and the applications using them, it has significant drawbacks: (1) Many applications use more than one model, with each model applied to the outcome of some (potentially different) data processing step. These assemblies of models and preprocessing steps should be updated atomically. (2) It seems unlikely that this solution will fit the scenarios emerging from the millions of applications we expect in this space (e.g., latency-sensitive decisions and large batch predictions are poorly served). (3) Mixing application-level policies and inference logic makes it hard to separate and measure the impact of the two.
We believe that models should be represented as first-class data types in a DBMS. This will naturally address (1) by allowing database transactions to be used for updating multiple deployed models. To address (2), we believe inference/scoring should be viewed as an extension of relational query processing, and argue for moving model inference close to the data and performing it in-DBMS, without external calls for common types of models. Naturally, this calls for a separation of inference from application-level logic. We present a clean framework for (3) after we briefly summarize our early results on in-DBMS inference. A more in-depth discussion on inference appears in~\cite{raven}.
\vspace{2mm}
{\noindent \em \large In-DBMS inference.} While in-DBMS inference appears desirable, a key question arises: {\em Can in-DBMS model inference perform as well as standalone dedicated solutions?}
To this end, several recent works~\cite{madlib,lara,laradb,levelheaded} in the database community explore how linear and relational algebra can be co-optimized. To carry this investigation further, we integrated ONNX Runtime~\cite{onnx-runtime} within SQL Server and developed an in-database cross-optimizer between SQL and ML to enable optimizations across hybrid relational and ML expressions~\cite{raven}. Further, we observe that practical end-to-end prediction pipelines are composed of a larger variety of operators (e.g., featurizers such as text encoding and models such as decision trees) often assembled in Python. We leverage static analysis to derive an intermediate representation (IR) amenable to optimization. The list of optimizations we have been exploring is therefore more comprehensive than prior work, and includes the following:
%
\begin{itemize}[noitemsep,topsep=0pt,parsep=0pt,partopsep=0pt]
\item predicate-based model pruning, which uses selections from the SQL subsection of the query to simplify the ML subsection;
\item model-projection pushdown, which automatically prunes (projects out) unused input feature-columns exploiting model-sparsity;
\item model clustering that compiles simplified models for different parts of the input based on data statistics;
\item model inlining, which transforms ML operators to relational ones (similar in spirit to~\cite{froid});
\item physical operator selection based on statistics, available runtime (SQL/ONNX/Python UDFs~\cite{spexternalsql}) and hardware (CPU,~GPU).
\end{itemize}
\vspace{2mm}
In Figure~\ref{fig:inference-eval} we present two key results: (1) performance of integrating ONNX Runtime (ORT) within SQL Server, both through in-process execution (Raven) and out-of-process (Raven ext.); and (2) benefit of cross-optimizations, including model inlining and predicate-based model pruning. The results show that SQL Server integration provides up to $5.5\times$ over standalone ORT (due to automatic parallelization of the inference task in SQL Server) and up to $24\times$ from our combined optimizations. Early results indicate that in-DBMS inference is very promising.
\begin{figure}[t!]
\includegraphics[width=0.32\textwidth]{figures/sonnx2}
\hspace{0ex}\includegraphics[width=0.15\textwidth,trim={2.6cm 0 0 0},clip]{figures/inline}
\vspace{-2mm}
\caption{Benefits of integrating ONNX Runtime in SQL Server (left) and of cross-optimizations (right---red bar shows speedup due to model inlining, blue bar also includes predicate-based model pruning).
\label{fig:inference-eval}}
\vspace{-2mm}
\end{figure}
\vspace{2mm}
{\noindent \em \large Bridging the model-application divide.}
ML applications need to transform the model predictions into actionable decisions in the application domain. However, the mathematical output of the model is rarely the only parameter considered before a decision is made. In real deployment scenarios, business rules and constraints are important factors that need to be taken into account before any action is taken. As a concrete example, we have built models to automate the selection of parallelism for large big data jobs to avoid resource wastage (in the context of Cosmos clusters~\cite{morpheus}). While models are generally accurate, they occasionally predict resource requirements in excess of the amounts allowed by user-specified limits. Business rules expressed as policies then override the model.
Obviously, business rules and requirements can vary between different applications and environments. To that end, we employ a generic and extensible module~\cite{floratou2017dhalion} that takes as input user-defined \textit{policies} which introduce various business constraints on top of EGML workloads. The module continuously monitors the output of the ML models and applies the specified policies before taking any further action in the application domain. It also maintains the system state and actions taken over time allowing us to easily debug and explain the system's actions. Finally, it makes sure that the actions happen in a transactional way, rolling back in case of failures when needed. Overall this closes the loop between model and application, providing us visibility necessary for both debugging and end-to-end accountability.
Next, we discuss the requirements for managing data for ML.
\subsection{Data Management for ML}
\label{sec:datamanagement}
\vspace{2mm}
{\noindent \em \large Data Discovery, Access and Versioning.} One of the main challenges ML practitioners face today revolves around data access and discovery. Training data commonly contains tabular data, but also images, video or other sensor data. This gives rise to a predominantly file-based workflow. Only a small fraction of the $>4$~million notebooks we analyzed makes use of a database access library. This is surprising, as the vast majority of the pipelines ultimately use Pandas~\cite{pandas}, a structured DataFrame, to interact with this data. This state-of-the-art is deeply unsatisfying: {\em Data Discovery support is virtually non-existent }. This is especially troubling as data augmentation is one of the best strategies to improve a model.
Worse, \emph{data versioning is largely unsolved in this paradigm:} A model is the result of both its training code and the training data. Both need to be versioned. And file versioning technologies fail to address key needs of data versions; they often can only represent a deletion via a history rewrite. More fundamentally, files are not the atomic unit of training data: an individual data point may be stored in a file, but equally likely, many files represent one data point, or one file contains many data points.
Hence, we believe that {\bf there is an open need for queryable data abstractions, lineage-tracking and storage technology that can cover heterogenous, versioned, and durable data.}
\vspace{2mm}
{\noindent \em \large Model Management.}We have argued that ML models are software artifacts created from data, and must be secured, tracked and managed on par with other high-value data. DBMSs provide a convenient starting point thanks to their support for enterprise-grade features such as security, auditability, versioning, high availability, etc. To be clear, we are not suggesting that all data management needs to be inside a relational DBMS; indeed, we see a trend towards comprehensive data management suites that span all of a user's data across one or more repositories. Our point is that managing models should be treated on par with how high-value data is managed, whether in a DBMS (the most widely available option currently) or in emerging cross-repository managed environments.
\begin{figure}
\centering\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{figures/prov}
\vspace{-2mm}
\caption{Data science pipeline}
\label{fig:ds}
%
\vspace{-1em}
\end{figure}
\vspace{2mm}
{\noindent \em \large Model Tracking and Provenance.} Models are software of consequence. Their genesis needs to be tracked. To achieve that, the full \emph{provenance} of a model must be known for debugging/auditing.
We need to capture not only the code that trained the model, but also the (training) data that went into it, together with its full, tamper-proof lineage. There are multiple industry efforts to capture the inner training loop of this lineage~\cite{mlflow, kubeflow}. This must be expanded to the full lineage, and also automated to achieve the scale we expect.
Figure~\ref{fig:ds} shows an example of a data science pipeline. The data scientist first selects a subset of patient-related data stored in a relational database and saves them in a CSV file. This file can then be accessed by a Python script to train a machine learning model. This pipeline involves different tools and languages (SQL, Python) and data formats (SQL tables, flat files).
Tracking provenance across such pipelines can enable various important applications such as model linting, compliance testing, and impact analysis. In this particular example, the label used to train the model (TARGET column) is also part of the feature set. Automatically analyzing the Python script to identify the provenance relationships between the columns of the dataset and the trained model can help identify such mistakes. Similar techniques can also be used to detect compliance violations such as usage of PII information by a machine learning model. In our example, the dataset contains sensitive patient data that include the SSN and ID columns. However, these columns are dropped from the Python script before training the machine learning model, and as a result the pipeline is compliant with the regulations. Finally, automatic tracking of provenance can help identify the set of applications that are affected by changes in the original data sources. For example, one can use such information to detect which machine learning models will be impacted when a column of the dataset in the database is dropped because it contains corrupted data.
Enabling such applications by automatically capturing provenance information across such pipelines is challenging:
\begin{itemize}
\item \sstitle{C1. Provenance data model.} Data elements in EGML workloads are polymorphic (e.g., tables, columns, rows, ML models, and hyper-parameters) with inherent temporal dimensions (e.g., a model may have multiple versions, one for each re-run of a training pipeline). As such, and in contrast to traditional data models of provenance over DBMSs, EGML workloads dictate polymorphic and temporal provenance data models. Such data models are hard to design, capture, maintain, and query.
\item \sstitle{C2. Provenance capture.} EGML workloads typically span multiple systems and runtimes (e.g., a Python script may fetch data from multiple databases to train a model). These systems might have different architecture and programming constructs (e.g., declarative vs. imperative interfaces). Extracting a meaningful provenance data model in this setting requires different capture techniques tailored specifically to each system and runtime.
\item \sstitle{C3. Provenance across disparate systems.} Even if we capture provenance on top of each system and runtime in isolation, we still require to combine this information across systems (e.g., if we change a column in a database, models trained in Python that depend on this column may need to be invalidated and retrained). Hence, EGML workloads require protocols for consolidating and communicating the provenance information across systems.
\end{itemize}
\sstitle{Our initial solution.} Our solution consists of three major modules: the \textit{SQL Provenance module}, the \textit{Python Provenance module} and the \textit{Catalog}. The Catalog (we use Apache Atlas~\cite{atlas}) stores all the provenance information and acts as the bridge between the SQL and the Python Provenance modules. It allows us to capture end-to-end provenance across different systems---hence, provides a principal way to address \textbf{C3}. Next, we present the high-level architecture and some preliminary experimental results (full papers with the detailed description of the system design and associated algorithms behind the SQL and Python Provenance modules are under preparation).
\vspace{2mm}
\sstitle{Provenance in SQL.} Our SQL provenance module currently focuses on capturing coarse-grained provenance under two modes, traditionally referred to as eager and lazy. Under eager provenance capture, given a query, the module parses it to extract coarse-grained provenance information (i.e., input tables and columns that affected the output, with connections modelled as a graph). Under lazy provenance capture, the module gets as input the query log of the database and constructs the provenance data model, only this time by accounting the whole query history. Under both modes, the module populates the Catalog accordingly.
To scale across databases, the parsing module utilizes Apache Calcite~\cite{calcite} that provides parsers and adapters across databases---hence, provides us a way towards addressing \textbf{C2}. For cases where Apache Calcite cannot parse queries, we specialize to the parser of the corresponding engine. Furthermore, note that all data stored in the Catalog is versioned (e.g., an \texttt{INSERT} to a table results in a new version of the table in the provenance data model)---hence, we address the temporal aspect of \textbf{C1}. The table below shows the provenance capture performance (latency and provenance graph size) for queries generated out of all templates in TPC-H and TPC-C:
\vspace{-3mm} %
\begin{table}[h]
\centering
\small
\begin{tabular}{| c|c|c|c| }
\hline
\textbf{Dataset} & \textbf{\#Queries} & \textbf{Latency} & \textbf{Size(nodes+edges)}\\
\hline
TPC-H & 2,208 & 110s & 22,330\\ \hline
TPC-C & 2,200 & 124s & 34,785 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\label{t:sqlperf}
\end{table}
\vspace{-1.5mm}
These early findings indicate that a) the per-query capture latency can be significant and b) the provenance data model can become substantially large in size (e.g., a table with as many versions as the number of insertions that have happened to it). For these reasons, we develop optimized capture techniques, through compression and summarization, which are essential towards addressing \textbf{C1}.
\vspace{2mm}
\sstitle{Provenance in Python.} The Python provenance module parses scripts and automatically identifies the lines of code that correspond to feature extraction and model training using a combination of standard static analysis techniques and a knowledge base of ML APIs that we maintain. Through this process, we are able to identify which Python variables correspond to models, hyperparameters, model features and metrics. We can also track the transformations performed on these variables and eventually connect them with the datasets used to generate training data. The Python provenance module accesses the Catalog to collect the output of the SQL provenance module and eventually connect the datasets used in the Python scripts to the columns of one or more DBMS tables.
\vspace{-1.5mm}
\begin{table}[h]
\centering
\small
\begin{tabular}{| c|c|c|c| }
\hline
\textbf{Dataset} & \textbf{\#Scripts} & \textbf{\%Models} & \textbf{\%Training Datasets}\\
& & \textbf{ Covered} & \textbf{Covered}\\ \hline
Kaggle & 49 &$95\%$ & $61\%$ \\ \hline
Microsoft & 37 & $100\%$ & $100\%$ \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\label{tab:pythoncoverage}
\end{table}
\vspace{-1.5mm}
The above table table shows the coverage currently achieved by the provenance module on the Kaggle dataset~\cite{kaggle} and a Microsoft internal dataset of scripts deployed in production. In this experiment, we evaluate how often the module identifies correctly ML models and training datasets in the Python scripts.
\section{Conclusion and Call to Action}
\label{sec:conclusions}
We live in interesting times. Database architectures are undergoing major transformations to leverage the elasticity of clouds, and a combination of increased regulatory pressures and data sprawl is forcing us to rethink data governance more broadly. Against this backdrop, the rapid adoption of ML in enterprises raises foundational questions at the intersection of model training, inference and governance, and we believe the DB community needs to play a significant role in shaping the future.
\section*{Acknowledgements}
We thank Doris Xin, Mohammad Hossein Namaki and Yi Zhang for their contributions in Sections~\ref{sec:inference} and \ref{sec:datamanagement}---full-length papers on each system contribution are ongoing.
\bibliographystyle{abbrv}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 1,691 |
Produced by David Widger
THE MEMOIRS
OF
JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT
1725-1798
THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR MACHEN TO WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVERED BY ARTHUR SYMONS.
[Transcriber's Note: These memoires were not written for children, they may outrage readers also offended by Chaucer, La Fontaine, Rabelais and The Old Testament. D.W.]
ENLARGE TO FULL SIZE
CONTENTS
CASANOVA AT DUX
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
THE MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA
VENETIAN YEARS
EPISODE 1 -- CHILDHOOD
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
EPISODE 2 -- CLERIC IN NAPLES
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
EPISODE 3 -- MILITARY CAREER
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XV
EPISODE 4 -- RETURN TO VENICE
CHAPTER XVI
CHAPTER XVII
CHAPTER XVIII
CHAPTER XIX
EPISODE 5 -- MILAN AND MANTUA
CHAPTER XX
CHAPTER XXI
CHAPTER XXII
CHAPTER XXIII
CASANOVA AT DUX
An Unpublished Chapter of History, By Arthur Symons
I
The Memoirs of Casanova, though they have enjoyed the popularity of a bad reputation, have never had justice done to them by serious students of literature, of life, and of history. One English writer, indeed, Mr. Havelock Ellis, has realised that 'there are few more delightful books in the world,' and he has analysed them in an essay on Casanova, published in Affirmations, with extreme care and remarkable subtlety. But this essay stands alone, at all events in English, as an attempt to take Casanova seriously, to show him in his relation to his time, and in his relation to human problems. And yet these Memoirs are perhaps the most valuable document which we possess on the society of the eighteenth century; they are the history of a unique life, a unique personality, one of the greatest of autobiographies; as a record of adventures, they are more entertaining than Gil Blas, or Monte Cristo, or any of the imaginary travels, and escapes, and masquerades in life, which have been written in imitation of them. They tell the story of a man who loved life passionately for its own sake: one to whom woman was, indeed, the most important thing in the world, but to whom nothing in the world was indifferent. The bust which gives us the most lively notion of him shows us a great, vivid, intellectual face, full of fiery energy and calm resource, the face of a thinker and a fighter in one. A scholar, an adventurer, perhaps a Cabalist, a busy stirrer in politics, a gamester, one 'born for the fairer sex,' as he tells us, and born also to be a vagabond; this man, who is remembered now for his written account of his own life, was that rarest kind of autobiographer, one who did not live to write, but wrote because he had lived, and when he could live no longer.
And his Memoirs take one all over Europe, giving sidelights, all the more valuable in being almost accidental, upon many of the affairs and people most interesting to us during two-thirds of the eighteenth century. Giacomo Casanova was born in Venice, of Spanish and Italian parentage, on April 2, 1725; he died at the Chateau of Dux, in Bohemia, on June 4, 1798. In that lifetime of seventy-three years he travelled, as his Memoirs show us, in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, England, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Spain, Holland, Turkey; he met Voltaire at Ferney, Rousseau at Montmorency, Fontenelle, d'Alembert and Crebillon at Paris, George III. in London, Louis XV. at Fontainebleau, Catherine the Great at St. Petersburg, Benedict XII. at Rome, Joseph II. at Vienna, Frederick the Great at Sans-Souci. Imprisoned by the Inquisitors of State in the Piombi at Venice, he made, in 1755, the most famous escape in history. His Memoirs, as we have them, break off abruptly at the moment when he is expecting a safe conduct, and the permission to return to Venice after twenty years' wanderings. He did return, as we know from documents in the Venetian archives; he returned as secret agent of the Inquisitors, and remained in their service from 1774 until 1782. At the end of 1782 he left Venice; and next year we find him in Paris, where, in 1784, he met Count Waldstein at the Venetian Ambassador's, and was invited by him to become his librarian at Dux. He accepted, and for the fourteen remaining years of his life lived at Dux, where he wrote his Memoirs.
Casanova died in 1798, but nothing was heard of the Memoirs (which the Prince de Ligne, in his own Memoirs, tells us that Casanova had read to him, and in which he found 'du dyamatique, de la rapidite, du comique, de la philosophie, des choses neuves, sublimes, inimitables meme') until the year 1820, when a certain Carlo Angiolini brought to the publishing house of Brockhaus, in Leipzig, a manuscript entitled Histoire de ma vie jusqu a l'an 1797, in the handwriting of Casanova. This manuscript, which I have examined at Leipzig, is written on foolscap paper, rather rough and yellow; it is written on both sides of the page, and in sheets or quires; here and there the paging shows that some pages have been omitted, and in their place are smaller sheets of thinner and whiter paper, all in Casanova's handsome, unmistakable handwriting. The manuscript is done up in twelve bundles, corresponding with the twelve volumes of the original edition; and only in one place is there a gap. The fourth and fifth chapters of the twelfth volume are missing, as the editor of the original edition points out, adding: 'It is not probable that these two chapters have been withdrawn from the manuscript of Casanova by a strange hand; everything leads us to believe that the author himself suppressed them, in the intention, no doubt, of re-writing them, but without having found time to do so.' The manuscript ends abruptly with the year 1774, and not with the year 1797, as the title would lead us to suppose.
This manuscript, in its original state, has never been printed. Herr Brockhaus, on obtaining possession of the manuscript, had it translated into German by Wilhelm Schutz, but with many omissions and alterations, and published this translation, volume by volume, from 1822 to 1828, under the title, 'Aus den Memoiren des Venetianers Jacob Casanova de Seingalt.' While the German edition was in course of publication, Herr Brockhaus employed a certain Jean Laforgue, a professor of the French language at Dresden, to revise the original manuscript, correcting Casanova's vigorous, but at times incorrect, and often somewhat Italian, French according to his own notions of elegant writing, suppressing passages which seemed too free-spoken from the point of view of morals and of politics, and altering the names of some of the persons referred to, or replacing those names by initials. This revised text was published in twelve volumes, the first two in 1826, the third and fourth in 1828, the fifth to the eighth in 1832, and the ninth to the twelfth in 1837; the first four bearing the imprint of Brockhaus at Leipzig and Ponthieu et Cie at Paris; the next four the imprint of Heideloff et Campe at Paris; and the last four nothing but 'A Bruxelles.' The volumes are all uniform, and were all really printed for the firm of Brockhaus. This, however far from representing the real text, is the only authoritative edition, and my references throughout this article will always be to this edition.
In turning over the manuscript at Leipzig, I read some of the suppressed passages, and regretted their suppression; but Herr Brockhaus, the present head of the firm, assured me that they are not really very considerable in number. The damage, however, to the vivacity of the whole narrative, by the persistent alterations of M. Laforgue, is incalculable. I compared many passages, and found scarcely three consecutive sentences untouched. Herr Brockhaus (whose courtesy I cannot sufficiently acknowledge) was kind enough to have a passage copied out for me, which I afterwards read over, and checked word by word. In this passage Casanova says, for instance: 'Elle venoit presque tous les jours lui faire une belle visite.' This is altered into: 'Cependant chaque jour Therese venait lui faire une visite.' Casanova says that some one 'avoit, comme de raison, forme le projet d'allier Dieu avec le diable.' This is made to read: 'Qui, comme de raison, avait saintement forme le projet d'allier les interets du ciel aux oeuvres de ce monde.' Casanova tells us that Therese would not commit a mortal sin 'pour devenir reine du monde;' pour une couronne,' corrects the indefatigable Laforgue. 'Il ne savoit que lui dire' becomes 'Dans cet etat de perplexite;' and so forth. It must, therefore, be realized that the Memoirs, as we have them, are only a kind of pale tracing of the vivid colours of the original.
When Casanova's Memoirs were first published, doubts were expressed as to their authenticity, first by Ugo Foscolo (in the Westminster Review, 1827), then by Querard, supposed to be an authority in regard to anonymous and pseudonymous writings, finally by Paul Lacroix, 'le bibliophile Jacob', who suggested, or rather expressed his 'certainty,' that the real author of the Memoirs was Stendhal, whose 'mind, character, ideas and style' he seemed to recognise on every page. This theory, as foolish and as unsupported as the Baconian theory of Shakespeare, has been carelessly accepted, or at all events accepted as possible, by many good scholars who have never taken the trouble to look into the matter for themselves. It was finally disproved by a series of articles of Armand Baschet, entitled 'Preuves curieuses de l'authenticite des Memoires de Jacques Casanova de Seingalt,' in 'Le Livre,' January, February, April and May, 1881; and these proofs were further corroborated by two articles of Alessandro d'Ancona, entitled 'Un Avventuriere del Secolo XVIII., in the 'Nuovo Antologia,' February 1 and August 1, 1882. Baschet had never himself seen the manuscript of the Memoirs, but he had learnt all the facts about it from Messrs. Brockhaus, and he had himself examined the numerous papers relating to Casanova in the Venetian archives. A similar examination was made at the Frari at about the same time by the Abbe Fulin; and I myself, in 1894, not knowing at the time that the discovery had been already made, made it over again for myself. There the arrest of Casanova, his imprisonment in the Piombi, the exact date of his escape, the name of the monk who accompanied him, are all authenticated by documents contained in the 'riferte' of the Inquisition of State; there are the bills for the repairs of the roof and walls of the cell from which he escaped; there are the reports of the spies on whose information he was arrested, for his too dangerous free-spokenness in matters of religion and morality. The same archives contain forty-eight letters of Casanova to the Inquisitors of State, dating from 1763 to 1782, among the Riferte dei Confidenti, or reports of secret agents; the earliest asking permission to return to Venice, the rest giving information in regard to the immoralities of the city, after his return there; all in the same handwriting as the Memoirs. Further proof could scarcely be needed, but Baschet has done more than prove the authenticity, he has proved the extraordinary veracity, of the Memoirs. F. W. Barthold, in 'Die Geschichtlichen Personlichkeiten in J. Casanova's Memoiren,' 2 vols., 1846, had already examined about a hundred of Casanova's allusions to well known people, showing the perfect exactitude of all but six or seven, and out of these six or seven inexactitudes ascribing only a single one to the author's intention. Baschet and d'Ancona both carry on what Barthold had begun; other investigators, in France, Italy and Germany, have followed them; and two things are now certain, first, that Casanova himself wrote the Memoirs published under his name, though not textually in the precise form in which we have them; and, second, that as their veracity becomes more and more evident as they are confronted with more and more independent witnesses, it is only fair to suppose that they are equally truthful where the facts are such as could only have been known to Casanova himself.
II
For more than two-thirds of a century it has been known that Casanova spent the last fourteen years of his life at Dux, that he wrote his Memoirs there, and that he died there. During all this time people have been discussing the authenticity and the truthfulness of the Memoirs, they have been searching for information about Casanova in various directions, and yet hardly any one has ever taken the trouble, or obtained the permission, to make a careful examination in precisely the one place where information was most likely to be found. The very existence of the manuscripts at Dux was known only to a few, and to most of these only on hearsay; and thus the singular good fortune was reserved for me, on my visit to Count Waldstein in September 1899, to be the first to discover the most interesting things contained in these manuscripts. M. Octave Uzanne, though he had not himself visited Dux, had indeed procured copies of some of the manuscripts, a few of which were published by him in Le Livre, in 1887 and 1889. But with the death of Le Livre in 1889 the 'Casanova inedit' came to an end, and has never, so far as I know, been continued elsewhere. Beyond the publication of these fragments, nothing has been done with the manuscripts at Dux, nor has an account of them ever been given by any one who has been allowed to examine them.
For five years, ever since I had discovered the documents in the Venetian archives, I had wanted to go to Dux; and in 1899, when I was staying with Count Lutzow at Zampach, in Bohemia, I found the way kindly opened for me. Count Waldstein, the present head of the family, with extreme courtesy, put all his manuscripts at my disposal, and invited me to stay with him. Unluckily, he was called away on the morning of the day that I reached Dux. He had left everything ready for me, and I was shown over the castle by a friend of his, Dr. Kittel, whose courtesy I should like also to acknowledge. After a hurried visit to the castle we started on the long drive to Oberleutensdorf, a smaller Schloss near Komotau, where the Waldstein family was then staying. The air was sharp and bracing; the two Russian horses flew like the wind; I was whirled along in an unfamiliar darkness, through a strange country, black with coal mines, through dark pine woods, where a wild peasantry dwelt in little mining towns. Here and there, a few men and women passed us on the road, in their Sunday finery; then a long space of silence, and we were in the open country, galloping between broad fields; and always in a haze of lovely hills, which I saw more distinctly as we drove back next morning.
The return to Dux was like a triumphal entry, as we dashed through the market-place filled with people come for the Monday market, pots and pans and vegetables strewn in heaps all over the ground, on the rough paving stones, up to the great gateway of the castle, leaving but just room for us to drive through their midst. I had the sensation of an enormous building: all Bohemian castles are big, but this one was like a royal palace. Set there in the midst of the town, after the Bohemian fashion, it opens at the back upon great gardens, as if it were in the midst of the country. I walked through room after room, along corridor after corridor; everywhere there were pictures, everywhere portraits of Wallenstein, and battle-scenes in which he led on his troops. The library, which was formed, or at least arranged, by Casanova, and which remains as he left it, contains some 25,000 volumes, some of them of considerable value; one of the most famous books in Bohemian literature, Skala's History of the Church, exists in manuscript at Dux, and it is from this manuscript that the two published volumes of it were printed. The library forms part of the Museum, which occupies a ground-floor wing of the castle. The first room is an armoury, in which all kinds of arms are arranged, in a decorative way, covering the ceiling and the walls with strange patterns. The second room contains pottery, collected by Casanova's Waldstein on his Eastern travels. The third room is full of curious mechanical toys, and cabinets, and carvings in ivory. Finally, we come to the library, contained in the two innermost rooms. The book-shelves are painted white, and reach to the low-vaulted ceilings, which are whitewashed. At the end of a bookcase, in the corner of one of the windows, hangs a fine engraved portrait of Casanova.
After I had been all over the castle, so long Casanova's home, I was taken to Count Waldstein's study, and left there with the manuscripts. I found six huge cardboard cases, large enough to contain foolscap paper, lettered on the back: 'Grafl. Waldstein-Wartenberg'sches Real Fideicommiss. Dux-Oberleutensdorf: Handschriftlicher Nachlass Casanova.' The cases were arranged so as to stand like books; they opened at the side; and on opening them, one after another, I found series after series of manuscripts roughly thrown together, after some pretence at arrangement, and lettered with a very generalised description of contents. The greater part of the manuscripts were in Casanova's handwriting, which I could see gradually beginning to get shaky with years. Most were written in French, a certain number in Italian. The beginning of a catalogue in the library, though said to be by him, was not in his handwriting. Perhaps it was taken down at his dictation. There were also some copies of Italian and Latin poems not written by him. Then there were many big bundles of letters addressed to him, dating over more than thirty years. Almost all the rest was in his own handwriting.
I came first upon the smaller manuscripts, among which I, found, jumbled together on the same and on separate scraps of paper, washing-bills, accounts, hotel bills, lists of letters written, first drafts of letters with many erasures, notes on books, theological and mathematical notes, sums, Latin quotations, French and Italian verses, with variants, a long list of classical names which have and have not been 'francises,' with reasons for and against; 'what I must wear at Dresden'; headings without anything to follow, such as: 'Reflexions on respiration, on the true cause of youth-the crows'; a new method of winning the lottery at Rome; recipes, among which is a long printed list of perfumes sold at Spa; a newspaper cutting, dated Prague, 25th October 1790, on the thirty-seventh balloon ascent of Blanchard; thanks to some 'noble donor' for the gift of a dog called 'Finette'; a passport for 'Monsieur de Casanova, Venitien, allant d'ici en Hollande, October 13, 1758 (Ce Passeport bon pour quinze jours)', together with an order for post-horses, gratis, from Paris to Bordeaux and Bayonne.'
Occasionally, one gets a glimpse into his daily life at Dux, as in this note, scribbled on a fragment of paper (here and always I translate the French literally): 'I beg you to tell my servant what the biscuits are that I like to eat; dipped in wine, to fortify my stomach. I believe that they can all be found at Roman's.' Usually, however, these notes, though often suggested by something closely personal, branch off into more general considerations; or else begin with general considerations, and end with a case in point. Thus, for instance, a fragment of three pages begins: 'A compliment which is only made to gild the pill is a positive impertinence, and Monsieur Bailli is nothing but a charlatan; the monarch ought to have spit in his face, but the monarch trembled with fear.' A manuscript entitled 'Essai d'Egoisme,' dated, 'Dux, this 27th June, 1769,' contains, in the midst of various reflections, an offer to let his 'appartement' in return for enough money to 'tranquillise for six months two Jew creditors at Prague.' Another manuscript is headed 'Pride and Folly,' and begins with a long series of antitheses, such as: 'All fools are not proud, and all proud men are fools. Many fools are happy, all proud men are unhappy.' On the same sheet follows this instance or application:
Whether it is possible to compose a Latin distich of the greatest beauty without knowing either the Latin language or prosody. We must examine the possibility and the impossibility, and afterwards see who is the man who says he is the author of the distich, for there are extraordinary people in the world. My brother, in short, ought to have composed the distich, because he says so, and because he confided it to me tete-'a-tete. I had, it is true, difficulty in believing him; but what is one to do! Either one must believe, or suppose him capable of telling a lie which could only be told by a fool; and that is impossible, for all Europe knows that my brother is not a fool.
Here, as so often in these manuscripts, we seem to see Casanova thinking on paper. He uses scraps of paper (sometimes the blank page of a letter, on the other side of which we see the address) as a kind of informal diary; and it is characteristic of him, of the man of infinitely curious mind, which this adventurer really was, that there are so few merely personal notes among these casual jottings. Often, they are purely abstract; at times, metaphysical 'jeux d'esprit,' like the sheet of fourteen 'Different Wagers,' which begins:
I wager that it is not true that a man who weighs a hundred pounds will weigh more if you kill him. I wager that if there is any difference, he will weigh less. I wager that diamond powder has not sufficient force to kill a man.
Side by side with these fanciful excursions into science, come more serious ones, as in the note on Algebra, which traces its progress since the year 1494, before which 'it had only arrived at the solution of problems of the second degree, inclusive.' A scrap of paper tells us that Casanova 'did not like regular towns.' 'I like,' he says, 'Venice, Rome, Florence, Milan, Constantinople, Genoa.' Then he becomes abstract and inquisitive again, and writes two pages, full of curious, out-of-the-way learning, on the name of Paradise:
The name of Paradise is a name in Genesis which indicates a place of pleasure (lieu voluptueux): this term is Persian. This place of pleasure was made by God before he had created man.
It may be remembered that Casanova quarrelled with Voltaire, because Voltaire had told him frankly that his translation of L'Ecossaise was a bad translation. It is piquant to read another note written in this style of righteous indignation:
Voltaire, the hardy Voltaire, whose pen is without bit or bridle; Voltaire, who devoured the Bible, and ridiculed our dogmas, doubts, and after having made proselytes to impiety, is not ashamed, being reduced to the extremity of life, to ask for the sacraments, and to cover his body with more relics than St. Louis had at Amboise.
Here is an argument more in keeping with the tone of the Memoirs:
A girl who is pretty and good, and as virtuous as you please, ought not to take it ill that a man, carried away by her charms, should set himself to the task of making their conquest. If this man cannot please her by any means, even if his passion be criminal, she ought never to take offence at it, nor treat him unkindly; she ought to be gentle, and pity him, if she does not love him, and think it enough to keep invincibly hold upon her own duty.
Occasionally he touches upon aesthetical matters, as in a fragment which begins with this liberal definition of beauty:
Harmony makes beauty, says M. de S. P. (Bernardin de St. Pierre), but the definition is too short, if he thinks he has said everything. Here is mine. Remember that the subject is metaphysical. An object really beautiful ought to seem beautiful to all whose eyes fall upon it. That is all; there is nothing more to be said.
At times we have an anecdote and its commentary, perhaps jotted down for use in that latter part of the Memoirs which was never written, or which has been lost. Here is a single sheet, dated 'this 2nd September, 1791,' and headed Souvenir:
The Prince de Rosenberg said to me, as we went down stairs, that Madame de Rosenberg was dead, and asked me if the Comte de Waldstein had in the library the illustration of the Villa d'Altichiero, which the Emperor had asked for in vain at the city library of Prague, and when I answered 'yes,' he gave an equivocal laugh. A moment afterwards, he asked me if he might tell the Emperor. 'Why not, monseigneur? It is not a secret, 'Is His Majesty coming to Dux?' 'If he goes to Oberlaitensdorf (sic) he will go to Dux, too; and he may ask you for it, for there is a monument there which relates to him when he was Grand Duke.' 'In that case, His Majesty can also see my critical remarks on the Egyptian prints.'
The Emperor asked me this morning, 6th October, how I employed my time at Dux, and I told him that I was making an Italian anthology. 'You have all the Italians, then?' 'All, sire.' See what a lie leads to. If I had not lied in saying that I was making an anthology, I should not have found myself obliged to lie again in saying that we have all the Italian poets. If the Emperor comes to Dux, I shall kill myself.
'They say that this Dux is a delightful spot,' says Casanova in one of the most personal of his notes, 'and I see that it might be for many; but not for me, for what delights me in my old age is independent of the place which I inhabit. When I do not sleep I dream, and when I am tired of dreaming I blacken paper, then I read, and most often reject all that my pen has vomited.' Here we see him blackening paper, on every occasion, and for every purpose. In one bundle I found an unfinished story about Roland, and some adventure with women in a cave; then a 'Meditation on arising from sleep, 19th May 1789'; then a 'Short Reflection of a Philosopher who finds himself thinking of procuring his own death. At Dux, on getting out of bed on 13th October 1793, day dedicated to St. Lucy, memorable in my too long life.' A big budget, containing cryptograms, is headed 'Grammatical Lottery'; and there is the title-page of a treatise on The Duplication of the Hexahedron, demonstrated geometrically to all the Universities and all the Academies of Europe.' [See Charles Henry, Les Connaissances Mathimatiques de Casanova. Rome, 1883.] There are innumerable verses, French and Italian, in all stages, occasionally attaining the finality of these lines, which appear in half a dozen tentative forms:
'Sans mystere point de plaisirs,
Sans silence point de mystere.
Charme divin de mes loisirs,
Solitude! que tu mes chere!
Then there are a number of more or less complete manuscripts of some extent. There is the manuscript of the translation of Homer's 'Iliad, in ottava rima (published in Venice, 1775-8); of the 'Histoire de Venise,' of the 'Icosameron,' a curious book published in 1787, purporting to be 'translated from English,' but really an original work of Casanova; 'Philocalies sur les Sottises des Mortels,' a long manuscript never published; the sketch and beginning of 'Le Pollmarque, ou la Calomnie demasquee par la presence d'esprit. Tragicomedie en trois actes, composed a Dux dans le mois de Juin de l'Annee, 1791,' which recurs again under the form of the 'Polemoscope: La Lorgnette menteuse ou la Calomnie demasquge,' acted before the Princess de Ligne, at her chateau at Teplitz, 1791. There is a treatise in Italian, 'Delle Passioni'; there are long dialogues, such as 'Le Philosophe et le Theologien', and 'Reve': 'Dieu-Moi'; there is the 'Songe d'un Quart d'Heure', divided into minutes; there is the very lengthy criticism of 'Bernardin de Saint-Pierre'; there is the 'Confutation d'une Censure indiscrate qu'on lit dans la Gazette de Iena, 19 Juin 1789'; with another large manuscript, unfortunately imperfect, first called 'L'Insulte', and then 'Placet au Public', dated 'Dux, this 2nd March, 1790,' referring to the same criticism on the 'Icosameron' and the 'Fuite des Prisons. L'Histoire de ma Fuite des Prisons de la Republique de Venise, qu'on appelle les Plombs', which is the first draft of the most famous part of the Memoirs, was published at Leipzig in 1788; and, having read it in the Marcian Library at Venice, I am not surprised to learn from this indignant document that it was printed 'under the care of a young Swiss, who had the talent to commit a hundred faults of orthography.'
III.
We come now to the documents directly relating to the Memoirs, and among these are several attempts at a preface, in which we see the actual preface coming gradually into form. One is entitled 'Casanova au Lecteur', another 'Histoire de mon Existence', and a third Preface. There is also a brief and characteristic 'Precis de ma vie', dated November 17, 1797. Some of these have been printed in Le Livre, 1887. But by far the most important manuscript that I discovered, one which, apparently, I am the first to discover, is a manuscript entitled 'Extrait du Chapitre 4 et 5. It is written on paper similar to that on which the Memoirs are written; the pages are numbered 104-148; and though it is described as Extrait, it seems to contain, at all events, the greater part of the missing chapters to which I have already referred, Chapters IV. and V. of the last volume of the Memoirs. In this manuscript we find Armeline and Scolastica, whose story is interrupted by the abrupt ending of Chapter III.; we find Mariuccia of Vol. VII, Chapter IX., who married a hairdresser; and we find also Jaconine, whom Casanova recognises as his daughter, 'much prettier than Sophia, the daughter of Therese Pompeati, whom I had left at London.' It is curious that this very important manuscript, which supplies the one missing link in the Memoirs, should never have been discovered by any of the few people who have had the opportunity of looking over the Dux manuscripts. I am inclined to explain it by the fact that the case in which I found this manuscript contains some papers not relating to Casanova. Probably, those who looked into this case looked no further. I have told Herr Brockhaus of my discovery, and I hope to see Chapters IV. and V. in their places when the long-looked-for edition of the complete text is at length given to the world.
Another manuscript which I found tells with great piquancy the whole story of the Abbe de Brosses' ointment, the curing of the Princess de Conti's pimples, and the birth of the Duc de Montpensier, which is told very briefly, and with much less point, in the Memoirs (vol. iii., p. 327). Readers of the Memoirs will remember the duel at Warsaw with Count Branicki in 1766 (vol. X., pp. 274-320), an affair which attracted a good deal of attention at the time, and of which there is an account in a letter from the Abbe Taruffi to the dramatist, Francesco Albergati, dated Warsaw, March 19, 1766, quoted in Ernesto Masi's Life of Albergati, Bologna, 1878. A manuscript at Dux in Casanova's handwriting gives an account of this duel in the third person; it is entitled, 'Description de l'affaire arrivee a Varsovie le 5 Mars, 1766'. D'Ancona, in the Nuova Antologia (vol. lxvii., p. 412), referring to the Abbe Taruffi's account, mentions what he considers to be a slight discrepancy: that Taruffi refers to the danseuse, about whom the duel was fought, as La Casacci, while Casanova refers to her as La Catai. In this manuscript Casanova always refers to her as La Casacci; La Catai is evidently one of M. Laforgue's arbitrary alterations of the text.
In turning over another manuscript, I was caught by the name Charpillon, which every reader of the Memoirs will remember as the name of the harpy by whom Casanova suffered so much in London, in 1763-4. This manuscript begins by saying: 'I have been in London for six months and have been to see them (that is the mother and daughter) in their own house,' where he finds nothing but 'swindlers, who cause all who go there to lose their money in gambling.' This manuscript adds some details to the story told in the ninth and tenth volumes of the Memoirs, and refers to the meeting with the Charpillons four and a half years before, described in Volume V., pages 428-485. It is written in a tone of great indignation. Elsewhere, I found a letter written by Casanova, but not signed, referring to an anonymous letter which he had received in reference to the Charpillons, and ending: 'My handwriting is known.' It was not until the last that I came upon great bundles of letters addressed to Casanova, and so carefully preserved that little scraps of paper, on which postscripts are written, are still in their places. One still sees the seals on the backs of many of the letters, on paper which has slightly yellowed with age, leaving the ink, however, almost always fresh. They come from Venice, Paris, Rome, Prague, Bayreuth, The Hague, Genoa, Fiume, Trieste, etc., and are addressed to as many places, often poste restante. Many are letters from women, some in beautiful handwriting, on thick paper; others on scraps of paper, in painful hands, ill-spelt. A Countess writes pitifully, imploring help; one protests her love, in spite of the 'many chagrins' he has caused her; another asks 'how they are to live together'; another laments that a report has gone about that she is secretly living with him, which may harm his reputation. Some are in French, more in Italian. 'Mon cher Giacometto', writes one woman, in French; 'Carissimo a Amatissimo', writes another, in Italian. These letters from women are in some confusion, and are in need of a good deal of sorting over and rearranging before their full extent can be realised. Thus I found letters in the same handwriting separated by letters in other handwritings; many are unsigned, or signed only by a single initial; many are undated, or dated only with the day of the week or month. There are a great many letters, dating from 1779 to 1786, signed 'Francesca Buschini,' a name which I cannot identify; they are written in Italian, and one of them begins: 'Unico Mio vero Amico' ('my only true friend'). Others are signed 'Virginia B.'; one of these is dated, 'Forli, October 15, 1773.' There is also a 'Theresa B.,' who writes from Genoa. I was at first unable to identify the writer of a whole series of letters in French, very affectionate and intimate letters, usually unsigned, occasionally signed 'B.' She calls herself votre petite amie; or she ends with a half-smiling, half-reproachful 'goodnight, and sleep better than I' In one letter, sent from Paris in 1759, she writes: 'Never believe me, but when I tell you that I love you, and that I shall love you always: In another letter, ill-spelt, as her letters often are, she writes: 'Be assured that evil tongues, vapours, calumny, nothing can change my heart, which is yours entirely, and has no will to change its master.' Now, it seems to me that these letters must be from Manon Baletti, and that they are the letters referred to in the sixth volume of the Memoirs. We read there (page 60) how on Christmas Day, 1759, Casanova receives a letter from Manon in Paris, announcing her marriage with 'M. Blondel, architect to the King, and member of his Academy'; she returns him his letters, and begs him to return hers, or burn them. Instead of doing so he allows Esther to read them, intending to burn them afterwards. Esther begs to be allowed to keep the letters, promising to 'preserve them religiously all her life.' 'These letters,' he says, 'numbered more than two hundred, and the shortest were of four pages: Certainly there are not two hundred of them at Dux, but it seems to me highly probable that Casanova made a final selection from Manon's letters, and that it is these which I have found.
But, however this may be, I was fortunate enough to find the set of letters which I was most anxious to find the letters from Henriette, whose loss every writer on Casanova has lamented. Henriette, it will be remembered, makes her first appearance at Cesena, in the year 1748; after their meeting at Geneva, she reappears, romantically 'a propos', twenty-two years later, at Aix in Provence; and she writes to Casanova proposing 'un commerce epistolaire', asking him what he has done since his escape from prison, and promising to do her best to tell him all that has happened to her during the long interval. After quoting her letter, he adds: 'I replied to her, accepting the correspondence that she offered me, and telling her briefly all my vicissitudes. She related to me in turn, in some forty letters, all the history of her life. If she dies before me, I shall add these letters to these Memoirs; but to-day she is still alive, and always happy, though now old.' It has never been known what became of these letters, and why they were not added to the Memoirs. I have found a great quantity of them, some signed with her married name in full, 'Henriette de Schnetzmann,' and I am inclined to think that she survived Casanova, for one of the letters is dated Bayreuth, 1798, the year of Casanova's death. They are remarkably charming, written with a mixture of piquancy and distinction; and I will quote the characteristic beginning and end of the last letter I was able to find. It begins: 'No, it is impossible to be sulky with you!' and ends: 'If I become vicious, it is you, my Mentor, who make me so, and I cast my sins upon you. Even if I were damned I should still be your most devoted friend, Henriette de Schnetzmann.' Casanova was twenty-three when he met Henriette; now, herself an old woman, she writes to him when he is seventy-three, as if the fifty years that had passed were blotted out in the faithful affection of her memory. How many more discreet and less changing lovers have had the quality of constancy in change, to which this life-long correspondence bears witness? Does it not suggest a view of Casanova not quite the view of all the world? To me it shows the real man, who perhaps of all others best understood what Shelley meant when he said:
True love in this differs from gold or clay
That to divide is not to take away.
But, though the letters from women naturally interested me the most, they were only a certain proportion of the great mass of correspondence which I turned over. There were letters from Carlo Angiolini, who was afterwards to bring the manuscript of the Memoirs to Brockhaus; from Balbi, the monk with whom Casanova escaped from the Piombi; from the Marquis Albergati, playwright, actor, and eccentric, of whom there is some account in the Memoirs; from the Marquis Mosca, 'a distinguished man of letters whom I was anxious to see,' Casanova tells us in the same volume in which he describes his visit to the Moscas at Pesaro; from Zulian, brother of the Duchess of Fiano; from Richard Lorrain, 'bel homme, ayant de l'esprit, le ton et le gout de la bonne societe', who came to settle at Gorizia in 1773, while Casanova was there; from the Procurator Morosini, whom he speaks of in the Memoirs as his 'protector,' and as one of those through whom he obtained permission to return to Venice. His other 'protector,' the 'avogador' Zaguri, had, says Casanova, 'since the affair of the Marquis Albergati, carried on a most interesting correspondence with me'; and in fact I found a bundle of no less than a hundred and thirty-eight letters from him, dating from 1784 to 1798. Another bundle contains one hundred and seventy-two letters from Count Lamberg. In the Memoirs Casanova says, referring to his visit to Augsburg at the end of 1761:
I used to spend my evenings in a very agreeable manner at the house of Count Max de Lamberg, who resided at the court of the Prince-Bishop with the title of Grand Marshal. What particularly attached me to Count Lamberg was his literary talent. A first-rate scholar, learned to a degree, he has published several much esteemed works. I carried on an exchange of letters with him which ended only with his death four years ago in 1792.
Casanova tells us that, at his second visit to Augsburg in the early part of 1767, he 'supped with Count Lamberg two or three times a week,' during the four months he was there. It is with this year that the letters I have found begin: they end with the year of his death, 1792. In his 'Memorial d'un Mondain' Lamberg refers to Casanova as 'a man known in literature, a man of profound knowledge.' In the first edition of 1774, he laments that 'a man such as M. de S. Galt' should not yet have been taken back into favour by the Venetian government, and in the second edition, 1775, rejoices over Casanova's return to Venice. Then there are letters from Da Ponte, who tells the story of Casanova's curious relations with Mme. d'Urfe, in his 'Memorie scritte da esso', 1829; from Pittoni, Bono, and others mentioned in different parts of the Memoirs, and from some dozen others who are not mentioned in them. The only letters in the whole collection that have been published are those from the Prince de Ligne and from Count Koenig.
IV.
Casanova tells us in his Memoirs that, during his later years at Dux, he had only been able to 'hinder black melancholy from devouring his poor existence, or sending him out of his mind,' by writing ten or twelve hours a day. The copious manuscripts at Dux show us how persistently he was at work on a singular variety of subjects, in addition to the Memoirs, and to the various books which he published during those years. We see him jotting down everything that comes into his head, for his own amusement, and certainly without any thought of publication; engaging in learned controversies, writing treatises on abstruse mathematical problems, composing comedies to be acted before Count Waldstein's neighbours, practising verse-writing in two languages, indeed with more patience than success, writing philosophical dialogues in which God and himself are the speakers, and keeping up an extensive correspondence, both with distinguished men and with delightful women. His mental activity, up to the age of seventy-three, is as prodigious as the activity which he had expended in living a multiform and incalculable life. As in life everything living had interested him so in his retirement from life every idea makes its separate appeal to him; and he welcomes ideas with the same impartiality with which he had welcomed adventures. Passion has intellectualised itself, and remains not less passionate. He wishes to do everything, to compete with every one; and it is only after having spent seven years in heaping up miscellaneous learning, and exercising his faculties in many directions, that he turns to look back over his own past life, and to live it over again in memory, as he writes down the narrative of what had interested him most in it. 'I write in the hope that my history will never see the broad day light of publication,' he tells us, scarcely meaning it, we may be sure, even in the moment of hesitancy which may naturally come to him. But if ever a book was written for the pleasure of writing it, it was this one; and an autobiography written for oneself is not likely to be anything but frank.
'Truth is the only God I have ever adored,' he tells us: and we now know how truthful he was in saying so. I have only summarised in this article the most important confirmations of his exact accuracy in facts and dates; the number could be extended indefinitely. In the manuscripts we find innumerable further confirmations; and their chief value as testimony is that they tell us nothing which we should not have already known, if we had merely taken Casanova at his word. But it is not always easy to take people at their own word, when they are writing about themselves; and the world has been very loth to believe in Casanova as he represents himself. It has been specially loth to believe that he is telling the truth when he tells us about his adventures with women. But the letters contained among these manuscripts shows us the women of Casanova writing to him with all the fervour and all the fidelity which he attributes to them; and they show him to us in the character of as fervid and faithful a lover. In every fact, every detail, and in the whole mental impression which they convey, these manuscripts bring before us the Casanova of the Memoirs. As I seemed to come upon Casanova at home, it was as if I came upon old friend, already perfectly known to me, before I had made my pilgrimage to Dux.
1902
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
A series of adventures wilder and more fantastic than the wildest of romances, written down with the exactitude of a business diary; a view of men and cities from Naples to Berlin, from Madrid and London to Constantinople and St. Petersburg; the 'vie intime' of the eighteenth century depicted by a man, who to-day sat with cardinals and saluted crowned heads, and to morrow lurked in dens of profligacy and crime; a book of confessions penned without reticence and without penitence; a record of forty years of "occult" charlatanism; a collection of tales of successful imposture, of 'bonnes fortunes', of marvellous escapes, of transcendent audacity, told with the humour of Smollett and the delicate wit of Voltaire. Who is there interested in men and letters, and in the life of the past, who would not cry, "Where can such a book as this be found?"
Yet the above catalogue is but a brief outline, a bare and meagre summary, of the book known as "THE MEMOIRS OF CASANOVA"; a work absolutely unique in literature. He who opens these wonderful pages is as one who sits in a theatre and looks across the gloom, not on a stage-play, but on another and a vanished world. The curtain draws up, and suddenly a hundred and fifty years are rolled away, and in bright light stands out before us the whole life of the past; the gay dresses, the polished wit, the careless morals, and all the revel and dancing of those merry years before the mighty deluge of the Revolution. The palaces and marble stairs of old Venice are no longer desolate, but thronged with scarlet-robed senators, prisoners with the doom of the Ten upon their heads cross the Bridge of Sighs, at dead of night the nun slips out of the convent gate to the dark canal where a gondola is waiting, we assist at the 'parties fines' of cardinals, and we see the bank made at faro. Venice gives place to the assembly rooms of Mrs. Cornely and the fast taverns of the London of 1760; we pass from Versailles to the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg in the days of Catherine, from the policy of the Great Frederick to the lewd mirth of strolling-players, and the presence-chamber of the Vatican is succeeded by an intrigue in a garret. It is indeed a new experience to read this history of a man who, refraining from nothing, has concealed nothing; of one who stood in the courts of Louis the Magnificent before Madame de Pompadour and the nobles of the Ancien Regime, and had an affair with an adventuress of Denmark Street, Soho; who was bound over to keep the peace by Fielding, and knew Cagliostro. The friend of popes and kings and noblemen, and of all the male and female ruffians and vagabonds of Europe, abbe, soldier, charlatan, gamester, financier, diplomatist, viveur, philosopher, virtuoso, "chemist, fiddler, and buffoon," each of these, and all of these was Giacomo Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt, Knight of the Golden Spur.
And not only are the Memoirs a literary curiosity; they are almost equally curious from a bibliographical point of view. The manuscript was written in French and came into the possession of the publisher Brockhaus, of Leipzig, who had it translated into German, and printed. From this German edition, M. Aubert de Vitry re-translated the work into French, but omitted about a fourth of the matter, and this mutilated and worthless version is frequently purchased by unwary bibliophiles. In the year 1826, however, Brockhaus, in order presumably to protect his property, printed the entire text of the original MS. in French, for the first time, and in this complete form, containing a large number of anecdotes and incidents not to be found in the spurious version, the work was not acceptable to the authorities, and was consequently rigorously suppressed. Only a few copies sent out for presentation or for review are known to have escaped, and from one of these rare copies the present translation has been made and solely for private circulation.
In conclusion, both translator and 'editeur' have done their utmost to present the English Casanova in a dress worthy of the wonderful and witty original.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent.
The doctrine of the Stoics or of any other sect as to the force of Destiny is a bubble engendered by the imagination of man, and is near akin to Atheism. I not only believe in one God, but my faith as a Christian is also grafted upon that tree of philosophy which has never spoiled anything.
I believe in the existence of an immaterial God, the Author and Master of all beings and all things, and I feel that I never had any doubt of His existence, from the fact that I have always relied upon His providence, prayed to Him in my distress, and that He has always granted my prayers. Despair brings death, but prayer does away with despair; and when a man has prayed he feels himself supported by new confidence and endowed with power to act. As to the means employed by the Sovereign Master of human beings to avert impending dangers from those who beseech His assistance, I confess that the knowledge of them is above the intelligence of man, who can but wonder and adore. Our ignorance becomes our only resource, and happy, truly happy; are those who cherish their ignorance! Therefore must we pray to God, and believe that He has granted the favour we have been praying for, even when in appearance it seems the reverse. As to the position which our body ought to assume when we address ourselves to the Creator, a line of Petrarch settles it:
'Con le ginocchia della mente inchine.'
Man is free, but his freedom ceases when he has no faith in it; and the greater power he ascribes to faith, the more he deprives himself of that power which God has given to him when He endowed him with the gift of reason. Reason is a particle of the Creator's divinity. When we use it with a spirit of humility and justice we are certain to please the Giver of that precious gift. God ceases to be God only for those who can admit the possibility of His non-existence, and that conception is in itself the most severe punishment they can suffer.
Man is free; yet we must not suppose that he is at liberty to do everything he pleases, for he becomes a slave the moment he allows his actions to be ruled by passion. The man who has sufficient power over himself to wait until his nature has recovered its even balance is the truly wise man, but such beings are seldom met with.
The reader of these Memoirs will discover that I never had any fixed aim before my eyes, and that my system, if it can be called a system, has been to glide away unconcernedly on the stream of life, trusting to the wind wherever it led. How many changes arise from such an independent mode of life! My success and my misfortunes, the bright and the dark days I have gone through, everything has proved to me that in this world, either physical or moral, good comes out of evil just as well as evil comes out of good. My errors will point to thinking men the various roads, and will teach them the great art of treading on the brink of the precipice without falling into it. It is only necessary to have courage, for strength without self-confidence is useless. I have often met with happiness after some imprudent step which ought to have brought ruin upon me, and although passing a vote of censure upon myself I would thank God for his mercy. But, by way of compensation, dire misfortune has befallen me in consequence of actions prompted by the most cautious wisdom. This would humble me; yet conscious that I had acted rightly I would easily derive comfort from that conviction.
In spite of a good foundation of sound morals, the natural offspring of the Divine principles which had been early rooted in my heart, I have been throughout my life the victim of my senses; I have found delight in losing the right path, I have constantly lived in the midst of error, with no consolation but the consciousness of my being mistaken. Therefore, dear reader, I trust that, far from attaching to my history the character of impudent boasting, you will find in my Memoirs only the characteristic proper to a general confession, and that my narratory style will be the manner neither of a repenting sinner, nor of a man ashamed to acknowledge his frolics. They are the follies inherent to youth; I make sport of them, and, if you are kind, you will not yourself refuse them a good-natured smile. You will be amused when you see that I have more than once deceived without the slightest qualm of conscience, both knaves and fools. As to the deceit perpetrated upon women, let it pass, for, when love is in the way, men and women as a general rule dupe each other. But on the score of fools it is a very different matter. I always feel the greatest bliss when I recollect those I have caught in my snares, for they generally are insolent, and so self-conceited that they challenge wit. We avenge intellect when we dupe a fool, and it is a victory not to be despised for a fool is covered with steel and it is often very hard to find his vulnerable part. In fact, to gull a fool seems to me an exploit worthy of a witty man. I have felt in my very blood, ever since I was born, a most unconquerable hatred towards the whole tribe of fools, and it arises from the fact that I feel myself a blockhead whenever I am in their company. I am very far from placing them in the same class with those men whom we call stupid, for the latter are stupid only from deficient education, and I rather like them. I have met with some of them--very honest fellows, who, with all their stupidity, had a kind of intelligence and an upright good sense, which cannot be the characteristics of fools. They are like eyes veiled with the cataract, which, if the disease could be removed, would be very beautiful.
Dear reader, examine the spirit of this preface, and you will at once guess at my purpose. I have written a preface because I wish you to know me thoroughly before you begin the reading of my Memoirs. It is only in a coffee-room or at a table d'hote that we like to converse with strangers.
I have written the history of my life, and I have a perfect right to do so; but am I wise in throwing it before a public of which I know nothing but evil? No, I am aware it is sheer folly, but I want to be busy, I want to laugh, and why should I deny myself this gratification?
'Expulit elleboro morbum bilemque mero.'
An ancient author tells us somewhere, with the tone of a pedagogue, if you have not done anything worthy of being recorded, at least write something worthy of being read. It is a precept as beautiful as a diamond of the first water cut in England, but it cannot be applied to me, because I have not written either a novel, or the life of an illustrious character. Worthy or not, my life is my subject, and my subject is my life. I have lived without dreaming that I should ever take a fancy to write the history of my life, and, for that very reason, my Memoirs may claim from the reader an interest and a sympathy which they would not have obtained, had I always entertained the design to write them in my old age, and, still more, to publish them.
I have reached, in 1797, the age of three-score years and twelve; I can not say, Vixi, and I could not procure a more agreeable pastime than to relate my own adventures, and to cause pleasant laughter amongst the good company listening to me, from which I have received so many tokens of friendship, and in the midst of which I have ever lived. To enable me to write well, I have only to think that my readers will belong to that polite society:
'Quoecunque dixi, si placuerint, dictavit auditor.'
Should there be a few intruders whom I can not prevent from perusing my Memoirs, I must find comfort in the idea that my history was not written for them.
By recollecting the pleasures I have had formerly, I renew them, I enjoy them a second time, while I laugh at the remembrance of troubles now past, and which I no longer feel. A member of this great universe, I speak to the air, and I fancy myself rendering an account of my administration, as a steward is wont to do before leaving his situation. For my future I have no concern, and as a true philosopher, I never would have any, for I know not what it may be: as a Christian, on the other hand, faith must believe without discussion, and the stronger it is, the more it keeps silent. I know that I have lived because I have felt, and, feeling giving me the knowledge of my existence, I know likewise that I shall exist no more when I shall have ceased to feel.
Should I perchance still feel after my death, I would no longer have any doubt, but I would most certainly give the lie to anyone asserting before me that I was dead.
The history of my life must begin by the earliest circumstance which my memory can evoke; it will therefore commence when I had attained the age of eight years and four months. Before that time, if to think is to live be a true axiom, I did not live, I could only lay claim to a state of vegetation. The mind of a human being is formed only of comparisons made in order to examine analogies, and therefore cannot precede the existence of memory. The mnemonic organ was developed in my head only eight years and four months after my birth; it is then that my soul began to be susceptible of receiving impressions. How is it possible for an immaterial substance, which can neither touch nor be touched to receive impressions? It is a mystery which man cannot unravel.
A certain philosophy, full of consolation, and in perfect accord with religion, pretends that the state of dependence in which the soul stands in relation to the senses and to the organs, is only incidental and transient, and that it will reach a condition of freedom and happiness when the death of the body shall have delivered it from that state of tyrannic subjection. This is very fine, but, apart from religion, where is the proof of it all? Therefore, as I cannot, from my own information, have a perfect certainty of my being immortal until the dissolution of my body has actually taken place, people must kindly bear with me, if I am in no hurry to obtain that certain knowledge, for, in my estimation, a knowledge to be gained at the cost of life is a rather expensive piece of information. In the mean time I worship God, laying every wrong action under an interdict which I endeavour to respect, and I loathe the wicked without doing them any injury. I only abstain from doing them any good, in the full belief that we ought not to cherish serpents.
As I must likewise say a few words respecting my nature and my temperament, I premise that the most indulgent of my readers is not likely to be the most dishonest or the least gifted with intelligence.
I have had in turn every temperament; phlegmatic in my infancy; sanguine in my youth; later on, bilious; and now I have a disposition which engenders melancholy, and most likely will never change. I always made my food congenial to my constitution, and my health was always excellent. I learned very early that our health is always impaired by some excess either of food or abstinence, and I never had any physician except myself. I am bound to add that the excess in too little has ever proved in me more dangerous than the excess in too much; the last may cause indigestion, but the first causes death.
Now, old as I am, and although enjoying good digestive organs, I must have only one meal every day; but I find a set-off to that privation in my delightful sleep, and in the ease which I experience in writing down my thoughts without having recourse to paradox or sophism, which would be calculated to deceive myself even more than my readers, for I never could make up my mind to palm counterfeit coin upon them if I knew it to be such.
The sanguine temperament rendered me very sensible to the attractions of voluptuousness: I was always cheerful and ever ready to pass from one enjoyment to another, and I was at the same time very skillful in inventing new pleasures. Thence, I suppose, my natural disposition to make fresh acquaintances, and to break with them so readily, although always for a good reason, and never through mere fickleness. The errors caused by temperament are not to be corrected, because our temperament is perfectly independent of our strength: it is not the case with our character. Heart and head are the constituent parts of character; temperament has almost nothing to do with it, and, therefore, character is dependent upon education, and is susceptible of being corrected and improved.
I leave to others the decision as to the good or evil tendencies of my character, but such as it is it shines upon my countenance, and there it can easily be detected by any physiognomist. It is only on the fact that character can be read; there it lies exposed to the view. It is worthy of remark that men who have no peculiar cast of countenance, and there are a great many such men, are likewise totally deficient in peculiar characteristics, and we may establish the rule that the varieties in physiognomy are equal to the differences in character. I am aware that throughout my life my actions have received their impulse more from the force of feeling than from the wisdom of reason, and this has led me to acknowledge that my conduct has been dependent upon my nature more than upon my mind; both are generally at war, and in the midst of their continual collisions I have never found in me sufficient mind to balance my nature, or enough strength in my nature to counteract the power of my mind. But enough of this, for there is truth in the old saying: 'Si brevis esse volo, obscurus fio', and I believe that, without offending against modesty, I can apply to myself the following words of my dear Virgil:
'Nec sum adeo informis: nuper me in littore vidi
Cum placidum ventis staret mare.'
The chief business of my life has always been to indulge my senses; I never knew anything of greater importance. I felt myself born for the fair sex, I have ever loved it dearly, and I have been loved by it as often and as much as I could. I have likewise always had a great weakness for good living, and I ever felt passionately fond of every object which excited my curiosity.
I have had friends who have acted kindly towards me, and it has been my good fortune to have it in my power to give them substantial proofs of my gratitude. I have had also bitter enemies who have persecuted me, and whom I have not crushed simply because I could not do it. I never would have forgiven them, had I not lost the memory of all the injuries they had heaped upon me. The man who forgets does not forgive, he only loses the remembrance of the harm inflicted on him; forgiveness is the offspring of a feeling of heroism, of a noble heart, of a generous mind, whilst forgetfulness is only the result of a weak memory, or of an easy carelessness, and still oftener of a natural desire for calm and quietness. Hatred, in the course of time, kills the unhappy wretch who delights in nursing it in his bosom.
Should anyone bring against me an accusation of sensuality he would be wrong, for all the fierceness of my senses never caused me to neglect any of my duties. For the same excellent reason, the accusation of drunkenness ought not to have been brought against Homer:
'Laudibus arguitur vini vinosus Homerus.'
I have always been fond of highly-seasoned, rich dishes, such as macaroni prepared by a skilful Neapolitan cook, the olla-podrida of the Spaniards, the glutinous codfish from Newfoundland, game with a strong flavour, and cheese the perfect state of which is attained when the tiny animaculae formed from its very essence begin to shew signs of life. As for women, I have always found the odour of my beloved ones exceeding pleasant.
What depraved tastes! some people will exclaim. Are you not ashamed to confess such inclinations without blushing! Dear critics, you make me laugh heartily. Thanks to my coarse tastes, I believe myself happier than other men, because I am convinced that they enhance my enjoyment. Happy are those who know how to obtain pleasures without injury to anyone; insane are those who fancy that the Almighty can enjoy the sufferings, the pains, the fasts and abstinences which they offer to Him as a sacrifice, and that His love is granted only to those who tax themselves so foolishly. God can only demand from His creatures the practice of virtues the seed of which He has sown in their soul, and all He has given unto us has been intended for our happiness; self-love, thirst for praise, emulation, strength, courage, and a power of which nothing can deprive us--the power of self-destruction, if, after due calculation, whether false or just, we unfortunately reckon death to be advantageous. This is the strongest proof of our moral freedom so much attacked by sophists. Yet this power of self-destruction is repugnant to nature, and has been rightly opposed by every religion.
A so-called free-thinker told me at one time that I could not consider myself a philosopher if I placed any faith in revelation. But when we accept it readily in physics, why should we reject it in religious matters? The form alone is the point in question. The spirit speaks to the spirit, and not to the ears. The principles of everything we are acquainted with must necessarily have been revealed to those from whom we have received them by the great, supreme principle, which contains them all. The bee erecting its hive, the swallow building its nest, the ant constructing its cave, and the spider warping its web, would never have done anything but for a previous and everlasting revelation. We must either believe that it is so, or admit that matter is endowed with thought. But as we dare not pay such a compliment to matter, let us stand by revelation.
The great philosopher, who having deeply studied nature, thought he had found the truth because he acknowledged nature as God, died too soon. Had he lived a little while longer, he would have gone much farther, and yet his journey would have been but a short one, for finding himself in his Author, he could not have denied Him: In Him we move and have our being. He would have found Him inscrutable, and thus would have ended his journey.
God, great principle of all minor principles, God, who is Himself without a principle, could not conceive Himself, if, in order to do it, He required to know His own principle.
Oh, blissful ignorance! Spinosa, the virtuous Spinosa, died before he could possess it. He would have died a learned man and with a right to the reward his virtue deserved, if he had only supposed his soul to be immortal!
It is not true that a wish for reward is unworthy of real virtue, and throws a blemish upon its purity. Such a pretension, on the contrary, helps to sustain virtue, man being himself too weak to consent to be virtuous only for his own 'gratification. I hold as a myth that Amphiaraus who preferred to be good than to seem good. In fact, I do not believe there is an honest man alive without some pretension, and here is mine.
I pretend to the friendship, to the esteem, to the gratitude of my readers. I claim their gratitude, if my Memoirs can give them instruction and pleasure; I claim their esteem if, rendering me justice, they find more good qualities in me than faults, and I claim their friendship as soon as they deem me worthy of it by the candour and the good faith with which I abandon myself to their judgment, without disguise and exactly as I am in reality. They will find that I have always had such sincere love for truth, that I have often begun by telling stories for the purpose of getting truth to enter the heads of those who could not appreciate its charms. They will not form a wrong opinion of me when they see one emptying the purse of my friends to satisfy my fancies, for those friends entertained idle schemes, and by giving them the hope of success I trusted to disappointment to cure them. I would deceive them to make them wiser, and I did not consider myself guilty, for I applied to my own enjoyment sums of money which would have been lost in the vain pursuit of possessions denied by nature; therefore I was not actuated by any avaricious rapacity. I might think myself guilty if I were rich now, but I have nothing. I have squandered everything; it is my comfort and my justification. The money was intended for extravagant follies, and by applying it to my own frolics I did not turn it into a very different, channel.
If I were deceived in my hope to please, I candidly confess I would regret it, but not sufficiently so to repent having written my Memoirs, for, after all, writing them has given me pleasure. Oh, cruel ennui! It must be by mistake that those who have invented the torments of hell have forgotten to ascribe thee the first place among them. Yet I am bound to own that I entertain a great fear of hisses; it is too natural a fear for me to boast of being insensible to them, and I cannot find any solace in the idea that, when these Memoirs are published, I shall be no more. I cannot think without a shudder of contracting any obligation towards death: I hate death; for, happy or miserable, life is the only blessing which man possesses, and those who do not love it are unworthy of it. If we prefer honour to life, it is because life is blighted by infamy; and if, in the alternative, man sometimes throws away his life, philosophy must remain silent.
Oh, death, cruel death! Fatal law which nature necessarily rejects because thy very office is to destroy nature! Cicero says that death frees us from all pains and sorrows, but this great philosopher books all the expense without taking the receipts into account. I do not recollect if, when he wrote his 'Tusculan Disputations', his own Tullia was dead. Death is a monster which turns away from the great theatre an attentive hearer before the end of the play which deeply interests him, and this is reason enough to hate it.
All my adventures are not to be found in these Memoirs; I have left out those which might have offended the persons who have played a sorry part therein. In spite of this reserve, my readers will perhaps often think me indiscreet, and I am sorry for it. Should I perchance become wiser before I give up the ghost, I might burn every one of these sheets, but now I have not courage enough to do it.
It may be that certain love scenes will be considered too explicit, but let no one blame me, unless it be for lack of skill, for I ought not to be scolded because, in my old age, I can find no other enjoyment but that which recollections of the past afford to me. After all, virtuous and prudish readers are at liberty to skip over any offensive pictures, and I think it my duty to give them this piece of advice; so much the worse for those who may not read my preface; it is no fault of mine if they do not, for everyone ought to know that a preface is to a book what the play-bill is to a comedy; both must be read.
My Memoirs are not written for young persons who, in order to avoid false steps and slippery roads, ought to spend their youth in blissful ignorance, but for those who, having thorough experience of life, are no longer exposed to temptation, and who, having but too often gone through the fire, are like salamanders, and can be scorched by it no more. True virtue is but a habit, and I have no hesitation in saying that the really virtuous are those persons who can practice virtue without the slightest trouble; such persons are always full of toleration, and it is to them that my Memoirs are addressed.
I have written in French, and not in Italian, because the French language is more universal than mine, and the purists, who may criticise in my style some Italian turns will be quite right, but only in case it should prevent them from understanding me clearly. The Greeks admired Theophrastus in spite of his Eresian style, and the Romans delighted in their Livy in spite of his Patavinity. Provided I amuse my readers, it seems to me that I can claim the same indulgence. After all, every Italian reads Algarotti with pleasure, although his works are full of French idioms.
There is one thing worthy of notice: of all the living languages belonging to the republic of letters, the French tongue is the only one which has been condemned by its masters never to borrow in order to become richer, whilst all other languages, although richer in words than the French, plunder from it words and constructions of sentences, whenever they find that by such robbery they add something to their own beauty. Yet those who borrow the most from the French, are the most forward in trumpeting the poverty of that language, very likely thinking that such an accusation justifies their depredations. It is said that the French language has attained the apogee of its beauty, and that the smallest foreign loan would spoil it, but I make bold to assert that this is prejudice, for, although it certainly is the most clear, the most logical of all languages, it would be great temerity to affirm that it can never go farther or higher than it has gone. We all recollect that, in the days of Lulli, there was but one opinion of his music, yet Rameau came and everything was changed. The new impulse given to the French nation may open new and unexpected horizons, and new beauties, fresh perfections, may spring up from new combinations and from new wants.
The motto I have adopted justifies my digressions, and all the commentaries, perhaps too numerous, in which I indulge upon my various exploits: 'Nequidquam sapit qui sibi non sapit'. For the same reason I have always felt a great desire to receive praise and applause from polite society:
'Excitat auditor stadium, laudataque virtus
Crescit, et immensum gloria calcar habet.
I would willingly have displayed here the proud axiom: 'Nemo laeditur nisi a se ipso', had I not feared to offend the immense number of persons who, whenever anything goes wrong with them, are wont to exclaim, "It is no fault of mine!" I cannot deprive them of that small particle of comfort, for, were it not for it, they would soon feel hatred for themselves, and self-hatred often leads to the fatal idea of self-destruction.
As for myself I always willingly acknowledge my own self as the principal cause of every good or of every evil which may befall me; therefore I have always found myself capable of being my own pupil, and ready to love my teacher.
THE MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA
VENETIAN YEARS
EPISODE 1 -- CHILDHOOD
CHAPTER I
My Family Pedigree--My Childhood
Don Jacob Casanova, the illegitimate son of Don Francisco Casanova, was a native of Saragosa, the capital of Aragon, and in the year of 1428 he carried off Dona Anna Palofax from her convent, on the day after she had taken the veil. He was secretary to King Alfonso. He ran away with her to Rome, where, after one year of imprisonment, the pope, Martin III., released Anna from her vows, and gave them the nuptial blessing at the instance of Don Juan Casanova, majordomo of the Vatican, and uncle of Don Jacob. All the children born from that marriage died in their infancy, with the exception of Don Juan, who, in 1475, married Donna Eleonora Albini, by whom he had a son, Marco Antonio.
In 1481, Don Juan, having killed an officer of the king of Naples, was compelled to leave Rome, and escaped to Como with his wife and his son; but having left that city to seek his fortune, he died while traveling with Christopher Columbus in the year 1493.
Marco Antonio became a noted poet of the school of Martial, and was secretary to Cardinal Pompeo Colonna.
The satire against Giulio de Medicis, which we find in his works, having made it necessary for him to leave Rome, he returned to Como, where he married Abondia Rezzonica. The same Giulio de Medicis, having become pope under the name of Clement VII, pardoned him and called him back to Rome with his wife. The city having been taken and ransacked by the Imperialists in 1526, Marco Antonio died there from an attack of the plague; otherwise he would have died of misery, the soldiers of Charles V. having taken all he possessed. Pierre Valerien speaks of him in his work 'de infelicitate litteratorum'.
Three months after his death, his wife gave birth to Jacques Casanova, who died in France at a great age, colonel in the army commanded by Farnese against Henri, king of Navarre, afterwards king of France. He had left in the city of Parma a son who married Theresa Conti, from whom he had Jacques, who, in the year 1681, married Anna Roli. Jacques had two sons, Jean-Baptiste and Gaetan-Joseph-Jacques. The eldest left Parma in 1712, and was never heard of; the other also went away in 1715, being only nineteen years old.
This is all I have found in my father's diary: from my mother's lips I have heard the following particulars:
Gaetan-Joseph-Jacques left his family, madly in love with an actress named Fragoletta, who performed the chambermaids. In his poverty, he determined to earn a living by making the most of his own person. At first he gave himself up to dancing, and five years afterwards became an actor, making himself conspicuous by his conduct still more than by his talent.
Whether from fickleness or from jealousy, he abandoned the Fragoletta, and joined in Venice a troop of comedians then giving performances at the Saint-Samuel Theatre. Opposite the house in which he had taken his lodging resided a shoemaker, by name Jerome Farusi, with his wife Marzia, and Zanetta, their only daughter--a perfect beauty sixteen years of age. The young actor fell in love with this girl, succeeded in gaining her affection, and in obtaining her consent to a runaway match. It was the only way to win her, for, being an actor, he never could have had Marzia's consent, still less Jerome's, as in their eyes a player was a most awful individual. The young lovers, provided with the necessary certificates and accompanied by two witnesses, presented themselves before the Patriarch of Venice, who performed over them the marriage ceremony. Marzia, Zanetta's mother, indulged in a good deal of exclamation, and the father died broken-hearted.
I was born nine months afterwards, on the 2nd of April, 1725.
The following April my mother left me under the care of her own mother, who had forgiven her as soon as she had heard that my father had promised never to compel her to appear on the stage. This is a promise which all actors make to the young girls they marry, and which they never fulfil, simply because their wives never care much about claiming from them the performance of it. Moreover, it turned out a very fortunate thing for my mother that she had studied for the stage, for nine years later, having been left a widow with six children, she could not have brought them up if it had not been for the resources she found in that profession.
I was only one year old when my father left me to go to London, where he had an engagement. It was in that great city that my mother made her first appearance on the stage, and in that city likewise that she gave birth to my brother Francois, a celebrated painter of battles, now residing in Vienna, where he has followed his profession since 1783.
Towards the end of the year 1728 my mother returned to Venice with her husband, and as she had become an actress she continued her artistic life. In 1730 she was delivered of my brother Jean, who became Director of the Academy of painting at Dresden, and died there in 1795; and during the three following years she became the mother of two daughters, one of whom died at an early age, while the other married in Dresden, where she still lived in 1798. I had also a posthumous brother, who became a priest; he died in Rome fifteen years ago.
Let us now come to the dawn of my existence in the character of a thinking being.
The organ of memory began to develop itself in me at the beginning of August, 1733. I had at that time reached the age of eight years and four months. Of what may have happened to me before that period I have not the faintest recollection. This is the circumstance.
I was standing in the corner of a room bending towards the wall, supporting my head, and my eyes fixed upon a stream of blood flowing from my nose to the ground. My grandmother, Marzia, whose pet I was, came to me, bathed my face with cold water, and, unknown to everyone in the house, took me with her in a gondola as far as Muran, a thickly-populated island only half a league distant from Venice.
Alighting from the gondola, we enter a wretched hole, where we find an old woman sitting on a rickety bed, holding a black cat in her arms, with five or six more purring around her. The two old cronies held together a long discourse of which, most likely, I was the subject. At the end of the dialogue, which was carried on in the patois of Forli, the witch having received a silver ducat from my grandmother, opened a box, took me in her arms, placed me in the box and locked me in it, telling me not to be frightened--a piece of advice which would certainly have had the contrary effect, if I had had any wits about me, but I was stupefied. I kept myself quiet in a corner of the box, holding a handkerchief to my nose because it was still bleeding, and otherwise very indifferent to the uproar going on outside. I could hear in turn, laughter, weeping, singing, screams, shrieks, and knocking against the box, but for all that I cared nought. At last I am taken out of the box; the blood stops flowing. The wonderful old witch, after lavishing caresses upon me, takes off my clothes, lays me on the bed, burns some drugs, gathers the smoke in a sheet which she wraps around me, pronounces incantations, takes the sheet off me, and gives me five sugar-plums of a very agreeable taste. Then she immediately rubs my temples and the nape of my neck with an ointment exhaling a delightful perfume, and puts my clothes on me again. She told me that my haemorrhage would little by little leave me, provided I should never disclose to any one what she had done to cure me, and she threatened me, on the other hand, with the loss of all my blood and with death, should I ever breathe a word concerning those mysteries. After having thus taught me my lesson, she informed me that a beautiful lady would pay me a visit during the following night, and that she would make me happy, on condition that I should have sufficient control over myself never to mention to anyone my having received such a visit. Upon this we left and returned home.
I fell asleep almost as soon as I was in bed, without giving a thought to the beautiful visitor I was to receive; but, waking up a few hours afterwards, I saw, or fancied I saw, coming down the chimney, a dazzling woman, with immense hoops, splendidly attired, and wearing on her head a crown set with precious stones, which seemed to me sparkling with fire. With slow steps, but with a majestic and sweet countenance, she came forward and sat on my bed; then taking several small boxes from her pocket, she emptied their contents over my head, softly whispering a few words, and after giving utterance to a long speech, not a single word of which I understood, she kissed me and disappeared the same way she had come. I soon went again to sleep.
The next morning, my grandmother came to dress me, and the moment she was near my bed, she cautioned me to be silent, threatening me with death if I dared to say anything respecting my night's adventures. This command, laid upon me by the only woman who had complete authority over me, and whose orders I was accustomed to obey blindly, caused me to remember the vision, and to store it, with the seal of secrecy, in the inmost corner of my dawning memory. I had not, however, the slightest inclination to mention the circumstances to anyone; in the first place, because I did not suppose it would interest anybody, and in the second because I would not have known whom to make a confidant of. My disease had rendered me dull and retired; everybody pitied me and left me to myself; my life was considered likely to be but a short one, and as to my parents, they never spoke to me.
After the journey to Muran, and the nocturnal visit of the fairy, I continued to have bleeding at the nose, but less from day to day, and my memory slowly developed itself. I learned to read in less than a month.
It would be ridiculous, of course, to attribute this cure to such follies, but at the same time I think it would be wrong to assert that they did not in any way contribute to it. As far as the apparition of the beautiful queen is concerned, I have always deemed it to be a dream, unless it should have been some masquerade got up for the occasion, but it is not always in the druggist's shop that are found the best remedies for severe diseases. Our ignorance is every day proved by some wonderful phenomenon, and I believe this to be the reason why it is so difficult to meet with a learned man entirely untainted with superstition. We know, as a matter of course, that there never have been any sorcerers in this world, yet it is true that their power has always existed in the estimation of those to whom crafty knaves have passed themselves off as such. 'Somnio nocturnos lemures portentaque Thessalia vides'.
Many things become real which, at first, had no existence but in our imagination, and, as a natural consequence, many facts which have been attributed to Faith may not always have been miraculous, although they are true miracles for those who lend to Faith a boundless power.
The next circumstance of any importance to myself which I recollect happened three months after my trip to Muran, and six weeks before my father's death. I give it to my readers only to convey some idea of the manner in which my nature was expanding.
One day, about the middle of November, I was with my brother Francois, two years younger than I, in my father's room, watching him attentively as he was working at optics. A large lump of crystal, round and cut into facets, attracted my attention. I took it up, and having brought it near my eyes I was delighted to see that it multiplied objects. The wish to possess myself of it at once got hold of me, and seeing myself unobserved I took my opportunity and hid it in my pocket.
A few minutes after this my father looked about for his crystal, and unable to find it, he concluded that one of us must have taken it. My brother asserted that he had not touched it, and I, although guilty, said the same; but my father, satisfied that he could not be mistaken, threatened to search us and to thrash the one who had told him a story. I pretended to look for the crystal in every corner of the room, and, watching my opportunity I slyly slipped it in the pocket of my brother's jacket. At first I was sorry for what I had done, for I might as well have feigned to find the crystal somewhere about the room; but the evil deed was past recall. My father, seeing that we were looking in vain, lost patience, searched us, found the unlucky ball of crystal in the pocket of the innocent boy, and inflicted upon him the promised thrashing. Three or four years later I was foolish enough to boast before my brother of the trick I had then played on him; he never forgave me, and has never failed to take his revenge whenever the opportunity offered.
However, having at a later period gone to confession, and accused myself to the priest of the sin with every circumstance surrounding it, I gained some knowledge which afforded me great satisfaction. My confessor, who was a Jesuit, told me that by that deed I had verified the meaning of my first name, Jacques, which, he said, meant, in Hebrew, "supplanter," and that God had changed for that reason the name of the ancient patriarch into that of Israel, which meant "knowing." He had deceived his brother Esau.
Six weeks after the above adventure my father was attacked with an abscess in the head which carried him off in a week. Dr. Zambelli first gave him oppilative remedies, and, seeing his mistake, he tried to mend it by administering castoreum, which sent his patient into convulsions and killed him. The abscess broke out through the ear one minute after his death, taking its leave after killing him, as if it had no longer any business with him. My father departed this life in the very prime of his manhood. He was only thirty-six years of age, but he was followed to his grave by the regrets of the public, and more particularly of all the patricians amongst whom he was held as above his profession, not less on account of his gentlemanly behaviour than on account of his extensive knowledge in mechanics.
Two days before his death, feeling that his end was at hand, my father expressed a wish to see us all around his bed, in the presence of his wife and of the Messieurs Grimani, three Venetian noblemen whose protection he wished to entreat in our favour. After giving us his blessing, he requested our mother, who was drowned in tears, to give her sacred promise that she would not educate any of us for the stage, on which he never would have appeared himself had he not been led to it by an unfortunate attachment. My mother gave her promise, and the three noblemen said that they would see to its being faithfully kept. Circumstances helped our mother to fulfill her word.
At that time my mother had been pregnant for six months, and she was allowed to remain away from the stage until after Easter. Beautiful and young as she was, she declined all the offers of marriage which were made to her, and, placing her trust in Providence, she courageously devoted herself to the task of bringing up her young family.
She considered it a duty to think of me before the others, not so much from a feeling of preference as in consequence of my disease, which had such an effect upon me that it was difficult to know what to do with me. I was very weak, without any appetite, unable to apply myself to anything, and I had all the appearance of an idiot. Physicians disagreed as to the cause of the disease. He loses, they would say, two pounds of blood every week; yet there cannot be more than sixteen or eighteen pounds in his body. What, then, can cause so abundant a bleeding? One asserted that in me all the chyle turned into blood; another was of opinion that the air I was breathing must, at each inhalation, increase the quantity of blood in my lungs, and contended that this was the reason for which I always kept my mouth open. I heard of it all six years afterward from M. Baffo, a great friend of my late father.
This M. Baffo consulted the celebrated Doctor Macop, of Padua, who sent him his opinion by writing. This consultation, which I have still in my possession, says that our blood is an elastic fluid which is liable to diminish or to increase in thickness, but never in quantity, and that my haemorrhage could only proceed from the thickness of the mass of my blood, which relieved itself in a natural way in order to facilitate circulation. The doctor added that I would have died long before, had not nature, in its wish for life, assisted itself, and he concluded by stating that the cause of the thickness of my blood could only be ascribed to the air I was breathing and that consequently I must have a change of air, or every hope of cure be abandoned. He thought likewise, that the stupidity so apparent on my countenance was caused by nothing else but the thickness of my blood.
M. Baffo, a man of sublime genius, a most lascivious, yet a great and original poet, was therefore instrumental in bringing about the decision which was then taken to send me to Padua, and to him I am indebted for my life. He died twenty years after, the last of his ancient patrician family, but his poems, although obscene, will give everlasting fame to his name. The state-inquisitors of Venice have contributed to his celebrity by their mistaken strictness. Their persecutions caused his manuscript works to become precious. They ought to have been aware that despised things are forgotten.
As soon as the verdict given by Professor Macop had been approved of, the Abbe Grimani undertook to find a good boarding-house in Padua for me, through a chemist of his acquaintance who resided in that city. His name was Ottaviani, and he was also an antiquarian of some repute. In a few days the boarding-house was found, and on the 2nd day of April, 1734, on the very day I had accomplished my ninth year, I was taken to Padua in a 'burchiello', along the Brenta Canal. We embarked at ten o'clock in the evening, immediately after supper.
The 'burchiello' may be considered a small floating house. There is a large saloon with a smaller cabin at each end, and rooms for servants fore and aft. It is a long square with a roof, and cut on each side by glazed windows with shutters. The voyage takes eight hours. M. Grimani, M. Baffo, and my mother accompanied me. I slept with her in the saloon, and the two friends passed the night in one of the cabins. My mother rose at day break, opened one of the windows facing the bed, and the rays of the rising sun, falling on my eyes, caused me to open them. The bed was too low for me to see the land; I could see through the window only the tops of the trees along the river. The boat was sailing with such an even movement that I could not realize the fact of our moving, so that the trees, which, one after the other, were rapidly disappearing from my sight, caused me an extreme surprise. "Ah, dear mother!" I exclaimed, "what is this? the trees are walking!" At that very moment the two noblemen came in, and reading astonishment on my countenance, they asked me what my thoughts were so busy about. "How is it," I answered, "that the trees are walking."
They all laughed, but my mother, heaving a great sigh, told me, in a tone of deep pity, "The boat is moving, the trees are not. Now dress yourself."
I understood at once the reason of the phenomenon. "Then it may be," said I, "that the sun does not move, and that we, on the contrary, are revolving from west to east." At these words my good mother fairly screamed. M. Grimani pitied my foolishness, and I remained dismayed, grieved, and ready to cry. M. Baffo brought me life again. He rushed to me, embraced me tenderly, and said, "Thou are right, my child. The sun does not move; take courage, give heed to your reasoning powers and let others laugh."
My mother, greatly surprised, asked him whether he had taken leave of his senses to give me such lessons; but the philosopher, not even condescending to answer her, went on sketching a theory in harmony with my young and simple intelligence. This was the first real pleasure I enjoyed in my life. Had it not been for M. Baffo, this circumstance might have been enough to degrade my understanding; the weakness of credulity would have become part of my mind. The ignorance of the two others would certainly have blunted in me the edge of a faculty which, perhaps, has not carried me very far in my after life, but to which alone I feel that I am indebted for every particle of happiness I enjoy when I look into myself.
We reached Padua at an early hour and went to Ottaviani's house; his wife loaded me with caresses. I found there five or six children, amongst them a girl of eight years, named Marie, and another of seven, Rose, beautiful as a seraph. Ten years later Marie became the wife of the broker Colonda, and Rose, a few years afterwards, married a nobleman, Pierre Marcello, and had one son and two daughters, one of whom was wedded to M. Pierre Moncenigo, and the other to a nobleman of the Carrero family. This last marriage was afterwards nullified. I shall have, in the course of events, to speak of all these persons, and that is my reason for mentioning their names here.
Ottaviani took us at once to the house where I was to board. It was only a few yards from his own residence, at Sainte-Marie d'Advance, in the parish of Saint-Michel, in the house of an old Sclavonian woman, who let the first floor to Signora Mida, wife of a Sclavonian colonel. My small trunk was laid open before the old woman, to whom was handed an inventory of all its contents, together with six sequins for six months paid in advance. For this small sum she undertook to feed me, to keep me clean, and to send me to a day-school. Protesting that it was not enough, she accepted these terms. I was kissed and strongly commanded to be always obedient and docile, and I was left with her.
In this way did my family get rid of me.
CHAPTER II
My Grandmother Comes to Padua, and Takes Me to Dr. Gozzi's
School--My First Love Affair
As soon as I was left alone with the Sclavonian woman, she took me up to the garret, where she pointed out my bed in a row with four others, three of which belonged to three young boys of my age, who at that moment were at school, and the fourth to a servant girl whose province it was to watch us and to prevent the many peccadilloes in which school-boys are wont to indulge. After this visit we came downstairs, and I was taken to the garden with permission to walk about until dinner-time.
I felt neither happy nor unhappy; I had nothing to say. I had neither fear nor hope, nor even a feeling of curiosity; I was neither cheerful nor sad. The only thing which grated upon me was the face of the mistress of the house. Although I had not the faintest idea either of beauty or of ugliness, her face, her countenance, her tone of voice, her language, everything in that woman was repulsive to me. Her masculine features repelled me every time I lifted my eyes towards her face to listen to what she said to me. She was tall and coarse like a trooper; her complexion was yellow, her hair black, her eyebrows long and thick, and her chin gloried in a respectable bristly beard: to complete the picture, her hideous, half-naked bosom was hanging half-way down her long chest; she may have been about fifty. The servant was a stout country girl, who did all the work of the house; the garden was a square of some thirty feet, which had no other beauty than its green appearance.
Towards noon my three companions came back from school, and they at once spoke to me as if we had been old acquaintances, naturally giving me credit for such intelligence as belonged to my age, but which I did not possess. I did not answer them, but they were not baffled, and they at last prevailed upon me to share their innocent pleasures. I had to run, to carry and be carried, to turn head over heels, and I allowed myself to be initiated into those arts with a pretty good grace until we were summoned to dinner. I sat down to the table; but seeing before me a wooden spoon, I pushed it back, asking for my silver spoon and fork to which I was much attached, because they were a gift from my good old granny. The servant answered that the mistress wished to maintain equality between the boys, and I had to submit, much to my disgust. Having thus learned that equality in everything was the rule of the house, I went to work like the others and began to eat the soup out of the common dish, and if I did not complain of the rapidity with which my companions made it disappear, I could not help wondering at such inequality being allowed. To follow this very poor soup, we had a small portion of dried cod and one apple each, and dinner was over: it was in Lent. We had neither glasses nor cups, and we all helped ourselves out of the same earthen pitcher to a miserable drink called graspia, which is made by boiling in water the stems of grapes stripped of their fruit. From the following day I drank nothing but water. This way of living surprised me, for I did not know whether I had a right to complain of it. After dinner the servant took me to the school, kept by a young priest, Doctor Gozzi, with whom the Sclavonian woman had bargained for my schooling at the rate of forty sous a month, or the eleventh part of a sequin.
The first thing to do was to teach me writing, and I was placed amongst children of five and six years, who did not fail to turn me into ridicule on account of my age.
On my return to the boarding-house I had my supper, which, as a matter of course, was worse than the dinner, and I could not make out why the right of complaint should be denied me. I was then put to bed, but there three well-known species of vermin kept me awake all night, besides the rats, which, running all over the garret, jumped on my bed and fairly made my blood run cold with fright. This is the way in which I began to feel misery, and to learn how to suffer it patiently. The vermin, which feasted upon me, lessened my fear of the rats, and by a very lucky system of compensation, the dread of the rats made me less sensitive to the bites of the vermin. My mind was reaping benefit from the very struggle fought between the evils which surrounded me. The servant was perfectly deaf to my screaming.
As soon as it was daylight I ran out of the wretched garret, and, after complaining to the girl of all I had endured during the night, I asked her to give me a clean shirt, the one I had on being disgusting to look at, but she answered that I could only change my linen on a Sunday, and laughed at me when I threatened to complain to the mistress. For the first time in my life I shed tears of sorrow and of anger, when I heard my companions scoffing at me. The poor wretches shared my unhappy condition, but they were used to it, and that makes all the difference.
Sorely depressed, I went to school, but only to sleep soundly through the morning. One of my comrades, in the hope of turning the affair into ridicule at my expense, told the doctor the reason of my being so sleepy. The good priest, however, to whom without doubt Providence had guided me, called me into his private room, listened to all I had to say, saw with his own eyes the proofs of my misery, and moved by the sight of the blisters which disfigured my innocent skin, he took up his cloak, went with me to my boarding-house, and shewed the woman the state I was in. She put on a look of great astonishment, and threw all the blame upon the servant. The doctor being curious to see my bed, I was, as much as he was, surprised at the filthy state of the sheets in which I had passed the night. The accursed woman went on blaming the servant, and said that she would discharge her; but the girl, happening to be close by, and not relishing the accusation, told her boldly that the fault was her own, and she then threw open the beds of my companions to shew us that they did not experience any better treatment. The mistress, raving, slapped her on the face, and the servant, to be even with her, returned the compliment and ran away. The doctor left me there, saying that I could not enter his school unless I was sent to him as clean as the other boys. The result for me was a very sharp rebuke, with the threat, as a finishing stroke, that if I ever caused such a broil again, I would be ignominiously turned out of the house.
I could not make it out; I had just entered life, and I had no knowledge of any other place but the house in which I had been born, in which I had been brought up, and in which I had always seen cleanliness and honest comfort. Here I found myself ill-treated, scolded, although it did not seem possible that any blame could be attached to me. At last the old shrew tossed a shirt in my face, and an hour later I saw a new servant changing the sheets, after which we had our dinner.
My schoolmaster took particular care in instructing me. He gave me a seat at his own desk, and in order to shew my proper appreciation of such a favour, I gave myself up to my studies; at the end of the first month I could write so well that I was promoted to the grammar class.
The new life I was leading, the half-starvation system to which I was condemned, and most likely more than everything else, the air of Padua, brought me health such as I had never enjoyed before, but that very state of blooming health made it still more difficult for me to bear the hunger which I was compelled to endure; it became unbearable. I was growing rapidly; I enjoyed nine hours of deep sleep, unbroken by any dreams, save that I always fancied myself sitting at a well-spread table, and gratifying my cruel appetite, but every morning I could realize in full the vanity and the unpleasant disappointment of flattering dreams! This ravenous appetite would at last have weakened me to death, had I not made up my mind to pounce upon, and to swallow, every kind of eatables I could find, whenever I was certain of not being seen.
Necessity begets ingenuity. I had spied in a cupboard of the kitchen some fifty red herrings; I devoured them all one after the other, as well as all the sausages which were hanging in the chimney to be smoked; and in order to accomplish those feats without being detected, I was in the habit of getting up at night and of undertaking my foraging expeditions under the friendly veil of darkness. Every new-laid egg I could discover in the poultry-yard, quite warm and scarcely dropped by the hen, was a most delicious treat. I would even go as far as the kitchen of the schoolmaster in the hope of pilfering something to eat.
The Sclavonian woman, in despair at being unable to catch the thieves, turned away servant after servant. But, in spite of all my expeditions, as I could not always find something to steal, I was as thin as a walking skeleton.
My progress at school was so rapid during four or five months that the master promoted me to the rank of dux. My province was to examine the lessons of my thirty school-fellows, to correct their mistakes and report to the master with whatever note of blame or of approval I thought they deserved; but my strictness did not last long, for idle boys soon found out the way to enlist my sympathy. When their Latin lesson was full of mistakes, they would buy me off with cutlets and roast chickens; they even gave me money. These proceedings excited my covetousness, or, rather, my gluttony, and, not satisfied with levying a tax upon the ignorant, I became a tyrant, and I refused well-merited approbation to all those who declined paying the contribution I demanded. At last, unable to bear my injustice any longer, the boys accused me, and the master, seeing me convicted of extortion, removed me from my exalted position. I would very likely have fared badly after my dismissal, had not Fate decided to put an end to my cruel apprenticeship.
Doctor Gozzi, who was attached to me, called me privately one day into his study, and asked me whether I would feel disposed to carry out the advice he would give me in order to bring about my removal from the house of the Sclavonian woman, and my admission in his own family. Finding me delighted at such an offer, he caused me to copy three letters which I sent, one to the Abbe Grimani, another to my friend Baffo, and the last to my excellent grandam. The half-year was nearly out, and my mother not being in Venice at that period there was no time to lose.
In my letters I gave a description of all my sufferings, and I prognosticated my death were I not immediately removed from my boarding-house and placed under the care of my school-master, who was disposed to receive me; but he wanted two sequins a month.
M. Grimani did not answer me, and commissioned his friend Ottaviani to scold me for allowing myself to be ensnared by the doctor; but M. Baffo went to consult with my grandmother, who could not write, and in a letter which he addressed to me he informed me that I would soon find myself in a happier situation. And, truly, within a week the excellent old woman, who loved me until her death, made her appearance as I was sitting down to my dinner. She came in with the mistress of the house, and the moment I saw her I threw my arms around her neck, crying bitterly, in which luxury the old lady soon joined me. She sat down and took me on her knees; my courage rose again. In the presence of the Sclavonian woman I enumerated all my grievances, and after calling her attention to the food, fit only for beggars, which I was compelled to swallow, I took her upstairs to shew her my bed. I begged her to take me out and give me a good dinner after six months of such starvation. The boarding-house keeper boldly asserted that she could not afford better for the amount she had received, and there was truth in that, but she had no business to keep house and to become the tormentor of poor children who were thrown on her hands by stinginess, and who required to be properly fed.
My grandmother very quietly intimated her intention to take me away forthwith, and asked her to put all my things in my trunk. I cannot express my joy during these preparations. For the first time I felt that kind of happiness which makes forgiveness compulsory upon the being who enjoys it, and causes him to forget all previous unpleasantness. My grandmother took me to the inn, and dinner was served, but she could hardly eat anything in her astonishment at the voracity with which I was swallowing my food. In the meantime Doctor Gozzi, to whom she had sent notice of her arrival, came in, and his appearance soon prepossessed her in his favour. He was then a fine-looking priest, twenty-six years of age, chubby, modest, and respectful. In less than a quarter of an hour everything was satisfactorily arranged between them. The good old lady counted out twenty-four sequins for one year of my schooling, and took a receipt for the same, but she kept me with her for three days in order to have me clothed like a priest, and to get me a wig, as the filthy state of my hair made it necessary to have it all cut off.
At the end of the three days she took me to the doctor's house, so as to see herself to my installation and to recommend me to the doctor's mother, who desired her to send or to buy in Padua a bedstead and bedding; but the doctor having remarked that, his own bed being very wide, I might sleep with him, my grandmother expressed her gratitude for all his kindness, and we accompanied her as far as the burchiello she had engaged to return to Venice.
The family of Doctor Gozzi was composed of his mother, who had great reverence for him, because, a peasant by birth, she did not think herself worthy of having a son who was a priest, and still more a doctor in divinity; she was plain, old, and cross; and of his father, a shoemaker by trade, working all day long and never addressing a word to anyone, not even during the meals. He only became a sociable being on holidays, on which occasions he would spend his time with his friends in some tavern, coming home at midnight as drunk as a lord and singing verses from Tasso. When in this blissful state the good man could not make up his mind to go to bed, and became violent if anyone attempted to compel him to lie down. Wine alone gave him sense and spirit, for when sober he was incapable of attending to the simplest family matter, and his wife often said that he never would have married her had not his friends taken care to give him a good breakfast before he went to the church.
But Doctor Gozzi had also a sister, called Bettina, who at the age of thirteen was pretty, lively, and a great reader of romances. Her father and mother scolded her constantly because she was too often looking out of the window, and the doctor did the same on account of her love for reading. This girl took at once my fancy without my knowing why, and little by little she kindled in my heart the first spark of a passion which, afterwards became in me the ruling one.
Six months after I had been an inmate in the house, the doctor found himself without scholars; they all went away because I had become the sole object of his affection. He then determined to establish a college, and to receive young boys as boarders; but two years passed before he met with any success. During that period he taught me everything he knew; true, it was not much; yet it was enough to open to me the high road to all sciences. He likewise taught me the violin, an accomplishment which proved very useful to me in a peculiar circumstance, the particulars of which I will give in good time. The excellent doctor, who was in no way a philosopher, made me study the logic of the Peripatetics, and the cosmography of the ancient system of Ptolemy, at which I would laugh, teasing the poor doctor with theorems to which he could find no answer. His habits, moreover, were irreproachable, and in all things connected with religion, although no bigot, he was of the greatest strictness, and, admitting everything as an article of faith, nothing appeared difficult to his conception. He believed the deluge to have been universal, and he thought that, before that great cataclysm, men lived a thousand years and conversed with God, that Noah took one hundred years to build the ark, and that the earth, suspended in the air, is firmly held in the very centre of the universe which God had created from nothing. When I would say and prove that it was absurd to believe in the existence of nothingness, he would stop me short and call me a fool.
He could enjoy a good bed, a glass of wine, and cheerfulness at home. He did not admire fine wits, good jests or criticism, because it easily turns to slander, and he would laugh at the folly of men reading newspapers which, in his opinion, always lied and constantly repeated the same things. He asserted that nothing was more troublesome than incertitude, and therefore he condemned thought because it gives birth to doubt.
His ruling passion was preaching, for which his face and his voice qualified him; his congregation was almost entirely composed of women of whom, however, he was the sworn enemy; so much so, that he would not look them in the face even when he spoke to them. Weakness of the flesh and fornication appeared to him the most monstrous of sins, and he would be very angry if I dared to assert that, in my estimation, they were the most venial of faults. His sermons were crammed with passages from the Greek authors, which he translated into Latin. One day I ventured to remark that those passages ought to be translated into Italian because women did not understand Latin any more than Greek, but he took offence, and I never had afterwards the courage to allude any more to the matter. Moreover he praised me to his friends as a wonder, because I had learned to read Greek alone, without any assistance but a grammar.
During Lent, in the year 1736, my mother, wrote to the doctor; and, as she was on the point of her departure for St. Petersburg, she wished to see me, and requested him to accompany me to Venice for three or four days. This invitation set him thinking, for he had never seen Venice, never frequented good company, and yet he did not wish to appear a novice in anything. We were soon ready to leave Padua, and all the family escorted us to the 'burchiello'.
My mother received the doctor with a most friendly welcome; but she was strikingly beautiful, and my poor master felt very uncomfortable, not daring to look her in the face, and yet called upon to converse with her. She saw the dilemma he was in, and thought she would have some amusing sport about it should opportunity present itself. I, in the meantime, drew the attention of everyone in her circle; everybody had known me as a fool, and was amazed at my improvement in the short space of two years. The doctor was overjoyed, because he saw that the full credit of my transformation was given to him.
The first thing which struck my mother unpleasantly was my light- wig, which was not in harmony with my dark complexion, and contrasted most woefully with my black eyes and eyebrows. She inquired from the doctor why I did not wear my own hair, and he answered that, with a wig, it was easier for his sister to keep me clean. Everyone smiled at the simplicity of the answer, but the merriment increased when, to the question made by my mother whether his sister was married, I took the answer upon myself, and said that Bettina was the prettiest girl of Padua, and was only fourteen years of age. My mother promised the doctor a splendid present for his sister on condition that she would let me wear my own hair, and he promised that her wishes would be complied with. The peruke-maker was then called, and I had a wig which matched my complexion.
Soon afterwards all the guests began to play cards, with the exception of my master, and I went to see my brothers in my grandmother's room. Francois shewed me some architectural designs which I pretended to admire; Jean had nothing to shew me, and I thought him a rather insignificant boy. The others were still very young.
At the supper-table, the doctor, seated next to my mother, was very awkward. He would very likely not have said one word, had not an Englishman, a writer of talent, addressed him in Latin; but the doctor, being unable to make him out, modestly answered that he did not understand English, which caused much hilarity. M. Baffo, however, explained the puzzle by telling us that Englishmen read and pronounced Latin in the same way that they read and spoke their own language, and I remarked that Englishmen were wrong as much as we would be, if we pretended to read and to pronounce their language according to Latin rules. The Englishman, pleased with my reasoning, wrote down the following old couplet, and gave it to me to read:
'Dicite, grammatici, cur mascula nomina cunnus,
Et cur femineum mentula nomen habet.'
After reading it aloud, I exclaimed, "This is Latin indeed."
"We know that," said my mother, "but can you explain it?"
"To explain it is not enough," I answered; "it is a question which is worthy of an answer." And after considering for a moment, I wrote the following pentameter:
'Disce quod a domino nomina servus habet.'
This was my first literary exploit, and I may say that in that very instant the seed of my love for literary fame was sown in my breast, for the applause lavished upon me exalted me to the very pinnacle of happiness. The Englishman, quite amazed at my answer, said that no boy of eleven years had ever accomplished such a feat, embraced me repeatedly, and presented me with his watch. My mother, inquisitive like a woman, asked M. Grimani to tell her the meaning of the lines, but as the abbe was not any wiser than she was M. Baffo translated it in a whisper. Surprised at my knowledge, she rose from her chair to get a valuable gold watch and presented to my master, who, not knowing how to express his deep gratitude, treated us to the most comic scene. My mother, in order to save him from the difficulty of paying her a compliment, offered him her cheek. He had only to give her a couple of kisses, the easiest and the most innocent thing in good company; but the poor man was on burning coals, and so completely out of countenance that he would, I truly believe, rather have died than give the kisses. He drew back with his head down, and he was allowed to remain in peace until we retired for the night.
When we found ourselves alone in our room, he poured out his heart, and exclaimed that it was a pity he could not publish in Padua the distich and my answer.
"And why not?" I said.
"Because both are obscene."
"But they are sublime."
"Let us go to bed and speak no more on the subject. Your answer was wonderful, because you cannot possibly know anything of the subject in question, or of the manner in which verses ought to be written."
As far as the subject was concerned, I knew it by theory; for, unknown to the doctor, and because he had forbidden it, I had read Meursius, but it was natural that he should be amazed at my being able to write verses, when he, who had taught me prosody, never could compose a single line. 'Nemo dat quod non habet' is a false axiom when applied to mental acquirements.
Four days afterwards, as we were preparing for our departure, my mother gave me a parcel for Bettina, and M. Grimani presented me with four sequins to buy books. A week later my mother left for St. Petersburg.
After our return to Padua, my good master for three or four months never ceased to speak of my mother, and Bettina, having found in the parcel five yards of black silk and twelve pairs of gloves, became singularly attached to me, and took such good care of my hair that in less than six months I was able to give up wearing the wig. She used to comb my hair every morning, often before I was out of bed, saying that she had not time to wait until I was dressed. She washed my face, my neck, my chest; lavished on me childish caresses which I thought innocent, but which caused me to be angry with myself, because I felt that they excited me. Three years younger than she was, it seemed to me that she could not love me with any idea of mischief, and the consciousness of my own vicious excitement put me out of temper with myself. When, seated on my bed, she would say that I was getting stouter, and would have the proof of it with her own hands, she caused me the most intense emotion; but I said nothing, for fear she would remark my sensitiveness, and when she would go on saying that my skin was soft, the tickling sensation made me draw back, angry with myself that I did not dare to do the same to her, but delighted at her not guessing how I longed to do it. When I was dressed, she often gave me the sweetest kisses, calling me her darling child, but whatever wish I had to follow her example, I was not yet bold enough. After some time, however, Bettina laughing at my timidity, I became more daring and returned her kisses with interest, but I always gave way the moment I felt a wish to go further; I then would turn my head, pretending to look for something, and she would go away. She was scarcely out of the room before I was in despair at not having followed the inclination of my nature, and, astonished at the fact that Bettina could do to me all she was in the habit of doing without feeling any excitement from it, while I could hardly refrain from pushing my attacks further, I would every day determine to change my way of acting.
In the early part of autumn, the doctor received three new boarders; and one of them, who was fifteen years old, appeared to me in less than a month on very friendly terms with Bettina.
This circumstance caused me a feeling of which until then I had no idea, and which I only analyzed a few years afterwards. It was neither jealousy nor indignation, but a noble contempt which I thought ought not to be repressed, because Cordiani, an ignorant, coarse boy, without talent or polite education, the son of a simple farmer, and incapable of competing with me in anything, having over me but the advantage of dawning manhood, did not appear to me a fit person to be preferred to me; my young self-esteem whispered that I was above him. I began to nurse a feeling of pride mixed with contempt which told against Bettina, whom I loved unknown to myself. She soon guessed it from the way I would receive her caresses, when she came to comb my hair while I was in bed; I would repulse her hands, and no longer return her kisses. One day, vexed at my answering her question as to the reason of my change towards her by stating that I had no cause for it, she, told me in a tone of commiseration that I was jealous of Cordiani. This reproach sounded to me like a debasing slander. I answered that Cordiani was, in my estimation, as worthy of her as she was worthy of him. She went away smiling, but, revolving in her mind the only way by which she could be revenged, she thought herself bound to render me jealous. However, as she could not attain such an end without making me fall in love with her, this is the policy she adopted.
One morning she came to me as I was in bed and brought me a pair of white stockings of her own knitting. After dressing my hair, she asked my permission to try the stockings on herself, in order to correct any deficiency in the other pairs she intended to knit for me. The doctor had gone out to say his mass. As she was putting on the stocking, she remarked that my legs were not clean, and without any more ado she immediately began to wash them. I would have been ashamed to let her see my bashfulness; I let her do as she liked, not foreseeing what would happen. Bettina, seated on my bed, carried too far her love for cleanliness, and her curiosity caused me such intense voluptuousness that the feeling did not stop until it could be carried no further. Having recovered my calm, I bethought myself that I was guilty and begged her forgiveness. She did not expect this, and, after considering for a few moments, she told me kindly that the fault was entirely her own, but that she never would again be guilty of it. And she went out of the room, leaving me to my own thoughts.
They were of a cruel character. It seemed to me that I had brought dishonour upon Bettina, that I had betrayed the confidence of her family, offended against the sacred laws of hospitality, that I was guilty of a most wicked crime, which I could only atone for by marrying her, in case Bettina could make up her mind to accept for her husband a wretch unworthy of her.
These thoughts led to a deep melancholy which went on increasing from day to day, Bettina having entirely ceased her morning visits by my bedside. During the first week, I could easily account for the girl's reserve, and my sadness would soon have taken the character of the warmest love, had not her manner towards Cordiani inoculated in my veins the poison of jealousy, although I never dreamed of accusing her of the same crime towards him that she had committed upon me.
I felt convinced, after due consideration, that the act she had been guilty of with me had been deliberately done, and that her feelings of repentance kept her away from me. This conviction was rather flattering to my vanity, as it gave me the hope of being loved, and the end of all my communings was that I made up my mind to write to her, and thus to give her courage.
I composed a letter, short but calculated to restore peace to her mind, whether she thought herself guilty, or suspected me of feelings contrary to those which her dignity might expect from me. My letter was, in my own estimation, a perfect masterpiece, and just the kind of epistle by which I was certain to conquer her very adoration, and to sink for ever the sun of Cordiani, whom I could not accept as the sort of being likely to make her hesitate for one instant in her choice between him and me. Half-an-hour after the receipt of my letter, she told me herself that the next morning she would pay me her usual visit, but I waited in vain. This conduct provoked me almost to madness, but my surprise was indeed great when, at the breakfast table, she asked me whether I would let her dress me up as a girl to accompany her five or six days later to a ball for which a neighbour of ours, Doctor Olivo, had sent letters of invitation. Everybody having seconded the motion, I gave my consent. I thought this arrangement would afford a favourable opportunity for an explanation, for mutual vindication, and would open a door for the most complete reconciliation, without fear of any surprise arising from the proverbial weakness of the flesh. But a most unexpected circumstance prevented our attending the ball, and brought forth a comedy with a truly tragic turn.
Doctor Gozzi's godfather, a man advanced in age, and in easy circumstances, residing in the country, thought himself, after a severe illness, very near his end, and sent to the doctor a carriage with a request to come to him at once with his father, as he wished them to be present at his death, and to pray for his departing soul. The old shoemaker drained a bottle, donned his Sunday clothes, and went off with his son.
I thought this a favourable opportunity and determined to improve it, considering that the night of the ball was too remote to suit my impatience. I therefore managed to tell Bettina that I would leave ajar the door of my room, and that I would wait for her as soon as everyone in the house had gone to bed. She promised to come. She slept on the ground floor in a small closet divided only by a partition from her father's chamber; the doctor being away, I was alone in the large room. The three boarders had their apartment in a different part of the house, and I had therefore no mishap to fear. I was delighted at the idea that I had at last reached the moment so ardently desired.
The instant I was in my room I bolted my door and opened the one leading to the passage, so that Bettina should have only to push it in order to come in; I then put my light out, but did not undress. When we read of such situations in a romance we think they are exaggerated; they are not so, and the passage in which Ariosto represents Roger waiting for Alcine is a beautiful picture painted from nature.
Until midnight I waited without feeling much anxiety; but I heard the clock strike two, three, four o'clock in the morning without seeing Bettina; my blood began to boil, and I was soon in a state of furious rage. It was snowing hard, but I shook from passion more than from cold. One hour before day-break, unable to master any longer my impatience, I made up my mind to go downstairs with bare feet, so as not to wake the dog, and to place myself at the bottom of the stairs within a yard of Bettina's door, which ought to have been opened if she had gone out of her room. I reached the door; it was closed, and as it could be locked only from inside I imagined that Bettina had fallen asleep. I was on the point of knocking at the door, but was prevented by fear of rousing the dog, as from that door to that of her closet there was a distance of three or four yards. Overwhelmed with grief, and unable to take a decision, I sat down on the last step of the stairs; but at day-break, chilled, benumbed, shivering with cold, afraid that the servant would see me and would think I was mad, I determined to go back to my room. I arise, but at that very moment I hear some noise in Bettina's room. Certain that I am going to see her, and hope lending me new strength, I draw nearer to the door. It opens; but instead of Bettina coming out I see Cordiani, who gives me such a furious kick in the stomach that I am thrown at a distance deep in the snow. Without stopping a single instant Cordiani is off, and locks himself up in the room which he shared with the brothers Feltrini.
I pick myself up quickly with the intention of taking my revenge upon Bettina, whom nothing could have saved from the effects of my rage at that moment. But I find her door locked; I kick vigorously against it, the dog starts a loud barking, and I make a hurried retreat to my room, in which I lock myself up, throwing myself in bed to compose and heal up my mind and body, for I was half dead.
Deceived, humbled, ill-treated, an object of contempt to the happy and triumphant Cordiani, I spent three hours ruminating the darkest schemes of revenge. To poison them both seemed to me but a trifle in that terrible moment of bitter misery. This project gave way to another as extravagant, as cowardly-namely, to go at once to her brother and disclose everything to him. I was twelve years of age, and my mind had not yet acquired sufficient coolness to mature schemes of heroic revenge, which are produced by false feelings of honour; this was only my apprenticeship in such adventures.
I was in that state of mind when suddenly I heard outside of my door the gruff voice of Bettina's mother, who begged me to come down, adding that her daughter was dying. As I would have been very sorry if she had departed this life before she could feel the effects of my revenge, I got up hurriedly and went downstairs. I found Bettina lying in her father's bed writhing with fearful convulsions, and surrounded by the whole family. Half dressed, nearly bent in two, she was throwing her body now to the right, now to the left, striking at random with her feet and with her fists, and extricating herself by violent shaking from the hands of those who endeavoured to keep her down.
With this sight before me, and the night's adventure still in my mind, I hardly knew what to think. I had no knowledge of human nature, no knowledge of artifice and tricks, and I could not understand how I found myself coolly witnessing such a scene, and composedly calm in the presence of two beings, one of whom I intended to kill and the other to dishonour. At the end of an hour Bettina fell asleep.
A nurse and Doctor Olivo came soon after. The first said that the convulsions were caused by hysterics, but the doctor said no, and prescribed rest and cold baths. I said nothing, but I could not refrain from laughing at them, for I knew, or rather guessed, that Bettina's sickness was the result of her nocturnal employment, or of the fright which she must have felt at my meeting with Cordiani. At all events, I determined to postpone my revenge until the return of her brother, although I had not the slightest suspicion that her illness was all sham, for I did not give her credit for so much cleverness.
To return to my room I had to pass through Bettina's closet, and seeing her dress handy on the bed I took it into my head to search her pockets. I found a small note, and recognizing Cordiani's handwriting, I took possession of it to read it in my room. I marvelled at the girl's imprudence, for her mother might have discovered it, and being unable to read would very likely have given it to the doctor, her son. I thought she must have taken leave of her senses, but my feelings may be appreciated when I read the following words: "As your father is away it is not necessary to leave your door ajar as usual. When we leave the supper-table I will go to your closet; you will find me there."
When I recovered from my stupor I gave way to an irresistible fit of laughter, and seeing how completely I had been duped I thought I was cured of my love. Cordiani appeared to me deserving of forgiveness, and Bettina of contempt. I congratulated myself upon having received a lesson of such importance for the remainder of my life. I even went so far as to acknowledge to myself that Bettina had been quite right in giving the preference to Cordiani, who was fifteen years old, while I was only a child. Yet, in spite of my good disposition to forgiveness, the kick administered by Cordiani was still heavy upon my memory, and I could not help keeping a grudge against him.
At noon, as we were at dinner in the kitchen, where we took our meals on account of the cold weather, Bettina began again to raise piercing screams. Everybody rushed to her room, but I quietly kept my seat and finished my dinner, after which I went to my studies. In the evening when I came down to supper I found that Bettina's bed had been brought to the kitchen close by her mother's; but it was no concern of mine, and I remained likewise perfectly indifferent to the noise made during the night, and to the confusion which took place in the morning, when she had a fresh fit of convulsions.
Doctor Gozzi and his father returned in the evening. Cordiani, who felt uneasy, came to inquire from me what my intentions were, but I rushed towards him with an open penknife in my hand, and he beat a hasty retreat. I had entirely abandoned the idea of relating the night's scandalous adventure to the doctor, for such a project I could only entertain in a moment of excitement and rage. The next day the mother came in while we were at our lesson, and told the doctor, after a lengthened preamble, that she had discovered the character of her daughter's illness; that it was caused by a spell thrown over her by a witch, and that she knew the witch well.
"It may be, my dear mother, but we must be careful not to make a mistake. Who is the witch?"
"Our old servant, and I have just had a proof of it."
"How so?"
"I have barred the door of my room with two broomsticks placed in the shape of a cross, which she must have undone to go in; but when she saw them she drew back, and she went round by the other door. It is evident that, were she not a witch, she would not be afraid of touching them."
"It is not complete evidence, dear mother; send the woman to me."
The servant made her appearance.
"Why," said the doctor, "did you not enter my mother's room this morning through the usual door?"
"I do not know what you mean."
"Did you not see the St. Andrew's cross on the door?"
"What cross is that?"
"It is useless to plead ignorance," said the mother; "where did you sleep last Thursday night?"
"At my niece's, who had just been confined."
"Nothing of the sort. You were at the witches' Sabbath; you are a witch, and have bewitched my daughter."
The poor woman, indignant at such an accusation, spits at her mistress's face; the mistress, enraged, gets hold of a stick to give the servant a drubbing; the doctor endeavours to keep his mother back, but he is compelled to let her loose and to run after the servant, who was hurrying down the stairs, screaming and howling in order to rouse the neighbours; he catches her, and finally succeeds in pacifying her with some money.
After this comical but rather scandalous exhibition, the doctor donned his vestments for the purpose of exorcising his sister and of ascertaining whether she was truly possessed of an unclean spirit. The novelty of this mystery attracted the whole of my attention. All the inmates of the house appeared to me either mad or stupid, for I could not, for the life of me, imagine that diabolical spirits were dwelling in Bettina's body. When we drew near her bed, her breathing had, to all appearance, stopped, and the exorcisms of her brother did not restore it. Doctor Olivo happened to come in at that moment, and inquired whether he would be in the way; he was answered in the negative, provided he had faith.
Upon which he left, saying that he had no faith in any miracles except in those of the Gospel.
Soon after Doctor Gozzi went to his room, and finding myself alone with Bettina I bent down over her bed and whispered in her ear.
"Take courage, get well again, and rely upon my discretion."
She turned her head towards the wall and did not answer me, but the day passed off without any more convulsions. I thought I had cured her, but on the following day the frenzy went up to the brain, and in her delirium she pronounced at random Greek and Latin words without any meaning, and then no doubt whatever was entertained of her being possessed of the evil spirit. Her mother went out and returned soon, accompanied by the most renowned exorcist of Padua, a very ill-featured Capuchin, called Friar Prospero da Bovolenta.
The moment Bettina saw the exorcist, she burst into loud laughter, and addressed to him the most offensive insults, which fairly delighted everybody, as the devil alone could be bold enough to address a Capuchin in such a manner; but the holy man, hearing himself called an obtrusive ignoramus and a stinkard, went on striking Bettina with a heavy crucifix, saying that he was beating the devil. He stopped only when he saw her on the point of hurling at him the chamber utensil which she had just seized. "If it is the devil who has offended thee with his words," she said, "resent the insult with words likewise, jackass that thou art, but if I have offended thee myself, learn, stupid booby, that thou must respect me, and be off at once."
I could see poor Doctor Gozzi blushing; the friar, however, held his ground, and, armed at all points, began to read a terrible exorcism, at the end of which he commanded the devil to state his name.
"My name is Bettina."
"It cannot be, for it is the name of a baptized girl."
"Then thou art of opinion that a devil must rejoice in a masculine name? Learn, ignorant friar, that a devil is a spirit, and does not belong to either sex. But as thou believest that a devil is speaking to thee through my lips, promise to answer me with truth, and I will engage to give way before thy incantations."
"Very well, I agree to this."
"Tell me, then, art thou thinking that thy knowledge is greater than mine?"
"No, but I believe myself more powerful in the name of the holy Trinity, and by my sacred character."
"If thou art more powerful than I, then prevent me from telling thee unpalatable truths. Thou art very vain of thy beard, thou art combing and dressing it ten times a day, and thou would'st not shave half of it to get me out of this body. Cut off thy beard, and I promise to come out."
"Father of lies, I will increase thy punishment a hundred fold."
"I dare thee to do it."
After saying these words, Bettina broke into such a loud peal of laughter, that I could not refrain from joining in it. The Capuchin, turning towards Doctor Gozzi, told him that I was wanting in faith, and that I ought to leave the room; which I did, remarking that he had guessed rightly. I was not yet out of the room when the friar offered his hand to Bettina for her to kiss, and I had the pleasure of seeing her spit upon it.
This strange girl, full of extraordinary talent, made rare sport of the friar, without causing any surprise to anyone, as all her answers were attributed to the devil. I could not conceive what her purpose was in playing such a part.
The Capuchin dined with us, and during the meal he uttered a good deal of nonsense. After dinner, he returned to Bettina's chamber, with the intention of blessing her, but as soon as she caught sight of him, she took up a glass full of some black mixture sent from the apothecary, and threw it at his head. Cordiani, being close by the friar, came in for a good share of the liquid-an accident which afforded me the greatest delight. Bettina was quite right to improve her opportunity, as everything she did was, of course, put to the account of the unfortunate devil. Not overmuch pleased, Friar Prospero, as he left the house, told the doctor that there was no doubt of the girl being possessed, but that another exorcist must be sent for, since he had not, himself, obtained God's grace to eject the evil spirit.
After he had gone, Bettina kept very calm for six hours, and in the evening, to our great surprise, she joined us at the supper table. She told her parents that she felt quite well, spoke to her brother, and then, addressing me, she remarked that, the ball taking place on the morrow, she would come to my room in the morning to dress my hair like a girl's. I thanked her, and said that, as she had been so ill, she ought to nurse herself. She soon retired to bed, and we remained at the table, talking of her.
When I was undressing for the night, I took up my night-cap, and found in it a small note with these words: "You must accompany me to the ball, disguised as a girl, or I will give you a sight which will cause you to weep."
I waited until the doctor was asleep, and I wrote the following answer: "I cannot go to the ball, because I have fully made up my mind to avoid every opportunity of being alone with you. As for the painful sight with which you threaten to entertain me, I believe you capable of keeping your word, but I entreat you to spare my heart, for I love you as if you were my sister. I have forgiven you, dear Bettina, and I wish to forget everything. I enclose a note which you must be delighted to have again in your possession. You see what risk you were running when you left it in your pocket. This restitution must convince you of my friendship."
CHAPTER III
Bettina Is Supposed to Go Mad--Father Mancia--The Small-pox--
I Leave Padua
Bettina must have been in despair, not knowing into whose hands her letter had fallen; to return it to her and thus to allay her anxiety, was therefore a great proof of friendship; but my generosity, at the same time that it freed her from a keen sorrow, must have caused her another quite as dreadful, for she knew that I was master of her secret. Cordiani's letter was perfectly explicit; it gave the strongest evidence that she was in the habit of receiving him every night, and therefore the story she had prepared to deceive me was useless. I felt it was so, and, being disposed to calm her anxiety as far as I could, I went to her bedside in the morning, and I placed in her hands Cordiani's note and my answer to her letter.
The girl's spirit and talent had won my esteem; I could no longer despise her; I saw in her only a poor creature seduced by her natural temperament. She loved man, and was to be pitied only on account of the consequences. Believing that the view I took of the situation was a right one, I had resigned myself like a reasonable being, and not like a disappointed lover. The shame was for her and not for me. I had only one wish, namely, to find out whether the two brothers Feltrini, Cordiani's companions, had likewise shared Bettina's favours.
Bettina put on throughout the day a cheerful and happy look. In the evening she dressed herself for the ball; but suddenly an attack of sickness, whether feigned or real I did not know, compelled her to go to bed, and frightened everybody in the house. As for myself, knowing the whole affair, I was prepared for new scenes, and indeed for sad ones, for I felt that I had obtained over her a power repugnant to her vanity and self-love. I must, however, confess that, in spite of the excellent school in which I found myself before I had attained manhood, and which ought to have given me experience as a shield for the future, I have through the whole of my life been the dupe of women. Twelve years ago, if it had not been for my guardian angel, I would have foolishly married a young, thoughtless girl, with whom I had fallen in love: Now that I am seventy-two years old I believe myself no longer susceptible of such follies; but, alas! that is the very thing which causes me to be miserable.
The next day the whole family was deeply grieved because the devil of whom Bettina was possessed had made himself master of her reason. Doctor Gozzi told me that there could not be the shadow of a doubt that his unfortunate sister was possessed, as, if she had only been mad, she never would have so cruelly ill-treated the Capuchin, Prospero, and he determined to place her under the care of Father Mancia.
This Mancia was a celebrated Jacobin (or Dominican) exorcist, who enjoyed the reputation of never having failed to cure a girl possessed of the demon.
Sunday had come; Bettina had made a good dinner, but she had been frantic all through the day. Towards midnight her father came home, singing Tasso as usual, and so drunk that he could not stand. He went up to Bettina's bed, and after kissing her affectionately he said to her: "Thou art not mad, my girl."
Her answer was that he was not drunk.
"Thou art possessed of the devil, my dear child."
"Yes, father, and you alone can cure me."
"Well, I am ready."
Upon this our shoemaker begins a theological discourse, expatiating upon the power of faith and upon the virtue of the paternal blessing. He throws off his cloak, takes a crucifix with one hand, places the other over the head of his daughter, and addresses the devil in such an amusing way that even his wife, always a stupid, dull, cross-grained old woman, had to laugh till the tears came down her cheeks. The two performers in the comedy alone were not laughing, and their serious countenance added to the fun of the performance. I marvelled at Bettina (who was always ready to enjoy a good laugh) having sufficient control over herself to remain calm and grave. Doctor Gozzi had also given way to merriment; but begged that the farce should come to an end, for he deemed that his father's eccentricities were as many profanations against the sacredness of exorcism. At last the exorcist, doubtless tired out, went to bed saying that he was certain that the devil would not disturb his daughter during the night.
On the morrow, just as we had finished our breakfast, Father Mancia made his appearance. Doctor Gozzi, followed by the whole family, escorted him to his sister's bedside. As for me, I was entirely taken up by the face of the monk. Here is his portrait. His figure was tall and majestic, his age about thirty; he had light hair and blue eyes; his features were those of Apollo, but without his pride and assuming haughtiness; his complexion, dazzling white, was pale, but that paleness seemed to have been given for the very purpose of showing off the red coral of his lips, through which could be seen, when they opened, two rows of pearls. He was neither thin nor stout, and the habitual sadness of his countenance enhanced its sweetness. His gait was slow, his air timid, an indication of the great modesty of his mind.
When we entered the room Bettina was asleep, or pretended to be so. Father Mancia took a sprinkler and threw over her a few drops of holy water; she opened her eyes, looked at the monk, and closed them immediately; a little while after she opened them again, had a better look at him, laid herself on her back, let her arms droop down gently, and with her head prettily bent on one side she fell into the sweetest of slumbers.
The exorcist, standing by the bed, took out his pocket ritual and the stole which he put round his neck, then a reliquary, which he placed on the bosom of the sleeping girl, and with the air of a saint he begged all of us to fall on our knees and to pray, so that God should let him know whether the patient was possessed or only labouring under a natural disease. He kept us kneeling for half an hour, reading all the time in a low tone of voice. Bettina did not stir.
Tired, I suppose, of the performance, he desired to speak privately with Doctor Gozzi. They passed into the next room, out of which they emerged after a quarter of an hour, brought back by a loud peal of laughter from the mad girl, who, when she saw them, turned her back on them. Father Mancia smiled, dipped the sprinkler over and over in the holy water, gave us all a generous shower, and took his leave.
Doctor Gozzi told us that the exorcist would come again on the morrow, and that he had promised to deliver Bettina within three hours if she were truly possessed of the demon, but that he made no promise if it should turn out to be a case of madness. The mother exclaimed that he would surely deliver her, and she poured out her thanks to God for having allowed her the grace of beholding a saint before her death.
The following day Bettina was in a fine frenzy. She began to utter the most extravagant speeches that a poet could imagine, and did not stop when the charming exorcist came into her room; he seemed to enjoy her foolish talk for a few minutes, after which, having armed himself 'cap-a-pie', he begged us to withdraw. His order was obeyed instantly; we left the chamber, and the door remained open. But what did it matter? Who would have been bold enough to go in?
During three long hours we heard nothing; the stillness was unbroken. At noon the monk called us in. Bettina was there sad and very quiet while the exorcist packed up his things. He took his departure, saying he had very good hopes of the case, and requesting that the doctor would send him news of the patient. Bettina partook of dinner in her bed, got up for supper, and the next day behaved herself rationally; but the following circumstance strengthened my opinion that she had been neither insane nor possessed.
It was two days before the Purification of the Holy Virgin. Doctor Gozzi was in the habit of giving us the sacrament in his own church, but he always sent us for our confession to the church of Saint-Augustin, in which the Jacobins of Padua officiated. At the supper table, he told us to prepare ourselves for the next day, and his mother, addressing us, said: "You ought, all of you, to confess to Father Mancia, so as to obtain absolution from that holy man. I intend to go to him myself." Cordiani and the two Feltrini agreed to the proposal; I remained silent, but as the idea was unpleasant to me, I concealed the feeling, with a full determination to prevent the execution of the project.
I had entire confidence in the secrecy of confession, and I was incapable of making a false one, but knowing that I had a right to choose my confessor, I most certainly never would have been so simple as to confess to Father Mancia what had taken place between me and a girl, because he would have easily guessed that the girl could be no other but Bettina. Besides, I was satisfied that Cordiani would confess everything to the monk, and I was deeply sorry.
Early the next morning, Bettina brought me a band for my neck, and gave me the following letter: "Spurn me, but respect my honour and the shadow of peace to which I aspire. No one from this house must confess to Father Mancia; you alone can prevent the execution of that project, and I need not suggest the way to succeed. It will prove whether you have some friendship for me."
I could not express the pity I felt for the poor girl, as I read that note. In spite of that feeling, this is what I answered: "I can well understand that, notwithstanding the inviolability of confession, your mother's proposal should cause you great anxiety; but I cannot see why, in order to prevent its execution, you should depend upon me rather than upon Cordiani who has expressed his acceptance of it. All I can promise you is that I will not be one of those who may go to Father Mancia; but I have no influence over your lover; you alone can speak to him."
She replied: "I have never addressed a word to Cordiani since the fatal night which has sealed my misery, and I never will speak to him again, even if I could by so doing recover my lost happiness. To you alone I wish to be indebted for my life and for my honour."
This girl appeared to me more wonderful than all the heroines of whom I had read in novels. It seemed to me that she was making sport of me with the most barefaced effrontery. I thought she was trying to fetter me again with her chains; and although I had no inclination for them, I made up my mind to render her the service she claimed at my hands, and which she believed I alone could compass. She felt certain of her success, but in what school had she obtained her experience of the human heart? Was it in reading novels? Most likely the reading of a certain class of novels causes the ruin of a great many young girls, but I am of opinion that from good romances they acquire graceful manners and a knowledge of society.
Having made up my mind to shew her every kindness in my power, I took an opportunity, as we were undressing for the night, of telling Doctor Gozzi that, for conscientious motives, I could not confess to Father Mancia, and yet that I did not wish to be an exception in that matter. He kindly answered that he understood my reasons, and that he would take us all to the church of Saint-Antoine. I kissed his hand in token of my gratitude.
On the following day, everything having gone according to her wishes, I saw Bettina sit down to the table with a face beaming with satisfaction. In the afternoon I had to go to bed in consequence of a wound in my foot; the doctor accompanied his pupils to church; and Bettina being alone, availed herself of the opportunity, came to my room and sat down on my bed. I had expected her visit, and I received it with pleasure, as it heralded an explanation for which I was positively longing.
She began by expressing a hope that I would not be angry with her for seizing the first opportunity she had of some conversation with me.
"No," I answered, "for you thus afford me an occasion of assuring you that, my feelings towards you being those of a friend only, you need not have any fear of my causing you any anxiety or displeasure. Therefore Bettina, you may do whatever suits you; my love is no more. You have at one blow given the death-stroke to the intense passion which was blossoming in my heart. When I reached my room, after the ill-treatment I had experienced at Cordiani's hands, I felt for you nothing but hatred; that feeling soon merged into utter contempt, but that sensation itself was in time, when my mind recovered its balance, changed for a feeling of the deepest indifference, which again has given way when I saw what power there is in your mind. I have now become your friend; I have conceived the greatest esteem for your cleverness. I have been the dupe of it, but no matter; that talent of yours does exist, it is wonderful, divine, I admire it, I love it, and the highest homage I can render to it is, in my estimation, to foster for the possessor of it the purest feelings of friendship. Reciprocate that friendship, be true, sincere, and plain dealing. Give up all nonsense, for you have already obtained from me all I can give you. The very thought of love is repugnant to me; I can bestow my love only where I feel certain of being the only one loved. You are at liberty to lay my foolish delicacy to the account of my youthful age, but I feel so, and I cannot help it. You have written to me that you never speak to Cordiani; if I am the cause of that rupture between you, I regret it, and I think that, in the interest of your honour, you would do well to make it up with him; for the future I must be careful never to give him any grounds for umbrage or suspicion. Recollect also that, if you have tempted him by the same manoeuvres which you have employed towards me, you are doubly wrong, for it may be that, if he truly loves you, you have caused him to be miserable."
"All you have just said to me," answered Bettina, "is grounded upon false impressions and deceptive appearances. I do not love Cordiani, and I never had any love for him; on the contrary, I have felt, and I do feel, for him a hatred which he has richly deserved, and I hope to convince you, in spite of every appearance which seems to convict me. As to the reproach of seduction, I entreat you to spare me such an accusation. On our side, consider that, if you had not yourself thrown temptation in my way, I never would have committed towards you an action of which I have deeply repented, for reasons which you do not know, but which you must learn from me. The fault I have been guilty of is a serious one only because I did not foresee the injury it would do me in the inexperienced mind of the ingrate who dares to reproach me with it."
Bettina was shedding tears: all she had said was not unlikely and rather complimentary to my vanity, but I had seen too much. Besides, I knew the extent of her cleverness, and it was very natural to lend her a wish to deceive me; how could I help thinking that her visit to me was prompted only by her self-love being too deeply wounded to let me enjoy a victory so humiliating to herself? Therefore, unshaken in my preconceived opinion, I told her that I placed implicit confidence in all she had just said respecting the state of her heart previous to the playful nonsense which had been the origin of my love for her, and that I promised never in the future to allude again to my accusation of seduction. "But," I continued, "confess that the fire at that time burning in your bosom was only of short duration, and that the slightest breath of wind had been enough to extinguish it. Your virtue, which went astray for only one instant, and which has so suddenly recovered its mastery over your senses, deserves some praise. You, with all your deep adoring love for me, became all at once blind to my sorrow, whatever care I took to make it clear to your sight. It remains for me to learn how that virtue could be so very dear to you, at the very time that Cordiani took care to wreck it every night."
Bettina eyed me with the air of triumph which perfect confidence in victory gives to a person, and said: "You have just reached the point where I wished you to be. You shall now be made aware of things which I could not explain before, owing to your refusing the appointment which I then gave you for no other purpose than to tell you all the truth. Cordiani declared his love for me a week after he became an inmate in our house; he begged my consent to a marriage, if his father made the demand of my hand as soon as he should have completed his studies. My answer was that I did not know him sufficiently, that I could form no idea on the subject, and I requested him not to allude to it any more. He appeared to have quietly given up the matter, but soon after, I found out that it was not the case; he begged me one day to come to his room now and then to dress his hair; I told him I had no time to spare, and he remarked that you were more fortunate. I laughed at this reproach, as everyone here knew that I had the care of you. It was a fortnight after my refusal to Cordiani, that I unfortunately spent an hour with you in that loving nonsense which has naturally given you ideas until then unknown to your senses. That hour made me very happy: I loved you, and having given way to very natural desires, I revelled in my enjoyment without the slightest remorse of conscience. I was longing to be again with you the next morning, but after supper, misfortune laid for the first time its hand upon me. Cordiani slipped in my hands this note and this letter which I have since hidden in a hole in the wall, with the intention of shewing them to you at the first opportunity."
Saying this, Bettina handed me the note and the letter; the first ran as follows: "Admit me this evening in your closet, the door of which, leading to the yard, can be left ajar, or prepare yourself to make the best of it with the doctor, to whom I intend to deliver, if you should refuse my request, the letter of which I enclose a copy."
The letter contained the statement of a cowardly and enraged informer, and would certainly have caused the most unpleasant results. In that letter Cordiani informed the doctor that his sister spent her mornings with me in criminal connection while he was saying his mass, and he pledged himself to enter into particulars which would leave him no doubt.
"After giving to the case the consideration it required," continued Bettina, "I made up my mind to hear that monster; but my determination being fixed, I put in my pocket my father's stilletto, and holding my door ajar I waited for him there, unwilling to let him come in, as my closet is divided only by a thin partition from the room of my father, whom the slightest noise might have roused up. My first question to Cordiani was in reference to the slander contained in the letter he threatened to deliver to my brother: he answered that it was no slander, for he had been a witness to everything that had taken place in the morning through a hole he had bored in the garret just above your bed, and to which he would apply his eye the moment he knew that I was in your room. He wound up by threatening to discover everything to my brother and to my mother, unless I granted him the same favours I had bestowed upon you. In my just indignation I loaded him with the most bitter insults, I called him a cowardly spy and slanderer, for he could not have seen anything but childish playfulness, and I declared to him that he need not flatter himself that any threat would compel me to give the slightest compliance to his wishes. He then begged and begged my pardon a thousand times, and went on assuring me that I must lay to my rigour the odium of the step he had taken, the only excuse for it being in the fervent love I had kindled in his heart, and which made him miserable. He acknowledged that his letter might be a slander, that he had acted treacherously, and he pledged his honour never to attempt obtaining from me by violence favours which he desired to merit only by the constancy of his love. I then thought myself to some extent compelled to say that I might love him at some future time, and to promise that I would not again come near your bed during the absence of my brother. In this way I dismissed him satisfied, without his daring to beg for so much as a kiss, but with the promise that we might now and then have some conversation in the same place. As soon as he left me I went to bed, deeply grieved that I could no longer see you in the absence of my brother, and that I was unable, for fear of consequences, to let you know the reason of my change. Three weeks passed off in that position, and I cannot express what have been my sufferings, for you, of course, urged me to come, and I was always under the painful necessity of disappointing you. I even feared to find myself alone with you, for I felt certain that I could not have refrained from telling you the cause of the change in my conduct. To crown my misery, add that I found myself compelled, at least once a week, to receive the vile Cordiani outside of my room, and to speak to him, in order to check his impatience with a few words. At last, unable to bear up any longer under such misery, threatened likewise by you, I determined to end my agony. I wished to disclose to you all this intrigue, leaving to you the care of bringing a change for the better, and for that purpose I proposed that you should accompany me to the ball disguised as a girl, although I knew it would enrage Cordiani; but my mind was made up. You know how my scheme fell to the ground. The unexpected departure of my brother with my father suggested to both of you the same idea, and it was before receiving Cordiani's letter that I promised to come to you. Cordiani did not ask for an appointment; he only stated that he would be waiting for me in my closet, and I had no opportunity of telling him that I could not allow him to come, any more than I could find time to let you know that I would be with you only after midnight, as I intended to do, for I reckoned that after an hour's talk I would dismiss the wretch to his room. But my reckoning was wrong; Cordiani had conceived a scheme, and I could not help listening to all he had to say about it. His whining and exaggerated complaints had no end. He upbraided me for refusing to further the plan he had concocted, and which he thought I would accept with rapture if I loved him. The scheme was for me to elope with him during holy week, and to run away to Ferrara, where he had an uncle who would have given us a kind welcome, and would soon have brought his father to forgive him and to insure our happiness for life. The objections I made, his answers, the details to be entered into, the explanations and the ways and means to be examined to obviate the difficulties of the project, took up the whole night. My heart was bleeding as I thought of you; but my conscience is at rest, and I did nothing that could render me unworthy of your esteem. You cannot refuse it to me, unless you believe that the confession I have just made is untrue; but you would be both mistaken and unjust. Had I made up my mind to sacrifice myself and to grant favours which love alone ought to obtain, I might have got rid of the treacherous wretch within one hour, but death seemed preferable to such a dreadful expedient. Could I in any way suppose that you were outside of my door, exposed to the wind and to the snow? Both of us were deserving of pity, but my misery was still greater than yours. All these fearful circumstances were written in the book of fate, to make me lose my reason, which now returns only at intervals, and I am in constant dread of a fresh attack of those awful convulsions. They say I am bewitched, and possessed of the demon; I do not know anything about it, but if it should be true I am the most miserable creature in existence." Bettina ceased speaking, and burst into a violent storm of tears, sobs, and groans. I was deeply moved, although I felt that all she had said might be true, and yet was scarcely worthy of belief:
'Forse era ver, ma non pero credibile
A chi del senso suo fosse signor.'
But she was weeping, and her tears, which at all events were not deceptive, took away from me the faculty of doubt. Yet I put her tears to the account of her wounded self-love; to give way entirely I needed a thorough conviction, and to obtain it evidence was necessary, probability was not enough. I could not admit either Cordiani's moderation or Bettina's patience, or the fact of seven hours employed in innocent conversation. In spite of all these considerations, I felt a sort of pleasure in accepting for ready cash all the counterfeit coins that she had spread out before me.
After drying her tears, Bettina fixed her beautiful eyes upon mine, thinking that she could discern in them evident signs of her victory; but I surprised her much by alluding to one point which, with all her cunning, she had neglected to mention in her defence. Rhetoric makes use of nature's secrets in the same way as painters who try to imitate it: their most beautiful work is false. This young girl, whose mind had not been refined by study, aimed at being considered innocent and artless, and she did her best to succeed, but I had seen too good a specimen of her cleverness.
"Well, my dear Bettina," I said, "your story has affected me; but how do you think I am going to accept your convulsions as natural, and to believe in the demoniac symptoms which came on so seasonably during the exorcisms, although you very properly expressed your doubts on the matter?"
Hearing this, Bettina stared at me, remaining silent for a few minutes, then casting her eyes down she gave way to fresh tears, exclaiming now and then: "Poor me! oh, poor me!" This situation, however, becoming most painful to me, I asked what I could do for her. She answered in a sad tone that if my heart did not suggest to me what to do, she did not herself see what she could demand of me.
"I thought," said she, "that I would reconquer my lost influence over your heart, but, I see it too plainly, you no longer feel an interest in me. Go on treating me harshly; go on taking for mere fictions sufferings which are but too real, which you have caused, and which you will now increase. Some day, but too late, you will be sorry, and your repentance will be bitter indeed."
As she pronounced these words she rose to take her leave; but judging her capable of anything I felt afraid, and I detained her to say that the only way to regain my affection was to remain one month without convulsions and without handsome Father Mancia's presence being required.
"I cannot help being convulsed," she answered, "but what do you mean by applying to the Jacobin that epithet of handsome? Could you suppose--?"
"Not at all, not at all--I suppose nothing; to do so would be necessary for me to be jealous. But I cannot help saying that the preference given by your devils to the exorcism of that handsome monk over the incantations of the ugly Capuchin is likely to give birth to remarks rather detrimental to your honour. Moreover, you are free to do whatever pleases you."
Thereupon she left my room, and a few minutes later everybody came home.
After supper the servant, without any question on my part, informed me that Bettina had gone to bed with violent feverish chills, having previously had her bed carried into the kitchen beside her mother's. This attack of fever might be real, but I had my doubts. I felt certain that she would never make up her mind to be well, for her good health would have supplied me with too strong an argument against her pretended innocence, even in the case of Cordiani; I likewise considered her idea of having her bed placed near her mother's nothing but artful contrivance.
The next day Doctor Olivo found her very feverish, and told her brother that she would most likely be excited and delirious, but that it would be the effect of the fever and not the work of the devil. And truly, Bettina was raving all day, but Dr. Gozzi, placing implicit confidence in the physician, would not listen to his mother, and did not send for the Jacobin friar. The fever increased in violence, and on the fourth day the small-pox broke out. Cordiani and the two brothers Feitrini, who had so far escaped that disease, were immediately sent away, but as I had had it before I remained at home.
The poor girl was so fearfully covered with the loathsome eruption, that on the sixth day her skin could not be seen on any part of her body. Her eyes closed, and her life was despaired of, when it was found that her mouth and throat were obstructed to such a degree that she could swallow nothing but a few drops of honey. She was perfectly motionless; she breathed and that was all. Her mother never left her bedside, and I was thought a saint when I carried my table and my books into the patient's room. The unfortunate girl had become a fearful sight to look upon; her head was dreadfully swollen, the nose could no longer be seen, and much fear was entertained for her eyes, in case her life should be spared. The odour of her perspiration was most offensive, but I persisted in keeping my watch by her.
On the ninth day, the vicar gave her absolution, and after administering extreme unction, he left her, as he said, in the hands of God. In the midst of so much sadness, the conversation of the mother with her son, would, in spite of myself, cause me some amount of merriment. The good woman wanted to know whether the demon who was dwelling in her child could still influence her to perform extravagant follies, and what would become of the demon in the case of her daughter's death, for, as she expressed it, she could not think of his being so stupid as to remain in so loathsome a body. She particularly wanted to ascertain whether the demon had power to carry off the soul of her child. Doctor Gozzi, who was an ubiquitarian, made to all those questions answers which had not even the shadow of good sense, and which of course had no other effect than to increase a hundred-fold the perplexity of his poor mother.
During the tenth and eleventh days, Bettina was so bad that we thought every moment likely to be her last. The disease had reached its worst period; the smell was unbearable; I alone would not leave her, so sorely did I pity her. The heart of man is indeed an unfathomable abyss, for, however incredible it may appear, it was while in that fearful state that Bettina inspired me with the fondness which I showed her after her recovery.
On the thirteenth day the fever abated, but the patient began to experience great irritation, owing to a dreadful itching, which no remedy could have allayed as effectually as these powerful words which I kept constantly pouring into her ear: "Bettina, you are getting better; but if you dare to scratch yourself, you will become such a fright that nobody will ever love you." All the physicians in the universe might be challenged to prescribe a more potent remedy against itching for a girl who, aware that she has been pretty, finds herself exposed to the loss of her beauty through her own fault, if she scratches herself.
At last her fine eyes opened again to the light of heaven; she was moved to her own room, but she had to keep her bed until Easter. She inoculated me with a few pocks, three of which have left upon my face everlasting marks; but in her eyes they gave me credit for great devotedness, for they were a proof of my constant care, and she felt that I indeed deserved her whole love. And she truly loved me, and I returned her love, although I never plucked a flower which fate and prejudice kept in store for a husband. But what a contemptible husband!
Two years later she married a shoemaker, by name Pigozzo--a base, arrant knave who beggared and ill-treated her to such an extent that her brother had to take her home and to provide for her. Fifteen years afterwards, having been appointed arch-priest at Saint-George de la Vallee, he took her there with him, and when I went to pay him a visit eighteen years ago, I found Bettina old, ill, and dying. She breathed her last in my arms in 1776, twenty-four hours after my arrival. I will speak of her death in good time.
About that period, my mother returned from St. Petersburg, where the Empress Anne Iwanowa had not approved of the Italian comedy. The whole of the troop had already returned to Italy, and my mother had travelled with Carlin Bertinazzi, the harlequin, who died in Paris in the year 1783. As soon as she had reached Padua, she informed Doctor Gozzi of her arrival, and he lost no time in accompanying me to the inn where she had put up. We dined with her, and before bidding us adieu, she presented the doctor with a splendid fur, and gave me the skin of a lynx for Bettina. Six months afterwards she summoned me to Venice, as she wished to see me before leaving for Dresden, where she had contracted an engagement for life in the service of the Elector of Saxony, Augustus III., King of Poland. She took with her my brother Jean, then eight years old, who was weeping bitterly when he left; I thought him very foolish, for there was nothing very tragic in that departure. He is the only one in the family who was wholly indebted to our mother for his fortune, although he was not her favourite child.
I spent another year in Padua, studying law in which I took the degree of Doctor in my sixteenth year, the subject of my thesis being in the civil law, 'de testamentis', and in the canon law, 'utrum Hebraei possint construere novas synagogas'.
My vocation was to study medicine, and to practice it, for I felt a great inclination for that profession, but no heed was given to my wishes, and I was compelled to apply myself to the study of the law, for which I had an invincible repugnance. My friends were of opinion that I could not make my fortune in any profession but that of an advocate, and, what is still worse, of an ecclesiastical advocate. If they had given the matter proper consideration, they would have given me leave to follow my own inclinations, and I would have been a physician--a profession in which quackery is of still greater avail than in the legal business. I never became either a physician or an advocate, and I never would apply to a lawyer, when I had any legal business, nor call in a physician when I happened to be ill. Lawsuits and pettifoggery may support a good many families, but a greater proportion is ruined by them, and those who perish in the hands, of physicians are more numerous by far than those who get cured strong evidence in my opinion, that mankind would be much less miserable without either lawyers or doctors.
To attend the lectures of the professors, I had to go to the university called the Bo, and it became necessary for me to go out alone. This was a matter of great wonder to me, for until then I had never considered myself a free man; and in my wish to enjoy fully the liberty I thought I had just conquered, it was not long before I had made the very worst acquaintances amongst the most renowned students. As a matter of course, the most renowned were the most worthless, dissolute fellows, gamblers, frequenters of disorderly houses, hard drinkers, debauchees, tormentors and suborners of honest girls, liars, and wholly incapable of any good or virtuous feeling. In the company of such men did I begin my apprenticeship of the world, learning my lesson from the book of experience.
The theory of morals and its usefulness through the life of man can be compared to the advantage derived by running over the index of a book before reading it when we have perused that index we know nothing but the subject of the work. This is like the school for morals offered by the sermons, the precepts, and the tales which our instructors recite for our especial benefit. We lend our whole attention to those lessons, but when an opportunity offers of profiting by the advice thus bestowed upon us, we feel inclined to ascertain for ourselves whether the result will turn out as predicted; we give way to that very natural inclination, and punishment speedily follows with concomitant repentance. Our only consolation lies in the fact that in such moments we are conscious of our own knowledge, and consider ourselves as having earned the right to instruct others; but those to whom we wish to impart our experience act exactly as we have acted before them, and, as a matter of course, the world remains in statu quo, or grows worse and worse.
When Doctor Gozzi granted me the privilege of going out alone, he gave me an opportunity for the discovery of several truths which, until then, were not only unknown to me, but the very existence of which I had never suspected. On my first appearance, the boldest scholars got hold of me and sounded my depth. Finding that I was a thorough freshman, they undertook my education, and with that worthy purpose in view they allowed me to fall blindly into every trap. They taught me gambling, won the little I possessed, and then they made me play upon trust, and put me up to dishonest practices in order to procure the means of paying my gambling debts; but I acquired at the same time the sad experience of sorrow! Yet these hard lessons proved useful, for they taught me to mistrust the impudent sycophants who openly flatter their dupes, and never to rely upon the offers made by fawning flatterers. They taught me likewise how to behave in the company of quarrelsome duellists, the society of whom ought to be avoided, unless we make up our mind to be constantly in the very teeth of danger. I was not caught in the snares of professional lewd women, because not one of them was in my eyes as pretty as Bettina, but I did not resist so well the desire for that species of vain glory which is the reward of holding life at a cheap price.
In those days the students in Padua enjoyed very great privileges, which were in reality abuses made legal through prescription, the primitive characteristic of privileges, which differ essentially from prerogatives. In fact, in order to maintain the legality of their privileges, the students often committed crimes. The guilty were dealt with tenderly, because the interest of the city demanded that severity should not diminish the great influx of scholars who flocked to that renowned university from every part of Europe. The practice of the Venetian government was to secure at a high salary the most celebrated professors, and to grant the utmost freedom to the young men attending their lessons. The students acknowledged no authority but that of a chief, chosen among themselves, and called syndic. He was usually a foreign nobleman, who could keep a large establishment, and who was responsible to the government for the behaviour of the scholars. It was his duty to give them up to justice when they transgressed the laws, and the students never disputed his sentence, because he always defended them to the utmost, when they had the slightest shadow of right on their side.
The students, amongst other privileges, would not suffer their trunks to be searched by customhouse authorities, and no ordinary policeman would have dared to arrest one of them. They carried about them forbidden weapons, seduced helpless girls, and often disturbed the public peace by their nocturnal broils and impudent practical jokes; in one word, they were a body of young fellows, whom nothing could restrain, who would gratify every whim, and enjoy their sport without regard or consideration for any human being.
It was about that time that a policeman entered a coffee-room, in which were seated two students. One of them ordered him out, but the man taking no notice of it, the student fired a pistol at him, and missed his aim. The policeman returned the fire, wounded the aggressor, and ran away. The students immediately mustered together at the Bo, divided into bands, and went over the city, hunting the policemen to murder them, and avenge the insult they had received. In one of the encounters two of the students were killed, and all the others, assembling in one troop, swore never to lay their arms down as long as there should be one policeman alive in Padua. The authorities had to interfere, and the syndic of the students undertook to put a stop to hostilities provided proper satisfaction was given, as the police were in the wrong. The man who had shot the student in the coffee-room was hanged, and peace was restored; but during the eight days of agitation, as I was anxious not to appear less brave than my comrades who were patrolling the city, I followed them in spite of Doctor Gozzi's remonstrances. Armed with a carbine and a pair of pistols, I ran about the town with the others, in quest of the enemy, and I recollect how disappointed I was because the troop to which I belonged did not meet one policeman. When the war was over, the doctor laughed at me, but Bettina admired my valour. Unfortunately, I indulged in expenses far above my means, owing to my unwillingness to seem poorer than my new friends. I sold or pledged everything I possessed, and I contracted debts which I could not possibly pay. This state of things caused my first sorrows, and they are the most poignant sorrows under which a young man can smart. Not knowing which way to turn, I wrote to my excellent grandmother, begging her assistance, but instead of sending me some money, she came to Padua on the 1st of October, 1739, and, after thanking the doctor and Bettina for all their affectionate care, she brought me back to Venice. As he took leave of me, the doctor, who was shedding tears, gave me what he prized most on earth; a relic of some saint, which perhaps I might have kept to this very day, had not the setting been of gold. It performed only one miracle, that of being of service to me in a moment of great need. Whenever I visited Padua, to complete my study of the law, I stayed at the house of the kind doctor, but I was always grieved at seeing near Bettina the brute to whom she was engaged, and who did not appear to me deserving of such a wife. I have always regretted that a prejudice, of which I soon got rid, should have made me preserve for that man a flower which I could have plucked so easily.
CHAPTER IV
I receive the minor orders from the patriarch of Venice--
I get acquainted with Senator Malipiero, with Therese Imer,
with the niece of the Curate, with Madame Orio, with Nanette
and Marton, and with the Cavamacchia--I become a preacher--
My adventure with Lucie at Pasean--A rendezvous on the third
story.
"He comes from Padua, where he has completed his studies." Such were the words by which I was everywhere introduced, and which, the moment they were uttered, called upon me the silent observation of every young man of my age and condition, the compliments of all fathers, and the caresses of old women, as well as the kisses of a few who, although not old, were not sorry to be considered so for the sake of embracing a young man without impropriety. The curate of Saint-Samuel, the Abbe Josello, presented me to Monsignor Correre, Patriarch of Venice, who gave me the tonsure, and who, four months afterwards, by special favour, admitted me to the four minor orders. No words could express the joy and the pride of my grandmother. Excellent masters were given to me to continue my studies, and M. Baffo chose the Abbe Schiavo to teach me a pure Italian style, especially poetry, for which I had a decided talent. I was very comfortably lodged with my brother Francois, who was studying theatrical architecture. My sister and my youngest brother were living with our grandam in a house of her own, in which it was her wish to die, because her husband had there breathed his last. The house in which I dwelt was the same in which my father had died, and the rent of which my mother continued to pay. It was large and well furnished.
Although Abbe Grimani was my chief protector, I seldom saw him, and I particularly attached myself to M. de Malipiero, to whom I had been presented by the Curate Josello. M. de Malipiero was a senator, who was unwilling at seventy years of age to attend any more to State affairs, and enjoyed a happy, sumptuous life in his mansion, surrounded every evening by a well-chosen party of ladies who had all known how to make the best of their younger days, and of gentlemen who were always acquainted with the news of the town. He was a bachelor and wealthy, but, unfortunately, he had three or four times every year severe attacks of gout, which always left him crippled in some part or other of his body, so that all his person was disabled. His head, his lungs, and his stomach had alone escaped this cruel havoc. He was still a fine man, a great epicure, and a good judge of wine; his wit was keen, his knowledge of the world extensive, his eloquence worthy of a son of Venice, and he had that wisdom which must naturally belong to a senator who for forty years has had the management of public affairs, and to a man who has bid farewell to women after having possessed twenty mistresses, and only when he felt himself compelled to acknowledge that he could no longer be accepted by any woman. Although almost entirely crippled, he did not appear to be so when he was seated, when he talked, or when he was at table. He had only one meal a day, and always took it alone because, being toothless and unable to eat otherwise than very slowly, he did not wish to hurry himself out of compliment to his guests, and would have been sorry to see them waiting for him. This feeling deprived him of the pleasure he would have enjoyed in entertaining at his board friendly and agreeable guests, and caused great sorrow to his excellent cook.
The first time I had the honour of being introduced to him by the curate, I opposed earnestly the reason which made him eat his meals in solitude, and I said that his excellency had only to invite guests whose appetite was good enough to enable them to eat a double share.
"But where can I find such table companions?" he asked.
"It is rather a delicate matter," I answered; "but you must take your guests on trial, and after they have been found such as you wish them to be, the only difficulty will be to keep them as your guests without their being aware of the real cause of your preference, for no respectable man could acknowledge that he enjoys the honour of sitting at your excellency's table only because he eats twice as much as any other man."
The senator understood the truth of my argument, and asked the curate to bring me to dinner on the following day. He found my practice even better than my theory, and I became his daily guest.
This man, who had given up everything in life except his own self, fostered an amorous inclination, in spite of his age and of his gout. He loved a young girl named Therese Imer, the daughter of an actor residing near his mansion, her bedroom window being opposite to his own. This young girl, then in her seventeenth year, was pretty, whimsical, and a regular coquette. She was practising music with a view to entering the theatrical profession, and by showing herself constantly at the window she had intoxicated the old senator, and was playing with him cruelly. She paid him a daily visit, but always escorted by her mother, a former actress, who had retired from the stage in order to work out her salvation, and who, as a matter of course, had made up her mind to combine the interests of heaven with the works of this world. She took her daughter to mass every day and compelled her to go to confession every week; but every afternoon she accompanied her in a visit to the amorous old man, the rage of whom frightened me when she refused him a kiss under the plea that she had performed her devotions in the morning, and that she could not reconcile herself to the idea of offending the God who was still dwelling in her.
What a sight for a young man of fifteen like me, whom the old man admitted as the only and silent witness of these erotic scenes! The miserable mother applauded her daughter's reserve, and went so far as to lecture the elderly lover, who, in his turn, dared not refute her maxims, which savoured either too much or too little of Christianity, and resisted a very strong inclination to hurl at her head any object he had at hand. Anger would then take the place of lewd desires, and after they had retired he would comfort himself by exchanging with me philosophical considerations.
Compelled to answer him, and not knowing well what to say, I ventured one day upon advising a marriage. He struck me with amazement when he answered that she refused to marry him from fear of drawing upon herself the hatred of his relatives.
"Then make her the offer of a large sum of money, or a position."
"She says that she would not, even for a crown, commit a deadly sin."
"In that case, you must either take her by storm, or banish her for ever from your presence."
"I can do neither one nor the other; physical as well as moral strength is deficient in me."
"Kill her, then."
"That will very likely be the case unless I die first."
"Indeed I pity your excellency."
"Do you sometimes visit her?"
"No, for I might fall in love with her, and I would be miserable."
"You are right."
Witnessing many such scenes, and taking part in many similar conversations, I became an especial favourite with the old nobleman. I was invited to his evening assemblies which were, as I have stated before, frequented by superannuated women and witty men. He told me that in this circle I would learn a science of greater import than Gassendi's philosophy, which I was then studying by his advice instead of Aristotle's, which he turned into ridicule. He laid down some precepts for my conduct in those assemblies, explaining the necessity of my observing them, as there would be some wonder at a young man of my age being received at such parties. He ordered me never to open my lips except to answer direct questions, and particularly enjoined me never to pass an opinion on any subject, because at my age I could not be allowed to have any opinions.
I faithfully followed his precepts, and obeyed his orders so well, that in a few days I had gained his esteem, and become the child of the house, as well as the favourite of all the ladies who visited him. In my character of a young and innocent ecclesiastic, they would ask me to accompany them in their visits to the convents where their daughters or their nieces were educated; I was at all hours received at their houses without even being announced; I was scolded if a week elapsed without my calling upon them, and when I went to the apartments reserved for the young ladies, they would run away, but the moment they saw that the intruder was only I, they would return at once, and their confidence was very charming to me.
Before dinner, M. de Malipiero would often inquire from me what advantages were accruing to me from the welcome I received at the hands of the respectable ladies I had become acquainted with at his house, taking care to tell me, before I could have time to answer, that they were all endowed with the greatest virtue, and that I would give everybody a bad opinion of myself, if I ever breathed one word of disparagement to the high reputation they all enjoyed. In this way he would inculcate in me the wise precept of reserve and discretion.
It was at the senator's house that I made the acquaintance of Madame Manzoni, the wife of a notary public, of whom I shall have to speak very often. This worthy lady inspired me with the deepest attachment, and she gave me the wisest advice. Had I followed it, and profited by it, my life would not have been exposed to so many storms; it is true that in that case, my life would not be worth writing.
All these fine acquaintances amongst women who enjoyed the reputation of being high-bred ladies, gave me a very natural desire to shine by my good looks and by the elegance of my dress; but my father confessor, as well as my grandmother, objected very strongly to this feeling of vanity. On one occasion, taking me apart, the curate told me, with honeyed words, that in the profession to which I had devoted myself my thoughts ought to dwell upon the best means of being agreeable to God, and not on pleasing the world by my fine appearance. He condemned my elaborate curls, and the exquisite perfume of my pomatum. He said that the devil had got hold of me by the hair, that I would be excommunicated if I continued to take such care of it, and concluded by quoting for my benefit these words from an oecumenical council: 'clericus qui nutrit coman, anathema sit'. I answered him with the names of several fashionable perfumed abbots, who were not threatened with excommunication, who were not interfered with, although they wore four times as much powder as I did--for I only used a slight sprinkling--who perfumed their hair with a certain amber-scented pomatum which brought women to the very point of fainting, while mine, a jessamine pomade, called forth the compliment of every circle in which I was received. I added that I could not, much to my regret, obey him, and that if I had meant to live in slovenliness, I would have become a Capuchin and not an abbe.
My answer made him so angry that, three or four days afterwards, he contrived to obtain leave from my grandmother to enter my chamber early in the morning, before I was awake, and, approaching my bed on tiptoe with a sharp pair of scissors, he cut off unmercifully all my front hair, from one ear to the other. My brother Francois was in the adjoining room and saw him, but he did not interfere as he was delighted at my misfortune. He wore a wig, and was very jealous of my beautiful head of hair. Francois was envious through the whole of his life; yet he combined this feeling of envy with friendship; I never could understand him; but this vice of his, like my own vices, must by this time have died of old age.
After his great operation, the abbe left my room quietly, but when I woke up shortly afterwards, and realized all the horror of this unheard-of execution, my rage and indignation were indeed wrought to the highest pitch.
What wild schemes of revenge my brain engendered while, with a looking-glass in my hand, I was groaning over the shameful havoc performed by this audacious priest! At the noise I made my grandmother hastened to my room, and amidst my brother's laughter the kind old woman assured me that the priest would never have been allowed to enter my room if she could have foreseen his intention, and she managed to soothe my passion to some extent by confessing that he had over-stepped the limits of his right to administer a reproof.
But I was determined upon revenge, and I went on dressing myself and revolving in my mind the darkest plots. It seemed to me that I was entitled to the most cruel revenge, without having anything to dread from the terrors of the law. The theatres being open at that time I put on a mask to go out, and I, went to the advocate Carrare, with whom I had become acquainted at the senator's house, to inquire from him whether I could bring a suit against the priest. He told me that, but a short time since, a family had been ruined for having sheared the moustache of a Sclavonian--a crime not nearly so atrocious as the shearing of all my front locks, and that I had only to give him my instructions to begin a criminal suit against the abbe, which would make him tremble. I gave my consent, and begged that he would tell M. de Malipiero in the evening the reason for which I could not go to his house, for I did not feel any inclination to show myself anywhere until my hair had grown again.
I went home and partook with my brother of a repast which appeared rather scanty in comparison to the dinners I had with the old senator. The privation of the delicate and plentiful fare to which his excellency had accustomed me was most painful, besides all the enjoyments from which I was excluded through the atrocious conduct of the virulent priest, who was my godfather. I wept from sheer vexation; and my rage was increased by the consciousness that there was in this insult a certain dash of comical fun which threw over me a ridicule more disgraceful in my estimation than the greatest crime.
I went to bed early, and, refreshed by ten hours of profound slumber, I felt in the morning somewhat less angry, but quite as determined to summon the priest before a court. I dressed myself with the intention of calling upon my advocate, when I received the visit of a skilful hair-dresser whom I had seen at Madame Cantarini's house. He told me that he was sent by M. de Malipiero to arrange my hair so that I could go out, as the senator wished me to dine with him on that very day. He examined the damage done to my head, and said, with a smile, that if I would trust to his art, he would undertake to send me out with an appearance of even greater elegance than I could boast of before; and truly, when he had done, I found myself so good-looking that I considered my thirst for revenge entirely satisfied.
Having thus forgotten the injury, I called upon the lawyer to tell him to stay all proceedings, and I hastened to M. de Malipiero's palace, where, as chance would have it, I met the abbe. Notwithstanding all my joy, I could not help casting upon him rather unfriendly looks, but not a word was said about what had taken place. The senator noticed everything, and the priest took his leave, most likely with feelings of mortified repentance, for this time I most verily deserved excommunication by the extreme studied elegance of my curling hair.
When my cruel godfather had left us, I did not dissemble with M. de Malipiero; I candidly told him that I would look out for another church, and that nothing would induce me to remain under a priest who, in his wrath, could go the length of such proceedings. The wise old man agreed with me, and said that I was quite right: it was the best way to make me do ultimately whatever he liked. In the evening everyone in our circle, being well aware of what had happened, complimented me, and assured me that nothing could be handsomer than my new head-dress. I was delighted, and was still more gratified when, after a fortnight had elapsed, I found that M. de Malipiero did not broach the subject of my returning to my godfather's church. My grandmother alone constantly urged me to return. But this calm was the harbinger of a storm. When my mind was thoroughly at rest on that subject, M. de Malipiero threw me into the greatest astonishment by suddenly telling me that an excellent opportunity offered itself for me to reappear in the church and to secure ample satisfaction from the abbe.
"It is my province," added the senator, "as president of the Confraternity of the Holy Sacrament, to choose the preacher who is to deliver the sermon on the fourth Sunday of this month, which happens to be the second Christmas holiday. I mean to appoint you, and I am certain that the abbe will not dare to reject my choice. What say you to such a triumphant reappearance? Does it satisfy you?"
This offer caused me the greatest surprise, for I had never dreamt of becoming a preacher, and I had never been vain enough to suppose that I could write a sermon and deliver it in the church. I told M. de Malipiero that he must surely be enjoying a joke at my expense, but he answered that he had spoken in earnest, and he soon contrived to persuade me and to make me believe that I was born to become the most renowned preacher of our age as soon as I should have grown fat--a quality which I certainly could not boast of, for at that time I was extremely thin. I had not the shadow of a fear as to my voice or to my elocution, and for the matter of composing my sermon I felt myself equal to the production of a masterpiece.
I told M. de Malipiero that I was ready, and anxious to be at home in order to go to work; that, although no theologian, I was acquainted with my subject, and would compose a sermon which would take everyone by surprise on account of its novelty.
On the following day, when I called upon him, he informed me that the abbe had expressed unqualified delight at the choice made by him, and at my readiness in accepting the appointment; but he likewise desired that I should submit my sermon to him as soon as it was written, because the subject belonging to the most sublime theology he could not allow me to enter the pulpit without being satisfied that I would not utter any heresies. I agreed to this demand, and during the week I gave birth to my masterpiece. I have now that first sermon in my possession, and I cannot help saying that, considering my tender years, I think it a very good one.
I could not give an idea of my grandmother's joy; she wept tears of happiness at having a grandson who had become an apostle. She insisted upon my reading my sermon to her, listened to it with her beads in her hands, and pronounced it very beautiful. M. de Malipiero, who had no rosary when I read it to him, was of opinion that it would not prove acceptable to the parson. My text was from Horace: 'Ploravere suis non respondere favorem sperdtum meritis'; and I deplored the wickedness and ingratitude of men, through which had failed the design adopted by Divine wisdom for the redemption of humankind. But M. de Malipiero was sorry that I had taken my text from any heretical poet, although he was pleased that my sermon was not interlarded with Latin quotations.
I called upon the priest to read my production; but as he was out I had to wait for his return, and during that time I fell in love with his niece, Angela. She was busy upon some tambour work; I sat down close by her, and telling me that she had long desired to make my acquaintance, she begged me to relate the history of the locks of hair sheared by her venerable uncle.
My love for Angela proved fatal to me, because from it sprang two other love affairs which, in their turn, gave birth to a great many others, and caused me finally to renounce the Church as a profession. But let us proceed quietly, and not encroach upon future events.
On his return home the abbe found me with his niece, who was about my age, and he did not appear to be angry. I gave him my sermon: he read it over, and told me that it was a beautiful academical dissertation, but unfit for a sermon from the pulpit, and he added,
"I will give you a sermon written by myself, which I have never delivered; you will commit it to memory, and I promise to let everybody suppose that it is of your own composition."
"I thank you, very reverend father, but I will preach my own sermon, or none at all."
"At all events, you shall not preach such a sermon as this in my church."
"You can talk the matter over with M. de Malipiero. In the meantime I will take my work to the censorship, and to His Eminence the Patriarch, and if it is not accepted I shall have it printed."
"All very well, young man. The patriarch will coincide with me."
In the evening I related my discussion with the parson before all the guests of M. de Malipiero. The reading of my sermon was called for, and it was praised by all. They lauded me for having with proper modesty refrained from quoting the holy fathers of the Church, whom at my age I could not be supposed to have sufficiently studied, and the ladies particularly admired me because there was no Latin in it but the Text from Horace, who, although a great libertine himself, has written very good things. A niece of the patriarch, who was present that evening, promised to prepare her uncle in my favour, as I had expressed my intention to appeal to him; but M. de Malipiero desired me not to take any steps in the matter until I had seen him on the following day, and I submissively bowed to his wishes.
When I called at his mansion the next day he sent for the priest, who soon made his appearance. As he knew well what he had been sent for, he immediately launched out into a very long discourse, which I did not interrupt, but the moment he had concluded his list of objections I told him that there could not be two ways to decide the question; that the patriarch would either approve or disapprove my sermon.
"In the first case," I added, "I can pronounce it in your church, and no responsibility can possibly fall upon your shoulders; in the second, I must, of course, give way."
The abbe was struck by my determination and he said,
"Do not go to the patriarch; I accept your sermon; I only request you to change your text. Horace was a villain."
"Why do you quote Seneca, Tertullian, Origen, and Boethius? They were all heretics, and must, consequently, be considered by you as worse wretches than Horace, who, after all, never had the chance of becoming a Christian!"
However, as I saw it would please M. de Malipiero, I finally consented to accept, as a substitute for mine, a text offered by the abbe, although it did not suit in any way the spirit of my production; and in order to get an opportunity for a visit to his niece, I gave him my manuscript, saying that I would call for it the next day. My vanity prompted me to send a copy to Doctor Gozzi, but the good man caused me much amusement by returning it and writing that I must have gone mad, and that if I were allowed to deliver such a sermon from the pulpit I would bring dishonour upon myself as well as upon the man who had educated me.
I cared but little for his opinion, and on the appointed day I delivered my sermon in the Church of the Holy Sacrament in the presence of the best society of Venice. I received much applause, and every one predicted that I would certainly become the first preacher of our century, as no young ecclesiastic of fifteen had ever been known to preach as well as I had done. It is customary for the faithful to deposit their offerings for the preacher in a purse which is handed to them for that purpose.
The sexton who emptied it of its contents found in it more than fifty sequins, and several billets-doux, to the great scandal of the weaker brethren. An anonymous note amongst them, the writer of which I thought I had guessed, let me into a mistake which I think better not to relate. This rich harvest, in my great penury, caused me to entertain serious thoughts of becoming a preacher, and I confided my intention to the parson, requesting his assistance to carry it into execution. This gave me the privilege of visiting at his house every day, and I improved the opportunity of conversing with Angela, for whom my love was daily increasing. But Angela was virtuous. She did not object to my love, but she wished me to renounce the Church and to marry her. In spite of my infatuation for her, I could not make up my mind to such a step, and I went on seeing her and courting her in the hope that she would alter her decision.
The priest, who had at last confessed his admiration for my first sermon, asked me, some time afterwards, to prepare another for St. Joseph's Day, with an invitation to deliver it on the 19th of March, 1741. I composed it, and the abbe spoke of it with enthusiasm, but fate had decided that I should never preach but once in my life. It is a sad tale, unfortunately for me very true, which some persons are cruel enough to consider very amusing.
Young and rather self-conceited, I fancied that it was not necessary for me to spend much time in committing my sermon to memory. Being the author, I had all the ideas contained in my work classified in my mind, and it did not seem to me within the range of possibilities that I could forget what I had written. Perhaps I might not remember the exact words of a sentence, but I was at liberty to replace them by other expressions as good, and as I never happened to be at a loss, or to be struck dumb, when I spoke in society, it was not likely that such an untoward accident would befall me before an audience amongst whom I did not know anyone who could intimidate me and cause me suddenly to lose the faculty of reason or of speech. I therefore took my pleasure as usual, being satisfied with reading my sermon morning and evening, in order to impress it upon my memory which until then had never betrayed me.
The 19th of March came, and on that eventful day at four o'clock in the afternoon I was to ascend the pulpit; but, believing myself quite secure and thoroughly master of my subject, I had not the moral courage to deny myself the pleasure of dining with Count Mont-Real, who was then residing with me, and who had invited the patrician Barozzi, engaged to be married to his daughter after the Easter holidays.
I was still enjoying myself with my fine company, when the sexton of the church came in to tell me that they were waiting for me in the vestry. With a full stomach and my head rather heated, I took my leave, ran to the church, and entered the pulpit. I went through the exordium with credit to myself, and I took breathing time; but scarcely had I pronounced the first sentences of the narration, before I forgot what I was saying, what I had to say, and in my endeavours to proceed, I fairly wandered from my subject and I lost myself entirely. I was still more discomforted by a half-repressed murmur of the audience, as my deficiency appeared evident. Several persons left the church, others began to smile, I lost all presence of mind and every hope of getting out of the scrape.
I could not say whether I feigned a fainting fit, or whether I truly swooned; all I know is that I fell down on the floor of the pulpit, striking my head against the wall, with an inward prayer for annihilation.
Two of the parish clerks carried me to the vestry, and after a few moments, without addressing a word to anyone, I took my cloak and my hat, and went home to lock myself in my room. I immediately dressed myself in a short coat, after the fashion of travelling priests, I packed a few things in a trunk, obtained some money from my grandmother, and took my departure for Padua, where I intended to pass my third examination. I reached Padua at midnight, and went to Doctor Gozzi's house, but I did not feel the slightest temptation to mention to him my unlucky adventure.
I remained in Padua long enough to prepare myself for the doctor's degree, which I intended to take the following year, and after Easter I returned to Venice, where my misfortune was already forgotten; but preaching was out of the question, and when any attempt was made to induce me to renew my efforts, I manfully kept to my determination never to ascend the pulpit again.
On the eve of Ascension Day M. Manzoni introduced me to a young courtezan, who was at that time in great repute at Venice, and was nick-named Cavamacchia, because her father had been a scourer. This named vexed her a great deal, she wished to be called Preati, which was her family name, but it was all in vain, and the only concession her friends would make was to call her by her Christian name of Juliette. She had been introduced to fashionable notice by the Marquis de Sanvitali, a nobleman from Parma, who had given her one hundred thousand ducats for her favours. Her beauty was then the talk of everybody in Venice, and it was fashionable to call upon her. To converse with her, and especially to be admitted into her circle, was considered a great boon.
As I shall have to mention her several times in the course of my history, my readers will, I trust, allow me to enter into some particulars about her previous life.
Juliette was only fourteen years of age when her father sent her one day to the house of a Venetian nobleman, Marco Muazzo, with a coat which he had cleaned for him. He thought her very beautiful in spite of the dirty rags in which she was dressed, and he called to see her at her father's shop, with a friend of his, the celebrated advocate, Bastien Uccelli, who; struck by the romantic and cheerful nature of Juliette still more than by her beauty and fine figure, gave her an apartment, made her study music, and kept her as his mistress. At the time of the fair, Bastien took her with him to various public places of resort; everywhere she attracted general attention, and secured the admiration of every lover of the sex. She made rapid progress in music, and at the end of six months she felt sufficient confidence in herself to sign an engagement with a theatrical manager who took her to Vienna to give her a 'castrato' part in one of Metastasio's operas.
The advocate had previously ceded her to a wealthy Jew who, after giving her splendid diamonds, left her also.
In Vienna, Juliette appeared on the stage, and her beauty gained for her an admiration which she would never have conquered by her very inferior talent. But the constant crowd of adorers who went to worship the goddess, having sounded her exploits rather too loudly, the august Maria-Theresa objected to this new creed being sanctioned in her capital, and the beautiful actress received an order to quit Vienna forthwith.
Count Spada offered her his protection, and brought her back to Venice, but she soon left for Padua where she had an engagement. In that city she kindled the fire of love in the breast of Marquis Sanvitali, but the marchioness having caught her once in her own box, and Juliette having acted disrespectfully to her, she slapped her face, and the affair having caused a good deal of noise, Juliette gave up the stage altogether. She came back to Venice, where, made conspicuous by her banishment from Vienna, she could not fail to make her fortune. Expulsion from Vienna, for this class of women, had become a title to fashionable favour, and when there was a wish to depreciate a singer or a dancer, it was said of her that she had not been sufficiently prized to be expelled from Vienna.
After her return, her first lover was Steffano Querini de Papozzes, but in the spring of 1740, the Marquis de Sanvitali came to Venice and soon carried her off. It was indeed difficult to resist this delightful marquis! His first present to the fair lady was a sum of one hundred thousand ducats, and, to prevent his being accused of weakness or of lavish prodigality, he loudly proclaimed that the present could scarcely make up for the insult Juliette had received from his wife--an insult, however, which the courtezan never admitted, as she felt that there would be humiliation in such an acknowledgment, and she always professed to admire with gratitude her lover's generosity. She was right; the admission of the blow received would have left a stain upon her charms, and how much more to her taste to allow those charms to be prized at such a high figure!
It was in the year 1741 that M. Manzoni introduced me to this new Phryne as a young ecclesiastic who was beginning to make a reputation. I found her surrounded by seven or eight well-seasoned admirers, who were burning at her feet the incense of their flattery. She was carelessly reclining on a sofa near Querini. I was much struck with her appearance. She eyed me from head to foot, as if I had been exposed for sale, and telling me, with the air of a princess, that she was not sorry to make my acquaintance, she invited me to take a seat. I began then, in my turn, to examine her closely and deliberately, and it was an easy matter, as the room, although small, was lighted with at least twenty wax candles.
Juliette was then in her eighteenth year; the freshness of her complexion was dazzling, but the carnation tint of her cheeks, the vermilion of her lips, and the dark, very narrow curve of her eyebrows, impressed me as being produced by art rather than nature. Her teeth--two rows of magnificent pearls--made one overlook the fact that her mouth was somewhat too large, and whether from habit, or because she could not help it, she seemed to be ever smiling. Her bosom, hid under a light gauze, invited the desires of love; yet I did not surrender to her charms. Her bracelets and the rings which covered her fingers did not prevent me from noticing that her hand was too large and too fleshy, and in spite of her carefully hiding her feet, I judged, by a telltale slipper lying close by her dress, that they were well proportioned to the height of her figure--a proportion which is unpleasant not only to the Chinese and Spaniards, but likewise to every man of refined taste. We want a tall women to have a small foot, and certainly it is not a modern taste, for Holofernes of old was of the same opinion; otherwise he would not have thought Judith so charming: 'et sandalid ejus rapuerunt oculos ejus'. Altogether I found her beautiful, but when I compared her beauty and the price of one hundred thousand ducats paid for it, I marvelled at my remaining so cold, and at my not being tempted to give even one sequin for the privilege of making from nature a study of the charms which her dress concealed from my eyes.
I had scarcely been there a quarter of an hour when the noise made by the oars of a gondola striking the water heralded the prodigal marquis. We all rose from our seats, and M. Querini hastened, somewhat blushing, to quit his place on the sofa. M. de Sanvitali, a man of middle age, who had travelled much, took a seat near Juliette, but not on the sofa, so she was compelled to turn round. It gave me the opportunity of seeing her full front, while I had before only a side view of her face.
After my introduction to Juliette, I paid her four or five visits, and I thought myself justified, by the care I had given to the examination of her beauty, in saying in M. de Malipiero's draw-room, one evening, when my opinion about her was asked, that she could please only a glutton with depraved tastes; that she had neither the fascination of simple nature nor any knowledge of society, that she was deficient in well-bred, easy manners as well as in striking talents and that those were the qualities which a thorough gentleman liked to find in a woman. This opinion met the general approbation of his friends, but M. de Malipiero kindly whispered to me that Juliette would certainly be informed of the portrait I had drawn of her, and that she would become my sworn enemy. He had guessed rightly.
I thought Juliette very singular, for she seldom spoke to me, and whenever she looked at me she made use of an eye-glass, or she contracted her eye-lids, as if she wished to deny me the honour of seeing her eyes, which were beyond all dispute very beautiful. They were blue, wondrously large and full, and tinted with that unfathomable variegated iris which nature only gives to youth, and which generally disappears, after having worked miracles, when the owner reaches the shady side of forty. Frederick the Great preserved it until his death.
Juliette was informed of the portrait I had given of her to M. de Malipiero's friends by the indiscreet pensioner, Xavier Cortantini. One evening I called upon her with M. Manzoni, and she told him that a wonderful judge of beauty had found flaws in hers, but she took good care not to specify them. It was not difficult to make out that she was indirectly firing at me, and I prepared myself for the ostracism which I was expecting, but which, however, she kept in abeyance fully for an hour. At last, our conversation falling upon a concert given a few days before by Imer, the actor, and in which his daughter, Therese, had taken a brilliant part, Juliette turned round to me and inquired what M. de Malipiero did for Therese. I said that he was educating her. "He can well do it," she answered, "for he is a man of talent; but I should like to know what he can do with you?"
"Whatever he can."
"I am told that he thinks you rather stupid."
As a matter of course, she had the laugh on her side, and I, confused, uncomfortable and not knowing what to say, took leave after having cut a very sorry figure, and determined never again to darken her door. The next day at dinner the account of my adventure caused much amusement to the old senator.
Throughout the summer, I carried on a course of Platonic love with my charming Angela at the house of her teacher of embroidery, but her extreme reserve excited me, and my love had almost become a torment to myself. With my ardent nature, I required a mistress like Bettina, who knew how to satisfy my love without wearing it out. I still retained some feelings of purity, and I entertained the deepest veneration for Angela. She was in my eyes the very palladium of Cecrops. Still very innocent, I felt some disinclination towards women, and I was simple enough to be jealous of even their husbands.
Angela would not grant me the slightest favour, yet she was no flirt; but the fire beginning in me parched and withered me. The pathetic entreaties which I poured out of my heart had less effect upon her than upon two young sisters, her companions and friends: had I not concentrated every look of mine upon the heartless girl, I might have discovered that her friends excelled her in beauty and in feeling, but my prejudiced eyes saw no one but Angela. To every outpouring of my love she answered that she was quite ready to become my wife, and that such was to be the limit of my wishes; when she condescended to add that she suffered as much as I did myself, she thought she had bestowed upon me the greatest of favours.
Such was the state of my mind, when, in the first days of autumn, I received a letter from the Countess de Mont-Real with an invitation to spend some time at her beautiful estate at Pasean. She expected many guests, and among them her own daughter, who had married a Venetian nobleman, and who had a great reputation for wit and beauty, although she had but one eye; but it was so beautiful that it made up for the loss of the other. I accepted the invitation, and Pasean offering me a constant round of pleasures, it was easy enough for me to enjoy myself, and to forget for the time the rigours of the cruel Angela.
I was given a pretty room on the ground floor, opening upon the gardens of Pasean, and I enjoyed its comforts without caring to know who my neighbours were.
The morning after my arrival, at the very moment I awoke, my eyes were delighted with the sight of the charming creature who brought me my coffee. She was a very young girl, but as well formed as a young person of seventeen; yet she had scarcely completed her fourteenth year. The snow of her complexion, her hair as dark as the raven's wing, her black eyes beaming with fire and innocence, her dress composed only of a chemise and a short petticoat which exposed a well-turned leg and the prettiest tiny foot, every detail I gathered in one instant presented to my looks the most original and the most perfect beauty I had ever beheld. I looked at her with the greatest pleasure, and her eyes rested upon me as if we had been old acquaintances.
"How did you find your bed?" she asked.
"Very comfortable; I am sure you made it. Pray, who are you?"
"I am Lucie, the daughter of the gate-keeper: I have neither brothers nor sisters, and I am fourteen years old. I am very glad you have no servant with you; I will be your little maid, and I am sure you will be pleased with me."
Delighted at this beginning, I sat up in my bed and she helped me to put on my dressing-gown, saying a hundred things which I did not understand. I began to drink my coffee, quite amazed at her easy freedom, and struck with her beauty, to which it would have been impossible to remain indifferent. She had seated herself on my bed, giving no other apology for that liberty than the most delightful smile.
I was still sipping my coffee, when Lucie's parents came into my room. She did not move from her place on the bed, but she looked at them, appearing very proud of such a seat. The good people kindly scolded her, begged my forgiveness in her favour, and Lucie left the room to attend to her other duties. The moment she had gone her father and mother began to praise their daughter.
"She is," they said, "our only child, our darling pet, the hope of our old age. She loves and obeys us, and fears God; she is as clean as a new pin, and has but one fault."
"What is that?"
"She is too young."
"That is a charming fault which time will mend."
I was not long in ascertaining that they were living specimens of honesty, of truth, of homely virtues, and of real happiness. I was delighted at this discovery, when Lucie returned as gay as a lark, prettily dressed, her hair done in a peculiar way of her own, and with well-fitting shoes. She dropped a simple courtesy before me, gave a couple of hearty kisses to both her parents, and jumped on her father's knees. I asked her to come and sit on my bed, but she answered that she could not take such a liberty now that she was dressed, The simplicity, artlessness, and innocence of the answer seemed to me very enchanting, and brought a smile on my lips. I examined her to see whether she was prettier in her new dress or in the morning's negligee, and I decided in favour of the latter. To speak the truth, Lucie was, I thought, superior in everything, not only to Angela, but even to Bettina.
The hair-dresser made his appearance, and the honest family left my room. When I was dressed I went to meet the countess and her amiable daughter. The day passed off very pleasantly, as is generally the case in the country, when you are amongst agreeable people.
In the morning, the moment my eyes were opened,
I rang the bell, and pretty Lucie came in, simple and natural as before, with her easy manners and wonderful remarks. Her candour, her innocence shone brilliantly all over her person. I could not conceive how, with her goodness, her virtue and her intelligence, she could run the risk of exciting me by coming into my room alone, and with so much familiarity. I fancied that she would not attach much importance to certain slight liberties, and would not prove over-scrupulous, and with that idea I made up my mind to shew her that I fully understood her. I felt no remorse of conscience on the score of her parents, who, in my estimation, were as careless as herself; I had no dread of being the first to give the alarm to her innocence, or to enlighten her mind with the gloomy light of malice, but, unwilling either to be the dupe of feeling or to act against it, I resolved to reconnoitre the ground. I extend a daring hand towards her person, and by an involuntary movement she withdraws, blushes, her cheerfulness disappears, and, turning her head aside as if she were in search of something, she waits until her agitation has subsided. The whole affair had not lasted one minute. She came back, abashed at the idea that she had proved herself rather knowing, and at the dread of having perhaps given a wrong interpretation to an action which might have been, on my part, perfectly innocent, or the result of politeness. Her natural laugh soon returned, and, having rapidly read in her mind all I have just described, I lost no time in restoring her confidence, and, judging that I would venture too much by active operations, I resolved to employ the following morning in a friendly chat during which I could make her out better.
In pursuance of that plan, the next morning, as we were talking, I told her that it was cold, but that she would not feel it if she would lie down near me.
"Shall I disturb you?" she said.
"No; but I am thinking that if your mother happened to come in, she would be angry."
"Mother would not think of any harm."
"Come, then. But Lucie, do you know what danger you are exposing yourself to?"
"Certainly I do; but you are good, and, what is more, you are a priest."
"Come; only lock the door."
"No, no, for people might think.... I do not know what." She laid down close by me, and kept on her chatting, although I did not understand a word of what she said, for in that singular position, and unwilling to give way to my ardent desires, I remained as still as a log.
Her confidence in her safety, confidence which was certainly not feigned, worked upon my feelings to such an extent that I would have been ashamed to take any advantage of it. At last she told me that nine o'clock had struck, and that if old Count Antonio found us as we were, he would tease her with his jokes. "When I see that man," she said, "I am afraid and I run away." Saying these words, she rose from the bed and left the room.
I remained motionless for a long while, stupefied, benumbed, and mastered by the agitation of my excited senses as well as by my thoughts. The next morning, as I wished to keep calm, I only let her sit down on my bed, and the conversation I had with her proved without the shadow of a doubt that her parents had every reason to idolize her, and that the easy freedom of her mind as well as of her behaviour with me was entirely owing to her innocence and to her purity. Her artlessness, her vivacity, her eager curiosity, and the bashful blushes which spread over her face whenever her innocent or jesting remarks caused me to laugh, everything, in fact, convinced me that she was an angel destined to become the victim of the first libertine who would undertake to seduce her. I felt sufficient control over my own feelings to resist any attempt against her virtue which my conscience might afterwards reproach me with. The mere thought of taking advantage of her innocence made me shudder, and my self-esteem was a guarantee to her parents, who abandoned her to me on the strength of the good opinion they entertained of me, that Lucie's honour was safe in my hands. I thought I would have despised myself if I had betrayed the trust they reposed in me. I therefore determined to conquer my feelings, and, with perfect confidence in the victory, I made up my mind to wage war against myself, and to be satisfied with her presence as the only reward of my heroic efforts. I was not yet acquainted with the axiom that "as long as the fighting lasts, victory remains uncertain."
As I enjoyed her conversation much, a natural instinct prompted me to tell her that she would afford me great pleasure if she could come earlier in the morning, and even wake me up if I happened to be asleep, adding, in order to give more weight to my request, that the less I slept the better I felt in health. In this manner I contrived to spend three hours instead of two in her society, although this cunning contrivance of mine did not prevent the hours flying, at least in my opinion, as swift as lightning.
Her mother would often come in as we were talking, and when the good woman found her sitting on my bed she would say nothing, only wondering at my kindness. Lucie would then cover her with kisses, and the kind old soul would entreat me to give her child lessons of goodness, and to cultivate her mind; but when she had left us Lucie did not think herself more unrestrained, and whether in or out of her mother's presence, she was always the same without the slightest change.
If the society of this angelic child afforded me the sweetest delight, it also caused me the most cruel suffering. Often, very often, when her face was close to my lips, I felt the most ardent temptation to smother her with kisses, and my blood was at fever heat when she wished that she had been a sister of mine. But I kept sufficient command over myself to avoid the slightest contact, for I was conscious that even one kiss would have been the spark which would have blown up all the edifice of my reserve. Every time she left me I remained astounded at my own victory, but, always eager to win fresh laurels, I longed for the following morning, panting for a renewal of this sweet yet very dangerous contest.
At the end of ten or twelve days, I felt that there was no alternative but to put a stop to this state of things, or to become a monster in my own eyes; and I decided for the moral side of the question all the more easily that nothing insured me success, if I chose the second alternative. The moment I placed her under the obligation to defend herself Lucie would become a heroine, and the door of my room being open, I might have been exposed to shame and to a very useless repentance. This rather frightened me. Yet, to put an end to my torture, I did not know what to decide. I could no longer resist the effect made upon my senses by this beautiful girl, who, at the break of day and scarcely dressed, ran gaily into my room, came to my bed enquiring how I had slept, bent familiarly her head towards me, and, so to speak, dropped her words on my lips. In those dangerous moments I would turn my head aside; but in her innocence she would reproach me for being afraid when she felt herself so safe, and if I answered that I could not possibly fear a child, she would reply that a difference of two years was of no account.
Standing at bay, exhausted, conscious that every instant increased the ardour which was devouring me, I resolved to entreat from herself the discontinuance of her visits, and this resolution appeared to me sublime and infallible; but having postponed its execution until the following morning, I passed a dreadful night, tortured by the image of Lucie, and by the idea that I would see her in the morning for the last time. I fancied that Lucie would not only grant my prayer, but that she would conceive for me the highest esteem. In the morning, it was barely day-light, Lucie beaming, radiant with beauty, a happy smile brightening her pretty mouth, and her splendid hair in the most fascinating disorder, bursts into my room, and rushes with open arms towards my bed; but when she sees my pale, dejected, and unhappy countenance, she stops short, and her beautiful face taking an expression of sadness and anxiety:
"What ails you?" she asks, with deep sympathy.
"I have had no sleep through the night."
"And why?"
"Because I have made up my mind to impart to you a project which, although fraught with misery to myself, will at least secure me your esteem."
"But if your project is to insure my esteem it ought to make you very cheerful. Only tell me, reverend sir, why, after calling me 'thou' yesterday, you treat me today respectfully, like a lady? What have I done? I will get your coffee, and you must tell me everything after you have drunk it; I long to hear you."
She goes and returns, I drink the coffee, and seeing that my countenance remains grave she tries to enliven me, contrives to make me smile, and claps her hands for joy. After putting everything in order, she closes the door because the wind is high, and in her anxiety not to lose one word of what I have to say, she entreats artlessly a little place near me. I cannot refuse her, for I feel almost lifeless.
I then begin a faithful recital of the fearful state in which her beauty has thrown me, and a vivid picture of all the suffering I have experienced in trying to master my ardent wish to give her some proof of my love; I explain to her that, unable to endure such torture any longer, I see no other safety but in entreating her not to see me any more. The importance of the subject, the truth of my love, my wish to present my expedient in the light of the heroic effort of a deep and virtuous passion, lend me a peculiar eloquence. I endeavour above all to make her realize the fearful consequences which might follow a course different to the one I was proposing, and how miserable we might be.
At the close of my long discourse Lucie, seeing my eyes wet with tears, throws off the bed-clothes to wipe them, without thinking that in so doing she uncovers two globes, the beauty of which might have caused the wreck of the most experienced pilot. After a short silence, the charming child tells me that my tears make her very unhappy, and that she had never supposed that she could cause them.
"All you have just told me," she added, "proves the sincerity of your great love for me, but I cannot imagine why you should be in such dread of a feeling which affords me the most intense pleasure. You wish to banish me from your presence because you stand in fear of your love, but what would you do if you hated me? Am I guilty because I have pleased you? If it is a crime to have won your affection, I can assure you that I did not think I was committing a criminal action, and therefore you cannot conscientiously punish me. Yet I cannot conceal the truth; I am very happy to be loved by you. As for the danger we run, when we love, danger which I can understand, we can set it at defiance, if we choose, and I wonder at my not fearing it, ignorant as I am, while you, a learned man, think it so terrible. I am astonished that love, which is not a disease, should have made you ill, and that it should have exactly the opposite effect upon me. Is it possible that I am mistaken, and that my feeling towards you should not be love? You saw me very cheerful when I came in this morning; it is because I have been dreaming all night, but my dreams did not keep me awake; only several times I woke up to ascertain whether my dream was true, for I thought I was near you; and every time, finding that it was not so, I quickly went to sleep again in the hope of continuing my happy dream, and every time I succeeded. After such a night, was it not natural for me to be cheerful this morning? My dear abbe, if love is a torment for you I am very sorry, but would it be possible for you to live without love? I will do anything you order me to do, but, even if your cure depended upon it, I would not cease to love you, for that would be impossible. Yet if to heal your sufferings it should be necessary for you to love me no more, you must do your utmost to succeed, for I would much rather see you alive without love, than dead for having loved too much. Only try to find some other plan, for the one you have proposed makes me very miserable. Think of it, there may be some other way which will be less painful. Suggest one more practicable, and depend upon Lucie's obedience."
These words, so true, so artless, so innocent, made me realize the immense superiority of nature's eloquence over that of philosophical intellect. For the first time I folded this angelic being in my arms, exclaiming, "Yes, dearest Lucie, yes, thou hast it in thy power to afford the sweetest relief to my devouring pain; abandon to my ardent kisses thy divine lips which have just assured me of thy love."
An hour passed in the most delightful silence, which nothing interrupted except these words murmured now and then by Lucie, "Oh, God! is it true? is it not a dream?" Yet I respected her innocence, and the more readily that she abandoned herself entirely and without the slightest resistance. At last, extricating herself gently from my arms, she said, with some uneasiness, "My heart begins to speak, I must go;" and she instantly rose. Having somewhat rearranged her dress she sat down, and her mother, coming in at that moment, complimented me upon my good looks and my bright countenance, and told Lucie to dress herself to attend mass. Lucie came back an hour later, and expressed her joy and her pride at the wonderful cure she thought she had performed upon me, for the healthy appearance I was then shewing convinced her of my love much better than the pitiful state in which she had found me in the morning. "If your complete happiness," she said, "rests in my power, be happy; there is nothing that I can refuse you."
The moment she left me, still wavering between happiness and fear, I understood that I was standing on the very brink of the abyss, and that nothing but a most extraordinary determination could prevent me from falling headlong into it.
I remained at Pasean until the end of September, and the last eleven nights of my stay were passed in the undisturbed possession of Lucie, who, secure in her mother's profound sleep, came to my room to enjoy in my arms the most delicious hours. The burning ardour of my love was increased by the abstinence to which I condemned myself, although Lucie did everything in her power to make me break through my determination. She could not fully enjoy the sweetness of the forbidden fruit unless I plucked it without reserve, and the effect produced by our constantly lying in each other's arms was too strong for a young girl to resist. She tried everything she could to deceive me, and to make me believe that I had already, and in reality, gathered the whole flower, but Bettina's lessons had been too efficient to allow me to go on a wrong scent, and I reached the end of my stay without yielding entirely to the temptation she so fondly threw in my way. I promised her to return in the spring; our farewell was tender and very sad, and I left her in a state of mind and of body which must have been the cause of her misfortunes, which, twenty years after, I had occasion to reproach myself with in Holland, and which will ever remain upon my conscience.
A few days after my return to Venice, I had fallen back into all my old habits, and resumed my courtship of Angela in the hope that I would obtain from her, at least, as much as Lucie had granted to me. A certain dread which to-day I can no longer trace in my nature, a sort of terror of the consequences which might have a blighting influence upon my future, prevented me from giving myself up to complete enjoyment. I do not know whether I have ever been a truly honest man, but I am fully aware that the feelings I fostered in my youth were by far more upright than those I have, as I lived on, forced myself to accept. A wicked philosophy throws down too many of these barriers which we call prejudices.
The two sisters who were sharing Angela's embroidery lessons were her intimate friends and the confidantes of all her secrets. I made their acquaintance, and found that they disapproved of her extreme reserve towards me. As I usually saw them with Angela and knew their intimacy with her, I would, when I happened to meet them alone, tell them all my sorrows, and, thinking only of my cruel sweetheart, I never was conceited enough to propose that these young girls might fall in love with me; but I often ventured to speak to them with all the blazing inspiration which was burning in me--a liberty I would not have dared to take in the presence of her whom I loved. True love always begets reserve; we fear to be accused of exaggeration if we should give utterance to feelings inspired, by passion, and the modest lover, in his dread of saying too much, very often says too little.
The teacher of embroidery, an old bigot, who at first appeared not to mind the attachment I shewed for Angela, got tired at last of my too frequent visits, and mentioned them to the abbe, the uncle of my fair lady. He told me kindly one day that I ought not to call at that house so often, as my constant visits might be wrongly construed, and prove detrimental to the reputation of his niece. His words fell upon me like a thunder-bolt, but I mastered my feelings sufficiently to leave him without incurring any suspicion, and I promised to follow his good advice.
Three or four days afterwards, I paid a visit to the teacher of embroidery, and, to make her believe that my visit was only intended for her, I did not stop one instant near the young girls; yet I contrived to slip in the hand of the eldest of the two sisters a note enclosing another for my dear Angela, in which I explained why I had been compelled to discontinue my visits, entreating her to devise some means by which I could enjoy the happiness of seeing her and of conversing with her. In my note to Nanette, I only begged her to give my letter to her friend, adding that I would see them again the day after the morrow, and that I trusted to her to find an opportunity for delivering me the answer. She managed it all very cleverly, and, when I renewed my visit two days afterwards, she gave me a letter without attracting the attention of anyone. Nanette's letter enclosed a very short note from Angela, who, disliking letter-writing, merely advised me to follow, if I could, the plan proposed by her friend. Here is the copy of the letter written by Nanette, which I have always kept, as well as all other letters which I give in these Memoirs:
"There is nothing in the world, reverend sir, that I would not readily do for my friend. She visits at our house every holiday, has supper with us, and sleeps under our roof. I will suggest the best way for you to make the acquaintance of Madame Orio, our aunt; but, if you obtain an introduction to her, you must be very careful not to let her suspect your preference for Angela, for our aunt would certainly object to her house being made a place of rendezvous to facilitate your interviews with a stranger to her family. Now for the plan I propose, and in the execution of which I will give you every assistance in my power. Madame Orio, although a woman of good station in life, is not wealthy, and she wishes to have her name entered on the list of noble widows who receive the bounties bestowed by the Confraternity of the Holy Sacrament, of which M. de Malipiero is president. Last Sunday, Angela mentioned that you are in the good graces of that nobleman, and that the best way to obtain his patronage would be to ask you to entreat it in her behalf. The foolish girl added that you were smitten with me, that all your visits to our mistress of embroidery were made for my special benefit and for the sake of entertaining me, and that I would find it a very easy task to interest you in her favour. My aunt answered that, as you are a priest, there was no fear of any harm, and she told me to write to you with an invitation to call on her; I refused. The procurator Rosa, who is a great favourite of my aunt's, was present; he approved of my refusal, saying that the letter ought to be written by her and not by me, that it was for my aunt to beg the honour of your visit on business of real importance, and that, if there was any truth in the report of your love for me, you would not fail to come. My aunt, by his advice, has therefore written the letter which you will find at your house. If you wish to meet Angela, postpone your visit to us until next Sunday. Should you succeed in obtaining M. de Malipiero's good will in favour of my aunt, you will become the pet of the household, but you must forgive me if I appear to treat you with coolness, for I have said that I do not like you. I would advise you to make love to my aunt, who is sixty years of age; M. Rosa will not be jealous, and you will become dear to everyone. For my part, I will manage for you an opportunity for some private conversation with Angela, and I will do anything to convince you of my friendship. Adieu."
This plan appeared to me very well conceived, and, having the same evening received Madame Orio's letter, I called upon her on the following day, Sunday. I was welcomed in a very friendly manner, and the lady, entreating me to exert in her behalf my influence with M. de Malipiero, entrusted me with all the papers which I might require to succeed. I undertook to do my utmost, and I took care to address only a few words to Angela, but I directed all my gallant attentions to Nanette, who treated me as coolly as could be. Finally, I won the friendship of the old procurator Rosa, who, in after years, was of some service to me.
I had so much at stake in the success of Madame Orio's petition, that I thought of nothing else, and knowing all the power of the beautiful Therese Imer over our amorous senator, who would be but too happy to please her in anything, I determined to call upon her the next day, and I went straight to her room without being announced. I found her alone with the physician Doro, who, feigning to be on a professional visit, wrote a prescription, felt her pulse, and went off. This Doro was suspected of being in love with Therese; M. de Malipiero, who was jealous, had forbidden Therese to receive his visits, and she had promised to obey him. She knew that I was acquainted with those circumstances, and my presence was evidently unpleasant to her, for she had certainly no wish that the old man should hear how she kept her promise. I thought that no better opportunity could be found of obtaining from her everything I wished.
I told her in a few words the object of my visit, and I took care to add that she could rely upon my discretion, and that I would not for the world do her any injury. Therese, grateful for this assurance, answered that she rejoiced at finding an occasion to oblige me, and, asking me to give her the papers of my protege, she shewed me the certificates and testimonials of another lady in favour of whom she had undertaken to speak, and whom, she said, she would sacrifice to the person in whose behalf I felt interested. She kept her word, for the very next day she placed in my hands the brevet, signed by his excellency as president of the confraternity. For the present, and with the expectation of further favours, Madame Orio's name was put down to share the bounties which were distributed twice a year.
Nanette and her sister Marton were the orphan daughters of a sister of Madame Orio. All the fortune of the good lady consisted in the house which was her dwelling, the first floor being let, and in a pension given to her by her brother, member of the council of ten. She lived alone with her two charming nieces, the eldest sixteen, and the youngest fifteen years of age. She kept no servant, and only employed an old woman, who, for one crown a month, fetched water, and did the rough work. Her only friend was the procurator Rosa; he had, like her, reached his sixtieth year, and expected to marry her as soon as he should become a widower.
The two sisters slept together on the third floor in a large bed, which was likewise shared by Angela every Sunday.
As soon as I found myself in possession of the deed for Madame Orio, I hastened to pay a visit to the mistress of embroidery, in order to find an opportunity of acquainting Nanette with my success, and in a short note which I prepared, I informed her that in two days I would call to give the brevet to Madame Orio, and I begged her earnestly not to forget her promise to contrive a private interview with my dear Angela.
When I arrived, on the appointed day, at Madame Orio's house, Nanette, who had watched for my coming, dexterously conveyed to my hand a billet, requesting me to find a moment to read it before leaving the house. I found Madame Orio, Angela, the old procurator, and Marton in the room. Longing to read the note, I refused the seat offered to me, and presenting to Madame Orio the deed she had so long desired, I asked, as my only reward, the pleasure of kissing her hand, giving her to understand that I wanted to leave the room immediately.
"Oh, my dear abbe!" said the lady, "you shall have a kiss, but not on my hand, and no one can object to it, as I am thirty years older than you."
She might have said forty-five without going much astray. I gave her two kisses, which evidently satisfied her, for she desired me to perform the same ceremony with her nieces, but they both ran away, and Angela alone stood the brunt of my hardihood. After this the widow asked me to sit down.
"I cannot, Madame."
"Why, I beg?"
"I have--."
"I understand. Nanette, shew the way."
"Dear aunt, excuse me."
"Well, then, Marton."
"Oh! dear aunt, why do you not insist upon my sister obeying your orders?"
"Alas! madame, these young ladies are quite right. Allow me to retire."
"No, my dear abbe, my nieces are very foolish; M. Rosa, I am sure, will kindly."
The good procurator takes me affectionately by the hand, and leads me to the third story, where he leaves me. The moment I am alone I open my letter, and I read the following:
"My aunt will invite you to supper; do not accept. Go away as soon as we sit down to table, and Marton will escort you as far as the street door, but do not leave the house. When the street door is closed again, everyone thinking you are gone, go upstairs in the dark as far as the third floor, where you must wait for us. We will come up the moment M. Rosa has left the house, and our aunt has gone to bed. Angela will be at liberty to grant you throughout the night a tete-a-tete which, I trust, will prove a happy one."
Oh! what joy-what gratitude for the lucky chance which allowed me to read this letter on the very spot where I was to expect the dear abject of my love! Certain of finding my way without the slightest difficulty, I returned to Madame Orio's sitting-room, overwhelmed with happiness.
CHAPTER V
An Unlucky Night I Fall in Love with the Two Sisters, and
Forget Angela--A Ball at My House--Juliette's Humiliation--
My Return to Pasian--Lucie's Misfortune--A Propitious Storm
On my reappearance, Madame Orio told me, with many heart-felt thanks, that I must for the future consider myself as a privileged and welcome friend, and the evening passed off very pleasantly. As the hour for supper drew near, I excused myself so well that Madame Orio could not insist upon my accepting her invitation to stay. Marton rose to light me out of the room, but her aunt, believing Nanette to be my favourite, gave her such an imperative order to accompany me that she was compelled to obey. She went down the stairs rapidly, opened and closed the street door very noisily, and putting her light out, she reentered the sitting room, leaving me in darkness. I went upstairs softly: when I reached the third landing I found the chamber of the two sisters, and, throwing myself upon a sofa, I waited patiently for the rising of the star of my happiness. An hour passed amidst the sweetest dreams of my imagination; at last I hear the noise of the street door opening and closing, and, a few minutes after, the two sisters come in with my Angela. I draw her towards me, and caring for nobody else, I keep up for two full hours my conversation with her. The clock strikes midnight; I am pitied for having gone so late supperless, but I am shocked at such an idea; I answer that, with such happiness as I am enjoying, I can suffer from no human want. I am told that I am a prisoner, that the key of the house door is under the aunt's pillow, and that it is opened only by herself as she goes in the morning to the first mass. I wonder at my young friends imagining that such news can be anything but delightful to me. I express all my joy at the certainty of passing the next five hours with the beloved mistress of my heart. Another hour is spent, when suddenly Nanette begins to laugh, Angela wants to know the reason, and Marton whispering a few words to her, they both laugh likewise. This puzzles me. In my turn, I want to know what causes this general laughter, and at last Nanette, putting on an air of anxiety, tells me that they have no more candle, and that in a few minutes we shall be in the dark. This is a piece of news particularly agreeable to me, but I do not let my satisfaction appear on my countenance, and saying how truly I am sorry for their sake, I propose that they should go to bed and sleep quietly under my respectful guardianship. My proposal increases their merriment.
"What can we do in the dark?"
"We can talk."
We were four; for the last three hours we had been talking, and I was the hero of the romance. Love is a great poet, its resources are inexhaustible, but if the end it has in view is not obtained, it feels weary and remains silent. My Angela listened willingly, but little disposed to talk herself, she seldom answered, and she displayed good sense rather than wit. To weaken the force of my arguments, she was often satisfied with hurling at me a proverb, somewhat in the fashion of the Romans throwing the catapult. Every time that my poor hands came to the assistance of love, she drew herself back or repulsed me. Yet, in spite of all, I went on talking and using my hands without losing courage, but I gave myself up to despair when I found that my rather artful arguing astounded her without bringing conviction to her heart, which was only disquieted, never softened. On the other hand, I could see with astonishment upon their countenances the impression made upon the two sisters by the ardent speeches I poured out to Angela. This metaphysical curve struck me as unnatural, it ought to have been an angle; I was then, unhappily for myself, studying geometry. I was in such a state that, notwithstanding the cold, I was perspiring profusely. At last the light was nearly out, and Nanette took it away.
The moment we were in the dark, I very naturally extended my arms to seize her whom I loved; but I only met with empty space, and I could not help laughing at the rapidity with which Angela had availed herself of the opportunity of escaping me. For one full hour I poured out all the tender, cheerful words that love inspired me with, to persuade her to come back to me; I could only suppose that it was a joke to tease me. But I became impatient.
"The joke," I said, "has lasted long enough; it is foolish, as I could not run after you, and I am surprised to hear you laugh, for your strange conduct leads me to suppose that you are making fun of me. Come and take your seat near me, and if I must speak to you without seeing you let my hands assure me that I am not addressing my words to the empty air. To continue this game would be an insult to me, and my love does not deserve such a return."
"Well, be calm. I will listen to every word you may say, but you must feel that it would not be decent for me to place myself near you in this dark room."
"Do you want me to stand where I am until morning?"
"Lie down on the bed, and go to sleep."
"In wonder, indeed, at your thinking me capable of doing so in the state I am in. Well, I suppose we must play at blind man's buff."
Thereupon, I began to feel right and left, everywhere, but in vain. Whenever I caught anyone it always turned out to be Nanette or Marton, who at once discovered themselves, and I, stupid Don Quixote, instantly would let them go! Love and prejudice blinded me, I could not see how ridiculous I was with my respectful reserve. I had not yet read the anecdotes of Louis XIII, king of France, but I had read Boccacio. I kept on seeking in vain, reproaching her with her cruelty, and entreating her to let me catch her; but she would only answer that the difficulty of meeting each other was mutual. The room was not large, and I was enraged at my want of success.
Tired and still more vexed, I sat down, and for the next hour I told the history of Roger, when Angelica disappears through the power of the magic ring which the loving knight had so imprudently given her:
'Cosi dicendo, intorno a la fortuna
Brancolando n'andava come cieco.
O quante volte abbraccio l'aria vana
Speyando la donzella abbracciar seco'.
Angela had not read Ariosto, but Nanette had done so several times. She undertook the defence of Angelica, and blamed the simplicity of Roger, who, if he had been wise, would never have trusted the ring to a coquette. I was delighted with Nanette, but I was yet too much of a novice to apply her remarks to myself.
Only one more hour remained, and I was to leave before the break of day, for Madame Orio would have died rather than give way to the temptation of missing the early mass. During that hour I spoke to Angela, trying to convince her that she ought to come and sit by me. My soul went through every gradation of hope and despair, and the reader cannot possibly realize it unless he has been placed in a similar position. I exhausted the most convincing arguments; then I had recourse to prayers, and even to tears; but, seeing all was useless, I gave way to that feeling of noble indignation which lends dignity to anger. Had I not been in the dark, I might, I truly believe, have struck the proud monster, the cruel girl, who had thus for five hours condemned me to the most distressing suffering. I poured out all the abuse, all the insulting words that despised love can suggest to an infuriated mind; I loaded her with the deepest curses; I swore that my love had entirely turned into hatred, and, as a finale, I advised her to be careful, as I would kill her the moment I would set my eyes on her.
My invectives came to an end with the darkness. At the first break of day, and as soon as I heard the noise made by the bolt and the key of the street door, which Madame Orio was opening to let herself out, that she might seek in the church the repose of which her pious soul was in need, I got myself ready and looked for my cloak and for my hat. But how can I ever portray the consternation in which I was thrown when, casting a sly glance upon the young friends, I found the three bathed in tears! In my shame and despair I thought of committing suicide, and sitting down again, I recollected my brutal speeches, and upbraided myself for having wantonly caused them to weep. I could not say one word; I felt choking; at last tears came to my assistance, and I gave way to a fit of crying which relieved me. Nanette then remarked that her aunt would soon return home; I dried my eyes, and, not venturing another look at Angela or at her friends, I ran away without uttering a word, and threw myself on my bed, where sleep would not visit my troubled mind.
At noon, M. de Malipiero, noticing the change in my countenance, enquired what ailed me, and longing to unburden my heart, I told him all that had happened. The wise old man did not laugh at my sorrow, but by his sensible advice he managed to console me and to give me courage. He was in the same predicament with the beautiful Therese. Yet he could not help giving way to his merriment when at dinner he saw me, in spite of my grief, eat with increased appetite; I had gone without my supper the night before; he complimented me upon my happy constitution.
I was determined never to visit Madame Orio's house, and on that very day I held an argument in metaphysics, in which I contended that any being of whom we had only an abstract idea, could only exist abstractedly, and I was right; but it was a very easy task to give to my thesis an irreligious turn, and I was obliged to recant. A few days afterwards I went to Padua, where I took my degree of doctor 'utroque jure'.
When I returned to Venice, I received a note from M. Rosa, who entreated me to call upon Madame Orio; she wished to see me, and, feeling certain of not meeting Angela, I paid her a visit the same evening. The two graceful sisters were so kind, so pleasant, that they scattered to the winds the shame I felt at seeing them after the fearful night I had passed in their room two months before. The labours of writing my thesis and passing my examination were of course sufficient excuses for Madame Orio, who only wanted to reproach me for having remained so long away from her house.
As I left, Nanette gave me a letter containing a note from Angela, the contents of which ran as follows:
"If you are not afraid of passing another night with me you shall have no reason to complain of me, for I love you, and I wish to hear from your own lips whether you would still have loved me if I had consented to become contemptible in your eyes."
This is the letter of Nanette, who alone had her wits about her:
"M. Rosa having undertaken to bring you back to our house, I prepare these few lines to let you know that Angela is in despair at having lost you. I confess that the night you spent with us was a cruel one, but I do not think that you did rightly in giving up your visits to Madame Orio. If you still feel any love for Angela, I advise you to take your chances once more. Accept a rendezvous for another night; she may vindicate herself, and you will be happy. Believe me; come. Farewell!"
Those two letters afforded me much gratification, for I had it in my power to enjoy my revenge by shewing to Angela the coldest contempt. Therefore, on the following Sunday I went to Madame Orio's house, having provided myself with a smoked tongue and a couple of bottles of Cyprus wine; but to my great surprise my cruel mistress was not there. Nanette told me that she had met her at church in the morning, and that she would not be able to come before supper-time. Trusting to that promise I declined Madam Orio's invitation, and before the family sat down to supper I left the room as I had done on the former occasion, and slipped upstairs. I longed to represent the character I had prepared myself for, and feeling assured that Angela, even if she should prove less cruel, would only grant me insignificant favours, I despised them in anticipation, and resolved to be avenged.
After waiting three quarters of an hour the street door was locked, and a moment later Nanette and Marton entered the room.
"Where is Angela?" I enquired.
"She must have been unable to come, or to send a message. Yet she knows you are here."
"She thinks she has made a fool of me; but I suspected she would act in this way. You know her now. She is trifling with me, and very likely she is now revelling in her triumph. She has made use of you to allure me in the snare, and it is all the better for her; had she come, I meant to have had my turn, and to have laughed at her."
"Ah! you must allow me to have my doubts as to that."
"Doubt me not, beautiful Nanette; the pleasant night we are going to spend without her must convince you."
"That is to say that, as a man of sense, you can accept us as a makeshift; but you can sleep here, and my sister can lie with me on the sofa in the next room."
"I cannot hinder you, but it would be great unkindness on your part. At all events, I do not intend to go to bed."
"What! you would have the courage to spend seven hours alone with us? Why, I am certain that in a short time you will be at a loss what to say, and you will fall asleep."
"Well, we shall see. In the mean-time here are provisions. You will not be so cruel as to let me eat alone? Can you get any bread?"
"Yes, and to please you we must have a second supper."
"I ought to be in love with you. Tell me, beautiful Nanette, if I were as much attached to you as I was to Angela, would you follow her example and make me unhappy?"
"How can you ask such a question? It is worthy of a conceited man. All I can answer is, that I do not know what I would do."
They laid the cloth, brought some bread, some Parmesan cheese and water, laughing all the while, and then we went to work. The wine, to which they were not accustomed, went to their heads, and their gaiety was soon delightful. I wondered, as I looked at them, at my having been blind enough not to see their merit.
After our supper, which was delicious, I sat between them, holding their hands, which I pressed to my lips, asking them whether they were truly my friends, and whether they approved of Angela's conduct towards me. They both answered that it had made them shed many tears. "Then let me," I said, "have for you the tender feelings of a brother, and share those feelings yourselves as if you were my sisters; let us exchange, in all innocence, proofs of our mutual affection, and swear to each other an eternal fidelity."
The first kiss I gave them was prompted by entirely harmless motives, and they returned the kiss, as they assured me a few days afterwards only to prove to me that they reciprocated my brotherly feelings; but those innocent kisses, as we repeated them, very soon became ardent ones, and kindled a flame which certainly took us by surprise, for we stopped, as by common consent, after a short time, looking at each other very much astonished and rather serious. They both left me without affectation, and I remained alone with my thoughts. Indeed, it was natural that the burning kisses I had given and received should have sent through me the fire of passion, and that I should suddenly have fallen madly in love with the two amiable sisters. Both were handsomer than Angela, and they were superior to her--Nanette by her charming wit, Marton by her sweet and simple nature; I could not understand how I had been so long in rendering them the justice they deserved, but they were the innocent daughters of a noble family, and the lucky chance which had thrown them in my way ought not to prove a calamity for them. I was not vain enough to suppose that they loved me, but I could well enough admit that my kisses had influenced them in the same manner that their kisses had influenced me, and, believing this to be the case, it was evident that, with a little cunning on my part, and of sly practices of which they were ignorant, I could easily, during the long night I was going to spend with them, obtain favours, the consequences of which might be very positive. The very thought made me shudder, and I firmly resolved to respect their virtue, never dreaming that circumstances might prove too strong for me.
When they returned, I read upon their countenances perfect security and satisfaction, and I quickly put on the same appearance, with a full determination not to expose myself again to the danger of their kisses.
For one hour we spoke of Angela, and I expressed my determination never to see her again, as I had every proof that she did not care for me. "She loves you," said the artless Marton; "I know she does, but if you do not mean to marry her, you will do well to give up all intercourse with her, for she is quite determined not to grant you even a kiss as long as you are not her acknowledged suitor. You must therefore either give up the acquaintance altogether, or make up your mind that she will refuse you everything."
"You argue very well, but how do you know that she loves me?"
"I am quite sure of it, and as you have promised to be our brother, I can tell you why I have that conviction. When Angela is in bed with me, she embraces me lovingly and calls me her dear abbe."
The words were scarcely spoken when Nanette, laughing heartily, placed her hand on her sister's lips, but the innocent confession had such an effect upon me that I could hardly control myself.
Marton told Nanette that I could not possibly be ignorant of what takes place between young girls sleeping together.
"There is no doubt," I said, "that everybody knows those trifles, and I do not think, dear Nanette, that you ought to reproach your sister with indiscretion for her friendly confidence."
"It cannot be helped now, but such things ought not to be mentioned. If Angela knew it!"
"She would be vexed, of course; but Marton has given me a mark of her friendship which I never can forget. But it is all over; I hate Angela, and I do not mean to speak to her any more! she is false, and she wishes my ruin."
"Yet, loving you, is she wrong to think of having you for her husband?"
"Granted that she is not; but she thinks only of her own self, for she knows what I suffer, and her conduct would be very different if she loved me. In the mean time, thanks to her imagination, she finds the means of satisfying her senses with the charming Marton who kindly performs the part of her husband."
Nanette laughed louder, but I kept very serious, and I went on talking to her sister, and praising her sincerity. I said that very likely, and to reciprocate her kindness, Angela must likewise have been her husband, but she answered, with a smile, that Angela played husband only to Nanette, and Nanette could not deny it.
"But," said I, "what name did Nanette, in her rapture, give to her husband?"
"Nobody knows."
"Do you love anyone, Nanette?"
"I do; but my secret is my own."
This reserve gave me the suspicion that I had something to do with her secret, and that Nanette was the rival of Angela. Such a delightful conversation caused me to lose the wish of passing an idle night with two girls so well made for love.
"It is very lucky," I exclaimed, "that I have for you only feelings of friendship; otherwise it would be very hard to pass the night without giving way to the temptation of bestowing upon you proofs of my affection, for you are both so lovely, so bewitching, that you would turn the brains of any man."
As I went on talking, I pretended to be somewhat sleepy; Nanette being the first to notice it, said, "Go to bed without any ceremony, we will lie down on the sofa in the adjoining room."
"I would be a very poor-spirited fellow indeed, if I agreed to this; let us talk; my sleepiness will soon pass off, but I am anxious about you. Go to bed yourselves, my charming friends, and I will go into the next room. If you are afraid of me, lock the door, but you would do me an injustice, for I feel only a brother's yearnings towards you."
"We cannot accept such an arrangement," said Nanette, "but let me persuade you; take this bed."
"I cannot sleep with my clothes on."
"Undress yourself; we will not look at you."
"I have no fear of it, but how could I find the heart to sleep, while on my account you are compelled to sit up?"
"Well," said Marton, "we can lie down, too, without undressing."
"If you shew me such distrust, you will offend me. Tell me, Nanette, do you think I am an honest man?"
"Most certainly."
"Well, then, give me a proof of your good opinion; lie down near me in the bed, undressed, and rely on my word of honour that I will not even lay a finger upon you. Besides, you are two against one, what can you fear? Will you not be free to get out of the bed in case I should not keep quiet? In short, unless you consent to give me this mark of your confidence in me, at least when I have fallen asleep, I cannot go to bed."
I said no more, and pretended to be very sleepy. They exchanged a few words, whispering to each other, and Marton told me to go to bed, that they would follow me as soon as I was asleep. Nanette made me the same promise, I turned my back to them, undressed myself quickly, and wishing them good night, I went to bed. I immediately pretended to fall asleep, but soon I dozed in good earnest, and only woke when they came to bed. Then, turning round as if I wished to resume my slumbers, I remained very quiet until I could suppose them fast asleep; at all events, if they did not sleep, they were at liberty to pretend to do so. Their backs were towards me, and the light was out; therefore I could only act at random, and I paid my first compliments to the one who was lying on my right, not knowing whether she was Nanette or Marton. I find her bent in two, and wrapped up in the only garment she had kept on. Taking my time, and sparing her modesty, I compel her by degrees to acknowledge her defeat, and convince her that it is better to feign sleep and to let me proceed. Her natural instincts soon working in concert with mine, I reach the goal; and my efforts, crowned with the most complete success, leave me not the shadow of a doubt that I have gathered those first-fruits to which our prejudice makes us attach so great an importance. Enraptured at having enjoyed my manhood completely and for the first time, I quietly leave my beauty in order to do homage to the other sister. I find her motionless, lying on her back like a person wrapped in profound and undisturbed slumber. Carefully managing my advance, as if I were afraid of waking her up, I begin by gently gratifying her senses, and I ascertain the delightful fact that, like her sister, she is still in possession of her maidenhood. As soon as a natural movement proves to me that love accepts the offering, I take my measures to consummate the sacrifice. At that moment, giving way suddenly to the violence of her feelings, and tired of her assumed dissimulation, she warmly locks me in her arms at the very instant of the voluptuous crisis, smothers me with kisses, shares my raptures, and love blends our souls in the most ecstatic enjoyment.
Guessing her to be Nanette, I whisper her name.
"Yes, I am Nanette," she answers; "and I declare myself happy, as well as my sister, if you prove yourself true and faithful."
"Until death, my beloved ones, and as everything we have done is the work of love, do not let us ever mention the name of Angela."
After this, I begged that she would give us a light; but Marton, always kind and obliging, got out of bed leaving us alone. When I saw Nanette in my arms, beaming with love, and Marton near the bed, holding a candle, with her eyes reproaching us with ingratitude because we did not speak to her, who, by accepting my first caresses, had encouraged her sister to follow her example, I realized all my happiness.
"Let us get up, my darlings," said I, "and swear to each other eternal affection."
When we had risen we performed, all three together, ablutions which made them laugh a good deal, and which gave a new impetus to the ardour of our feelings. Sitting up in the simple costume of nature, we ate the remains of our supper, exchanging those thousand trifling words which love alone can understand, and we again retired to our bed, where we spent a most delightful night giving each other mutual and oft-repeated proofs of our passionate ardour. Nanette was the recipient of my last bounties, for Madame Orio having left the house to go to church, I had to hasten my departure, after assuring the two lovely sisters that they had effectually extinguished whatever flame might still have flickered in my heart for Angela. I went home and slept soundly until dinner-time.
M. de Malipiero passed a remark upon my cheerful looks and the dark circles around my eyes, but I kept my own counsel, and I allowed him to think whatever he pleased. On the following day I paid a visit to Madame Orio, and Angela not being of the party, I remained to supper and retired with M. Rosa. During the evening Nanette contrived to give me a letter and a small parcel. The parcel contained a small lump of wax with the stamp of a key, and the letter told me to have a key made, and to use it to enter the house whenever I wished to spend the night with them. She informed me at the same time that Angela had slept with them the night following our adventures, and that, thanks to their mutual and usual practices, she had guessed the real state of things, that they had not denied it, adding that it was all her fault, and that Angela, after abusing them most vehemently, had sworn never again to darken their doors; but they did not care a jot.
A few days afterwards our good fortune delivered us from Angela; she was taken to Vicenza by her father, who had removed there for a couple of years, having been engaged to paint frescoes in some houses in that city. Thanks to her absence, I found myself undisturbed possessor of the two charming sisters, with whom I spent at least two nights every week, finding no difficulty in entering the house with the key which I had speedily procured.
Carnival was nearly over, when M. Manzoni informed me one day that the celebrated Juliette wished to see me, and regretted much that I had ceased to visit her. I felt curious as to what she had to say to me, and accompanied him to her house. She received me very politely, and remarking that she had heard of a large hall I had in my house, she said she would like to give a ball there, if I would give her the use of it. I readily consented, and she handed me twenty-four sequins for the supper and for the band, undertaking to send people to place chandeliers in the hall and in my other rooms.
M. de Sanvitali had left Venice, and the Parmesan government had placed his estates in chancery in consequence of his extravagant expenditure. I met him at Versailles ten years afterwards. He wore the insignia of the king's order of knighthood, and was grand equerry to the eldest daughter of Louis XV., Duchess of Parma, who, like all the French princesses, could not be reconciled to the climate of Italy.
The ball took place, and went off splendidly. All the guests belonged to Juliette's set, with the exception of Madame Orio, her nieces, and the procurator Rosa, who sat together in the room adjoining the hall, and whom I had been permitted to introduce as persons of no consequence whatever.
While the after-supper minuets were being danced Juliette took me apart, and said, "Take me to your bedroom; I have just got an amusing idea."
My room was on the third story; I shewed her the way. The moment we entered she bolted the door, much to my surprise. "I wish you," she said, "to dress me up in your ecclesiastical clothes, and I will disguise you as a woman with my own things. We will go down and dance together. Come, let us first dress our hair."
Feeling sure of something pleasant to come, and delighted with such an unusual adventure, I lose no time in arranging her hair, and I let her afterwards dress mine. She applies rouge and a few beauty spots to my face; I humour her in everything, and to prove her satisfaction, she gives me with the best of grace a very loving kiss, on condition that I do not ask for anything else.
"As you please, beautiful Juliette, but I give you due notice that I adore you!"
I place upon my bed a shirt, an abbe's neckband, a pair of drawers, black silk stockings--in fact, a complete fit-out. Coming near the bed, Juliette drops her skirt, and cleverly gets into the drawers, which were not a bad fit, but when she comes to the breeches there is some difficulty; the waistband is too narrow, and the only remedy is to rip it behind or to cut it, if necessary. I undertake to make everything right, and, as I sit on the foot of my bed, she places herself in front of me, with her back towards me. I begin my work, but she thinks that I want to see too much, that I am not skilful enough, and that my fingers wander in unnecessary places; she gets fidgety, leaves me, tears the breeches, and manages in her own way. Then I help her to put her shoes on, and I pass the shirt over her head, but as I am disposing the ruffle and the neck-band, she complains of my hands being too curious; and in truth, her bosom was rather scanty. She calls me a knave and rascal, but I take no notice of her. I was not going to be duped, and I thought that a woman who had been paid one hundred thousand ducats was well worth some study. At last, her toilet being completed, my turn comes. In spite of her objections I quickly get rid of my breeches, and she must put on me the chemise, then a skirt, in a word she has to dress me up. But all at once, playing the coquette, she gets angry because I do not conceal from her looks the very apparent proof that her charms have some effect on a particular part of my being, and she refuses to grant me the favour which would soon afford both relief and calm. I try to kiss her, and she repulses me, whereupon I lose patience, and in spite of herself she has to witness the last stage of my excitement. At the sight of this, she pours out every insulting word she can think of; I endeavour to prove that she is to blame, but it is all in vain.
However, she is compelled to complete my disguise. There is no doubt that an honest woman would not have exposed herself to such an adventure, unless she had intended to prove her tender feelings, and that she would not have drawn back at the very moment she saw them shared by her companion; but women like Juliette are often guided by a spirit of contradiction which causes them to act against their own interests. Besides, she felt disappointed when she found out that I was not timid, and my want of restraint appeared to her a want of respect. She would not have objected to my stealing a few light favours which she would have allowed me to take, as being of no importance, but, by doing that, I should have flattered her vanity too highly.
Our disguise being complete, we went together to the dancing-hall, where the enthusiastic applause of the guests soon restored our good temper. Everybody gave me credit for a piece of fortune which I had not enjoyed, but I was not ill-pleased with the rumour, and went on dancing with the false abbe, who was only too charming. Juliette treated me so well during the night that I construed her manners towards me into some sort of repentance, and I almost regretted what had taken place between us; it was a momentary weakness for which I was sorely punished.
At the end of the quadrille all the men thought they had a right to take liberties with the abbe, and I became myself rather free with the young girls, who would have been afraid of exposing themselves to ridicule had they offered any opposition to my caresses.
M. Querini was foolish enough to enquire from me whether I had kept on my breeches, and as I answered that I had been compelled to lend them to Juliette, he looked very unhappy, sat down in a corner of the room, and refused to dance.
Every one of the guests soon remarked that I had on a woman's chemise, and nobody entertained a doubt of the sacrifice having been consummated, with the exception of Nanette and Marton, who could not imagine the possibility of my being unfaithful to them. Juliette perceived that she had been guilty of great imprudence, but it was too late to remedy the evil.
When we returned to my chamber upstairs, thinking that she had repented of her previous behaviour, and feeling some desire to possess her, I thought I would kiss her, and I took hold of her hand, saying I was disposed to give her every satisfaction, but she quickly slapped my face in so violent a manner that, in my indignation, I was very near returning the compliment. I undressed myself rapidly without looking at her, she did the same, and we came downstairs; but, in spite of the cold water I had applied to my cheek, everyone could easily see the stamp of the large hand which had come in contact with my face.
Before leaving the house, Juliette took me apart, and told me, in the most decided and impressive manner, that if I had any fancy for being thrown out of the window, I could enjoy that pleasure whenever I liked to enter her dwelling, and that she would have me murdered if this night's adventure ever became publicly known. I took care not to give her any cause for the execution of either of her threats, but I could not prevent the fact of our having exchanged shirts being rather notorious. As I was not seen at her house, it was generally supposed that she had been compelled by M. Querini to keep me at a distance. The reader will see how, six years later, this extraordinary woman thought proper to feign entire forgetfulness of this adventure.
I passed Lent, partly in the company of my loved ones, partly in the study of experimental physics at the Convent of the Salutation. My evenings were always given to M. de Malipiero's assemblies. At Easter, in order to keep the promise I had made to the Countess of Mont-Real, and longing to see again my beautiful Lucie, I went to Pasean. I found the guests entirely different to the set I had met the previous autumn. Count Daniel, the eldest of the family, had married a Countess Gozzi, and a young and wealthy government official, who had married a god-daughter of the old countess, was there with his wife and his sister-in-law. I thought the supper very long. The same room had been given to me, and I was burning to see Lucie, whom I did not intend to treat any more like a child. I did not see her before going to bed, but I expected her early the next morning, when lo! instead of her pretty face brightening my eyes, I see standing before me a fat, ugly servant-girl! I enquire after the gatekeeper's family, but her answer is given in the peculiar dialect of the place, and is, of course, unintelligible to me.
I wonder what has become of Lucie; I fancy that our intimacy has been found out, I fancy that she is ill--dead, perhaps. I dress myself with the intention of looking for her. If she has been forbidden to see me, I think to myself, I will be even with them all, for somehow or other I will contrive the means of speaking to her, and out of spite I will do with her that which honour prevented love from accomplishing. As I was revolving such thoughts, the gate-keeper comes in with a sorrowful countenance. I enquire after his wife's health, and after his daughter, but at the name of Lucie his eyes are filled with tears.
"What! is she dead?"
"Would to God she were!"
"What has she done?"
"She has run away with Count Daniel's courier, and we have been unable to trace her anywhere."
His wife comes in at the moment he replies, and at these words, which renewed her grief, the poor woman faints away. The keeper, seeing how sincerely I felt for his misery, tells me that this great misfortune befell them only a week before my arrival.
"I know that man l'Aigle," I say; "he is a scoundrel. Did he ask to marry Lucie?"
"No; he knew well enough that our consent would have been refused!"
"I wonder at Lucie acting in such a way."
"He seduced her, and her running away made us suspect the truth, for she had become very stout."
"Had he known her long?"
"About a month after your last visit she saw him for the first time. He must have thrown a spell over her, for our Lucie was as pure as a dove, and you can, I believe, bear testimony to her goodness."
"And no one knows where they are?"
"No one. God alone knows what this villain will do with her."
I grieved as much as the unfortunate parents; I went out and took a long ramble in the woods to give way to my sad feelings. During two hours I cogitated over considerations, some true, some false, which were all prefaced by an if. If I had paid this visit, as I might have done, a week sooner, loving Lucie would have confided in me, and I would have prevented that self-murder. If I had acted with her as with Nanette and Marton, she would not have been left by me in that state of ardent excitement which must have proved the principal cause of her fault, and she would not have fallen a prey to that scoundrel. If she had not known me before meeting the courier, her innocent soul would never have listened to such a man. I was in despair, for in my conscience I acknowledged myself the primary agent of this infamous seduction; I had prepared the way for the villain.
Had I known where to find Lucie, I would certainly have gone forth on the instant to seek for her, but no trace whatever of her whereabouts had been discovered.
Before I had been made acquainted with Lucie's misfortune I felt great pride at having had sufficient power over myself to respect her innocence; but after hearing what had happened I was ashamed of my own reserve, and I promised myself that for the future I would on that score act more wisely. I felt truly miserable when my imagination painted the probability of the unfortunate girl being left to poverty and shame, cursing the remembrance of me, and hating me as the first cause of her misery. This fatal event caused me to adopt a new system, which in after years I carried sometimes rather too far.
I joined the cheerful guests of the countess in the gardens, and received such a welcome that I was soon again in my usual spirits, and at dinner I delighted everyone.
My sorrow was so great that it was necessary either to drive it away at once or to leave Pasean. But a new life crept into my being as I examined the face and the disposition of the newly-married lady. Her sister was prettier, but I was beginning to feel afraid of a novice; I thought the work too great.
This newly-married lady, who was between nineteen and twenty years of age, drew upon herself everybody's attention by her over-strained and unnatural manners. A great talker, with a memory crammed with maxims and precepts often without sense, but of which she loved to make a show, very devout, and so jealous of her husband that she did not conceal her vexation when he expressed his satisfaction at being seated at table opposite her sister, she laid herself open to much ridicule. Her husband was a giddy young fellow, who perhaps felt very deep affection for his wife, but who imagined that, through good breeding, he ought to appear very indifferent, and whose vanity found pleasure in giving her constant causes for jealousy. She, in her turn, had a great dread of passing for an idiot if she did not shew her appreciation of, and her resentment for, his conduct. She felt uneasy in the midst of good company, precisely because she wished to appear thoroughly at home. If I prattled away with some of my trilling nonsense, she would stare at me, and in her anxiety not to be thought stupid, she would laugh out of season. Her oddity, her awkwardness, and her self-conceit gave me the desire to know her better, and I began to dance attendance upon her.
My attentions, important and unimportant, my constant care, ever my fopperies, let everybody know that I meditated conquest. The husband was duly warned, but, with a great show of intrepidity, he answered with a joke every time he was told that I was a formidable rival. On my side I assumed a modest, and even sometimes a careless appearance, when, to shew his freedom from jealousy, he excited me to make love to his wife, who, on her part, understood but little how to perform the part of fancy free.
I had been paying my address to her for five or six days with great constancy, when, taking a walk with her in the garden, she imprudently confided to me the reason of her anxiety respecting her husband, and how wrong he was to give her any cause for jealousy. I told her, speaking as an old friend, that the best way to punish him would be to take no apparent notice of her husband's preference for her sister, and to feign to be herself in love with me. In order to entice her more easily to follow my advice, I added that I was well aware of my plan being a very difficult one to carry out, and that to play successfully such a character a woman must be particularly witty. I had touched her weak point, and she exclaimed that she would play the part to perfection; but in spite of her self-confidence she acquitted herself so badly that everybody understood that the plan was of my own scheming.
If I happened to be alone with her in the dark paths of the garden, and tried to make her play her part in real earnest, she would take the dangerous step of running away, and rejoining the other guests; the result being that, on my reappearance, I was called a bad sportsman who frightened the bird away. I would not fail at the first opportunity to reproach her for her flight, and to represent the triumph she had thus prepared for her spouse. I praised her mind, but lamented over the shortcomings of her education; I said that the tone, the manners I adopted towards her, were those of good society, and proved the great esteem I entertained for her intelligence, but in the middle of all my fine speeches, towards the eleventh or twelfth day of my courtship, she suddenly put me out of all conceit by telling me that, being a priest, I ought to know that every amorous connection was a deadly sin, that God could see every action of His creatures, and that she would neither damn her soul nor place herself under the necessity of saying to her confessor that she had so far forgotten herself as to commit such a sin with a priest. I objected that I was not yet a priest, but she foiled me by enquiring point-blank whether or not the act I had in view was to be numbered amongst the cardinal sins, for, not feeling the courage to deny it, I felt that I must give up the argument and put an end to the adventure.
A little consideration having considerably calmed my feelings, everybody remarked my new countenance during dinner; and the old count, who was very fond of a joke, expressed loudly his opinion that such quiet demeanour on my part announced the complete success of my campaign. Considering such a remark to be favourable to me, I took care to shew my cruel devotee that such was the way the world would judge, but all this was lost labour. Luck, however, stood me in good stead, and my efforts were crowned with success in the following manner.
On Ascension Day, we all went to pay a visit to Madame Bergali, a celebrated Italian poetess. On my return to Pasean the same evening, my pretty mistress wished to get into a carriage for four persons in which her husband and sister were already seated, while I was alone in a two-wheeled chaise. I exclaimed at this, saying that such a mark of distrust was indeed too pointed, and everybody remonstrated with her, saying that she ought not to insult me so cruelly. She was compelled to come with me, and having told the postillion that I wanted to go by the nearest road, he left the other carriages, and took the way through the forest of Cequini. The sky was clear and cloudless when we left, but in less than half-an-hour we were visited by one of those storms so frequent in the south, which appear likely to overthrow heaven and earth, and which end rapidly, leaving behind them a bright sky and a cool atmosphere, so that they do more good than harm.
"Oh, heavens!" exclaimed my companion, "we shall have a storm."
"Yes," I say, "and although the chaise is covered, the rain will spoil your pretty dress. I am very sorry."
"I do not mind the dress; but the thunder frightens me so!"
"Close your ears."
"And the lightning?"
"Postillion, let us go somewhere for shelter."
"There is not a house, sir, for a league, and before we come to it, the storm will have passed off."
He quietly keeps on his way, and the lightning flashes, the thunder sends forth its mighty voice, and the lady shudders with fright. The rain comes down in torrents, I take off my cloak to shelter us in front, at the same moment we are blinded by a flash of lightning, and the electric fluid strikes the earth within one hundred yards of us. The horses plunge and prance with fear, and my companion falls in spasmodic convulsions. She throws herself upon me, and folds me in her arms. The cloak had gone down, I stoop to place it around us, and improving my opportunity I take up her clothes. She tries to pull them down, but another clap of thunder deprives her of every particle of strength. Covering her with the cloak, I draw her towards me, and the motion of the chaise coming to my assistance, she falls over me in the most favourable position. I lose no time, and under pretence of arranging my watch in my fob, I prepare myself for the assault. On her side, conscious that, unless she stops me at once, all is lost, she makes a great effort; but I hold her tightly, saying that if she does not feign a fainting fit, the post-boy will turn round and see everything; I let her enjoy the pleasure of calling me an infidel, a monster, anything she likes, but my victory is the most complete that ever a champion achieved.
The rain, however, was falling, the wind, which was very high, blew in our faces, and, compelled to stay where she was, she said I would ruin her reputation, as the postillion could see everything.
"I keep my eye upon him," I answered, "he is not thinking of us, and even if he should turn his head, the cloak shelters us from him. Be quiet, and pretend to have fainted, for I will not let you go."
She seems resigned, and asks how I can thus set the storm at defiance.
"The storm, dear one, is my best friend to-day."
She almost seems to believe me, her fear vanishes, and feeling my rapture, she enquires whether I have done. I smile and answer in the negative, stating that I cannot let her go till the storm is over. "Consent to everything, or I let the cloak drop," I say to her.
"Well, you dreadful man, are you satisfied, now that you have insured my misery for the remainder of my life?"
"No, not yet."
"What more do you want?"
"A shower of kisses."
"How unhappy I am! Well! here they are."
"Tell me you forgive me, and confess that you have shared all my pleasure."
"You know I did. Yes, I forgive you."
Then I give her her liberty, and treating her to some very pleasant caresses, I ask her to have the same kindness for me, and she goes to work with a smile on her pretty lips.
"Tell me you love me," I say to her.
"No, I do not, for you are an atheist, and hell awaits you."
The weather was fine again, and the elements calm; I kissed her hands and told her that the postillion had certainly not seen anything, and that I was sure I had cured her of her dread of thunder, but that she was not likely to reveal the secret of my remedy. She answered that one thing at least was certain, namely that no other woman had ever been cured by the same prescription.
"Why," I said, "the same remedy has very likely been applied a million of times within the last thousand years. To tell you the truth, I had somewhat depended upon it, when we entered the chaise together, for I did not know any other way of obtaining the happiness of possessing you. But console yourself with the belief that, placed in the same position, no frightened woman could have resisted."
"I believe you; but for the future I will travel only with my husband."
"You would be wrong, for your husband would not have been clever enough to cure your fright in the way I have done."
"True, again. One learns some curious things in your company; but we shall not travel tete-a-tete again."
We reached Pasean an hour before our friends. We get out of the chaise, and my fair mistress ran off to her chamber, while I was looking for a crown for the postillion. I saw that he was grinning.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Oh! you know."
"Here, take this ducat and keep a quiet tongue in your head."
CHAPTER VI
My Grandmother's Death and Its Consequences--I Lose M. de
Malipiero's Friendship--I Have No Longer a Home--
La Tintoretta--I Am Sent to a Clerical Seminary--I Am Expelled
From It, and Confined in a Fortress
During supper the conversation turned altogether upon the storm, and the official, who knew the weakness of his wife, told me that he was quite certain I would never travel with her again. "Nor I with him," his wife remarked, "for, in his fearful impiety, he exorcised the lightning with jokes."
Henceforth she avoided me so skilfully that I never could contrive another interview with her.
When I returned to Venice I found my grandmother ill, and I had to change all my habits, for I loved her too dearly not to surround her with every care and attention; I never left her until she had breathed her last. She was unable to leave me anything, for during her life she had given me all she could, and her death compelled me to adopt an entirely different mode of life.
A month after her death, I received a letter from my mother informing me that, as there was no probability of her return to Venice, she had determined to give up the house, the rent of which she was still paying, that she had communicated her intention to the Abbe Grimani, and that I was to be guided entirely by his advice.
He was instructed to sell the furniture, and to place me, as well as my brothers and my sister, in a good boarding-house. I called upon Grimani to assure him of my perfect disposition to obey his commands.
The rent of the house had been paid until the end of the year; but, as I was aware that the furniture would be sold on the expiration of the term, I placed my wants under no restraint. I had already sold some linen, most of the china, and several tapestries; I now began to dispose of the mirrors, beds, etc. I had no doubt that my conduct would be severely blamed, but I knew likewise that it was my father's inheritance, to which my mother had no claim whatever, and, as to my brothers, there was plenty of time before any explanation could take place between us.
Four months afterwards I had a second letter from my mother, dated from Warsaw, and enclosing another. Here is the translation of my mother's letter:
"My dear son, I have made here the acquaintance of a learned Minim friar, a Calabrian by birth, whose great qualities have made me think of you every time he has honoured me with a visit. A year ago I told him that I had a son who was preparing himself for the Church, but that I had not the means of keeping him during his studies, and he promised that my son would become his own child, if I could obtain for him from the queen a bishopric in his native country, and he added that it would be very easy to succeed if I could induce the sovereign to recommend him to her daughter, the queen of Naples.
"Full of trust in the Almighty, I threw myself at the feet of her majesty, who granted me her gracious protection. She wrote to her daughter, and the worthy friar has been appointed by the Pope to the bishopric of Monterano. Faithful to his promise, the good bishop will take you with him about the middle of next year, as he passes through Venice to reach Calabria. He informs you himself of his intentions in the enclosed letter. Answer him immediately, my dear son, and forward your letter to me; I will deliver it to the bishop. He will pave your way to the highest dignities of the Church, and you may imagine my consolation if, in some twenty or thirty years, I had the happiness of seeing you a bishop, at least! Until his arrival, M. Grimani will take care of you. I give you my blessing, and I am, my dear child, etc., etc."
The bishop's letter was written in Latin, and was only a repetition of my mother's. It was full of unction, and informed me that he would tarry but three days in Venice.
I answered according to my mother's wishes, but those two letters had turned my brain. I looked upon my fortune as made. I longed to enter the road which was to lead me to it, and I congratulated myself that I could leave my country without any regret. Farewell, Venice, I exclaimed; the days for vanity are gone by, and in the future I will only think of a great, of a substantial career! M. Grimani congratulated me warmly on my good luck, and promised all his friendly care to secure a good boarding-house, to which I would go at the beginning of the year, and where I would wait for the bishop's arrival.
M. de Malipiero, who in his own way had great wisdom, and who saw that in Venice I was plunging headlong into pleasures and dissipation, and was only wasting a precious time, was delighted to see me on the eve of going somewhere else to fulfil my destiny, and much pleased with my ready acceptance of those new circumstances in my life. He read me a lesson which I have never forgotten. "The famous precept of the Stoic philosophers," he said to me, "'Sequere Deum', can be perfectly explained by these words: 'Give yourself up to whatever fate offers to you, provided you do not feel an invincible repugnance to accept it.'" He added that it was the genius of Socrates, 'saepe revocans, raro impellens'; and that it was the origin of the 'fata viam inveniunt' of the same philosophers.
M. de Malipiero's science was embodied in that very lesson, for he had obtained his knowledge by the study of only one book--the book of man. However, as if it were to give me the proof that perfection does not exist, and that there is a bad side as well as a good one to everything, a certain adventure happened to me a month afterwards which, although I was following his own maxims, cost me the loss of his friendship, and which certainly did not teach me anything.
The senator fancied that he could trace upon the physiognomy of young people certain signs which marked them out as the special favourites of fortune. When he imagined that he had discovered those signs upon any individual, he would take him in hand and instruct him how to assist fortune by good and wise principles; and he used to say, with a great deal of truth, that a good remedy would turn into poison in the hands of a fool, but that poison is a good remedy when administered by a learned man. He had, in my time, three favourites in whose education he took great pains. They were, besides myself, Therese Imer, with whom the reader has a slight acquaintance already, and the third was the daughter of the boatman Gardela, a girl three years younger than I, who had the prettiest and most fascinating countenance. The speculative old man, in order to assist fortune in her particular case, made her learn dancing, for, he would say, the ball cannot reach the pocket unless someone pushes it. This girl made a great reputation at Stuttgard under the name of Augusta. She was the favourite mistress of the Duke of Wurtemburg in 1757. She was a most charming woman. The last time I saw her she was in Venice, and she died two years afterwards. Her husband, Michel de l'Agata, poisoned himself a short time after her death.
One day we had all three dined with him, and after dinner the senator left us, as was his wont, to enjoy his siesta; the little Gardela, having a dancing lesson to take, went away soon after him, and I found myself alone with Therese, whom I rather admired, although I had never made love to her. We were sitting down at a table very near each other, with our backs to the door of the room in which we thought our patron fast asleep, and somehow or other we took a fancy to examine into the difference of conformation between a girl and a boy; but at the most interesting part of our study a violent blow on my shoulders from a stick, followed by another, and which would have been itself followed by many more if I had not ran away, compelled us to abandon our interesting investigation unfinished. I got off without hat or cloak, and went home; but in less than a quarter of an hour the old housekeeper of the senator brought my clothes with a letter which contained a command never to present myself again at the mansion of his excellency. I immediately wrote him an answer in the following terms: "You have struck me while you were the slave of your anger; you cannot therefore boast of having given me a lesson, and I have not learned anything. To forgive you I must forget that you are a man of great wisdom, and I can never forget it."
This nobleman was perhaps quite right not to be pleased with the sight we gave him; yet, with all his prudence, he proved himself very unwise, for all the servants were acquainted with the cause of my exile, and, of course, the adventure was soon known through the city, and was received with great merriment. He dared not address any reproaches to Therese, as I heard from her soon after, but she could not venture to entreat him to pardon me.
The time to leave my father's house was drawing near, and one fine morning I received the visit of a man about forty years old, with a black wig, a scarlet cloak, and a very swarthy complexion, who handed me a letter from M. Grimani, ordering me to consign to the bearer all the furniture of the house according to the inventory, a copy of which was in my possession. Taking the inventory in my hand, I pointed out every article marked down, except when the said article, having through my instrumentality taken an airing out of the house, happened to be missing, and whenever any article was absent I said that I had not the slightest idea where it might be. But the uncouth fellow, taking a very high tone, said loudly that he must know what I had done with the furniture. His manner being very disagreeable to me, I answered that I had nothing to do with him, and as he still raised his voice I advised him to take himself off as quickly as possible, and I gave him that piece of advice in such a way as to prove to him that, at home, I knew I was the more powerful of the two.
Feeling it my duty to give information to M. Grimani of what had just taken place, I called upon him as soon as he was up, but I found that my man was already there, and that he had given his own account of the affair. The abbe, after a very severe lecture to which I had to listen in silence, ordered me to render an account of all the missing articles. I answered that I had found myself under the necessity of selling them to avoid running into debt. This confession threw him in a violent passion; he called me a rascal, said that those things did not belong to me, that he knew what he had to do, and he commanded me to leave his house on the very instant.
Mad with rage, I ran for a Jew, to whom I wanted to sell what remained of the furniture, but when I returned to my house I found a bailiff waiting at the door, and he handed me a summons. I looked over it and perceived that it was issued at the instance of Antonio Razetta. It was the name of the fellow with the swarthy countenance. The seals were already affixed on all the doors, and I was not even allowed to go to my room, for a keeper had been left there by the bailiff. I lost no time, and called upon M. Rosa, to whom I related all the circumstances. After reading the summons he said,
"The seals shall be removed to-morrow morning, and in the meantime I shall summon Razetta before the avogador. But to-night, my dear friend," he added, "you must beg the hospitality of some one of your acquaintances. It has been a violent proceeding, but you shall be paid handsomely for it; the man is evidently acting under M. Grimani's orders."
"Well, that is their business."
I spent the night with Nanette and Marton, and on the following morning, the seals having been taken off, I took possession of my dwelling. Razetta did not appear before the 'avogador', and M. Rosa summoned him in my name before the criminal court, and obtained against him a writ of 'capias' in case he should not obey the second summons. On the third day M. Grimani wrote to me, commanding me to call upon him. I went immediately. As soon as I was in his presence he enquired abruptly what my intentions were.
"I intend to shield myself from your violent proceedings under the protection of the law, and to defend myself against a man with whom I ought never to have had any connection, and who has compelled me to pass the night in a disreputable place."
"In a disreputable place?"
"Of course. Why was I, against all right and justice, prevented from entering my own dwelling?"
"You have possession of it now. But you must go to your lawyer and tell him to suspend all proceedings against Razetta, who has done nothing but under my instructions. I suspected that your intention was to sell the rest of the furniture; I have prevented it. There is a room at your disposal at St. Chrysostom's, in a house of mine, the first floor of which is occupied by La Tintoretta, our first opera dancer. Send all your things there, and come and dine with me every day. Your sister and your brothers have been provided with a comfortable home; therefore, everything is now arranged for the best."
I called at once upon M. Rosa, to whom I explained all that had taken place, and his advice being to give way to M. Grimani's wishes, I determined to follow it. Besides, the arrangement offered the best satisfaction I could obtain, as to be a guest at his dinner table was an honour for me. I was likewise full of curiosity respecting my new lodging under the same roof with La Tintoretta, who was much talked of, owing to a certain Prince of Waldeck who was extravagantly generous with her.
The bishop was expected in the course of the summer; I had, therefore, only six months more to wait in Venice before taking the road which would lead me, perhaps, to the throne of Saint Peter: everything in the future assumed in my eyes the brightest hue, and my imagination revelled amongst the most radiant beams of sunshine; my castles in the air were indeed most beautiful.
I dined the same day with M. Grimani, and I found myself seated next to Razetta--an unpleasant neighbour, but I took no notice of him. When the meal was over, I paid a last visit to my beautiful house in Saint-Samuel's parish, and sent all I possessed in a gondola to my new lodging.
I did not know Signora Tintoretta, but I was well acquainted with her reputation, character and manners. She was but a poor dancer, neither handsome nor plain, but a woman of wit and intellect. Prince Waldeck spent a great deal for her, and yet he did not prevent her from retaining the titulary protection of a noble Venetian of the Lin family, now extinct, a man about sixty years of age, who was her visitor at every hour of the day. This nobleman, who knew me, came to my room towards the evening, with the compliments of the lady, who, he added, was delighted to have me in her house, and would be pleased to receive me in her intimate circle.
To excuse myself for not having been the first to pay my respects to the signora, I told M. Lin that I did not know she was my neighbour, that M. Grimani had not mentioned the circumstance, otherwise I would have paid my duties to her before taking possession of my lodging. After this apology I followed the ambassador, he presented me to his mistress, and the acquaintance was made.
She received me like a princess, took off her glove before giving me her hand to kiss, mentioned my name before five or six strangers who were present, and whose names she gave me, and invited me to take a seat near her. As she was a native of Venice, I thought it was absurd for her to speak French to me, and I told her that I was not acquainted with that language, and would feel grateful if she would converse in Italian. She was surprised at my not speaking French, and said I would cut but a poor figure in her drawing-room, as they seldom spoke any other language there, because she received a great many foreigners. I promised to learn French. Prince Waldeck came in during the evening; I was introduced to him, and he gave me a very friendly welcome. He could speak Italian very well, and during the carnival he shewed me great kindness. He presented me with a gold snuffbox as a reward for a very poor sonnet which I had written for his dear Grizellini. This was her family name; she was called Tintoretta because her father had been a dyer.
The Tintoretta had greater claims than Juliette to the admiration of sensible men. She loved poetry, and if it had not been that I was expecting the bishop, I would have fallen in love with her. She was herself smitten with a young physician of great merit, named Righelini, who died in the prime of life, and whom I still regret. I shall have to mention him in another part of my Memoirs.
Towards the end of the carnival, my mother wrote to M. Grimani that it would be a great shame if the bishop found me under the roof of an opera dancer, and he made up his mind to lodge me in a respectable and decent place. He took the Abbe Tosello into consultation, and the two gentlemen thought that the best thing they could do for me would be to send me to a clerical seminary. They arranged everything unknown to me, and the abbe undertook to inform me of their plan and to obtain from me a gracious consent. But when I heard him speak with beautiful flowers of rhetoric for the purpose of gilding the bitter pill, I could not help bursting into a joyous laughter, and I astounded his reverence when I expressed my readiness to go anywhere he might think right to send me.
The plan of the two worthy gentlemen was absurd, for at the age of seventeen, and with a nature like mine, the idea of placing me in a seminary ought never to have been entertained, but ever a faithful disciple of Socrates, feeling no unconquerable reluctance, and the plan, on the contrary, appearing to me rather a good joke, I not only gave a ready consent, but I even longed to enter the seminary. I told M. Grimani I was prepared to accept anything, provided Razetta had nothing to do with it. He gave me his promise, but he did not keep it when I left the seminary. I have never been able to decide whether this Grimani was kind because he was a fool, or whether his stupidity was the result of his kindness, but all his brothers were the same. The worst trick that Dame Fortune can play upon an intelligent young man is to place him under the dependence of a fool. A few days afterwards, having been dressed as a pupil of a clerical seminary by the care of the abbe, I was taken to Saint-Cyprian de Muran and introduced to the rector.
The patriarchal church of Saint-Cyprian is served by an order of the monks, founded by the blessed Jerome Miani, a nobleman of Venice. The rector received me with tender affection and great kindness. But in his address (which was full of unction) I thought I could perceive a suspicion on his part that my being sent to the seminary was a punishment, or at least a way to put a stop to an irregular life, and, feeling hurt in my dignity, I told him at once, "Reverend father, I do not think that any one has the right of punishing me."
"No, no, my son," he answered, "I only meant that you would be very happy with us."
We were then shewn three halls, in which we found at least one hundred and fifty seminarists, ten or twelve schoolrooms, the refectory, the dormitory, the gardens for play hours, and every pain was taken to make me imagine life in such a place the happiest that could fall to the lot of a young man, and to make me suppose that I would even regret the arrival of the bishop. Yet they all tried to cheer me up by saying that I would only remain there five or six months. Their eloquence amused me greatly.
I entered the seminary at the beginning of March, and prepared myself for my new life by passing the night between my two young friends, Nanette and Marton, who bathed their pillows with tears; they could not understand, and this was likewise the feeling of their aunt and of the good M. Rosa, how a young man like myself could shew such obedience.
The day before going to the seminary, I had taken care to entrust all my papers to Madame Manzoni. They made a large parcel, and I left it in her hands for fifteen years. The worthy old lady is still alive, and with her ninety years she enjoys good health and a cheerful temper. She received me with a smile, and told me that I would not remain one month in the seminary.
"I beg your pardon, madam, but I am very glad to go there, and intend to remain until the arrival of the bishop."
"You do not know your own nature, and you do not know your bishop, with whom you will not remain very long either."
The abbe accompanied me to the seminary in a gondola, but at Saint-Michel he had to stop in consequence of a violent attack of vomiting which seized me suddenly; the apothecary cured me with some mint-water.
I was indebted for this attack to the too frequent sacrifices which I had been offering on the altar of love. Any lover who knows what his feelings were when he found himself with the woman he adored and with the fear that it was for the last time, will easily imagine my feelings during the last hours that I expected ever to spend with my two charming mistresses. I could not be induced to let the last offering be the last, and I went on offering until there was no more incense left.
The priest committed me to the care of the rector, and my luggage was carried to the dormitory, where I went myself to deposit my cloak and my hat. I was not placed amongst the adults, because, notwithstanding my size, I was not old enough. Besides, I would not shave myself, through vanity, because I thought that the down on my face left no doubt of my youth. It was ridiculous, of course; but when does man cease to be so? We get rid of our vices more easily than of our follies. Tyranny has not had sufficient power over me to compel me to shave myself; it is only in that respect that I have found tyranny to be tolerant.
"To which school do you wish to belong?" asked the rector.
"To the dogmatic, reverend father; I wish to study the history of the Church."
"I will introduce you to the father examiner."
"I am doctor in divinity, most reverend father, and do not want to be examined."
"It is necessary, my dear son; come with me."
This necessity appeared to me an insult, and I felt very angry; but a spirit of revenge quickly whispered to me the best way to mystify them, and the idea made me very joyful. I answered so badly all the questions propounded in Latin by the examiner, I made so many solecisms, that he felt it his duty to send me to an inferior class of grammar, in which, to my great delight, I found myself the companion of some twenty young urchins of about ten years, who, hearing that I was doctor in divinity, kept on saying: 'Accipiamus pecuniam, et mittamus asinum in patriam suam'.
Our play hours afforded me great amusement; my companions of the dormitory, who were all in the class of philosophy at least, looked down upon me with great contempt, and when they spoke of their own sublime discourses, they laughed if I appeared to be listening attentively to their discussions which, as they thought, must have been perfect enigmas to me. I did not intend to betray myself, but an accident, which I could not avoid, forced me to throw off the mask.
Father Barbarigo, belonging to the Convent of the Salutation at Venice, whose pupil I had been in physics, came to pay a visit to the rector, and seeing me as we were coming from mass paid me his friendly compliments. His first question was to enquire what science I was studying, and he thought I was joking when I answered that I was learning the grammar. The rector having joined us, I left them together, and went to my class. An hour later, the rector sent for me.
"Why did you feign such ignorance at the examination?" he asked.
"Why," I answered, "were you unjust enough to compel me to the degradation of an examination?"
He looked annoyed, and escorted me to the dogmatic school, where my comrades of the dormitory received me with great astonishment, and in the afternoon, at play time, they gathered around me and made me very happy with their professions of friendship.
One of them, about fifteen years old, and who at the present time must, if still alive, be a bishop, attracted my notice by his features as much as by his talents. He inspired me with a very warm friendship, and during recess, instead of playing skittles with the others, we always walked together. We conversed upon poetry, and we both delighted in the beautiful odes of Horace. We liked Ariosto better than Tasso, and Petrarch had our whole admiration, while Tassoni and Muratori, who had been his critics, were the special objects of our contempt. We were such fast friends, after four days of acquaintance, that we were actually jealous of each other, and to such an extent that if either of us walked about with any seminarist, the other would be angry and sulk like a disappointed lover.
The dormitory was placed under the supervision of a lay friar, and it was his province to keep us in good order. After supper, accompanied by this lay friar, who had the title of prefect, we all proceeded to the dormitory. There, everyone had to go to his own bed, and to undress quietly after having said his prayers in a low voice. When all the pupils were in bed, the prefect would go to his own. A large lantern lighted up the dormitory, which had the shape of a parallelogram eighty yards by ten. The beds were placed at equal distances, and to each bed there were a fold-stool, a chair, and room for the trunk of the Seminarist. At one end was the washing place, and at the other the bed of the prefect. The bed of my friend was opposite mine, and the lantern was between us.
The principal duty of the prefect was to take care that no pupil should go and sleep with one of his comrades, for such a visit was never supposed an innocent one. It was a cardinal sin, and, bed being accounted the place for sleep and not for conversation, it was admitted that a pupil who slept out of his own bed, did so only for immoral purposes. So long as he stopped in his own bed, he could do what he liked; so much the worse for him if he gave himself up to bad practices. It has been remarked in Germany that it is precisely in those institutions for young men in which the directors have taken most pains to prevent onanism that this vice is most prevalent.
Those who had framed the regulations in our seminary were stupid fools, who had not the slightest knowledge of either morals or human nature. Nature has wants which must be administered to, and Tissot is right only as far as the abuse of nature is concerned, but this abuse would very seldom occur if the directors exercised proper wisdom and prudence, and if they did not make a point of forbidding it in a special and peculiar manner; young people give way to dangerous excesses from a sheer delight in disobedience,--a disposition very natural to humankind, since it began with Adam and Eve.
I had been in the seminary for nine or ten days, when one night I felt someone stealing very quietly in my bed; my hand was at once clutched, and my name whispered. I could hardly restrain my laughter. It was my friend, who, having chanced to wake up and finding that the lantern was out, had taken a sudden fancy to pay me a visit. I very soon begged him to go away for fear the prefect should be awake, for in such a case we should have found ourselves in a very unpleasant dilemma, and most likely would have been accused of some abominable offence. As I was giving him that good advice we heard someone moving, and my friend made his escape; but immediately after he had left me I heard the fall of some person, and at the same time the hoarse voice of the prefect exclaiming:
"Ah, villain! wait until to-morrow--until to-morrow!"
After which threat he lighted the lantern and retired to his couch.
The next morning, before the ringing of the bell for rising, the rector, followed by the prefect, entered the dormitory, and said to us:
"Listen to me, all of you. You are aware of what has taken place this last night. Two amongst you must be guilty; but I wish to forgive them, and to save their honour I promise that their names shall not be made public. I expect every one of you to come to me for confession before recess."
He left the dormitory, and we dressed ourselves. In the afternoon, in obedience to his orders, we all went to him and confessed, after which ceremony we repaired to the garden, where my friend told me that, having unfortunately met the prefect after he left me, he had thought that the best way was to knock him down, in order to get time to reach his own bed without being known.
"And now," I said, "you are certain of being forgiven, for, of course, you have wisely confessed your error?"
"You are joking," answered my friend; "why, the good rector would not have known any more than he knows at present, even if my visit to you had been paid with a criminal intent."
"Then you must have made a false confession: you are at all events guilty of disobedience?"
"That may be, but the rector is responsible for the guilt, as he used compulsion."
"My dear friend, you argue in a very forcible way, and the very reverend rector must by this time be satisfied that the inmates of our dormitory are more learned than he is himself."
No more would have been said about the adventure if, a few nights after, I had not in my turn taken a fancy to return the visit paid by my friend. Towards midnight, having had occasion to get out of bed, and hearing the loud snoring of the prefect, I quickly put out the lantern and went to lie beside my friend. He knew me at once, and gladly received me; but we both listened attentively to the snoring of our keeper, and when it ceased, understanding our danger, I got up and reached my own bed without losing a second, but the moment I got to it I had a double surprise. In the first place I felt somebody lying in my bed, and in the second I saw the prefect, with a candle in his hand, coming along slowly and taking a survey of all the beds right and left. I could understand the prefect suddenly lighting a candle, but how could I realize what I saw--namely, one of my comrades sleeping soundly in my bed, with his back turned to me? I immediately made up my mind to feign sleep. After two or three shakings given by the prefect, I pretended to wake up, and my bed-companion woke up in earnest. Astonished at finding himself in my bed, he offered me an apology:
"I have made a mistake," he said, "as I returned from a certain place in the dark, I found your bed empty, and mistook it for mine."
"Very likely," I answered; "I had to get up, too."
"Yes," remarked the prefect; "but how does it happen that you went to bed without making any remark when, on your return, you found your bed already tenanted? And how is it that, being in the dark, you did not suppose that you were mistaken yourself?"
"I could not be mistaken, for I felt the pedestal of this crucifix of mine, and I knew I was right; as to my companion here, I did not feel him."
"It is all very unlikely," answered our Argus; and he went to the lantern, the wick of which he found crushed down.
"The wick has been forced into the oil, gentlemen; it has not gone out of itself; it has been the handiwork of one of you, but it will be seen to in the morning."
My stupid companion went to his own bed, the prefect lighted the lamp and retired to his rest, and after this scene, which had broken the repose of every pupil, I quietly slept until the appearance of the rector, who, at the dawn of day, came in great fury, escorted by his satellite, the prefect.
The rector, after examining the localities and submitting to a lengthy interrogatory first my accomplice, who very naturally was considered as the most guilty, and then myself, whom nothing could convict of the offence, ordered us to get up and go to church to attend mass. As soon as we were dressed, he came back, and addressing us both, he said, kindly:
"You stand both convicted of a scandalous connivance, and it is proved by the fact of the lantern having been wilfully extinguished. I am disposed to believe that the cause of all this disorder is, if not entirely innocent, at least due only to extreme thoughtlessness; but the scandal given to all your comrades, the outrage offered to the discipline and to the established rules of the seminary, call loudly for punishment. Leave the room."
We obeyed; but hardly were we between the double doors of the dormitory than we were seized by four servants, who tied our hands behind us, and led us to the class room, where they compelled us to kneel down before the great crucifix. The rector told them to execute his orders, and, as we were in that position, the wretches administered to each of us seven or eight blows with a stick, or with a rope, which I received, as well as my companion, without a murmur. But the moment my hands were free, I asked the rector whether I could write two lines at the very foot of the cross. He gave orders to bring ink and paper, and I traced the following words:
"I solemnly swear by this God that I have never spoken to the seminarist who was found in my bed. As an innocent person I must protest against this shameful violence. I shall appeal to the justice of his lordship the patriarch."
My comrade in misery signed this protest with me; after which, addressing myself to all the pupils, I read it aloud, calling upon them to speak the truth if any one could say the contrary of what I had written. They, with one voice, immediately declared that we had never been seen conversing together, and that no one knew who had put the lamp out. The rector left the room in the midst of hisses and curses, but he sent us to prison all the same at the top of the house and in separate cells. An hour afterwards, I had my bed, my trunk and all my things, and my meals were brought to me every day. On the fourth day, the Abbe Tosello came for me with instructions to bring me to Venice. I asked him whether he had sifted this unpleasant affair; he told me that he had enquired into it, that he had seen the other seminarist, and that he believed we were both innocent; but the rector would not confess himself in the wrong, and he did not see what could be done.
I threw off my seminarist's habit, and dressed myself in the clothes I used to wear in Venice, and, while my luggage was carried to a boat, I accompanied the abbe to M. Grimani's gondola in which he had come, and we took our departure. On our way, the abbe ordered the boatman to leave my things at the Palace Grimani, adding that he was instructed by M. Grimani to tell me that, if I had the audacity to present myself at his mansion, his servants had received orders to turn me away.
He landed me near the convent of the Jesuits, without any money, and with nothing but what I had on my back.
I went to beg a dinner from Madame Manzoni, who laughed heartily at the realization of her prediction. After dinner I called upon M. Rosa to see whether the law could protect me against the tyranny of my enemies, and after he had been made acquainted with the circumstances of the case, he promised to bring me the same evening, at Madame Orio's house, an extra-judicial act. I repaired to the place of appointment to wait for him, and to enjoy the pleasure of my two charming friends at my sudden reappearance. It was indeed very great, and the recital of my adventures did not astonish them less than my unexpected presence. M. Rosa came and made me read the act which he had prepared; he had not had time to have it engrossed by the notary, but he undertook to have it ready the next day.
I left Madame Orio to take supper with my brother Francois, who resided with a painter called Guardi; he was, like me, much oppressed by the tyranny of Grimani, and I promised to deliver him. Towards midnight I returned to the two amiable sisters who were expecting me with their usual loving impatience, but, I am bound to confess it with all humility, my sorrows were prejudicial to love in spite of the fortnight of absence and of abstinence. They were themselves deeply affected to see me so unhappy, and pitied me with all their hearts. I endeavoured to console them, and assured them that all my misery would soon come to an end, and that we would make up for lost time.
In the morning, having no money, and not knowing where to go, I went to St. Mark's Library, where I remained until noon. I left it with the intention of dining with Madame Manzoni, but I was suddenly accosted by a soldier who informed me that someone wanted to speak to me in a gondola to which he pointed. I answered that the person might as well come out, but he quietly remarked that he had a friend at hand to conduct me forcibly to the gondola, if necessary, and without any more hesitation I went towards it. I had a great dislike to noise or to anything like a public exhibition. I might have resisted, for the soldiers were unarmed, and I would not have been taken up, this sort of arrest not being legal in Venice, but I did not think of it. The 'sequere deum' was playing its part; I felt no reluctance. Besides, there are moments in which a courageous man has no courage, or disdains to shew it.
I enter the gondola, the curtain is drawn aside, and I see my evil genius, Razetta, with an officer. The two soldiers sit down at the prow; I recognize M. Grimani's own gondola, it leaves the landing and takes the direction of the Lido. No one spoke to me, and I remained silent. After half-an-hour's sailing, the gondola stopped before the small entrance of the Fortress St. Andre, at the mouth of the Adriatic, on the very spot where the Bucentaur stands, when, on Ascension Day, the doge comes to espouse the sea.
The sentinel calls the corporal; we alight, the officer who accompanied me introduces me to the major, and presents a letter to him. The major, after reading its contents, gives orders to M. Zen, his adjutant, to consign me to the guard-house. In another quarter of an hour my conductors take their departure, and M. Zen brings me three livres and a half, stating that I would receive the same amount every week. It was exactly the pay of a private.
I did not give way to any burst of passion, but I felt the most intense indignation. Late in the evening I expressed a wish to have some food bought, for I could not starve; then, stretching myself upon a hard camp bed, I passed the night amongst the soldiers without closing my eyes, for these Sclavonians were singing, eating garlic, smoking a bad tobacco which was most noxious, and drinking a wine of their own country, as black as ink, which nobody else could swallow.
Early next morning Major Pelodoro (the governor of the fortress) called me up to his room, and told me that, in compelling me to spend the night in the guard-house, he had only obeyed the orders he had received from Venice from the secretary of war. "Now, reverend sir," he added, "my further orders are only to keep you a prisoner in the fort, and I am responsible for your remaining here. I give you the whole of the fortress for your prison. You shall have a good room in which you will find your bed and all your luggage. Walk anywhere you please; but recollect that, if you should escape, you would cause my ruin. I am sorry that my instructions are to give you only ten sous a day, but if you have any friends in Venice able to send you some money, write to them, and trust to me for the security of your letters. Now you may go to bed, if you need rest."
I was taken to my room; it was large and on the first story, with two windows from which I had a very fine view. I found my bed, and I ascertained with great satisfaction that my trunk, of which I had the keys, had not been forced open. The major had kindly supplied my table with all the implements necessary for writing. A Sclavonian soldier informed me very politely that he would attend upon me, and that I would pay him for his services whenever I could, for everyone knew that I had only ten sous a day. I began by ordering some soup, and, when I had dispatched it, I went to bed and slept for nine hours. When I woke, I received an invitation to supper from the major, and I began to imagine that things, after all, would not be so very bad.
I went to the honest governor, whom I found in numerous company. He presented me to his wife and to every person present. I met there several officers, the chaplain of the fortress, a certain Paoli Vida, one of the singers of St. Mark's Church, and his wife, a pretty woman, sister-in-law of the major, whom the husband chose to confine in the fort because he was very jealous (jealous men are not comfortable at Venice), together with several other ladies, not very young, but whom I thought very agreeable, owing to their kind welcome.
Cheerful as I was by nature, those pleasant guests easily managed to put me in the best of humours. Everyone expressed a wish to know the reasons which could have induced M. Grimani to send me to the fortress, so I gave a faithful account of all my adventures since my grandmother's death. I spoke for three hours without any bitterness, and even in a pleasant tone, upon things which, said in a different manner, might have displeased my audience; all expressed their satisfaction, and shewed so much sympathy that, as we parted for the night, I received from all an assurance of friendship and the offer of their services. This is a piece of good fortune which has never failed me whenever I have been the victim of oppression, until I reached the age of fifty. Whenever I met with honest persons expressing a curiosity to know the history of the misfortune under which I was labouring, and whenever I satisfied their curiosity, I have inspired them with friendship, and with that sympathy which was necessary to render them favourable and useful to me.
That success was owing to a very simple artifice; it was only to tell my story in a quiet and truthful manner, without even avoiding the facts which told against me. It is simple secret that many men do not know, because the larger portion of humankind is composed of cowards; a man who always tells the truth must be possessed of great moral courage. Experience has taught me that truth is a talisman, the charm of which never fails in its effect, provided it is not wasted upon unworthy people, and I believe that a guilty man, who candidly speaks the truth to his judge, has a better chance of being acquitted, than the innocent man who hesitates and evades true statements. Of course the speaker must be young, or at least in the prime of manhood; for an old man finds the whole of nature combined against him.
The major had his joke respecting the visit paid and returned to the seminarist's bed, but the chaplain and the ladies scolded him. The major advised me to write out my story and send it to the secretary of war, undertaking that he should receive it, and he assured me that he would become my protector. All the ladies tried to induce me to follow the major's advice.
CHAPTER VII
My Short Stay in Fort St. Andre--My First Repentance in Love
Affairs--I Enjoy the Sweets of Revenge, and Prove a Clever
Alibi--Arrest of Count Bonafede--My Release--Arrival of the
Bishop--Farewell to Venice
The fort, in which the Republic usually kept only a garrison of one hundred half-pay Sclavonians, happened to contain at that time two thousand Albanian soldiers, who were called Cimariotes.
The secretary of war, who was generally known under the title of 'sage a l'ecriture', had summoned these men from the East in consequence of some impending promotion, as he wanted the officers to be on the spot in order to prove their merits before being rewarded. They all came from the part of Epirus called Albania, which belongs to the Republic of Venice, and they had distinguished themselves in the last war against the Turks. It was for me a new and extraordinary sight to examine some eighteen or twenty officers, all of an advanced age, yet strong and healthy, shewing the scars which covered their face and their chest, the last naked and entirely exposed through military pride. The lieutenant-colonel was particularly conspicuous by his wounds, for, without exaggeration, he had lost one-fourth of his head. He had but one eye, but one ear, and no jaw to speak of. Yet he could eat very well, speak without difficulty, and was very cheerful. He had with him all his family, composed of two pretty daughters, who looked all the prettier in their national costume, and of seven sons, every one of them a soldier. This lieutenant-colonel stood six feet high, and his figure was magnificent, but his scars so completely deformed his features that his face was truly horrid to look at. Yet I found so much attraction in him that I liked him the moment I saw him, and I would have been much pleased to converse with him if his breath had not sent forth such a strong smell of garlic. All the Albanians had their pockets full of it, and they enjoyed a piece of garlic with as much relish as we do a sugar-plum. After this none can maintain it to be a poison, though the only medicinal virtue it possesses is to excite the appetite, because it acts like a tonic upon a weak stomach.
The lieutenant-colonel could not read, but he was not ashamed of his ignorance, because not one amongst his men, except the priest and the surgeon, could boast greater learning. Every man, officer or private, had his purse full of gold; half of them, at least, were married, and we had in the fortress a colony of five or six hundred women, with God knows how many children! I felt greatly interested in them all. Happy idleness! I often regret thee because thou hast often offered me new sights, and for the same reason I hate old age which never offers but what I know already, unless I should take up a gazette, but I cared nothing for them in my young days.
Alone in my room I made an inventory of my trunk, and having put aside everything of an ecclesiastical character, I sent for a Jew, and sold the whole parcel unmercifully. Then I wrote to M. Rosa, enclosing all the tickets of the articles I had pledged, requesting him to have them sold without any exception, and to forward me the surplus raised by the sale. Thanks to that double operation, I was enabled to give my Sclavonian servant the ten sous allowed to me every day. Another soldier, who had been a hair-dresser, took care of my hair which I had been compelled to neglect, in consequence of the rules of the seminary. I spent my time in walking about the fort and through the barracks, and my two places of resort were the major's apartment for some intellectual enjoyment, and the rooms of the Albanian lieutenant-colonel for a sprinkling of love. The Albanian feeling certain that his colonel would be appointed brigadier, solicited the command of the regiment, but he had a rival and he feared his success. I wrote him a petition, short, but so well composed that the secretary of war, having enquired the name of the author, gave the Albanian his colonelcy. On his return to the fort, the brave fellow, overjoyed at his success, hugged me in his arms, saying that he owed it all to me; he invited me to a family dinner, in which my very soul was parched by his garlic, and he presented me with twelve botargoes and two pounds of excellent Turkish tobacco.
The result of my petition made all the other officers think that they could not succeed without the assistance of my pen, and I willingly gave it to everybody; this entailed many quarrels upon me, for I served all interests, but, finding myself the lucky possessor of some forty sequins, I was no longer in dread of poverty, and laughed at everything. However, I met with an accident which made me pass six weeks in a very unpleasant condition.
On the 2nd of April, the fatal anniversary of my first appearance in this world, as I was getting up in the morning, I received in my room the visit of a very handsome Greek woman, who told me that her husband, then ensign in the regiment, had every right to claim the rank of lieutenant, and that he would certainly be appointed, if it were not for the opposition of his captain who was against him, because she had refused him certain favours which she could bestow only upon her husband. She handed me some certificates, and begged me to write a petition which she would present herself to the secretary of war, adding that she could only offer me her heart in payment. I answered that her heart ought not to go alone; I acted as I had spoken, and I met with no other resistance than the objection which a pretty woman is always sure to feign for the sake of appearance. After that, I told her to come back at noon, and that the petition would be ready. She was exact to the appointment, and very kindly rewarded me a second time; and in the evening, under pretence of some alterations to be made in the petition, she afforded an excellent opportunity of reaping a third recompense.
But, alas! the path of pleasure is not strewn only with roses! On the third day, I found out, much to my dismay, that a serpent had been hid under the flowers. Six weeks of care and of rigid diet re-established my health.
When I met the handsome Greek again, I was foolish enough to reproach her for the present she had bestowed upon me, but she baffled me by laughing, and saying that she had only offered me what she possessed, and that it was my own fault if I had not been sufficiently careful. The reader cannot imagine how much this first misfortune grieved me, and what deep shame I felt. I looked upon myself as a dishonoured man, and while I am on that subject I may as well relate an incident which will give some idea of my thoughtlessness.
Madame Vida, the major's sister-in-law, being alone with me one morning, confided in me in a moment of unreserved confidence what she had to suffer from the jealous disposition of her husband, and his cruelty in having allowed her to sleep alone for the last four years, when she was in the very flower of her age.
"I trust to God," she added, "that my husband will not find out that you have spent an hour alone with me, for I should never hear the end of it."
Feeling deeply for her grief, and confidence begetting confidence, I was stupid enough to tell her the sad state to which I had been reduced by the cruel Greek woman, assuring her that I felt my misery all the more deeply, because I should have been delighted to console her, and to give her the opportunity of a revenge for her jealous husband's coldness. At this speech, in which my simplicity and good faith could easily be traced, she rose from her chair, and upbraided me with every insult which an outraged honest woman might hurl at the head of a bold libertine who has presumed too far. Astounded, but understanding perfectly well the nature of my crime, I bowed myself out of her room; but as I was leaving it she told me in the same angry tone that my visits would not be welcome for the future, as I was a conceited puppy, unworthy of the society of good and respectable women. I took care to answer that a respectable woman would have been rather more reserved than she had been in her confidences. On reflection I felt pretty sure that, if I had been in good health, or had said nothing about my mishap, she would have been but too happy to receive my consolations.
A few days after that incident I had a much greater cause to regret my acquaintance with the Greek woman. On Ascension Day, as the ceremony of the Bucentaur was celebrated near the fort, M. Rosa brought Madame Orio and her two nieces to witness it, and I had the pleasure of treating them all to a good dinner in my room. I found myself, during the day, alone with my young friends in one of the casements, and they both loaded me with the most loving caresses and kisses. I felt that they expected some substantial proof of my love; but, to conceal the real state, of things, I pretended to be afraid of being surprised, and they had to be satisfied with my shallow excuse.
I had informed my mother by letter of all I had suffered from Grimani's treatment; she answered that she had written to him on the subject, that she had no doubt he would immediately set me at liberty, and that an arrangement had been entered into by which M. Grimani would devote the money raised by Razetta from the sale of the furniture to the settlement of a small patrimony on my youngest brother. But in this matter Grimani did not act honestly, for the patrimony was only settled thirteen years afterwards, and even then only in a fictitious manner. I shall have an opportunity later on of mentioning this unfortunate brother, who died very poor in Rome twenty years ago.
Towards the middle of June the Cimariotes were sent back to the East, and after their departure the garrison of the fort was reduced to its usual number. I began to feel weary in this comparative solitude, and I gave way to terrible fits of passion.
The heat was intense, and so disagreeable to me that I wrote to M. Grimani, asking for two summer suits of clothes, and telling him where they would be found, if Razetta had not sold them. A week afterwards I was in the major's apartment when I saw the wretch Razetta come in, accompanied by a man whom he introduced as Petrillo, the celebrated favourite of the Empress of Russia, just arrived from St. Petersburg. He ought to have said infamous instead of celebrated, and clown instead of favourite.
The major invited them to take a seat, and Razetta, receiving a parcel from Grimani's gondolier, handed it to me, saying,
"I have brought you your rags; take them."
I answered:
"Some day I will bring you a 'rigano'."
At these words the scoundrel dared to raise his cane, but the indignant major compelled him to lower his tone by asking him whether he had any wish to pass the night in the guard-house. Petrillo, who had not yet opened his lips, told me then that he was sorry not to have found me in Venice, as I might have shewn him round certain places which must be well known to me.
"Very likely we should have met your wife in such places," I answered.
"I am a good judge of faces," he said, "and I can see that you are a true gallows-bird."
I was trembling with rage, and the major, who shared my utter disgust, told them that he had business to transact, and they took their leave. The major assured me that on the following day he would go to the war office to complain of Razetta, and that he would have him punished for his insolence.
I remained alone, a prey to feelings of the deepest indignation, and to a most ardent thirst for revenge.
The fortress was entirely surrounded by water, and my windows were not overlooked by any of the sentinels. A boat coming under my windows could therefore easily take me to Venice during the night and bring me back to the fortress before day-break. All that was necessary was to find a boatman who, for a certain amount, would risk the galleys in case of discovery. Amongst several who brought provisions to the fort, I chose a boatman whose countenance pleased me, and I offered him one sequin; he promised to let me know his decision on the following day. He was true to his time, and declared himself ready to take me. He informed me that, before deciding to serve me, he had wished to know whether I was kept in the fort for any great crime, but as the wife of the major had told him that my imprisonment had been caused by very trifling frolics, I could rely upon him. We arranged that he should be under my window at the beginning of the night, and that his boat should be provided with a mast long enough to enable me to slide along it from the window to the boat.
The appointed hour came, and everything being ready I got safely into the boat, landed at the Sclavonian quay, ordered the boatman to wait for me, and wrapped up in a mariner's cloak I took my way straight to the gate of Saint-Sauveur, and engaged the waiter of a coffee-room to take me to Razetta's house.
Being quite certain that he would not be at home at that time, I rang the bell, and I heard my sister's voice telling me that if I wanted to see him I must call in the morning. Satisfied with this, I went to the foot of the bridge and sat down, waiting there to see which way he would come, and a few minutes before midnight I saw him advancing from the square of Saint-Paul. It was all I wanted to know; I went back to my boat and returned to the fort without any difficulty. At five o'clock in the morning everyone in the garrison could see me enjoying my walk on the platform.
Taking all the time necessary to mature my plans, I made the following arrangements to secure my revenge with perfect safety, and to prove an alibi in case I should kill my rascally enemy, as it was my intention to do. The day preceding the night fixed for my expedition, I walked about with the son of the Adjutant Zen, who was only twelve years old, but who amused me much by his shrewdness. The reader will meet him again in the year 1771. As I was walking with him, I jumped down from one of the bastions, and feigned to sprain my ankle. Two soldiers carried me to my room, and the surgeon of the fort, thinking that I was suffering from a luxation, ordered me to keep to bed, and wrapped up the ankle in towels saturated with camphorated spirits of wine. Everybody came to see me, and I requested the soldier who served me to remain and to sleep in my room. I knew that a glass of brandy was enough to stupefy the man, and to make him sleep soundly. As soon as I saw him fast asleep, I begged the surgeon and the chaplain, who had his room over mine, to leave me, and at half-past ten I lowered myself in the boat.
As soon as I reached Venice, I bought a stout cudgel, and I sat myself down on a door-step, at the corner of the street near Saint-Paul's Square. A narrow canal at the end of the street, was, I thought, the very place to throw my enemy in. That canal has now disappeared.
At a quarter before twelve I see Razetta, walking along leisurely. I come out of the street with rapid strides, keeping near the wall to compel him to make room for me, and I strike a first blow on the head, and a second on his arm; the third blow sends him tumbling in the canal, howling and screaming my name. At the same instant a Forlan, or citizen of Forli, comes out of a house on my left side with a lantern in his hand. A blow from my cudgel knocks the lantern out of his grasp, and the man, frightened out of his wits, takes to his heels. I throw away my stick, I run at full speed through the square and over the bridge, and while people are hastening towards the spot where the disturbance had taken place, I jump into the boat, and, thanks to a strong breeze swelling our sail, I get back to the fortress. Twelve o'clock was striking as I re-entered my room through the window. I quickly undress myself, and the moment I am in my bed I wake up the soldier by my loud screams, telling him to go for the surgeon, as I am dying of the colic.
The chaplain, roused by my screaming, comes down and finds me in convulsions. In the hope that some diascordium would relieve me, the good old man runs to his room and brings it, but while he has gone for some water I hide the medicine. After half an hour of wry faces, I say that I feel much better, and thanking all my friends, I beg them to retire, which everyone does, wishing me a quiet sleep.
The next morning I could not get up in consequence of my sprained ankle, although I had slept very well; the major was kind enough to call upon me before going to Venice, and he said that very likely my colic had been caused by the melon I had eaten for my dinner the day before.
The major returned at one o'clock in the afternoon. "I have good news to give you," he said to me, with a joyful laugh. "Razetta was soundly cudgelled last night and thrown into a canal."
"Has he been killed?"
"No; but I am glad of it for your sake, for his death would make your position much more serious. You are accused of having done it."
"I am very glad people think me guilty; it is something of a revenge, but it will be rather difficult to bring it home to me."
"Very difficult! All the same, Razetta swears he recognized you, and the same declaration is made by the Forlan who says that you struck his hand to make him drop his lantern. Razetta's nose is broken, three of his teeth are gone, and his right arm is severely hurt. You have been accused before the avogador, and M. Grimani has written to the war office to complain of your release from the fortress without his knowledge. I arrived at the office just in time. The secretary was reading Grimani's letter, and I assured his excellency that it was a false report, for I left you in bed this morning, suffering from a sprained ankle. I told him likewise that at twelve o'clock last night you were very near death from a severe attack of colic."
"Was it at midnight that Razetta was so well treated?"
"So says the official report. The war secretary wrote at once to M. Grimani and informed him that you have not left the fort, and that you are even now detained in it, and that the plaintiff is at liberty, if he chooses, to send commissaries to ascertain the fact. Therefore, my dear abbe, you must prepare yourself for an interrogatory."
"I expect it, and I will answer that I am very sorry to be innocent."
Three days afterwards, a commissary came to the fort with a clerk of the court, and the proceedings were soon over. Everybody knew that I had sprained my ankle; the chaplain, the surgeon, my body-servant, and several others swore that at midnight I was in bed suffering from colic. My alibi being thoroughly proved, the avogador sentenced Razetta and the Forlan to pay all expenses without prejudice to my rights of action.
After this judgment, the major advised me to address to the secretary of war a petition which he undertook to deliver himself, and to claim my release from the fort. I gave notice of my proceedings to M. Grimani, and a week afterwards the major told me that I was free, and that he would himself take me to the abbe. It was at dinnertime, and in the middle of some amusing conversation, that he imparted that piece of information. Not supposing him to be in earnest, and in order to keep up the joke, I told him very politely that I preferred his house to Venice, and that, to prove it, I would be happy to remain a week longer, if he would grant me permission to do so. I was taken at my word, and everybody seemed very pleased. But when, two hours later, the news was confirmed, and I could no longer doubt the truth of my release, I repented the week which I had so foolishly thrown away as a present to the major; yet I had not the courage to break my word, for everybody, and particularly his wife, had shown such unaffected pleasure, it would have been contemptible of me to change my mind. The good woman knew that I owed her every kindness which I had enjoyed, and she might have thought me ungrateful.
But I met in the fort with a last adventure, which I must not forget to relate.
On the following day, an officer dressed in the national uniform called upon the major, accompanied by an elderly man of about sixty years of age, wearing a sword, and, presenting to the major a dispatch with the seal of the war office, he waited for an answer, and went away as soon as he had received one from the governor.
After the officer had taken leave, the major, addressing himself to the elderly gentleman, to whom he gave the title of count, told him that his orders were to keep him a prisoner, and that he gave him the whole of the fort for his prison. The count offered him his sword, but the major nobly refused to take it, and escorted him to the room he was to occupy. Soon after, a servant in livery brought a bed and a trunk, and the next morning the same servant, knocking at my door, told me that his master begged the honour of my company to breakfast. I accepted the invitation, and he received me with these words:
"Dear sir, there has been so much talk in Venice about the skill with which you proved your incredible alibi, that I could not help asking for the honour of your acquaintance."
"But, count, the alibi being a true one, there can be no skill required to prove it. Allow me to say that those who doubt its truth are paying me a very poor compliment, for--"
"Never mind; do not let us talk any more of that, and forgive me. But as we happen to be companions in misfortune, I trust you will not refuse me your friendship. Now for breakfast."
After our meal, the count, who had heard from me some portion of my history, thought that my confidence called for a return on his part, and he began: "I am the Count de Bonafede. In my early days I served under Prince Eugene, but I gave up the army, and entered on a civil career in Austria. I had to fly from Austria and take refuge in Bavaria in consequence of an unfortunate duel. In Munich I made the acquaintance of a young lady belonging to a noble family; I eloped with her and brought her to Venice, where we were married. I have now been twenty years in Venice. I have six children, and everybody knows me. About a week ago I sent my servant to the postoffice for my letters, but they were refused him because he had not any money to pay the postage. I went myself, but the clerk would not deliver me my letters, although I assured him that I would pay for them the next time. This made me angry, and I called upon the Baron de Taxis, the postmaster, and complained of the clerk, but he answered very rudely that the clerk had simply obeyed his orders, and that my letters would only be delivered on payment of the postage. I felt very indignant, but as I was in his house I controlled my anger, went home, and wrote a note to him asking him to give me satisfaction for his rudeness, telling him that I would never go out without my sword, and that I would force him to fight whenever and wherever I should meet him. I never came across him, but yesterday I was accosted by the secretary of the inquisitors, who told me that I must forget the baron's rude conduct, and go under the guidance of an officer whom he pointed out to me, to imprison myself for a week in this fortress. I shall thus have the pleasure of spending that time with you."
I told him that I had been free for the last twenty-four hours, but that to shew my gratitude for his friendly confidence I would feel honoured if he would allow me to keep him company. As I had already engaged myself with the major, this was only a polite falsehood.
In the afternoon I happened to be with him on the tower of the fort, and pointed out a gondola advancing towards the lower gate; he took his spy-glass and told me that it was his wife and daughter coming to see him. We went to meet the ladies, one of whom might once have been worth the trouble of an elopement; the other, a young person between fourteen and sixteen, struck me as a beauty of a new style. Her hair was of a beautiful light auburn, her eyes were blue and very fine, her nose a Roman, and her pretty mouth, half-open and laughing, exposed a set of teeth as white as her complexion, although a beautiful rosy tint somewhat veiled the whiteness of the last. Her figure was so slight that it seemed out of nature, but her perfectly-formed breast appeared an altar on which the god of love would have delighted to breathe the sweetest incense. This splendid chest was, however, not yet well furnished, but in my imagination I gave her all the embonpoint which might have been desired, and I was so pleased that I could not take my looks from her. I met her eyes, and her laughing countenance seemed to say to me: "Only wait for two years, at the utmost, and all that your imagination is now creating will then exist in reality."
She was elegantly dressed in the prevalent fashion, with large hoops, and like the daughters of the nobility who have not yet attained the age of puberty, although the young countess was marriageable. I had never dared to stare so openly at the bosom of a young lady of quality, but I thought there was no harm in fixing my eyes on a spot where there was nothing yet but in expectation.
The count, after having exchanged a few words in German with his wife, presented me in the most flattering manner, and I was received with great politeness. The major joined us, deeming it his duty to escort the countess all over the fortress, and I improved the excellent opportunity thrown in my way by the inferiority of my position; I offered my arm to the young lady, and the count left us to go to his room.
I was still an adept in the old Venetian fashion of attending upon ladies, and the young countess thought me rather awkward, though I believed myself very fashionable when I placed my hand under her arm, but she drew it back in high merriment. Her mother turned round to enquire what she was laughing at, and I was terribly confused when I heard her answer that I had tickled her.
"This is the way to offer your arm to a lady," she said, and she passed her hand through my arm, which I rounded in the most clumsy manner, feeling it a very difficult task to resume a dignified countenance. Thinking me a novice of the most innocent species, she very likely determined to make sport of me. She began by remarking that by rounding my arm as I had done I placed it too far from her waist, and that I was consequently out of drawing. I told her I did not know how to draw, and inquired whether it was one of her accomplishments.
"I am learning," she answered, "and when you call upon us I will shew you Adam and Eve, after the Chevalier Liberi; I have made a copy which has been found very fine by some professors, although they did not know it was my work."
"Why did you not tell them?"
"Because those two figures are too naked."
"I am not curious to see your Adam, but I will look at your Eve with pleasure, and keep your secret."
This answer made her laugh again, and again her mother turned round. I put on the look of a simpleton, for, seeing the advantage I could derive from her opinion of me, I had formed my plan at the very moment she tried to teach me how to offer my arm to a lady.
She was so convinced of my simplicity that she ventured to say that she considered her Adam by far more beautiful than her Eve, because in her drawing of the man she had omitted nothing, every muscle being visible, while there was none conspicuous in Eve. "It is," she added, "a figure with nothing in it."
"Yet it is the one which I shall like best."
"No; believe me, Adam will please you most."
This conversation had greatly excited me. I had on a pair of linen breeches, the weather being very warm.... I was afraid of the major and the countess, who were a few yards in front of us, turning round .... I was on thorns. To make matters worse, the young lady stumbled, one of her shoes slipped off, and presenting me her pretty foot she asked me to put the shoe right. I knelt on the ground, and, very likely without thinking, she lifted up her skirt.... she had very wide hoops and no petticoat.... what I saw was enough to strike me dead on the spot.... When I rose, she asked if anything was the matter with me.
A moment after, coming out of one of the casemates, her head-dress got slightly out of order, and she begged that I would remedy the accident, but, having to bend her head down, the state in which I was could no longer remain a secret for her. In order to avoid greater confusion to both of us, she enquired who had made my watch ribbon; I told her it was a present from my sister, and she desired to examine it, but when I answered her that it was fastened to the fob-pocket, and found that she disbelieved me, I added that she could see for herself. She put her hand to it, and a natural but involuntary excitement caused me to be very indiscreet. She must have felt vexed, for she saw that she had made a mistake in her estimate of my character; she became more timid, she would not laugh any more, and we joined her mother and the major who was shewing her, in a sentry-box, the body of Marshal de Schulenburg which had been deposited there until the mausoleum erected for him was completed. As for myself, I felt deeply ashamed. I thought myself the first man who had alarmed her innocence, and I felt ready to do anything to atone for the insult.
Such was my delicacy of feeling in those days. I used to credit people with exalted sentiments, which often existed only in my imagination. I must confess that time has entirely destroyed that delicacy; yet I do not believe myself worse than other men, my equals in age and inexperience.
We returned to the count's apartment, and the day passed off rather gloomily. Towards evening the ladies went away, but the countess gave me a pressing invitation to call upon them in Venice.
The young lady, whom I thought I had insulted, had made such a deep impression upon me that the seven following days seemed very long; yet I was impatient to see her again only that I might entreat her forgiveness, and convince her of my repentance.
The following day the count was visited by his son; he was plain-featured, but a thorough gentleman, and modest withal. Twenty-five years afterwards I met him in Spain, a cadet in the king's body-guard. He had served as a private twenty years before obtaining this poor promotion. The reader will hear of him in good time; I will only mention here that when I met him in Spain, he stood me out that I had never known him; his self-love prompted this very contemptible lie.
Early on the eighth day the count left the fortress, and I took my departure the same evening, having made an appointment at a coffee-house in St. Mark's Square with the major who was to accompany me to M. Grimani's house. I took leave of his wife, whose memory will always be dear to me, and she said, "I thank you for your skill in proving your alibi, but you have also to thank me for having understood you so well. My husband never heard anything about it until it was all over."
As soon as I reached Venice, I went to pay a visit to Madame Orio, where I was made welcome. I remained to supper, and my two charming sweethearts who were praying for the death of the bishop, gave me the most delightful hospitality for the night.
At noon the next day I met the major according to our appointment, and we called upon the Abbe Grimani. He received me with the air of a guilty man begging for mercy, and I was astounded at his stupidity when he entreated me to forgive Razetta and his companion. He told me that the bishop was expected very soon, and that he had ordered a room to be ready for me, and that I could take my meals with him. Then he introduced me to M. Valavero, a man of talent, who had just left the ministry of war, his term of office having lasted the usual six months. I paid my duty to him, and we kept up a kind of desultory conversation until the departure of the major. When he had left us M. Valavero entreated me to confess that I had been the guilty party in the attack upon Razetta. I candidly told him that the thrashing had been my handiwork, and I gave him all the particulars, which amused him immensely. He remarked that, as I had perpetrated the affair before midnight, the fools had made a mistake in their accusation; but that, after all, the mistake had not materially helped me in proving the alibi, because my sprained ankle, which everybody had supposed a real accident, would of itself have been sufficient.
But I trust that my kind reader has not forgotten that I had a very heavy weight upon my conscience, of which I longed to get rid. I had to see the goddess of my fancy, to obtain my pardon, or die at her feet.
I found the house without difficulty; the count was not at home. The countess received me very kindly, but her appearance caused me so great a surprise that I did not know what to say to her. I had fancied that I was going to visit an angel, that I would find her in a lovely paradise, and I found myself in a large sitting-room furnished with four rickety chairs and a dirty old table. There was hardly any light in the room because the shutters were nearly closed. It might have been a precaution against the heat, but I judged that it was more probably for the purpose of concealing the windows, the glass of which was all broken. But this visible darkness did not prevent me from remarking that the countess was wrapped up in an old tattered gown, and that her chemise did not shine by its cleanliness. Seeing that I was ill at ease, she left the room, saying that she would send her daughter, who, a few minutes afterwards, came in with an easy and noble appearance, and told me that she had expected me with great impatience, but that I had surprised her at a time at which she was not in the habit of receiving any visits.
I did not know what to answer, for she did not seem to me to be the same person. Her miserable dishabille made her look almost ugly, and I wondered at the impression she had produced upon me at the fortress. She saw my surprise, and partly guessed my thoughts, for she put on a look, not of vexation, but of sorrow which called forth all my pity. If she had been a philosopher she might have rightly despised me as a man whose sympathy was enlisted only by her fine dress, her nobility, or her apparent wealth; but she endeavoured to bring me round by her sincerity. She felt that if she could call a little sentiment into play, it would certainly plead in her favour.
"I see that you are astonished, reverend sir, and I know the reason of your surprise. You expected to see great splendour here, and you find only misery. The government allows my father but a small salary, and there are nine of us. As we must attend church on Sundays and holidays in a style proper to our condition, we are often compelled to go without our dinner, in order to get out of pledge the clothes which urgent need too often obliges us to part with, and which we pledge anew on the following day. If we did not attend mass, the curate would strike our names off the list of those who share the alms of the Confraternity of the Poor, and those alms alone keep us afloat."
What a sad tale! She had guessed rightly. I was touched, but rather with shame than true emotion. I was not rich myself, and, as I was no longer in love, I only heaved a deep sigh, and remained as cold as ice. Nevertheless, her position was painful, and I answered politely, speaking with kindness and assuring her of my sympathy. "Were I wealthy," I said, "I would soon shew you that your tale of woe has not fallen on unfeeling ears; but I am poor, and, being at the eve of my departure from Venice, even my friendship would be useless to you." Then, after some desultory talk, I expressed a hope that her beauty would yet win happiness for her. She seemed to consider for a few minutes, and said, "That may happen some day, provided that the man who feels the power of my charms understands that they can be bestowed only with my heart, and is willing to render me the justice I deserve; I am only looking for a lawful marriage, without dreaming of rank or fortune; I no longer believe in the first, and I know how to live without the second; for I have been accustomed to poverty, and even to abject need; but you cannot realize that. Come and see my drawings."
"You are very good, mademoiselle."
Alas! I was not thinking of her drawings, and I could no longer feel interested in her Eve, but I followed her.
We came to a chamber in which I saw a table, a chair, a small toilet-glass and a bed with the straw palliasse turned over, very likely for the purpose of allowing the looker-on to suppose that there were sheets underneath, but I was particularly disgusted by a certain smell, the cause of which was recent; I was thunderstruck, and if I had been still in love, this antidote would have been sufficiently powerful to cure me instanter. I wished for nothing but to make my escape, never to return, and I regretted that I could not throw on the table a handful of ducats, which I should have considered the price of my ransom.
The poor girl shewed me her drawings; they were fine, and I praised them, without alluding particularly to Eve, and without venturing a joke upon Adam. I asked her, for the sake of saying something, why she did not try to render her talent remunerative by learning pastel drawing.
"I wish I could," she answered, "but the box of chalks alone costs two sequins."
"Will you forgive me if I am bold enough to offer you six?"
"Alas! I accept them gratefully, and to be indebted to you for such a service makes me truly happy."
Unable to keep back her tears, she turned her head round to conceal them from me, and I took that opportunity of laying the money on the table, and out of politeness, wishing to spare her every unnecessary humiliation, I saluted her lips with a kiss which she was at liberty to consider a loving one, as I wanted her to ascribe my reserve to the respect I felt for her. I then left her with a promise to call another day to see her father. I never kept my promise. The reader will see how I met her again after ten years.
How many thoughts crowded upon my mind as I left that house! What a lesson! I compared reality with the imagination, and I had to give the preference to the last, as reality is always dependent on it. I then began to forsee a truth which has been clearly proved to me in my after life, namely, that love is only a feeling of curiosity more or less intense, grafted upon the inclination placed in us by nature that the species may be preserved. And truly, woman is like a book, which, good or bad, must at first please us by the frontispiece. If this is not interesting, we do not feel any wish to read the book, and our wish is in direct proportion to the interest we feel. The frontispiece of woman runs from top to bottom like that of a book, and her feet, which are most important to every man who shares my taste, offer the same interest as the edition of the work. If it is true that most amateurs bestow little or no attention upon the feet of a woman, it is likewise a fact that most readers care little or nothing whether a book is of the first edition or the tenth. At all events, women are quite right to take the greatest care of their face, of their dress, of their general appearance; for it is only by that part of the frontispiece that they can call forth a wish to read them in those men who have not been endowed by nature with the privilege of blindness. And just in the same manner that men, who have read a great many books, are certain to feel at last a desire for perusing new works even if they are bad, a man who has known many women, and all handsome women, feels at last a curiosity for ugly specimens when he meets with entirely new ones. It is all very well for his eye to discover the paint which conceals the reality, but his passion has become a vice, and suggests some argument in favour of the lying frontispiece. It is possible, at least he thinks so, that the work may prove better than the title-page, and the reality more acceptable than the paint which hides it. He then tries to peruse the book, but the leaves have not been opened; he meets with some resistance, the living book must be read according to established rules, and the book-worm falls a victim to a coquetry, the monster which persecutes all those who make a business of love. As for thee, intelligent man, who hast read the few preceding lines, let me tell thee that, if they do not assist in opening thy eyes, thou art lost; I mean that thou art certain of being a victim to the fair sex to the very last moment of thy life. If my candour does not displease thee, accept my congratulations. In the evening I called upon Madame Orio, as I wanted to inform her charming nieces that, being an inmate of Grimani's house, I could not sleep out for the first night. I found there the faithful Rosa, who told me that the affair of the alibi was in every mouth, and that, as such celebrity was evidently caused by a very decided belief in the untruth of the alibi itself, I ought to fear a retaliation of the same sort on the part of Razetta, and to keep on my guard, particularly at night. I felt all the importance of this advice, and I took care never to go out in the evening otherwise than in a gondola, or accompanied by some friends. Madame Manzoni told me that I was acting wisely, because, although the judges could not do otherwise than acquit me, everybody knew the real truth of the matter, and Razetta could not fail to be my deadly foe.
Three or four days afterwards M. Grimani announced the arrival of the bishop, who had put up at the convent of his order, at Saint-Francois de Paul. He presented me himself to the prelate as a jewel highly prized by himself, and as if he had been the only person worthy of descanting upon its beauty.
I saw a fine monk wearing his pectoral cross. He would have reminded me of Father Mancia if he had not looked stouter and less reserved. He was about thirty-four, and had been made a bishop by the grace of God, the Holy See, and my mother. After pronouncing over me a blessing, which I received kneeling, and giving me his hand to kiss, he embraced me warmly, calling me his dear son in the Latin language, in which he continued to address me. I thought that, being a Calabrian, he might feel ashamed of his Italian, but he undeceived me by speaking in that language to M. Grimani. He told me that, as he could not take me with him from Venice, I should have to proceed to Rome, where Grimani would take care to send me, and that I would procure his address at Ancona from one of his friends, called Lazari, a Minim monk, who would likewise supply me with the means of continuing my journey.
"When we meet in Rome," he added, "we can go together to Martorano by way of Naples. Call upon me to-morrow morning, and have your breakfast with me. I intend to leave the day after."
As we were on our way back to his house, M. Grimani treated me to a long lecture on morals, which nearly caused me to burst into loud laughter. Amongst other things, he informed me that I ought not to study too hard, because the air in Calabria was very heavy, and I might become consumptive from too close application to my books.
The next morning at day-break I went to the bishop. After saying his mass, we took some chocolate, and for three hours he laid me under examination. I saw clearly that he was not pleased with me, but I was well enough pleased with him. He seemed to me a worthy man, and as he was to lead me along the great highway of the Church, I felt attracted towards him, for, at the time, although I entertained a good opinion of my personal appearance, I had no confidence whatever in my talents.
After the departure of the good bishop, M. Grimani gave me a letter left by him, which I was to deliver to Father Lazari, at the Convent of the Minims, in Ancona. M. Grimani informed me that he would send me to that city with the ambassador from Venice, who was on the point of sailing. I had therefore to keep myself in readiness, and, as I was anxious to be out of his hands, I approved all his arrangements. As soon as I had notice of the day on which the suite of the ambassador would embark, I went to pay my last farewell to all my acquaintances. I left my brother Francois in the school of M. Joli, a celebrated decorative painter. As the peotta in which I was to sail would not leave before daybreak, I spent the short night in the arms of the two sisters, who, this time, entertained no hope of ever seeing me again. On my side I could not forsee what would happen, for I was abandoning myself to fate, and I thought it would be useless to think of the future. The night was therefore spent between joy and sadness, between pleasures and tears. As I bade them adieu, I returned the key which had opened so often for me the road to happiness.
This, my first love affair, did not give me any experience of the world, for our intercourse was always a happy one, and was never disturbed by any quarrel or stained by any interested motive. We often felt, all three of us, as if we must raise our souls towards the eternal Providence of God, to thank Him for having, by His particular protection, kept from us all the accidents which might have disturbed the sweet peace we were enjoying.
I left in the hands of Madame Manzoni all my papers, and all the forbidden books I possessed. The good woman, who was twenty years older than I, and who, believing in an immutable destiny, took pleasure in turning the leaves of the great book of fate, told me that she was certain of restoring to me all I left with her, before the end of the following year, at the latest. Her prediction caused me both surprise and pleasure, and feeling deep reverence for her, I thought myself bound to assist the realization of her foresight. After all, if she predicted the future, it was not through superstition, or in consequence of some vain foreboding which reason must condemn, but through her knowledge of the world, and of the nature of the person she was addressing. She used to laugh because she never made a mistake.
I embarked from St. Mark's landing. M. Grimani had given me ten sequins, which he thought would keep me during my stay in the lazzaretto of Ancona for the necessary quarantine, after which it was not to be supposed that I could want any money. I shared Grimani's certainty on the subject, and with my natural thoughtlessness I cared nothing about it. Yet I must say that, unknown to everybody, I had in my purse forty bright sequins, which powerfully contributed to increase my cheerfulness, and I left Venice full of joy and without one regret.
EPISODE 2 -- CLERIC IN NAPLES
CHAPTER VIII
My Misfortunes in Chiozza--Father Stephano--The Lazzaretto
at Ancona--The Greek Slave--My Pilgrimage to Our Lady of
Loretto--I Go to Rome on Foot, and From Rome to Naples to
Meet the Bishop--I Cannot Join Him--Good Luck Offers Me the
Means of Reaching Martorano, Which Place I Very Quickly
Leave to Return to Naples
The retinue of the ambassador, which was styled "grand," appeared to me very small. It was composed of a Milanese steward, named Carcinelli, of a priest who fulfilled the duties of secretary because he could not write, of an old woman acting as housekeeper, of a man cook with his ugly wife, and eight or ten servants.
We reached Chiozza about noon. Immediately after landing, I politely asked the steward where I should put up, and his answer was:
"Wherever you please, provided you let this man know where it is, so that he can give you notice when the peotta is ready to sail. My duty," he added, "is to leave you at the lazzaretto of Ancona free of expense from the moment we leave this place. Until then enjoy yourself as well as you can."
The man to whom I was to give my address was the captain of the peotta. I asked him to recommend me a lodging.
"You can come to my house," he said, "if you have no objection to share a large bed with the cook, whose wife remains on board."
Unable to devise any better plan, I accepted the offer, and a sailor, carrying my trunk, accompanied me to the dwelling of the honest captain. My trunk had to be placed under the bed which filled up the room. I was amused at this, for I was not in a position to be over-fastidious, and, after partaking of some dinner at the inn, I went about the town. Chiozza is a peninsula, a sea-port belonging to Venice, with a population of ten thousand inhabitants, seamen, fishermen, merchants, lawyers, and government clerks.
I entered a coffee-room, and I had scarcely taken a seat when a young doctor-at-law, with whom I had studied in Padua, came up to me, and introduced me to a druggist whose shop was near by, saying that his house was the rendezvous of all the literary men of the place. A few minutes afterwards, a tall Jacobin friar, blind of one eye, called Corsini, whom I had known in Venice, came in and paid me many compliments. He told me that I had arrived just in time to go to a picnic got up by the Macaronic academicians for the next day, after a sitting of the academy in which every member was to recite something of his composition. He invited me to join them, and to gratify the meeting with the delivery of one of my productions. I accepted the invitation, and, after the reading of ten stanzas which I had written for the occasion, I was unanimously elected a member. My success at the picnic was still greater, for I disposed of such a quantity of macaroni that I was found worthy of the title of prince of the academy.
The young doctor, himself one of the academicians, introduced me to his family. His parents, who were in easy circumstances, received me very kindly. One of his sisters was very amiable, but the other, a professed nun, appeared to me a prodigy of beauty. I might have enjoyed myself in a very agreeable way in the midst of that charming family during my stay in Chiozza, but I suppose that it was my destiny to meet in that place with nothing but sorrows. The young doctor forewarned me that the monk Corsini was a very worthless fellow, despised by everybody, and advised me to avoid him. I thanked him for the information, but my thoughtlessness prevented me from profiting by it. Of a very easy disposition, and too giddy to fear any snares, I was foolish enough to believe that the monk would, on the contrary, be the very man to throw plenty of amusement in my way.
On the third day the worthless dog took me to a house of ill-fame, where I might have gone without his introduction, and, in order to shew my mettle, I obliged a low creature whose ugliness ought to have been a sufficient antidote against any fleshly desire. On leaving the place, he brought me for supper to an inn where we met four scoundrels of his own stamp. After supper one of them began a bank of faro, and I was invited to join in the game. I gave way to that feeling of false pride which so often causes the ruin of young men, and after losing four sequins I expressed a wish to retire, but my honest friend, the Jacobin contrived to make me risk four more sequins in partnership with him. He held the bank, and it was broken. I did not wish to play any more, but Corsini, feigning to pity me and to feel great sorrow at being the cause of my loss, induced me to try myself a bank of twenty-five sequins; my bank was likewise broken. The hope of winning back my money made me keep up the game, and I lost everything I had.
Deeply grieved, I went away and laid myself down near the cook, who woke up and said I was a libertine.
"You are right," was all I could answer.
I was worn out with fatigue and sorrow, and I slept soundly. My vile tormentor, the monk, woke me at noon, and informed me with a triumphant joy that a very rich young man had been invited by his friends to supper, that he would be sure to play and to lose, and that it would be a good opportunity for me to retrieve my losses.
"I have lost all my money. Lend me twenty sequins."
"When I lend money I am sure to lose; you may call it superstition, but I have tried it too often. Try to find money somewhere else, and come. Farewell."
I felt ashamed to confess my position to my friend, and sending for, a money-lender I emptied my trunk before him. We made an inventory of my clothes, and the honest broker gave me thirty sequins, with the understanding that if I did not redeem them within three days all my things would become his property. I am bound to call him an honest man, for he advised me to keep three shirts, a few pairs of stockings, and a few handkerchiefs; I was disposed to let him take everything, having a presentiment that I would win back all I had lost; a very common error. A few years later I took my revenge by writing a diatribe against presentiments. I am of opinion that the only foreboding in which man can have any sort of faith is the one which forbodes evil, because it comes from the mind, while a presentiment of happiness has its origin in the heart, and the heart is a fool worthy of reckoning foolishly upon fickle fortune.
I did not lose any time in joining the honest company, which was alarmed at the thought of not seeing me. Supper went off without any allusion to gambling, but my admirable qualities were highly praised, and it was decided that a brilliant fortune awaited me in Rome. After supper there was no talk of play, but giving way to my evil genius I loudly asked for my revenge. I was told that if I would take the bank everyone would punt. I took the bank, lost every sequin I had, and retired, begging the monk to pay what I owed to the landlord, which he promised to do.
I was in despair, and to crown my misery I found out as I was going home that I had met the day before with another living specimen of the Greek woman, less beautiful but as perfidious. I went to bed stunned by my grief, and I believe that I must have fainted into a heavy sleep, which lasted eleven hours; my awaking was that of a miserable being, hating the light of heaven, of which he felt himself unworthy, and I closed my eyes again, trying to sleep for a little while longer. I dreaded to rouse myself up entirely, knowing that I would then have to take some decision; but I never once thought of returning to Venice, which would have been the very best thing to do, and I would have destroyed myself rather than confide my sad position to the young doctor. I was weary of my existence, and I entertained vaguely some hope of starving where I was, without leaving my bed. It is certain that I should not have got up if M. Alban, the master of the peotta, had not roused me by calling upon me and informing me that the boat was ready to sail.
The man who is delivered from great perplexity, no matter by what means, feels himself relieved. It seemed to me that Captain Alban had come to point out the only thing I could possibly do; I dressed myself in haste, and tying all my worldly possessions in a handkerchief I went on board. Soon afterwards we left the shore, and in the morning we cast anchor in Orsara, a seaport of Istria. We all landed to visit the city, which would more properly be called a village. It belongs to the Pope, the Republic of Venice having abandoned it to the Holy See.
A young monk of the order of the Recollects who called himself Friar Stephano of Belun, and had obtained a free passage from the devout Captain Alban, joined me as we landed and enquired whether I felt sick.
"Reverend father, I am unhappy."
"You will forget all your sorrow, if you will come and dine with me at the house of one of our devout friends."
I had not broken my fast for thirty-six hours, and having suffered much from sea-sickness during the night, my stomach was quite empty. My erotic inconvenience made me very uncomfortable, my mind felt deeply the consciousness of my degradation, and I did not possess a groat! I was in such a miserable state that I had no strength to accept or to refuse anything. I was thoroughly torpid, and I followed the monk mechanically.
He presented me to a lady, saying that he was accompanying me to Rome, where I intend to become a Franciscan. This untruth disgusted me, and under any other circumstances I would not have let it pass without protest, but in my actual position it struck me as rather comical. The good lady gave us a good dinner of fish cooked in oil, which in Orsara is delicious, and we drank some exquisite refosco. During our meal, a priest happened to drop in, and, after a short conversation, he told me that I ought not to pass the night on board the tartan, and pressed me to accept a bed in his house and a good dinner for the next day in case the wind should not allow us to sail; I accepted without hesitation. I offered my most sincere thanks to the good old lady, and the priest took me all over the town. In the evening, he brought me to his house where we partook of an excellent supper prepared by his housekeeper, who sat down to the table with us, and with whom I was much pleased. The refosco, still better than that which I had drunk at dinner, scattered all my misery to the wind, and I conversed gaily with the priest. He offered to read to me a poem of his own composition, but, feeling that my eyes would not keep open, I begged he would excuse me and postpone the reading until the following day.
I went to bed, and in the morning, after ten hours of the most profound sleep, the housekeeper, who had been watching for my awakening, brought me some coffee. I thought her a charming woman, but, alas! I was not in a fit state to prove to her the high estimation in which I held her beauty.
Entertaining feelings of gratitude for my kind host, and disposed to listen attentively to his poem, I dismissed all sadness, and I paid his poetry such compliments that he was delighted, and, finding me much more talented than he had judged me to be at first, he insisted upon treating me to a reading of his idylls, and I had to swallow them, bearing the infliction cheerfully. The day passed off very agreeably; the housekeeper surrounded me with the kindest attentions--a proof that she was smitten with me; and, giving way to that pleasing idea, I felt that, by a very natural system of reciprocity, she had made my conquest. The good priest thought that the day had passed like lightning, thanks to all the beauties I had discovered in his poetry, which, to speak the truth, was below mediocrity, but time seemed to me to drag along very slowly, because the friendly glances of the housekeeper made me long for bedtime, in spite of the miserable condition in which I felt myself morally and physically. But such was my nature; I abandoned myself to joy and happiness, when, had I been more reasonable, I ought to have sunk under my grief and sadness.
But the golden time came at last. I found the pretty housekeeper full of compliance, but only up to a certain point, and as she offered some resistance when I shewed myself disposed to pay a full homage to her charms, I quietly gave up the undertaking, very well pleased for both of us that it had not been carried any further, and I sought my couch in peace. But I had not seen the end of the adventure, for the next morning, when she brought my coffee, her pretty, enticing manners allured me to bestow a few loving caresses upon her, and if she did not abandon herself entirely, it was only, as she said, because she was afraid of some surprise. The day passed off very pleasantly with the good priest, and at night, the house-keeper no longer fearing detection, and I having on my side taken every precaution necessary in the state in which I was, we passed two most delicious hours. I left Orsara the next morning.
Friar Stephano amused me all day with his talk, which plainly showed me his ignorance combined with knavery under the veil of simplicity. He made me look at the alms he had received in Orsara--bread, wine, cheese, sausages, preserves, and chocolate; every nook and cranny of his holy garment was full of provisions.
"Have you received money likewise?" I enquired.
"God forbid! In the first place, our glorious order does not permit me to touch money, and, in the second place, were I to be foolish enough to receive any when I am begging, people would think themselves quit of me with one or two sous, whilst they give me ten times as much in eatables. Believe me Saint-Francis, was a very judicious man."
I bethought myself that what this monk called wealth would be poverty to me. He offered to share with me, and seemed very proud at my consenting to honour him so far.
The tartan touched at the harbour of Pola, called Veruda, and we landed. After a walk up hill of nearly a quarter of an hour, we entered the city, and I devoted a couple of hours to visiting the Roman antiquities, which are numerous, the town having been the metropolis of the empire. Yet I saw no other trace of grand buildings except the ruins of the arena. We returned to Veruda, and went again to sea. On the following day we sighted Ancona, but the wind being against us we were compelled to tack about, and we did not reach the port till the second day. The harbour of Ancona, although considered one of the great works of Trajan, would be very unsafe if it were not for a causeway which has cost a great deal of money, and which makes it some what better. I observed a fact worthy of notice, namely, that, in the Adriatic, the northern coast has many harbours, while the opposite coast can only boast of one or two. It is evident that the sea is retiring by degrees towards the east, and that in three or four more centuries Venice must be joined to the land. We landed at the old lazzaretto, where we received the pleasant information that we would go through a quarantine of twenty-eight days, because Venice had admitted, after a quarantine of three months, the crew of two ships from Messina, where the plague had recently been raging. I requested a room for myself and for Brother Stephano, who thanked me very heartily. I hired from a Jew a bed, a table and a few chairs, promising to pay for the hire at the expiration of our quarantine. The monk would have nothing but straw. If he had guessed that without him I might have starved, he would most likely not have felt so much vanity at sharing my room. A sailor, expecting to find in me a generous customer, came to enquire where my trunk was, and, hearing from me that I did not know, he, as well as Captain Alban, went to a great deal of trouble to find it, and I could hardly keep down my merriment when the captain called, begging to be excused for having left it behind, and assuring me that he would take care to forward it to me in less than three weeks.
The friar, who had to remain with me four weeks, expected to live at my expense, while, on the contrary, he had been sent by Providence to keep me. He had provisions enough for one week, but it was necessary to think of the future.
After supper, I drew a most affecting picture of my position, shewing that I should be in need of everything until my arrival at Rome, where I was going, I said, to fill the post of secretary of memorials, and my astonishment may be imagined when I saw the blockhead delighted at the recital of my misfortunes.
"I undertake to take care of you until we reach Rome; only tell me whether you can write."
"What a question! Are you joking?"
"Why should I? Look at me; I cannot write anything but my name. True, I can write it with either hand; and what else do I want to know?"
"You astonish me greatly, for I thought you were a priest."
"I am a monk; I say the mass, and, as a matter of course, I must know how to read. Saint-Francis, whose unworthy son I am, could not read, and that is the reason why he never said a mass. But as you can write, you will to-morrow pen a letter in my name to the persons whose names I will give you, and I warrant you we shall have enough sent here to live like fighting cocks all through our quarantine."
The next day he made me write eight letters, because, in the oral tradition of his order, it is said that, when a monk has knocked at seven doors and has met with a refusal at every one of them, he must apply to the eighth with perfect confidence, because there he is certain of receiving alms. As he had already performed the pilgrimage to Rome, he knew every person in Ancona devoted to the cult of Saint-Francis, and was acquainted with the superiors of all the rich convents. I had to write to every person he named, and to set down all the lies he dictated to me. He likewise made me sign the letters for him, saying, that, if he signed himself, his correspondents would see that the letters had not been written by him, which would injure him, for, he added, in this age of corruption, people will esteem only learned men. He compelled me to fill the letters with Latin passages and quotations, even those addressed to ladies, and I remonstrated in vain, for, when I raised any objection, he threatened to leave me without anything to eat. I made up my mind to do exactly as he wished. He desired me to write to the superior of the Jesuits that he would not apply to the Capuchins, because they were no better than atheists, and that that was the reason of the great dislike of Saint-Francis for them. It was in vain that I reminded him of the fact that, in the time of Saint-Francis, there were neither Capuchins nor Recollets. His answer was that I had proved myself an ignoramus. I firmly believed that he would be thought a madman, and that we should not receive anything, but I was mistaken, for such a quantity of provisions came pouring in that I was amazed. Wine was sent from three or four different quarters, more than enough for us during all our stay, and yet I drank nothing but water, so great was my wish to recover my health. As for eatables, enough was sent in every day for six persons; we gave all our surplus to our keeper, who had a large family. But the monk felt no gratitude for the kind souls who bestowed their charity upon him; all his thanks were reserved for Saint-Francis.
He undertook to have my linen washed by the keeper; I would not have dared to give it myself, and he said that he had nothing to fear, as everybody was well aware that the monks of his order never wear any kind of linen.
I kept myself in bed nearly all day, and thus avoided shewing myself to visitors. The persons who did not come wrote letters full of incongruities cleverly worded, which I took good care not to point out to him. It was with great difficulty that I tried to persuade him that those letters did not require any answer.
A fortnight of repose and severe diet brought me round towards complete recovery, and I began to walk in the yard of the lazzaretto from morning till night; but the arrival of a Turk from Thessalonia with his family compelled me to suspend my walks, the ground-floor having been given to him. The only pleasure left me was to spend my time on the balcony overlooking the yard. I soon saw a Greek slave, a girl of dazzling beauty, for whom I felt the deepest interest. She was in the habit of spending the whole day sitting near the door with a book or some embroidery in her hand. If she happened to raise her eyes and to meet mine, she modestly bent her head down, and sometimes she rose and went in slowly, as if she meant to say, "I did not know that somebody was looking at me." Her figure was tall and slender, her features proclaimed her to be very young; she had a very fair complexion, with beautiful black hair and eyes. She wore the Greek costume, which gave her person a certain air of very exciting voluptuousness.
I was perfectly idle, and with the temperament which nature and habit had given me, was it likely that I could feast my eyes constantly upon such a charming object without falling desperately in love? I had heard her conversing in Lingua Franca with her master, a fine old man, who, like her, felt very weary of the quarantine, and used to come out but seldom, smoking his pipe, and remaining in the yard only a short time. I felt a great temptation to address a few words to the beautiful girl, but I was afraid she might run away and never come out again; however, unable to control myself any longer, I determined to write to her; I had no difficulty in conveying the letter, as I had only to let it fall from my balcony. But she might have refused to pick it up, and this is the plan I adopted in order not to risk any unpleasant result.
Availing myself of a moment during which she was alone in the yard, I dropped from my balcony a small piece of paper folded like a letter, but I had taken care not to write anything on it, and held the true letter in my hand. As soon as I saw her stooping down to pick up the first, I quickly let the second drop at her feet, and she put both into her pocket. A few minutes afterwards she left the yard. My letter was somewhat to this effect:
"Beautiful angel from the East, I worship you. I will remain all night on this balcony in the hope that you will come to me for a quarter of an hour, and listen to my voice through the hole under my feet. We can speak softly, and in order to hear me you can climb up to the top of the bale of goods which lies beneath the same hole."
I begged from my keeper not to lock me in as he did every night, and he consented on condition that he would watch me, for if I had jumped down in the yard his life might have been the penalty, and he promised not to disturb me on the balcony.
At midnight, as I was beginning to give her up, she came forward. I then laid myself flat on the floor of the balcony, and I placed my head against the hole, about six inches square. I saw her jump on the bale, and her head reached within a foot from the balcony. She was compelled to steady herself with one hand against the wall for fear of falling, and in that position we talked of love, of ardent desires, of obstacles, of impossibilities, and of cunning artifices. I told her the reason for which I dared not jump down in the yard, and she observed that, even without that reason, it would bring ruin upon us, as it would be impossible to come up again, and that, besides, God alone knew what her master would do if he were to find us together. Then, promising to visit me in this way every night, she passed her hand through the hole. Alas! I could not leave off kissing it, for I thought that I had never in my life touched so soft, so delicate a hand. But what bliss when she begged for mine! I quickly thrust my arm through the hole, so that she could fasten her lips to the bend of the elbow. How many sweet liberties my hand ventured to take! But we were at last compelled by prudence to separate, and when I returned to my room I saw with great pleasure that the keeper was fast asleep.
Although I was delighted at having obtained every favour I could possibly wish for in the uncomfortable position we had been in, I racked my brain to contrive the means of securing more complete enjoyment for the following night, but I found during the afternoon that the feminine cunning of my beautiful Greek was more fertile than mine.
Being alone in the yard with her master, she said a few words to him in Turkish, to which he seemed to give his approval, and soon after a servant, assisted by the keeper, brought under the balcony a large basket of goods. She overlooked the arrangement, and in order to secure the basket better, she made the servant place a bale of cotton across two others. Guessing at her purpose, I fairly leaped for joy, for she had found the way of raising herself two feet higher; but I thought that she would then find herself in the most inconvenient position, and that, forced to bend double, she would not be able to resist the fatigue. The hole was not wide enough for her head to pass through, otherwise she might have stood erect and been comfortable. It was necessary at all events to guard against that difficulty; the only way was to tear out one of the planks of the floor of the balcony, but it was not an easy undertaking. Yet I decided upon attempting it, regardless of consequences; and I went to my room to provide myself with a large pair of pincers. Luckily the keeper was absent, and availing myself of the opportunity, I succeeded in dragging out carefully the four large nails which fastened the plank. Finding that I could lift it at my will, I replaced the pincers, and waited for the night with amorous impatience.
The darling girl came exactly at midnight, noticing the difficulty she experienced in climbing up, and in getting a footing upon the third bale of cotton, I lifted the plank, and, extending my arm as far as I could, I offered her a steady point of support. She stood straight, and found herself agreeably surprised, for she could pass her head and her arms through the hole. We wasted no time in empty compliments; we only congratulated each other upon having both worked for the same purpose.
If, the night before, I had found myself master of her person more than she was of mine, this time the position was entirely reversed. Her hand roamed freely over every part of my body, but I had to stop half-way down hers. She cursed the man who had packed the bale for not having made it half a foot bigger, so as to get nearer to me. Very likely even that would not have satisfied us, but she would have felt happier.
Our pleasures were barren, yet we kept up our enjoyment until the first streak of light. I put back the plank carefully, and I lay down in my bed in great need of recruiting my strength.
My dear mistress had informed me that the Turkish Bairam began that very morning, and would last three days during which it would be impossible for her to see me.
The night after Bairam, she did not fail to make her appearance, and, saying that she could not be happy without me, she told me that, as she was a Christian woman, I could buy her, if I waited for her after leaving the lazzaretto. I was compelled to tell her that I did not possess the means of doing so, and my confession made her sigh. On the following night, she informed me that her master would sell her for two thousand piasters, that she would give me the amount, that she was yet a virgin, and that I would be pleased with my bargain. She added that she would give me a casket full of diamonds, one of which was alone worth two thousand piasters, and that the sale of the others would place us beyond the reach of poverty for the remainder of our life. She assured me that her master would not notice the loss of the casket, and that, if he did, he would never think of accusing her.
I was in love with this girl; and her proposal made me uncomfortable, but when I woke in the morning I did not hesitate any longer. She brought the casket in the evening, but I told her that I never could make up my mind to be accessory to a robbery; she was very unhappy, and said that my love was not as deep as her own, but that she could not help admiring me for being so good a Christian.
This was the last night; probably we should never meet again. The flame of passion consumed us. She proposed that I should lift her up to the balcony through the open space. Where is the lover who would have objected to so attractive a proposal? I rose, and without being a Milo, I placed my hands under her arms, I drew her up towards me, and my desires are on the point of being fulfilled. Suddenly I feel two hands upon my shoulders, and the voice of the keeper exclaims, "What are you about?" I let my precious burden drop; she regains her chamber, and I, giving vent to my rage, throw myself flat on the floor of the balcony, and remain there without a movement, in spite of the shaking of the keeper whom I was sorely tempted to strangle. At last I rose from the floor and went to bed without uttering one word, and not even caring to replace the plank.
In the morning, the governor informed us that we were free. As I left the lazzaretto, with a breaking heart, I caught a glimpse of the Greek slave drowned in tears.
I agreed to meet Friar Stephano at the exchange, and I took the Jew from whom I had hired the furniture, to the convent of the Minims, where I received from Father Lazari ten sequins and the address of the bishop, who, after performing quarantine on the frontiers of Tuscany, had proceeded to Rome, where he would expect me to meet him.
I paid the Jew, and made a poor dinner at an inn. As I was leaving it to join the monk, I was so unlucky as to meet Captain Alban, who reproached me bitterly for having led him to believe that my trunk had been left behind. I contrived to appease his anger by telling him all my misfortunes, and I signed a paper in which I declared that I had no claim whatever upon him. I then purchased a pair of shoes and an overcoat, and met Stephano, whom I informed of my decision to make a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Loretto. I said I would await there for him, and that we would afterwards travel together as far as Rome. He answered that he did not wish to go through Loretto, and that I would repent of my contempt for the grace of Saint-Francis. I did not alter my mind, and I left for Loretto the next day in the enjoyment of perfect health.
I reached the Holy City, tired almost to death, for it was the first time in my life that I had walked fifteen miles, drinking nothing but water, although the weather was very warm, because the dry wine used in that part of the country parched me too much. I must observe that, in spite of my poverty, I did not look like a beggar.
As I was entering the city, I saw coming towards me an elderly priest of very respectable appearance, and, as he was evidently taking notice of me, as soon as he drew near, I saluted him, and enquired where I could find a comfortable inn. "I cannot doubt," he said, "that a person like you, travelling on foot, must come here from devout motives; come with me." He turned back, I followed him, and he took me to a fine-looking house. After whispering a few words to a man who appeared to be a steward, he left me saying, very affably, "You shall be well attended to."
My first impression was that I had been mistaken for some other person, but I said nothing.
I was led to a suite of three rooms; the chamber was decorated with damask hangings, the bedstead had a canopy, and the table was supplied with all materials necessary for writing. A servant brought me a light dressing-gown, and another came in with linen and a large tub full of water, which he placed before me; my shoes and stockings were taken off, and my feet washed. A very decent-looking woman, followed by a servant girl, came in a few minutes after, and curtsying very low, she proceeded to make my bed. At that moment the Angelus bell was heard; everyone knelt down, and I followed their example. After the prayer, a small table was neatly laid out, I was asked what sort of wine I wished to drink, and I was provided with newspapers and two silver candlesticks. An hour afterwards I had a delicious fish supper, and, before I retired to bed, a servant came to enquire whether I would take chocolate in the morning before or after mass.
As soon as I was in bed, the servant brought me a night-lamp with a dial, and I remained alone. Except in France I have never had such a good bed as I had that night. It would have cured the most chronic insomnia, but I was not labouring under such a disease, and I slept for ten hours.
This sort of treatment easily led me to believe that I was not in any kind of hostelry; but where was I? How was I to suppose that I was in a hospital?
When I had taken my chocolate, a hair-dresser--quite a fashionable, dapper fellow--made his appearance, dying to give vent to his chattering propensities. Guessing that I did not wish to be shaved, he offered to clip my soft down with the scissors, saying that I would look younger.
"Why do you suppose that I want to conceal my age?"
"It is very natural, because, if your lordship did not wish to do so, your lordship would have shaved long ago. Countess Marcolini is here; does your lordship know her? I must go to her at noon to dress her hair."
I did not feel interested in the Countess Marcolini, and, seeing it, the gossip changed the subject.
"Is this your lordship's first visit to this house? It is the finest hospital throughout the papal states."
"I quite agree with you, and I shall compliment His Holiness on the establishment."
"Oh! His Holiness knows all about it, he resided here before he became pope. If Monsignor Caraffa had not been well acquainted with you, he would not have introduced you here."
Such is the use of barbers throughout Europe; but you must not put any questions to them, for, if you do, they are sure to treat you to an impudent mixture of truth and falsehood, and instead of you pumping them, they will worm everything out of you.
Thinking that it was my duty to present my respectful compliments to Monsignor Caraffa, I desired to be taken to his apartment. He gave me a pleasant welcome, shewed me his library, and entrusted me to the care of one of his abbes, a man of parts, who acted as my cicerone every where. Twenty years afterwards, this same abbe was of great service to me in Rome, and, if still alive, he is a canon of St. John Lateran.
On the following day, I took the communion in the Santa-Casa. The third day was entirely employed in examining the exterior of this truly wonderful sanctuary, and early the next day I resumed my journey, having spent nothing except three paoli for the barber. Halfway to Macerata, I overtook Brother Stephano walking on at a very slow rate. He was delighted to see me again, and told me that he had left Ancona two hours after me, but that he never walked more than three miles a day, being quite satisfied to take two months for a journey which, even on foot, can easily be accomplished in a week. "I want," he said, "to reach Rome without fatigue and in good health. I am in no hurry, and if you feel disposed to travel with me and in the same quiet way, Saint-Francis will not find it difficult to keep us both during the journey."
This lazy fellow was a man about thirty, red-haired, very strong and healthy; a true peasant who had turned himself into a monk only for the sake of living in idle comfort. I answered that, as I was in a hurry to reach Rome, I could not be his travelling companion.
"I undertake to walk six miles, instead of three, today," he said, "if you will carry my cloak, which I find very heavy."
The proposal struck me as a rather funny one; I put on his cloak, and he took my great-coat, but, after the exchange, we cut such a comical figure that every peasant we met laughed at us. His cloak would truly have proved a load for a mule. There were twelve pockets quite full, without taken into account a pocket behind, which he called 'il batticulo', and which contained alone twice as much as all the others. Bread, wine, fresh and salt meat, fowls, eggs, cheese, ham, sausages--everything was to be found in those pockets, which contained provisions enough for a fortnight.
I told him how well I had been treated in Loretto, and he assured me that I might have asked Monsignor Caraffa to give me letters for all the hospitals on my road to Rome, and that everywhere I would have met with the same reception. "The hospitals," he added, "are all under the curse of Saint-Francis, because the mendicant friars are not admitted in them; but we do not mind their gates being shut against us, because they are too far apart from each other. We prefer the homes of the persons attached to our order; these we find everywhere."
"Why do you not ask hospitality in the convents of your order?"
"I am not so foolish. In the first place, I should not be admitted, because, being a fugitive, I have not the written obedience which must be shown at every convent, and I should even run the risk of being thrown into prison; your monks are a cursed bad lot. In the second place, I should not be half so comfortable in the convents as I am with our devout benefactors."
"Why and how are you a fugitive?"
He answered my question by the narrative of his imprisonment and flight, the whole story being a tissue of absurdities and lies. The fugitive Recollet friar was a fool, with something of the wit of harlequin, and he thought that every man listening to him was a greater fool than himself. Yet with all his folly he was not wanting in a certain species of cunning. His religious principles were singular. As he did not wish to be taken for a bigoted man, he was scandalous, and for the sake of making people laugh he would often make use of the most disgusting expressions. He had no taste whatever for women, and no inclination towards the pleasures of the flesh; but this was only owing to a deficiency in his natural temperament, and yet he claimed for himself the virtue of continence. On that score, everything appeared to him food for merriment, and when he had drunk rather too much, he would ask questions of such an indecent character that they would bring blushes on everybody's countenance. Yet the brute would only laugh.
As we were getting within one hundred yards from the house of the devout friend whom he intended to honour with his visit, he took back his heavy cloak. On entering the house he gave his blessing to everybody, and everyone in the family came to kiss his hand. The mistress of the house requested him to say mass for them, and the compliant monk asked to be taken to the vestry, but when I whispered in his ear,--
"Have you forgotten that we have already broken our fast to-day?" he answered, dryly,--
"Mind your own business."
I dared not make any further remark, but during the mass I was indeed surprised, for I saw that he did not understand what he was doing. I could not help being amused at his awkwardness, but I had not yet seen the best part of the comedy. As soon as he had somehow or other finished his mass he went to the confessional, and after hearing in confession every member of the family he took it into his head to refuse absolution to the daughter of his hostess, a girl of twelve or thirteen, pretty and quite charming. He gave his refusal publicly, scolding her and threatening her with the torments of hell. The poor girl, overwhelmed with shame, left the church crying bitterly, and I, feeling real sympathy for her, could not help saying aloud to Stephano that he was a madman. I ran after the girl to offer her my consolations, but she had disappeared, and could not be induced to join us at dinner. This piece of extravagance on the part of the monk exasperated me to such an extent that I felt a very strong inclination to thrash him. In the presence of all the family I told him that he was an impostor, and the infamous destroyer of the poor child's honour; I challenged him to explain his reasons for refusing to give her absolution, but he closed my lips by answering very coolly that he could not betray the secrets of the confessional. I could eat nothing, and was fully determined to leave the scoundrel. As we left the house I was compelled to accept one paolo as the price of the mock mass he had said. I had to fulfil the sorry duty of his treasurer.
The moment we were on the road, I told him that I was going to part company, because I was afraid of being sent as a felon to the galleys if I continued my journey with him. We exchanged high words; I called him an ignorant scoundrel, he styled me beggar. I struck him a violent slap on the face, which he returned with a blow from his stick, but I quickly snatched it from him, and, leaving him, I hastened towards Macerata. A carrier who was going to Tolentino took me with him for two paoli, and for six more I might have reached Foligno in a waggon, but unfortunately a wish for economy made me refuse the offer. I felt well, and I thought I could easily walk as far as Valcimare, but I arrived there only after five hours of hard walking, and thoroughly beaten with fatigue. I was strong and healthy, but a walk of five hours was more than I could bear, because in my infancy I had never gone a league on foot. Young people cannot practise too much the art of walking.
The next day, refreshed by a good night's rest, and ready to resume my journey, I wanted to pay the innkeeper, but, alas! a new misfortune was in store for me! Let the reader imagine my sad position! I recollected that I had forgotten my purse, containing seven sequins, on the table of the inn at Tolentino. What a thunderbolt! I was in despair, but I gave up the idea of going back, as it was very doubtful whether I would find my money. Yet it contained all I possessed, save a few copper coins I had in my pocket. I paid my small bill, and, deeply grieved at my loss, continued my journey towards Seraval. I was within three miles of that place when, in jumping over a ditch, I sprained my ankle, and was compelled to sit down on one side of the road, and to wait until someone should come to my assistance.
In the course of an hour a peasant happened to pass with his donkey, and he agreed to carry me to Seraval for one paolo. As I wanted to spend as little as possible, the peasant took me to an ill-looking fellow who, for two paoli paid in advance, consented to give me a lodging. I asked him to send for a surgeon, but I did not obtain one until the following morning. I had a wretched supper, after which I lay down in a filthy bed. I was in hope that sleep would bring me some relief, but my evil genius was preparing for me a night of torments.
Three men, armed with guns and looking like banditti, came in shortly after I had gone to bed, speaking a kind of slang which I could not make out, swearing, raging, and paying no attention to me. They drank and sang until midnight, after which they threw themselves down on bundles of straw brought for them, and my host, who was drunk, came, greatly to my dismay, to lie down near me. Disgusted at the idea of having such a fellow for my bed companion, I refused to let him come, but he answered, with fearful blasphemies, that all the devils in hell could not prevent him from taking possession of his own bed. I was forced to make room for him, and exclaimed "Heavens, where am I?" He told me that I was in the house of the most honest constable in all the papal states.
Could I possibly have supposed that the peasant would have brought me amongst those accursed enemies of humankind!
He laid himself down near me, but the filthy scoundrel soon compelled me to give him, for certain reasons, such a blow in his chest that he rolled out of bed. He picked himself up, and renewed his beastly attempt. Being well aware that I could not master him without great danger, I got out of bed, thinking myself lucky that he did not oppose my wish, and crawling along as well as I could, I found a chair on which I passed the night. At day-break, my tormentor, called up by his honest comrades, joined them in drinking and shouting, and the three strangers, taking their guns, departed. Left alone by the departure of the vile rabble, I passed another unpleasant hour, calling in vain for someone. At last a young boy came in, I gave him some money and he went for a surgeon. The doctor examined my foot, and assured me that three or four days would set me to rights. He advised me to be removed to an inn, and I most willingly followed his counsel. As soon as I was brought to the inn, I went to bed, and was well cared for, but my position was such that I dreaded the moment of my recovery. I feared that I should be compelled to sell my coat to pay the inn-keeper, and the very thought made me feel ashamed. I began to consider that if I had controlled my sympathy for the young girl so ill-treated by Stephano, I should not have fallen into this sad predicament, and I felt conscious that my sympathy had been a mistake. If I had put up with the faults of the friar, if this and if that, and every other if was conjured up to torment my restless and wretched brain. Yet I must confess that the thoughts which have their origin in misfortune are not without advantage to a young man, for they give him the habit of thinking, and the man who does not think never does anything right.
The morning of the fourth day came, and I was able to walk, as the surgeon had predicted; I made up my mind, although reluctantly, to beg the worthy man to sell my great coat for me--a most unpleasant necessity, for rain had begun to fall. I owed fifteen paoli to the inn-keeper and four to the surgeon. Just as I was going to proffer my painful request, Brother Stephano made his appearance in my room, and burst into loud laughter enquiring whether I had forgotten the blow from his stick!
I was struck with amazement! I begged the surgeon to leave me with the monk, and he immediately complied.
I must ask my readers whether it is possible, in the face of such extraordinary circumstances, not to feel superstitious! What is truly miraculous in this case is the precise minute at which the event took place, for the friar entered the room as the word was hanging on my lips. What surprised me most was the force of Providence, of fortune, of chance, whatever name is given to it, of that very necessary combination which compelled me to find no hope but in that fatal monk, who had begun to be my protective genius in Chiozza at the moment my distress had likewise commenced. And yet, a singular guardian angel, this Stephano! I felt that the mysterious force which threw me in his hands was a punishment rather than a favour.
Nevertheless he was welcome, because I had no doubt of his relieving me from my difficulties,--and whatever might be the power that sent him to me, I felt that I could not do better than to submit to its influence; the destiny of that monk was to escort me to Rome.
"Chi va piano va sano," said the friar as soon as we were alone. He had taken five days to traverse the road over which I had travelled in one day, but he was in good health, and he had met with no misfortune. He told me that, as he was passing, he heard that an abbe, secretary to the Venetian ambassador at Rome, was lying ill at the inn, after having been robbed in Valcimara. "I came to see you," he added, "and as I find you recovered from your illness, we can start again together; I agree to walk six miles every day to please you. Come, let us forget the past, and let us be at once on our way."
"I cannot go; I have lost my purse, and I owe twenty paoli."
"I will go and find the amount in the name of Saint-Francis."
He returned within an hour, but he was accompanied by the infamous constable who told me that, if I had let him know who I was, he would have been happy to keep me in his house. "I will give you," he continued, "forty paoli, if you will promise me the protection of your ambassador; but if you do not succeed in obtaining it for me in Rome, you will undertake to repay me. Therefore you must give me an acknowledgement of the debt."
"I have no objection." Every arrangement was speedily completed; I received the money, paid my debts, and left Seraval with Stephano.
About one o'clock in the afternoon, we saw a wretched-looking house at a short distance from the road, and the friar said, "It is a good distance from here to Collefiorito; we had better put up there for the night." It was in vain that I objected, remonstrating that we were certain of having very poor accommodation! I had to submit to his will. We found a decrepit old man lying on a pallet, two ugly women of thirty or forty, three children entirely naked, a cow, and a cursed dog which barked continually. It was a picture of squalid misery; but the niggardly monk, instead of giving alms to the poor people, asked them to entertain us to supper in the name of Saint-Francis.
"You must boil the hen," said the dying man to the females, "and bring out of the cellar the bottle of wine which I have kept now for twenty years." As he uttered those few words, he was seized with such a fit of coughing that I thought he would die. The friar went near him, and promised him that, by the grace of Saint-Francis, he would get young and well. Moved by the sight of so much misery, I wanted to continue my journey as far as Collefiorito, and to wait there for Stephano, but the women would not let me go, and I remained. After boiling for four hours the hen set the strongest teeth at defiance, and the bottle which I uncorked proved to be nothing but sour vinegar. Losing patience, I got hold of the monk's batticaslo, and took out of it enough for a plentiful supper, and I saw the two women opening their eyes very wide at the sight of our provisions.
We all ate with good appetite, and, after our supper the women made for us two large beds of fresh straw, and we lay down in the dark, as the last bit of candle to be found in the miserable dwelling was burnt out. We had not been lying on the straw five minutes, when Stephano called out to me that one of the women had just placed herself near him, and at the same instant the other one takes me in her arms and kisses me. I push her away, and the monk defends himself against the other; but mine, nothing daunted, insists upon laying herself near me; I get up, the dog springs at my neck, and fear compels me to remain quiet on my straw bed; the monk screams, swears, struggles, the dog barks furiously, the old man coughs; all is noise and confusion. At last Stephano, protected by his heavy garments, shakes off the too loving shrew, and, braving the dog, manages to find his stick. Then he lays about to right and left, striking in every direction; one of the women exclaims, "Oh, God!" the friar answers, "She has her quietus." Calm reigns again in the house, the dog, most likely dead, is silent; the old man, who perhaps has received his death-blow, coughs no more; the children sleep, and the women, afraid of the singular caresses of the monk, sheer off into a corner; the remainder of the night passed off quietly.
At day-break I rose; Stephano was likewise soon up. I looked all round, and my surprise was great when I found that the women had gone out, and seeing that the old man gave no sign of life, and had a bruise on his forehead, I shewed it to Stephano, remarking that very likely he had killed him.
"It is possible," he answered, "but I have not done it intentionally."
Then taking up his batticulo and finding it empty he flew into a violent passion; but I was much pleased, for I had been afraid that the women had gone out to get assistance and to have us arrested, and the robbery of our provisions reassured me, as I felt certain that the poor wretches had gone out of the way so as to secure impunity for their theft. But I laid great stress upon the danger we should run by remaining any longer, and I succeeded in frightening the friar out of the house. We soon met a waggoner going to Folligno; I persuaded Stephano to take the opportunity of putting a good distance between us and the scene of our last adventures; and, as we were eating our breakfast at Folligno, we saw another waggon, quite empty, got a lift in it for a trifle, and thus rode to Pisignano, where a devout person gave us a charitable welcome, and I slept soundly through the night without the dread of being arrested.
Early the next day we reached Spoleti, where Brother Stephano had two benefactors, and, careful not to give either of them a cause of jealousy, he favoured both; we dined with the first, who entertained us like princes, and we had supper and lodging in the house of the second, a wealthy wine merchant, and the father of a large and delightful family. He gave us a delicious supper, and everything would have gone on pleasantly had not the friar, already excited by his good dinner, made himself quite drunk. In that state, thinking to please his new host, he began to abuse the other, greatly to my annoyance; he said the wine he had given us to drink was adulterated, and that the man was a thief. I gave him the lie to his face, and called him a scoundrel. The host and his wife pacified me, saying that they were well acquainted with their neighbour, and knew what to think of him; but the monk threw his napkin at my face, and the host took him very quietly by the arm and put him to bed in a room in which he locked him up. I slept in another room.
In the morning I rose early, and was considering whether it would not be better to go alone, when the friar, who had slept himself sober, made his appearance and told me that we ought for the future to live together like good friends, and not give way to angry feelings; I followed my destiny once more. We resumed our journey, and at Soma, the inn-keeper, a woman of rare beauty, gave us a good dinner, and some excellent Cyprus wine which the Venetian couriers exchanged with her against delicious truffles found in the vicinity of Soma, which sold for a good price in Venice. I did not leave the handsome inn-keeper without losing a part of my heart.
It would be difficult to draw a picture of the indignation which overpowered me when, as we were about two miles from Terni, the infamous friar shewed me a small bag full of truffles which the scoundrel had stolen from the amiable woman by way of thanks for her generous hospitality. The truffles were worth two sequins at least. In my indignation I snatched the bag from him, saying that I would certainly return it to its lawful owner. But, as he had not committed the robbery to give himself the pleasure of making restitution, he threw himself upon me, and we came to a regular fight. But victory did not remain long in abeyance; I forced his stick out of his hands, knocked him into a ditch, and went off. On reaching Terni, I wrote a letter of apology to our beautiful hostess of Soma, and sent back the truffles.
From Terni I went on foot to Otricoli, where I only stayed long enough to examine the fine old bridge, and from there I paid four paoli to a waggoner who carried me to Castel-Nuovo, from which place I walked to Rome. I reached the celebrated city on the 1st of September, at nine in the morning.
I must not forget to mention here a rather peculiar circumstance, which, however ridiculous it may be in reality, will please many of my readers.
An hour after I had left Castel-Nuovo, the atmosphere being calm and the sky clear, I perceived on my right, and within ten paces of me, a pyramidal flame about two feet long and four or five feet above the ground. This apparition surprised me, because it seemed to accompany me. Anxious to examine it, I endeavoured to get nearer to it, but the more I advanced towards it the further it went from me. It would stop when I stood still, and when the road along which I was travelling happened to be lined with trees, I no longer saw it, but it was sure to reappear as soon as I reached a portion of the road without trees. I several times retraced my steps purposely, but, every time I did so, the flame disappeared, and would not shew itself again until I proceeded towards Rome. This extraordinary beacon left me when daylight chased darkness from the sky.
What a splendid field for ignorant superstition, if there had been any witnesses to that phenomenon, and if I had chanced to make a great name in Rome! History is full of such trifles, and the world is full of people who attach great importance to them in spite of the so-called light of science. I must candidly confess that, although somewhat versed in physics, the sight of that small meteor gave me singular ideas. But I was prudent enough not to mention the circumstance to any one.
When I reached the ancient capital of the world, I possessed only seven paoli, and consequently I did not loiter about. I paid no attention to the splendid entrance through the gate of the polar trees, which is by mistake pompously called of the people, or to the beautiful square of the same name, or to the portals of the magnificent churches, or to all the stately buildings which generally strike the traveller as he enters the city. I went straight towards Monte-Magnanopoli, where, according to the address given to me, I was to find the bishop. There I was informed that he had left Rome ten days before, leaving instructions to send me to Naples free of expense. A coach was to start for Naples the next day; not caring to see Rome, I went to bed until the time for the departure of the coach. I travelled with three low fellows to whom I did not address one word through the whole of the journey. I entered Naples on the 6th day of September.
I went immediately to the address which had been given to me in Rome; the bishop was not there. I called at the Convent of the Minims, and I found that he had left Naples to proceed to Martorano. I enquired whether he had left any instructions for me, but all in vain, no one could give me any information. And there I was, alone in a large city, without a friend, with eight carlini in my pocket, and not knowing what to do! But never mind; fate calls me to Martorano, and to Martorano I must go. The distance, after all, is only two hundred miles.
I found several drivers starting for Cosenza, but when they heard that I had no luggage, they refused to take me, unless I paid in advance. They were quite right, but their prudence placed me under the necessity of going on foot. Yet I felt I must reach Martorano, and I made up my mind to walk the distance, begging food and lodging like the very reverend Brother Stephano.
First of all I made a light meal for one fourth of my money, and, having been informed that I had to follow the Salerno road, I went towards Portici where I arrived in an hour and a half. I already felt rather fatigued; my legs, if not my head, took me to an inn, where I ordered a room and some supper. I was served in good style, my appetite was excellent, and I passed a quiet night in a comfortable bed. In the morning I told the inn-keeper that I would return for my dinner, and I went out to visit the royal palace. As I passed through the gate, I was met by a man of prepossessing appearance, dressed in the eastern fashion, who offered to shew me all over the palace, saying that I would thus save my money. I was in a position to accept any offer; I thanked him for his kindness.
Happening during the conversation to state that I was a Venetian, he told me that he was my subject, since he came from Zante. I acknowledged his polite compliment with a reverence.
"I have," he said, "some very excellent muscatel wine grown in the East, which I could sell you cheap."
"I might buy some, but I warn you I am a good judge."
"So much the better. Which do you prefer?"
"The Cerigo wine."
"You are right. I have some rare Cerigo muscatel, and we can taste it if you have no objection to dine with me."
"None whatever."
"I can likewise give you the wines of Samos and Cephalonia. I have also a quantity of minerals, plenty of vitriol, cinnabar, antimony, and one hundred quintals of mercury."
"Are all these goods here?"
"No, they are in Naples. Here I have only the muscatel wine and the mercury."
It is quite naturally and without any intention to deceive, that a young man accustomed to poverty, and ashamed of it when he speaks to a rich stranger, boasts of his means--of his fortune. As I was talking with my new acquaintance, I recollected an amalgam of mercury with lead and bismuth, by which the mercury increases one-fourth in weight. I said nothing, but I bethought myself that if the mystery should be unknown to the Greek I might profit by it. I felt that some cunning was necessary, and that he would not care for my secret if I proposed to sell it to him without preparing the way. The best plan was to astonish my man with the miracle of the augmentation of the mercury, treat it as a jest, and see what his intentions would be. Cheating is a crime, but honest cunning may be considered as a species of prudence. True, it is a quality which is near akin to roguery; but that cannot be helped, and the man who, in time of need, does not know how to exercise his cunning nobly is a fool. The Greeks call this sort of wisdom Cerdaleophyon from the word cerdo; fox, and it might be translated by foxdom if there were such a word in English.
After we had visited the palace we returned to the inn, and the Greek took me to his room, in which he ordered the table to be laid for two. In the next room I saw several large vessels of muscatel wine and four flagons of mercury, each containing about ten pounds.
My plans were laid, and I asked him to let me have one of the flagons of mercury at the current price, and took it to my room. The Greek went out to attend to his business, reminding me that he expected me to dinner. I went out likewise, and bought two pounds and a half of lead and an equal quantity of bismuth; the druggist had no more. I came back to the inn, asked for some large empty bottles, and made the amalgam.
We dined very pleasantly, and the Greek was delighted because I pronounced his Cerigo excellent. In the course of conversation he inquired laughingly why I had bought one of his flagons of mercury.
"You can find out if you come to my room," I said.
After dinner we repaired to my room, and he found his mercury divided in two vessels. I asked for a piece of chamois, strained the liquid through it, filled his own flagon, and the Greek stood astonished at the sight of the fine mercury, about one-fourth of a flagon, which remained over, with an equal quantity of a powder unknown to him; it was the bismuth. My merry laugh kept company with his astonishment, and calling one of the servants of the inn I sent him to the druggist to sell the mercury that was left. He returned in a few minutes and handed me fifteen carlini.
The Greek, whose surprise was complete, asked me to give him back his own flagon, which was there quite full, and worth sixty carlini. I handed it to him with a smile, thanking him for the opportunity he had afforded me of earning fifteen carlini, and took care to add that I should leave for Salerno early the next morning.
"Then we must have supper together this evening," he said.
During the afternoon we took a walk towards Mount Vesuvius. Our conversation went from one subject to another, but no allusion was made to the mercury, though I could see that the Greek had something on his mind. At supper he told me, jestingly, that I ought to stop in Portici the next day to make forty-five carlini out of the three other flagons of mercury. I answered gravely that I did not want the money, and that I had augmented the first flagon only for the sake of procuring him an agreeable surprise.
"But," said he, "you must be very wealthy."
"No, I am not, because I am in search of the secret of the augmentation of gold, and it is a very expensive study for us."
"How many are there in your company?"
"Only my uncle and myself."
"What do you want to augment gold for? The augmentation of mercury ought to be enough for you. Pray, tell me whether the mercury augmented by you to-day is again susceptible of a similar increase."
"No, if it were so, it would be an immense source of wealth for us."
"I am much pleased with your sincerity."
Supper over I paid my bill, and asked the landlord to get me a carriage and pair of horses to take me to Salerno early the next morning. I thanked the Greek for his delicious muscatel wine, and, requesting his address in Naples, I assured him that he would see me within a fortnight, as I was determined to secure a cask of his Cerigo.
We embraced each other, and I retired to bed well pleased with my day's work, and in no way astonished at the Greek's not offering to purchase my secret, for I was certain that he would not sleep for anxiety, and that I should see him early in the morning. At all events, I had enough money to reach the Tour-du-Grec, and there Providence would take care of me. Yet it seemed to me very difficult to travel as far as Martorano, begging like a mendicant-friar, because my outward appearance did not excite pity; people would feel interested in me only from a conviction that I needed nothing--a very unfortunate conviction, when the object of it is truly poor.
As I had forseen, the Greek was in my room at daybreak. I received him in a friendly way, saying that we could take coffee together.
"Willingly; but tell me, reverend abbe, whether you would feel disposed to sell me your secret?"
"Why not? When we meet in Naples--"
"But why not now?"
"I am expected in Salerno; besides, I would only sell the secret for a large sum of money, and I am not acquainted with you."
"That does not matter, as I am sufficiently known here to pay you in cash. How much would you want?"
"Two thousand ounces."
"I agree to pay you that sum provided that I succeed in making the augmentation myself with such matter as you name to me, which I will purchase."
"It is impossible, because the necessary ingredients cannot be got here; but they are common enough in Naples."
"If it is any sort of metal, we can get it at the Tour-du-Grec. We could go there together. Can you tell me what is the expense of the augmentation?"
"One and a half per cent. but are you likewise known at the Tour-du-Grec, for I should not like to lose my time?"
"Your doubts grieve me."
Saying which, he took a pen, wrote a few words, and handed to me this order:
"At sight, pay to bearer the sum of fifty gold ounces, on account of Panagiotti."
He told me that the banker resided within two hundred yards of the inn, and he pressed me to go there myself. I did not stand upon ceremony, but went to the banker who paid me the amount. I returned to my room in which he was waiting for me, and placed the gold on the table, saying that we could now proceed together to the Tour-du-Grec, where we would complete our arrangements after the signature of a deed of agreement. The Greek had his own carriage and horses; he gave orders for them to be got ready, and we left the inn; but he had nobly insisted upon my taking possession of the fifty ounces.
When we arrived at the Tour-du-Grec, he signed a document by which he promised to pay me two thousand ounces as soon as I should have discovered to him the process of augmenting mercury by one-fourth without injuring its quality, the amalgam to be equal to the mercury which I had sold in his presence at Portici.
He then gave me a bill of exchange payable at sight in eight days on M. Genaro de Carlo. I told him that the ingredients were lead and bismuth; the first, combining with mercury, and the second giving to the whole the perfect fluidity necessary to strain it through the chamois leather. The Greek went out to try the amalgam--I do not know where, and I dined alone, but toward evening he came back, looking very disconsolate, as I had expected.
"I have made the amalgam," he said, "but the mercury is not perfect."
"It is equal to that which I have sold in Portici, and that is the very letter of your engagement."
"But my engagement says likewise without injury to the quality. You must agree that the quality is injured, because it is no longer susceptible of further augmentation."
"You knew that to be the case; the point is its equality with the mercury I sold in Portici. But we shall have to go to law, and you will lose. I am sorry the secret should become public. Congratulate yourself, sir, for, if you should gain the lawsuit, you will have obtained my secret for nothing. I would never have believed you capable of deceiving me in such a manner."
"Reverend sir, I can assure you that I would not willingly deceive any one."
"Do you know the secret, or do you not? Do you suppose I would have given it to you without the agreement we entered into? Well, there will be some fun over this affair in Naples, and the lawyers will make money out of it. But I am much grieved at this turn of affairs, and I am very sorry that I allowed myself to be so easily deceived by your fine talk. In the mean time, here are your fifty ounces."
As I was taking the money out of my pocket, frightened to death lest he should accept it, he left the room, saying that he would not have it. He soon returned; we had supper in the same room, but at separate tables; war had been openly declared, but I felt certain that a treaty of peace would soon be signed. We did not exchange one word during the evening, but in the morning he came to me as I was getting ready to go. I again offered to return the money I received, but he told me to keep it, and proposed to give me fifty ounces more if I would give him back his bill of exchange for two thousand. We began to argue the matter quietly, and after two hours of discussion I gave in. I received fifty ounces more, we dined together like old friends, and embraced each other cordially. As I was bidding him adieu, he gave me an order on his house at Naples for a barrel of muscatel wine, and he presented me with a splendid box containing twelve razors with silver handles, manufactured in the Tour-du-Grec. We parted the best friends in the world and well pleased with each other.
I remained two days in Salerno to provide myself with linen and other necessaries. Possessing about one hundred sequins, and enjoying good health, I was very proud of my success, in which I could not see any cause of reproach to myself, for the cunning I had brought into play to insure the sale of my secret could not be found fault with except by the most intolerant of moralists, and such men have no authority to speak on matters of business. At all events, free, rich, and certain of presenting myself before the bishop with a respectable appearance, and not like a beggar, I soon recovered my natural spirits, and congratulated myself upon having bought sufficient experience to insure me against falling a second time an easy prey to a Father Corsini, to thieving gamblers, to mercenary women, and particularly to the impudent scoundrels who barefacedly praise so well those they intend to dupe--a species of knaves very common in the world, even amongst people who form what is called good society.
I left Salerno with two priests who were going to Cosenza on business, and we traversed the distance of one hundred and forty-two miles in twenty-two hours. The day after my arrival in the capital of Calabria, I took a small carriage and drove to Martorano. During the journey, fixing my eyes upon the famous mare Ausonaum, I felt delighted at finding myself in the middle of Magna Grecia, rendered so celebrated for twenty-four centuries by its connection with Pythagoras. I looked with astonishment upon a country renowned for its fertility, and in which, in spite of nature's prodigality, my eyes met everywhere the aspect of terrible misery, the complete absence of that pleasant superfluity which helps man to enjoy life, and the degradation of the inhabitants sparsely scattered on a soil where they ought to be so numerous; I felt ashamed to acknowledge them as originating from the same stock as myself. Such is, however the Terra di Lavoro where labour seems to be execrated, where everything is cheap, where the miserable inhabitants consider that they have made a good bargain when they have found anyone disposed to take care of the fruit which the ground supplies almost spontaneously in too great abundance, and for which there is no market. I felt compelled to admit the justice of the Romans who had called them Brutes instead of Byutians. The good priests with whom I had been travelling laughed at my dread of the tarantula and of the crasydra, for the disease brought on by the bite of those insects appeared to me more fearful even than a certain disease with which I was already too well acquainted. They assured me that all the stories relating to those creatures were fables; they laughed at the lines which Virgil has devoted to them in the Georgics as well as at all those I quoted to justify my fears.
I found Bishop Bernard de Bernardis occupying a hard chair near an old table on which he was writing. I fell on my knees, as it is customary to do before a prelate, but, instead of giving me his blessing, he raised me up from the floor, and, folding me in his arms, embraced me tenderly. He expressed his deep sorrow when I told him that in Naples I had not been able to find any instructions to enable me to join him, but his face lighted up again when I added that I was indebted to no one for money, and that I was in good health. He bade me take a seat, and with a heavy sigh he began to talk of his poverty, and ordered a servant to lay the cloth for three persons. Besides this servant, his lordship's suite consisted of a most devout-looking housekeeper, and of a priest whom I judged to be very ignorant from the few words he uttered during our meal. The house inhabited by his lordship was large, but badly built and poorly kept. The furniture was so miserable that, in order to make up a bed for me in the room adjoining his chamber, the poor bishop had to give up one of his two mattresses! His dinner, not to say any more about it, frightened me, for he was very strict in keeping the rules of his order, and this being a fast day, he did not eat any meat, and the oil was very bad. Nevertheless, monsignor was an intelligent man, and, what is still better, an honest man. He told me, much to my surprise, that his bishopric, although not one of little importance, brought him in only five hundred ducat-diregno yearly, and that, unfortunately, he had contracted debts to the amount of six hundred. He added, with a sigh, that his only happiness was to feel himself out of the clutches of the monks, who had persecuted him, and made his life a perfect purgatory for fifteen years. All these confidences caused me sorrow and mortification, because they proved to me, not only that I was not in the promised land where a mitre could be picked up, but also that I would be a heavy charge for him. I felt that he was grieved himself at the sorry present his patronage seemed likely to prove.
I enquired whether he had a good library, whether there were any literary men, or any good society in which one could spend a few agreeable hours. He smiled and answered that throughout his diocese there was not one man who could boast of writing decently, and still less of any taste or knowledge in literature; that there was not a single bookseller, nor any person caring even for the newspapers. But he promised me that we would follow our literary tastes together, as soon as he received the books he had ordered from Naples.
That was all very well, but was this the place for a young man of eighteen to live in, without a good library, without good society, without emulation and literary intercourse? The good bishop, seeing me full of sad thoughts, and almost astounded at the prospect of the miserable life I should have to lead with him, tried to give me courage by promising to do everything in his power to secure my happiness.
The next day, the bishop having to officiate in his pontifical robes, I had an opportunity of seeing all the clergy, and all the faithful of the diocese, men and women, of whom the cathedral was full; the sight made me resolve at once to leave Martorano. I thought I was gazing upon a troop of brutes for whom my external appearance was a cause of scandal. How ugly were the women! What a look of stupidity and coarseness in the men! When I returned to the bishop's house I told the prelate that I did not feel in me the vocation to die within a few months a martyr in this miserable city.
"Give me your blessing," I added, "and let me go; or, rather, come with me. I promise you that we shall make a fortune somewhere else."
The proposal made him laugh repeatedly during the day. Had he agreed to it he would not have died two years afterwards in the prime of manhood. The worthy man, feeling how natural was my repugnance, begged me to forgive him for having summoned me to him, and, considering it his duty to send me back to Venice, having no money himself and not being aware that I had any, he told me that he would give me an introduction to a worthy citizen of Naples who would lend me sixty ducati-di-regno to enable me to reach my native city. I accepted his offer with gratitude, and going to my room I took out of my trunk the case of fine razors which the Greek had given me, and I begged his acceptance of it as a souvenir of me. I had great difficulty in forcing it upon him, for it was worth the sixty ducats, and to conquer his resistance I had to threaten to remain with him if he refused my present. He gave me a very flattering letter of recommendation for the Archbishop of Cosenza, in which he requested him to forward me as far as Naples without any expense to myself. It was thus I left Martorano sixty hours after my arrival, pitying the bishop whom I was leaving behind, and who wept as he was pouring heartfelt blessings upon me.
The Archbishop of Cosenza, a man of wealth and of intelligence, offered me a room in his palace. During the dinner I made, with an overflowing heart, the eulogy of the Bishop of Martorano; but I railed mercilessly at his diocese and at the whole of Calabria in so cutting a manner that I greatly amused the archbishop and all his guests, amongst whom were two ladies, his relatives, who did the honours of the dinner-table. The youngest, however, objected to the satirical style in which I had depicted her country, and declared war against me; but I contrived to obtain peace again by telling her that Calabria would be a delightful country if one-fourth only of its inhabitants were like her. Perhaps it was with the idea of proving to me that I had been wrong in my opinion that the archbishop gave on the following day a splendid supper.
Cosenza is a city in which a gentleman can find plenty of amusement; the nobility are wealthy, the women are pretty, and men generally well-informed, because they have been educated in Naples or in Rome. I left Cosenza on the third day with a letter from the archbishop for the far-famed Genovesi.
I had five travelling companions, whom I judged, from their appearance, to be either pirates or banditti, and I took very good care not to let them see or guess that I had a well-filled purse. I likewise thought it prudent to go to bed without undressing during the whole journey--an excellent measure of prudence for a young man travelling in that part of the country.
I reached Naples on the 16th of September, 1743, and I lost no time in presenting the letter of the Bishop of Martorano. It was addressed to a M. Gennaro Polo at St. Anne's. This excellent man, whose duty was only to give me the sum of sixty ducats, insisted, after perusing the bishop's letter, upon receiving me in his house, because he wished me to make the acquaintance of his son, who was a poet like myself. The bishop had represented my poetry as sublime. After the usual ceremonies, I accepted his kind invitation, my trunk was sent for, and I was a guest in the house of M. Gennaro Polo.
CHAPTER IX
My Stay in Naples; It Is Short but Happy--Don Antonio
Casanova--Don Lelio Caraffa--I Go to Rome in Very Agreeable
Company, and Enter the Service of Cardinal Acquaviva--
Barbara--Testaccio--Frascati
I had no difficulty in answering the various questions which Doctor Gennaro addressed to me, but I was surprised, and even displeased, at the constant peals of laughter with which he received my answers. The piteous description of miserable Calabria, and the picture of the sad situation of the Bishop of Martorano, appeared to me more likely to call forth tears than to excite hilarity, and, suspecting that some mystification was being played upon me, I was very near getting angry when, becoming more composed, he told me with feeling that I must kindly excuse him; that his laughter was a disease which seemed to be endemic in his family, for one of his uncles died of it.
"What!" I exclaimed, "died of laughing!"
"Yes. This disease, which was not known to Hippocrates, is called li flati."
"What do you mean? Does an hypochondriac affection, which causes sadness and lowness in all those who suffer from it, render you cheerful?"
"Yes, because, most likely, my flati, instead of influencing the hypochondrium, affects my spleen, which my physician asserts to be the organ of laughter. It is quite a discovery."
"You are mistaken; it is a very ancient notion, and it is the only function which is ascribed to the spleen in our animal organization."
"Well, we must discuss the matter at length, for I hope you will remain with us a few weeks."
"I wish I could, but I must leave Naples to-morrow or the day after."
"Have you got any money?"
"I rely upon the sixty ducats you have to give me."
At these words, his peals of laughter began again, and as he could see that I was annoyed, he said, "I am amused at the idea that I can keep you here as long as I like. But be good enough to see my son; he writes pretty verses enough."
And truly his son, although only fourteen, was already a great poet.
A servant took me to the apartment of the young man whom I found possessed of a pleasing countenance and engaging manners. He gave me a polite welcome, and begged to be excused if he could not attend to me altogether for the present, as he had to finish a song which he was composing for a relative of the Duchess de Rovino, who was taking the veil at the Convent of St. Claire, and the printer was waiting for the manuscript. I told him that his excuse was a very good one, and I offered to assist him. He then read his song, and I found it so full of enthusiasm, and so truly in the style of Guidi, that I advised him to call it an ode; but as I had praised all the truly beautiful passages, I thought I could venture to point out the weak ones, and I replaced them by verses of my own composition. He was delighted, and thanked me warmly, inquiring whether I was Apollo. As he was writing his ode, I composed a sonnet on the same subject, and, expressing his admiration for it he begged me to sign it, and to allow him to send it with his poetry.
While I was correcting and recopying my manuscript, he went to his father to find out who I was, which made the old man laugh until supper-time. In the evening, I had the pleasure of seeing that my bed had been prepared in the young man's chamber.
Doctor Gennaro's family was composed of this son and of a daughter unfortunately very plain, of his wife and of two elderly, devout sisters. Amongst the guests at the supper-table I met several literary men, and the Marquis Galiani, who was at that time annotating Vitruvius. He had a brother, an abbe whose acquaintance I made twenty years after, in Paris, when he was secretary of embassy to Count Cantillana. The next day, at supper, I was presented to the celebrated Genovesi; I had already sent him the letter of the Archbishop of Cosenza. He spoke to me of Apostolo Zeno and of the Abbe Conti. He remarked that it was considered a very venial sin for a regular priest to say two masses in one day for the sake of earning two carlini more, but that for the same sin a secular priest would deserve to be burnt at the stake.
The nun took the veil on the following day, and Gennaro's ode and my sonnet had the greatest success. A Neapolitan gentleman, whose name was the same as mine, expressed a wish to know me, and, hearing that I resided at the doctor's, he called to congratulate him on the occasion of his feast-day, which happened to fall on the day following the ceremony at Sainte-Claire.
Don Antonio Casanova, informing me of his name, enquired whether my family was originally from Venice.
"I am, sir," I answered modestly, "the great-grandson of the unfortunate Marco Antonio Casanova, secretary to Cardinal Pompeo Colonna, who died of the plague in Rome, in the year 1528, under the pontificate of Clement VII." The words were scarcely out of my lips when he embraced me, calling me his cousin, but we all thought that Doctor Gennaro would actually die with laughter, for it seemed impossible to laugh so immoderately without risk of life. Madame Gennaro was very angry and told my newly-found cousin that he might have avoided enacting such a scene before her husband, knowing his disease, but he answered that he never thought the circumstance likely to provoke mirth. I said nothing, for, in reality, I felt that the recognition was very comic. Our poor laugher having recovered his composure, Casanova, who had remained very serious, invited me to dinner for the next day with my young friend Paul Gennaro, who had already become my alter ego.
When we called at his house, my worthy cousin showed me his family tree, beginning with a Don Francisco, brother of Don Juan. In my pedigree, which I knew by heart, Don Juan, my direct ancestor, was a posthumous child. It was possible that there might have been a brother of Marco Antonio's; but when he heard that my genealogy began with Don Francisco, from Aragon, who had lived in the fourteenth century, and that consequently all the pedigree of the illustrious house of the Casanovas of Saragossa belonged to him, his joy knew no bounds; he did not know what to do to convince me that the same blood was flowing in his veins and in mine.
He expressed some curiosity to know what lucky accident had brought me to Naples; I told him that, having embraced the ecclesiastical profession, I was going to Rome to seek my fortune. He then presented me to his family, and I thought that I could read on the countenance of my cousin, his dearly beloved wife, that she was not much pleased with the newly-found relationship, but his pretty daughter, and a still prettier niece of his, might very easily have given me faith in the doctrine that blood is thicker than water, however fabulous it may be.
After dinner, Don Antonio informed me that the Duchess de Bovino had expressed a wish to know the Abbe Casanova who had written the sonnet in honour of her relative, and that he would be very happy to introduce me to her as his own cousin. As we were alone at that moment, I begged he would not insist on presenting me, as I was only provided with travelling suits, and had to be careful of my purse so as not to arrive in Rome without money. Delighted at my confidence, and approving my economy, he said, "I am rich, and you must not scruple to come with me to my tailor;" and he accompanied his offer with an assurance that the circumstance would not be known to anyone, and that he would feel deeply mortified if I denied him the pleasure of serving me. I shook him warmly by the hand, and answered that I was ready to do anything he pleased. We went to a tailor who took my measure, and who brought me on the following day everything necessary to the toilet of the most elegant abbe. Don Antonio called on me, and remained to dine with Don Gennaro, after which he took me and my friend Paul to the duchess. This lady, according to the Neapolitan fashion, called me thou in her very first compliment of welcome. Her daughter, then only ten or twelve years old, was very handsome, and a few years later became Duchess de Matalona. The duchess presented me with a snuff-box in pale tortoise-shell with arabesque incrustations in gold, and she invited us to dine with her on the morrow, promising to take us after dinner to the Convent of St. Claire to pay a visit to the new nun.
As we came out of the palace of the duchess, I left my friends and went alone to Panagiotti's to claim the barrel of muscatel wine. The manager was kind enough to have the barrel divided into two smaller casks of equal capacity, and I sent one to Don Antonio, and the other to Don Gennaro. As I was leaving the shop I met the worthy Panagiotti, who was glad to see me. Was I to blush at the sight of the good man I had at first deceived? No, for in his opinion I had acted very nobly towards him.
Don Gennaro, as I returned home, managed to thank me for my handsome present without laughing, and the next day Don Antonio, to make up for the muscatel wine I had sent him, offered me a gold-headed cane, worth at least fifteen ounces, and his tailor brought me a travelling suit and a blue great coat, with the buttonholes in gold lace. I therefore found myself splendidly equipped.
At the Duchess de Bovino's dinner I made the acquaintance of the wisest and most learned man in Naples, the illustrious Don Lelio Caraffa, who belonged to the ducal family of Matalona, and whom King Carlos honoured with the title of friend.
I spent two delightful hours in the convent parlour, coping successfully with the curiosity of all the nuns who were pressing against the grating. Had destiny allowed me to remain in Naples my fortune would have been made; but, although I had no fixed plan, the voice of fate summoned me to Rome, and therefore I resisted all the entreaties of my cousin Antonio to accept the honourable position of tutor in several houses of the highest order.
Don Antonio gave a splendid dinner in my honour, but he was annoyed and angry because he saw that his wife looked daggers at her new cousin. I thought that, more than once, she cast a glance at my new costume, and then whispered to the guest next to her. Very likely she knew what had taken place. There are some positions in life to which I could never be reconciled. If, in the most brilliant circle, there is one person who affects to stare at me I lose all presence of mind. Self-dignity feels outraged, my wit dies away, and I play the part of a dolt. It is a weakness on my part, but a weakness I cannot overcome.
Don Lelio Caraffa offered me a very liberal salary if I would undertake the education of his nephew, the Duke de Matalona, then ten years of age. I expressed my gratitude, and begged him to be my true benefactor in a different manner--namely, by giving me a few good letters of introduction for Rome, a favour which he granted at once. He gave me one for Cardinal Acquaviva, and another for Father Georgi.
I found out that the interest felt towards me by my friends had induced them to obtain for me the honour of kissing the hand of Her Majesty the Queen, and I hastened my preparations to leave Naples, for the queen would certainly have asked me some questions, and I could not have avoided telling her that I had just left Martorano and the poor bishop whom she had sent there. The queen likewise knew my mother; she would very likely have alluded to my mother's profession in Dresden; it would have mortified Don Antonio, and my pedigree would have been covered with ridicule. I knew the force of prejudice! I should have been ruined, and I felt I should do well to withdraw in good time. As I took leave of him, Don Antonio presented me with a fine gold watch and gave me a letter for Don Gaspar Vidaldi, whom he called his best friend. Don Gennaro paid me the sixty ducats, and his son, swearing eternal friendship, asked me to write to him. They all accompanied me to the coach, blending their tears with mine, and loading me with good wishes and blessings.
From my landing in Chiozza up to my arrival in Naples, fortune had seemed bent upon frowning on me; in Naples it began to shew itself less adverse, and on my return to that city it entirely smiled upon me. Naples has always been a fortunate place for me, as the reader of my memoirs will discover. My readers must not forget that in Portici I was on the point of disgracing myself, and there is no remedy against the degradation of the mind, for nothing can restore it to its former standard. It is a case of disheartening atony for which there is no possible cure.
I was not ungrateful to the good Bishop of Martorano, for, if he had unwittingly injured me by summoning me to his diocese, I felt that to his letter for M. Gennaro I was indebted for all the good fortune which had just befallen me. I wrote to him from Rome.
I was wholly engaged in drying my tears as we were driving through the beautiful street of Toledo, and it was only after we had left Naples that I could find time to examine the countenance of my travelling companions. Next to me, I saw a man of from forty to fifty, with a pleasing face and a lively air, but, opposite to me, two charming faces delighted my eyes. They belonged to two ladies, young and pretty, very well dressed, with a look of candour and modesty. This discovery was most agreeable, but I felt sad and I wanted calm and silence. We reached Avessa without one word being exchanged, and as the vetturino stopped there only to water his mules, we did not get out of the coach. From Avessa to Capua my companions conversed almost without interruption, and, wonderful to relate! I did not open my lips once. I was amused by the Neapolitan jargon of the gentleman, and by the pretty accent of the ladies, who were evidently Romans. It was a most wonderful feat for me to remain five hours before two charming women without addressing one word to them, without paying them one compliment.
At Capua, where we were to spend the night, we put up at an inn, and were shown into a room with two beds--a very usual thing in Italy. The Neapolitan, addressing himself to me, said,
"Am I to have the honour of sleeping with the reverend gentleman?"
I answered in a very serious tone that it was for him to choose or to arrange it otherwise, if he liked. The answer made the two ladies smile, particularly the one whom I preferred, and it seemed to me a good omen.
We were five at supper, for it is usual for the vetturino to supply his travellers with their meals, unless some private agreement is made otherwise, and to sit down at table with them. In the desultory talk which went on during the supper, I found in my travelling companions decorum, propriety, wit, and the manners of persons accustomed to good society. I became curious to know who they were, and going down with the driver after supper, I asked him.
"The gentleman," he told me, "is an advocate, and one of the ladies is his wife, but I do not know which of the two."
I went back to our room, and I was polite enough to go to bed first, in order to make it easier for the ladies to undress themselves with freedom; I likewise got up first in the morning, left the room, and only returned when I was called for breakfast. The coffee was delicious. I praised it highly, and the lady, the one who was my favourite, promised that I should have the same every morning during our journey. The barber came in after breakfast; the advocate was shaved, and the barber offered me his services, which I declined, but the rogue declared that it was slovenly to wear one's beard.
When we had resumed our seats in the coach, the advocate made some remark upon the impudence of barbers in general.
"But we ought to decide first," said the lady, "whether or not it is slovenly to go bearded."
"Of course it is," said the advocate. "Beard is nothing but a dirty excrescence."
"You may think so," I answered, "but everybody does not share your opinion. Do we consider as a dirty excrescence the hair of which we take so much care, and which is of the same nature as the beard? Far from it; we admire the length and the beauty of the hair."
"Then," remarked the lady, "the barber is a fool."
"But after all," I asked, "have I any beard?"
"I thought you had," she answered.
"In that case, I will begin to shave as soon as I reach Rome, for this is the first time that I have been convicted of having a beard."
"My dear wife," exclaimed the advocate, "you should have held your tongue; perhaps the reverend abbe is going to Rome with the intention of becoming a Capuchin friar."
The pleasantry made me laugh, but, unwilling that he should have the last word, I answered that he had guessed rightly, that such had been my intention, but that I had entirely altered my mind since I had seen his wife.
"Oh! you are wrong," said the joyous Neapolitan, "for my wife is very fond of Capuchins, and if you wish to please her, you had better follow your original vocation." Our conversation continued in the same tone of pleasantry, and the day passed off in an agreeable manner; in the evening we had a very poor supper at Garillan, but we made up for it by cheerfulness and witty conversation. My dawning inclination for the advocate's wife borrowed strength from the affectionate manner she displayed towards me.
The next day she asked me, after we had resumed our journey, whether I intended to make a long stay in Rome before returning to Venice. I answered that, having no acquaintances in Rome, I was afraid my life there would be very dull.
"Strangers are liked in Rome," she said, "I feel certain that you will be pleased with your residence in that city."
"May I hope, madam, that you will allow me to pay you my respects?"
"We shall be honoured by your calling on us," said the advocate.
My eyes were fixed upon his charming wife. She blushed, but I did not appear to notice it. I kept up the conversation, and the day passed as pleasantly as the previous one. We stopped at Terracina, where they gave us a room with three beds, two single beds and a large one between the two others. It was natural that the two sisters should take the large bed; they did so, and undressed themselves while the advocate and I went on talking at the table, with our backs turned to them. As soon as they had gone to rest, the advocate took the bed on which he found his nightcap, and I the other, which was only about one foot distant from the large bed. I remarked that the lady by whom I was captivated was on the side nearest my couch, and, without much vanity, I could suppose that it was not owing only to chance.
I put the light out and laid down, revolving in my mind a project which I could not abandon, and yet durst not execute. In vain did I court sleep. A very faint light enabled me to perceive the bed in which the pretty woman was lying, and my eyes would, in spite of myself, remain open. It would be difficult to guess what I might have done at last (I had already fought a hard battle with myself for more than an hour), when I saw her rise, get out of her bed, and go and lay herself down near her husband, who, most likely, did not wake up, and continued to sleep in peace, for I did not hear any noise.
Vexed, disgusted.... I tried to compose myself to sleep, and I woke only at day-break. Seeing the beautiful wandering star in her own bed, I got up, dressed myself in haste, and went out, leaving all my companions fast asleep. I returned to the inn only at the time fixed for our departure, and I found the advocate and the two ladies already in the coach, waiting for me.
The lady complained, in a very obliging manner, of my not having cared for her coffee; I pleaded as an excuse a desire for an early walk, and I took care not to honour her even with a look; I feigned to be suffering from the toothache, and remained in my corner dull and silent. At Piperno she managed to whisper to me that my toothache was all sham; I was pleased with the reproach, because it heralded an explanation which I craved for, in spite of my vexation.
During the afternoon I continued my policy of the morning. I was morose and silent until we reached Serinonetta, where we were to pass the night. We arrived early, and the weather being fine, the lady said that she could enjoy a walk, and asked me politely to offer her my arm. I did so, for it would have been rude to refuse; besides I had had enough of my sulking fit. An explanation could alone bring matters back to their original standing, but I did not know how to force it upon the lady. Her husband followed us at some distance with the sister.
When we were far enough in advance, I ventured to ask her why she had supposed my toothache to have been feigned.
"I am very candid," she said; "it is because the difference in your manner was so marked, and because you were so careful to avoid looking at me through the whole day. A toothache would not have prevented you from being polite, and therefore I thought it had been feigned for some purpose. But I am certain that not one of us can possibly have given you any grounds for such a rapid change in your manner."
"Yet something must have caused the change, and you, madam, are only half sincere."
"You are mistaken, sir, I am entirely sincere; and if I have given you any motive for anger, I am, and must remain, ignorant of it. Be good enough to tell me what I have done."
"Nothing, for I have no right to complain."
"Yes, you have; you have a right, the same that I have myself; the right which good society grants to every one of its members. Speak, and shew yourself as sincere as I am."
"You are certainly bound not to know, or to pretend not to know the real cause, but you must acknowledge that my duty is to remain silent."
"Very well; now it is all over; but if your duty bids you to conceal the cause of your bad humour, it also bids you not to shew it. Delicacy sometimes enforces upon a polite gentleman the necessity of concealing certain feelings which might implicate either himself or others; it is a restraint for the mind, I confess, but it has some advantage when its effect is to render more amiable the man who forces himself to accept that restraint." Her close argument made me blush for shame, and carrying her beautiful hand to my lips, I confessed my self in the wrong.
"You would see me at your feet," I exclaimed, "in token of my repentance, were I not afraid of injuring you--"
"Do not let us allude to the matter any more," she answered.
And, pleased with my repentance, she gave me a look so expressive of forgiveness that, without being afraid of augmenting my guilt, I took my lips off her hand and I raised them to her half-open, smiling mouth. Intoxicated with rapture, I passed so rapidly from a state of sadness to one of overwhelming cheerfulness that during our supper the advocate enjoyed a thousand jokes upon my toothache, so quickly cured by the simple remedy of a walk. On the following day we dined at Velletri and slept in Marino, where, although the town was full of troops, we had two small rooms and a good supper. I could not have been on better terms with my charming Roman; for, although I had received but a rapid proof of her regard, it had been such a true one--such a tender one! In the coach our eyes could not say much; but I was opposite to her, and our feet spoke a very eloquent language.
The advocate had told me that he was going to Rome on some ecclesiastical business, and that he intended to reside in the house of his mother-in-law, whom his wife had not seen since her marriage, two years ago, and her sister hoped to remain in Rome, where she expected to marry a clerk at the Spirito Santo Bank. He gave me their address, with a pressing invitation to call upon them, and I promised to devote all my spare time to them.
We were enjoying our dessert, when my beautiful lady-love, admiring my snuff-box, told her husband that she wished she had one like it.
"I will buy you one, dear."
"Then buy mine," I said; "I will let you have it for twenty ounces, and you can give me a note of hand payable to bearer in payment. I owe that amount to an Englishman, and I will give it him to redeem my debt."
"Your snuff-box, my dear abbe, is worth twenty ounces, but I cannot buy it unless you agree to receive payment in cash; I should be delighted to see it in my wife's possession, and she would keep it as a remembrance of you."
His wife, thinking that I would not accept his offer, said that she had no objection to give me the note of hand.
"But," exclaimed the advocate, "can you not guess the Englishman exists only in our friend's imagination? He would never enter an appearance, and we would have the snuff-box for nothing. Do not trust the abbe, my dear, he is a great cheat."
"I had no idea," answered his wife, looking at me, "that the world contained rogues of this species."
I affected a melancholy air, and said that I only wished myself rich enough to be often guilty of such cheating.
When a man is in love very little is enough to throw him into despair, and as little to enhance his joy to the utmost. There was but one bed in the room where supper had been served, and another in a small closet leading out of the room, but without a door. The ladies chose the closet, and the advocate retired to rest before me. I bid the ladies good night as soon as they had gone to bed; I looked at my dear mistress, and after undressing myself I went to bed, intending not to sleep through the night. But the reader may imagine my rage when I found, as I got into the bed, that it creaked loud enough to wake the dead. I waited, however, quite motionless, until my companion should be fast asleep, and as soon as his snoring told me that he was entirely under the influence of Morpheus, I tried to slip out of the bed; but the infernal creaking which took place whenever I moved, woke my companion, who felt about with his hand, and, finding me near him, went to sleep again. Half an hour after, I tried a second time, but with the same result. I had to give it up in despair.
Love is the most cunning of gods; in the midst of obstacles he seems to be in his own element, but as his very existence depends upon the enjoyment of those who ardently worship him, the shrewd, all-seeing, little blind god contrives to bring success out of the most desperate case.
I had given up all hope for the night, and had nearly gone to sleep, when suddenly we hear a dreadful noise. Guns are fired in the street, people, screaming and howling, are running up and down the stairs; at last there is a loud knocking at our door. The advocate, frightened out of his slumbers, asks me what it can all mean; I pretend to be very indifferent, and beg to be allowed to sleep. But the ladies are trembling with fear, and loudly calling for a light. I remain very quiet, the advocate jumps out of bed, and runs out of the room to obtain a candle; I rise at once, I follow him to shut the door, but I slam it rather too hard, the double spring of the lock gives way, and the door cannot be reopened without the key.
I approach the ladies in order to calm their anxiety, telling them that the advocate would soon return with a light, and that we should then know the cause of the tumult, but I am not losing my time, and am at work while I am speaking. I meet with very little opposition, but, leaning rather too heavily upon my fair lady, I break through the bottom of the bedstead, and we suddenly find ourselves, the two ladies and myself, all together in a heap on the floor. The advocate comes back and knocks at the door; the sister gets up, I obey the prayers of my charming friend, and, feeling my way, reach the door, and tell the advocate that I cannot open it, and that he must get the key. The two sisters are behind me. I extend my hand; but I am abruptly repulsed, and judge that I have addressed myself to the wrong quarter; I go to the other side, and there I am better received. But the husband returns, the noise of the key in the lock announces that the door is going to be opened, and we return to our respective beds.
The advocate hurries to the bed of the two frightened ladies, thinking of relieving their anxiety, but, when he sees them buried in their broken-down bedstead, he bursts into a loud laugh. He tells me to come and have a look at them, but I am very modest, and decline the invitation. He then tells us that the alarm has been caused by a German detachment attacking suddenly the Spanish troops in the city, and that the Spaniards are running away. In a quarter of an hour the noise has ceased, and quiet is entirely re-established.
The advocate complimented me upon my coolness, got into bed again, and was soon asleep. As for me, I was careful not to close my eyes, and as soon as I saw daylight I got up in order to perform certain ablutions and to change my shirt; it was an absolute necessity.
I returned for breakfast, and while we were drinking the delicious coffee which Donna Lucrezia had made, as I thought, better than ever, I remarked that her sister frowned on me. But how little I cared for her anger when I saw the cheerful, happy countenance, and the approving looks of my adored Lucrezia! I felt a delightful sensation run through the whole of my body.
We reached Rome very early. We had taken breakfast at the Tour, and the advocate being in a very gay mood I assumed the same tone, loading him with compliments, and predicting that a son would be born to him, I compelled his wife to promise it should be so. I did not forget the sister of my charming Lucrezia, and to make her change her hostile attitude towards me I addressed to her so many pretty compliments, and behaved in such a friendly manner, that she was compelled to forgive the fall of the bed. As I took leave of them, I promised to give them a call on the following day.
I was in Rome! with a good wardrobe, pretty well supplied with money and jewellery, not wanting in experience, and with excellent letters of introduction. I was free, my own master, and just reaching the age in which a man can have faith in his own fortune, provided he is not deficient in courage, and is blessed with a face likely to attract the sympathy of those he mixes with. I was not handsome, but I had something better than beauty--a striking expression which almost compelled a kind interest in my favour, and I felt myself ready for anything. I knew that Rome is the one city in which a man can begin from the lowest rung, and reach the very top of the social ladder. This knowledge increased my courage, and I must confess that a most inveterate feeling of self-esteem which, on account of my inexperience, I could not distrust, enhanced wonderfully my confidence in myself.
The man who intends to make his fortune in this ancient capital of the world must be a chameleon susceptible of reflecting all the colours of the atmosphere that surrounds him--a Proteus apt to assume every form, every shape. He must be supple, flexible, insinuating; close, inscrutable, often base, sometimes sincere, some times perfidious, always concealing a part of his knowledge, indulging in one tone of voice, patient, a perfect master of his own countenance as cold as ice when any other man would be all fire; and if unfortunately he is not religious at heart--a very common occurrence for a soul possessing the above requisites--he must have religion in his mind, that is to say, on his face, on his lips, in his manners; he must suffer quietly, if he be an honest man the necessity of knowing himself an arrant hypocrite. The man whose soul would loathe such a life should leave Rome and seek his fortune elsewhere. I do not know whether I am praising or excusing myself, but of all those qualities I possessed but one--namely, flexibility; for the rest, I was only an interesting, heedless young fellow, a pretty good blood horse, but not broken, or rather badly broken; and that is much worse.
I began by delivering the letter I had received from Don Lelio for Father Georgi. The learned monk enjoyed the esteem of everyone in Rome, and the Pope himself had a great consideration for him, because he disliked the Jesuits, and did not put a mask on to tear the mask from their faces, although they deemed themselves powerful enough to despise him.
He read the letter with great attention, and expressed himself disposed to be my adviser; and that consequently I might make him responsible for any evil which might befall me, as misfortune is not to be feared by a man who acts rightly. He asked me what I intended to do in Rome, and I answered that I wished him to tell me what to do.
"Perhaps I may; but in that case you must come and see me often, and never conceal from me anything, you understand, not anything, of what interests you, or of what happens to you."
"Don Lelio has likewise given me a letter for the Cardinal Acquaviva."
"I congratulate you; the cardinal's influence in Rome is greater even than that of the Pope."
"Must I deliver the letter at once?"
"No; I will see him this evening, and prepare him for your visit. Call on me to-morrow morning, and I will then tell you where and when you are to deliver your letter to the cardinal. Have you any money?"
"Enough for all my wants during one year."
"That is well. Have you any acquaintances?"
"Not one."
"Do not make any without first consulting me, and, above all, avoid coffee-houses and ordinaries, but if you should happen to frequent such places, listen and never speak. Be careful to form your judgment upon those who ask any questions from you, and if common civility obliges you to give an answer, give only an evasive one, if any other is likely to commit you. Do you speak French?"
"Not one word."
"I am sorry for that; you must learn French. Have you been a student?"
"A poor one, but I have a sufficient smattering to converse with ordinary company."
"That is enough; but be very prudent, for Rome is the city in which smatterers unmask each other, and are always at war amongst themselves. I hope you will take your letter to the cardinal, dressed like a modest abbe, and not in this elegant costume which is not likely to conjure fortune. Adieu, let me see you to-morrow."
Highly pleased with the welcome I had received at his hands, and with all he had said to me, I left his house and proceeded towards Campo-di-Fiore to deliver the letter of my cousin Antonio to Don Gaspar Vivaldi, who received me in his library, where I met two respectable-looking priests. He gave me the most friendly welcome, asked for my address, and invited me to dinner for the next day. He praised Father Georgi most highly, and, accompanying me as far as the stairs, he told me that he would give me on the morrow the amount his friend Don Antonio requested him to hand me.
More money which my generous cousin was bestowing on me! It is easy enough to give away when one possesses sufficient means to do it, but it is not every man who knows how to give. I found the proceeding of Don Antonio more delicate even than generous; I could not refuse his present; it was my duty to prove my gratitude by accepting it.
Just after I had left M. Vivaldi's house I found myself face to face with Stephano, and this extraordinary original loaded me with friendly caresses. I inwardly despised him, yet I could not feel hatred for him; I looked upon him as the instrument which Providence had been pleased to employ in order to save me from ruin. After telling me that he had obtained from the Pope all he wished, he advised me to avoid meeting the fatal constable who had advanced me two sequins in Seraval, because he had found out that I had deceived him, and had sworn revenge against me. I asked Stephano to induce the man to leave my acknowledgement of the debt in the hands of a certain merchant whom we both knew, and that I would call there to discharge the amount. This was done, and it ended the affair.
That evening I dined at the ordinary, which was frequented by Romans and foreigners; but I carefully followed the advice of Father Georgi. I heard a great deal of harsh language used against the Pope and against the Cardinal Minister, who had caused the Papal States to be inundated by eighty thousand men, Germans as well as Spaniards. But I was much surprised when I saw that everybody was eating meat, although it was Saturday. But a stranger during the first few days after his arrival in Rome is surrounded with many things which at first cause surprise, and to which he soon gets accustomed. There is not a Catholic city in the world in which a man is half so free on religious matters as in Rome. The inhabitants of Rome are like the men employed at the Government tobacco works, who are allowed to take gratis as much tobacco as they want for their own use. One can live in Rome with the most complete freedom, except that the 'ordini santissimi' are as much to be dreaded as the famous Lettres-de-cachet before the Revolution came and destroyed them, and shewed the whole world the general character of the French nation.
The next day, the 1st of October, 1743, I made up my mind to be shaved. The down on my chin had become a beard, and I judged that it was time to renounce some of the privileges enjoyed by adolescence. I dressed myself completely in the Roman fashion, and Father Georgi was highly pleased when he saw me in that costume, which had been made by the tailor of my dear cousin, Don Antonio.
Father Georgi invited me to take a cup of chocolate with him, and informed me that the cardinal had been apprised of my arrival by a letter from Don Lelio, and that his eminence would receive me at noon at the Villa Negroni, where he would be taking a walk. I told Father Georgi that I had been invited to dinner by M. Vivaldi, and he advised me to cultivate his acquaintance.
I proceeded to the Villa Negroni; the moment he saw me the cardinal stopped to receive my letter, allowing two persons who accompanied him to walk forward. He put the letter in his pocket without reading it, examined me for one or two minutes, and enquired whether I felt any taste for politics. I answered that, until now, I had not felt in me any but frivolous tastes, but that I would make bold to answer for my readiness to execute all the orders which his eminence might be pleased to lay upon me, if he should judge me worthy of entering his service.
"Come to my office to-morrow morning," said the cardinal, "and ask for the Abbe Gama, to whom I will give my instructions. You must apply yourself diligently to the study of the French language; it is indispensable." He then enquired after Don Leilo's health, and after kissing his hand I took my leave.
I hastened to the house of M. Gaspar Vivaldi, where I dined amongst a well-chosen party of guests. M. Vivaldi was not married; literature was his only passion. He loved Latin poetry even better than Italian, and Horace, whom I knew by heart, was his favourite poet. After dinner, we repaired to his study, and he handed me one hundred Roman crowns, and Don Antonio's present, and assured me that I would be most welcome whenever I would call to take a cup of chocolate with him.
After I had taken leave of Don Gaspar, I proceeded towards the Minerva, for I longed to enjoy the surprise of my dear Lucrezia and of her sister; I inquired for Donna Cecilia Monti, their mother, and I saw, to my great astonishment, a young widow who looked like the sister of her two charming daughters. There was no need for me to give her my name; I had been announced, and she expected me. Her daughters soon came in, and their greeting caused me some amusement, for I did not appear to them to be the same individual. Donna Lucrezia presented me to her youngest sister, only eleven years of age, and to her brother, an abbe of fifteen, of charming appearance. I took care to behave so as to please the mother; I was modest, respectful, and shewed a deep interest in everything I saw. The good advocate arrived, and was surprised at the change in my appearance. He launched out in his usual jokes, and I followed him on that ground, yet I was careful not to give to my conversation the tone of levity which used to cause so much mirth in our travelling coach; so that, to, pay me a compliment, he told me that, if I had had the sign of manhood shaved from my face, I had certainly transferred it to my mind. Donna Lucrezia did not know what to think of the change in my manners.
Towards evening I saw, coming in rapid succession, five or six ordinary-looking ladies, and as many abbes, who appeared to me some of the volumes with which I was to begin my Roman education. They all listened attentively to the most insignificant word I uttered, and I was very careful to let them enjoy their conjectures about me. Donna Cecilia told the advocate that he was but a poor painter, and that his portraits were not like the originals; he answered that she could not judge, because the original was shewing under a mask, and I pretended to be mortified by his answer. Donna Lucrezia said that she found me exactly the same, and her sister was of opinion that the air of Rome gave strangers a peculiar appearance. Everybody applauded, and Angelique turned red with satisfaction. After a visit of four hours I bowed myself out, and the advocate, following me, told me that his mother-in-law begged me to consider myself as a friend of the family, and to be certain of a welcome at any hour I liked to call. I thanked him gratefully and took my leave, trusting that I had pleased this amiable society as much as it had pleased me.
The next day I presented myself to the Abbe Gama. He was a Portuguese, about forty years old, handsome, and with a countenance full of candour, wit, and good temper. His affability claimed and obtained confidence. His manners and accent were quite Roman. He informed me, in the blandest manner, that his eminence had himself given his instructions about me to his majordomo, that I would have a lodging in the cardinal's palace, that I would have my meals at the secretaries' table, and that, until I learned French, I would have nothing to do but make extracts from letters that he would supply me with. He then gave me the address of the French teacher to whom he had already spoken in my behalf. He was a Roman advocate, Dalacqua by name, residing precisely opposite the palace.
After this short explanation, and an assurance that I could at all times rely upon his friendship, he had me taken to the major-domo, who made me sign my name at the bottom of a page in a large book, already filled with other names, and counted out sixty Roman crowns which he paid me for three months salary in advance. After this he accompanied me, followed by a 'staffiere' to my apartment on the third floor, which I found very comfortably furnished. The servant handed me the key, saying that he would come every morning to attend upon me, and the major-domo accompanied me to the gate to make me known to the gate-keeper. I immediately repaired to my inn, sent my luggage to the palace, and found myself established in a place in which a great fortune awaited me, if I had only been able to lead a wise and prudent life, but unfortunately it was not in my nature. 'Volentem ducit, nolentem trahit.'
I naturally felt it my duty to call upon my mentor, Father Georgi, to whom I gave all my good news. He said I was on the right road, and that my fortune was in my hands.
"Recollect," added the good father, "that to lead a blameless life you must curb your passions, and that whatever misfortune may befall you it cannot be ascribed by any one to a want of good luck, or attributed to fate; those words are devoid of sense, and all the fault will rightly fall on your own head."
"I foresee, reverend father, that my youth and my want of experience will often make it necessary for me to disturb you. I am afraid of proving myself too heavy a charge for you, but you will find me docile and obedient."
"I suppose you will often think me rather too severe; but you are not likely to confide everything to me."
"Everything, without any exception."
"Allow me to feel somewhat doubtful; you have not told me where you spent four hours yesterday."
"Because I did not think it was worth mentioning. I made the acquaintance of those persons during my journey; I believe them to be worthy and respectable, and the right sort of people for me to visit, unless you should be of a different opinion."
"God forbid! It is a very respectable house, frequented by honest people. They are delighted at having made your acquaintance; you are much liked by everybody, and they hope to retain you as a friend; I have heard all about it this morning; but you must not go there too often and as a regular guest."
"Must I cease my visits at once, and without cause?"
"No, it would be a want of politeness on your part. You may go there once or twice every week, but do not be a constant visitor. You are sighing, my son?"
"No, I assure you not. I will obey you."
"I hope it may not be only a matter of obedience, and I trust your heart will not feel it a hardship, but, if necessary, your heart must be conquered. Recollect that the heart is the greatest enemy of reason."
"Yet they can be made to agree."
"We often imagine so; but distrust the animism of your dear Horace. You know that there is no middle course with it: 'nisi paret, imperat'."
"I know it, but in the family of which we were speaking there is no danger for my heart."
"I am glad of it, because in that case it will be all the easier for you to abstain from frequent visits. Remember that I shall trust you."
"And I, reverend father; will listen to and follow your good advice. I will visit Donna Cecilia only now and then." Feeling most unhappy, I took his hand to press it against my lips, but he folded me in his arms as a father might have done, and turned himself round so as not to let me see that he was weeping.
I dined at the cardinal's palace and sat near the Abbe Gama; the table was laid for twelve persons, who all wore the costume of priests, for in Rome everyone is a priest or wishes to be thought a priest and as there is no law to forbid anyone to dress like an ecclesiastic that dress is adopted by all those who wish to be respected (noblemen excepted) even if they are not in the ecclesiastical profession.
I felt very miserable, and did not utter a word during the dinner; my silence was construed into a proof of my sagacity. As we rose from the table, the Abbe Gama invited me to spend the day with him, but I declined under pretence of letters to be written, and I truly did so for seven hours. I wrote to Don Lelio, to Don Antonio, to my young friend Paul, and to the worthy Bishop of Martorano, who answered that he heartily wished himself in my place.
Deeply enamoured of Lucrezia and happy in my love, to give her up appeared to me a shameful action. In order to insure the happiness of my future life, I was beginning to be the executioner of my present felicity, and the tormentor of my heart. I revolted against such a necessity which I judged fictitious, and which I could not admit unless I stood guilty of vileness before the tribunal of my own reason. I thought that Father Georgi, if he wished to forbid my visiting that family, ought not to have said that it was worthy of respect; my sorrow would not have been so intense. The day and the whole of the night were spent in painful thoughts.
In the morning the Abbe Gama brought me a great book filled with ministerial letters from which I was to compile for my amusement. After a short time devoted to that occupation, I went out to take my first French lesson, after which I walked towards the Strada-Condotta. I intended to take a long walk, when I heard myself called by my name. I saw the Abbe Gama in front of a coffee-house. I whispered to him that Minerva had forbidden me the coffee-rooms of Rome. "Minerva," he answered, "desires you to form some idea of such places. Sit down by me."
I heard a young abbe telling aloud, but without bitterness, a story, which attacked in a most direct manner the justice of His Holiness. Everybody was laughing and echoing the story. Another, being asked why he had left the services of Cardinal B., answered that it was because his eminence did not think himself called upon to pay him apart for certain private services, and everybody laughed outright. Another came to the Abbe Gama, and told him that, if he felt any inclination to spend the afternoon at the Villa Medicis, he would find him there with two young Roman girls who were satisfied with a 'quartino', a gold coin worth one-fourth of a sequin. Another abbe read an incendiary sonnet against the government, and several took a copy of it. Another read a satire of his own composition, in which he tore to pieces the honour of a family. In the middle of all that confusion, I saw a priest with a very attractive countenance come in. The size of his hips made me take him for a woman dressed in men's clothes, and I said so to Gama, who told me that he was the celebrated castrato, Bepino delta Mamana. The abbe called him to us, and told him with a laugh that I had taken him for a girl. The impudent fellow looked me full in the face, and said that, if I liked, he would shew me whether I had been right or wrong.
At the dinner-table everyone spoke to me, and I fancied I had given proper answers to all, but, when the repast was over, the Abbe Gama invited me to take coffee in his own apartment. The moment we were alone, he told me that all the guests I had met were worthy and honest men, and he asked me whether I believed that I had succeeded in pleasing the company.
"I flatter myself I have," I answered.
"You are wrong," said the abbe, "you are flattering yourself. You have so conspicuously avoided the questions put to you that everybody in the room noticed your extreme reserve. In the future no one will ask you any questions."
"I should be sorry if it should turn out so, but was I to expose my own concerns?"
"No, but there is a medium in all things."
"Yes, the medium of Horace, but it is often a matter of great difficulty to hit it exactly."
"A man ought to know how to obtain affection and esteem at the same time."
"That is the very wish nearest to my heart."
"To-day you have tried for the esteem much more than for the affection of your fellow-creatures. It may be a noble aspiration, but you must prepare yourself to fight jealousy and her daughter, calumny; if those two monsters do not succeed in destroying you, the victory must be yours. Now, for instance, you thoroughly refuted Salicetti to-day. Well, he is a physician, and what is more a Corsican; he must feel badly towards you."
"Could I grant that the longings of women during their pregnancy have no influence whatever on the skin of the foetus, when I know the reverse to be the case? Are you not of my opinion?"
"I am for neither party; I have seen many children with some such marks, but I have no means of knowing with certainty whether those marks have their origin in some longing experienced by the mother while she was pregnant."
"But I can swear it is so."
"All the better for you if your conviction is based upon such evidence, and all the worse for Salicetti if he denies the possibility of the thing without certain authority. But let him remain in error; it is better thus than to prove him in the wrong and to make a bitter enemy of him."
In the evening I called upon Lucrezia. The family knew my success, and warmly congratulated me. Lucrezia told me that I looked sad, and I answered that I was assisting at the funeral of my liberty, for I was no longer my own master. Her husband, always fond of a joke, told her that I was in love with her, and his mother-in-law advised him not to show so much intrepidity. I only remained an hour with those charming persons, and then took leave of them, but the very air around me was heated by the flame within my breast. When I reached my room I began to write, and spent the night in composing an ode which I sent the next day to the advocate. I was certain that he would shew it to his wife, who loved poetry, and who did not yet know that I was a poet. I abstained from seeing her again for three or four days. I was learning French, and making extracts from ministerial letters.
His eminence was in the habit of receiving every evening, and his rooms were thronged with the highest nobility of Rome; I had never attended these receptions. The Abbe Gama told me that I ought to do so as well as he did, without any pretension. I followed his advice and went; nobody spoke to me, but as I was unknown everyone looked at me and enquired who I was. The Abbe Gama asked me which was the lady who appeared to me the most amiable, and I shewed one to him; but I regretted having done so, for the courtier went to her, and of course informed her of what I had said. Soon afterwards I saw her look at me through her eye-glass and smile kindly upon me. She was the Marchioness G----, whose 'cicisbeo' was Cardinal S---- C----.
On the very day I had fixed to spend the evening with Donna Lucrezia the worthy advocate called upon me. He told me that if I thought I was going to prove I was not in love with his wife by staying away I was very much mistaken, and he invited me to accompany all the family to Testaccio, where they intended to have luncheon on the following Thursday. He added that his wife knew my ode by heart, and that she had read it to the intended husband of Angelique, who had a great wish to make my acquaintance. That gentleman was likewise a poet, and would be one of the party to Testaccio. I promised the advocate I would come to his house on the Thursday with a carriage for two.
At that time every Thursday in the month of October was a festival day in Rome. I went to see Donna Cecilia in the evening, and we talked about the excursion the whole time. I felt certain that Donna Lucrezia looked forward to it with as much pleasure as I did myself. We had no fixed plan, we could not have any, but we trusted to the god of love, and tacitly placed our confidence in his protection.
I took care that Father Georgi should not hear of that excursion before I mentioned it to him myself, and I hastened to him in order to obtain his permission to go. I confess that, to obtain his leave, I professed the most complete indifference about it, and the consequence was that the good man insisted upon my going, saying that it was a family party, and that it was quite right for me to visit the environs of Rome and to enjoy myself in a respectable way.
I went to Donna Cecilia's in a carriage which I hired from a certain Roland, a native of Avignon, and if I insist here upon his name it is because my readers will meet him again in eighteen years, his acquaintance with me having had very important results. The charming widow introduced me to Don Francisco, her intended son-in-law, whom she represented as a great friend of literary men, and very deeply learned himself. I accepted it as gospel, and behaved accordingly; yet I thought he looked rather heavy and not sufficiently elated for a young man on the point of marrying such a pretty girl as Angelique. But he had plenty of good-nature and plenty of money, and these are better than learning and gallantry.
As we were ready to get into the carriages, the advocate told me that he would ride with me in my carriage, and that the three ladies would go with Don Francisco in the other. I answered at once that he ought to keep Don Francisco company, and that I claimed the privilege of taking care of Donna Cecilia, adding that I should feel dishonoured if things were arranged differently. Thereupon I offered my arm to the handsome widow, who thought the arrangement according to the rules of etiquette and good breeding, and an approving look of my Lucrezia gave me the most agreeable sensation. Yet the proposal of the advocate struck me somewhat unpleasantly, because it was in contradiction with his former behaviour, and especially with what he had said to me in my room a few days before. "Has he become jealous?" I said to myself; that would have made me almost angry, but the hope of bringing him round during our stay at Testaccio cleared away the dark cloud on my mind, and I was very amiable to Donna Cecilia. What with lunching and walking we contrived to pass the afternoon very pleasantly; I was very gay, and my love for Lucrezia was not once mentioned; I was all attention to her mother. I occasionally addressed myself to Lucrezia, but not once to the advocate, feeling this the best way to shew him that he had insulted me.
As we prepared to return, the advocate carried off Donna Cecilia and went with her to the carriage in which were already seated Angelique and Don Francisco. Scarcely able to control my delight, I offered my arm to Donna Lucrezia, paying her some absurd compliment, while the advocate laughed outright, and seemed to enjoy the trick he imagined he had played me.
How many things we might have said to each other before giving ourselves up to the material enjoyment of our love, had not the instants been so precious! But, aware that we had only half an hour before us, we were sparing of the minutes. We were absorbed in voluptuous pleasure when suddenly Lucrezia exclaims,--
"Oh! dear, how unhappy we are!"
She pushes me back, composes herself, the carriage stops, and the servant opens the door. "What is the matter?" I enquire. "We are at home." Whenever I recollect the circumstance, it seems to me fabulous, for it is not possible to annihilate time, and the horses were regular old screws. But we were lucky all through. The night was dark, and my beloved angel happened to be on the right side to get out of the carriage first, so that, although the advocate was at the door of the brougham as soon as the footman, everything went right, owing to the slow manner in which Lucrezia alighted. I remained at Donna Cecilia's until midnight.
When I got home again, I went to bed; but how could I sleep? I felt burning in me the flame which I had not been able to restore to its original source in the too short distance from Testaccio to Rome. It was consuming me. Oh! unhappy are those who believe that the pleasures of Cythera are worth having, unless they are enjoyed in the most perfect accord by two hearts overflowing with love!
I only rose in time for my French lesson. My teacher had a pretty daughter, named Barbara, who was always present during my lessons, and who sometimes taught me herself with even more exactitude than her father. A good-looking young man, who likewise took lessons, was courting her, and I soon perceived that she loved him. This young man called often upon me, and I liked him, especially on account of his reserve, for, although I made him confess his love for Barbara, he always changed the subject, if I mentioned it in our conversation.
I had made up my mind to respect his reserve, and had not alluded to his affection for several days. But all at once I remarked that he had ceased his visits both to me and to his teacher, and at the same time I observed that the young girl was no longer present at my lessons; I felt some curiosity to know what had happened, although it was not, after all, any concern of mine.
A few days after, as I was returning from church, I met the young man, and reproached him for keeping away from us all. He told me that great sorrow had befallen him, which had fairly turned his brain, and that he was a prey to the most intense despair. His eyes were wet with tears. As I was leaving him, he held me back, and I told him that I would no longer be his friend unless he opened his heart to me. He took me to one of the cloisters, and he spoke thus:
"I have loved Barbara for the last six months, and for three months she has given me indisputable proofs of her affection. Five days ago, we were betrayed by the servant, and the father caught us in a rather delicate position. He left the room without saying one word, and I followed him, thinking of throwing myself at his feet; but, as I appeared before him, he took hold of me by the arm, pushed me roughly to the door, and forbade me ever to present myself again at his house. I cannot claim her hand in marriage, because one of my brothers is married, and my father is not rich; I have no profession, and my mistress has nothing. Alas, now that I have confessed all to you, tell me, I entreat you, how she is. I am certain that she is as miserable as I am myself. I cannot manage to get a letter delivered to her, for she does not leave the house, even to attend church. Unhappy wretch! What shall I do?"
I could but pity him, for, as a man of honour, it was impossible for me to interfere in such a business. I told him that I had not seen Barbara for five days, and, not knowing what to say, I gave him the advice which is tendered by all fools under similar circumstances; I advised him to forget his mistress.
We had then reached the quay of Ripetta, and, observing that he was casting dark looks towards the Tiber, I feared his despair might lead him to commit some foolish attempt against his own life, and, in order to calm his excited feelings, I promised to make some enquiries from the father about his mistress, and to inform him of all I heard. He felt quieted by my promise, and entreated me not to forget him.
In spite of the fire which had been raging through my veins ever since the excursion to Testaccio, I had not seen my Lucrezia for four days. I dreaded Father Georgi's suave manner, and I was still more afraid of finding he had made up his mind to give me no more advice. But, unable to resist my desires, I called upon Lucrezia after my French lesson, and found her alone, sad and dispirited.
"Ah!" she exclaimed, as soon as I was by her side, "I think you might find time to come and see me!"
"My beloved one, it is not that I cannot find time, but I am so jealous of my love that I would rather die than let it be known publicly. I have been thinking of inviting you all to dine with me at Frascati. I will send you a phaeton, and I trust that some lucky accident will smile upon our love."
"Oh! yes, do, dearest! I am sure your invitation will be accepted."
In a quarter of an hour the rest of the family came in, and I proffered my invitation for the following Sunday, which happened to be the Festival of St. Ursula, patroness of Lucrezia's youngest sister. I begged Donna Cecilia to bring her as well as her son. My proposal being readily accepted, I gave notice that the phaeton would be at Donna Cecilia's door at seven o'clock, and that I would come myself with a carriage for two persons.
The next day I went to M. Dalacqua, and, after my lesson, I saw Barbara who, passing from one room to another, dropped a paper and earnestly looked at me. I felt bound to pick it up, because a servant, who was at hand, might have seen it and taken it. It was a letter, enclosing another addressed to her lover. The note for me ran thus: "If you think it to be a sin to deliver the enclosed to your friend, burn it. Have pity on an unfortunate girl, and be discreet."
The enclosed letter which was unsealed, ran as follows: "If you love me as deeply as I love you, you cannot hope to be happy without me; we cannot correspond in any other way than the one I am bold enough to adopt. I am ready to do anything to unite our lives until death. Consider and decide."
The cruel situation of the poor girl moved me almost to tears; yet I determined to return her letter the next day, and I enclosed it in a note in which I begged her to excuse me if I could not render her the service she required at my hands. I put it in my pocket ready for delivery. The next day I went for my lesson as usual, but, not seeing Barbara, I had no opportunity of returning her letter, and postponed its delivery to the following day. Unfortunately, just after I had returned to my room, the unhappy lover made his appearance. His eyes were red from weeping, his voice hoarse; he drew such a vivid picture of his misery, that, dreading some mad action counselled by despair, I could not withhold from him the consolation which I knew it was in my power to give. This was my first error in this fatal business; I was the victim of my own kindness.
The poor fellow read the letter over and over; he kissed it with transports of joy; he wept, hugged me, and thanked me for saving his life, and finally entreated me to take charge of his answer, as his beloved mistress must be longing for consolation as much as he had been himself, assuring me that his letter could not in any way implicate me, and that I was at liberty to read it.
And truly, although very long, his letter contained nothing but the assurance of everlasting love, and hopes which could not be realized. Yet I was wrong to accept the character of Mercury to the two young lovers. To refuse, I had only to recollect that Father Georgi would certainly have disapproved of my easy compliance.
The next day I found M. Dalacqua ill in bed; his daughter gave me my lesson in his room, and I thought that perhaps she had obtained her pardon. I contrived to give her her lover's letter, which she dextrously conveyed to her pocket, but her blushes would have easily betrayed her if her father had been looking that way. After the lesson I gave M. Dalacqua notice that I would not come on the morrow, as it was the Festival of St. Ursula, one of the eleven thousand princesses and martyr-virgins.
In the evening, at the reception of his eminence, which I attended regularly, although persons of distinction seldom spoke to me, the cardinal beckoned to me. He was speaking to the beautiful Marchioness G----, to whom Gama had indiscreetly confided that I thought her the handsomest woman amongst his eminence's guests.
"Her grace," said the Cardinal, "wishes to know whether you are making rapid progress in the French language, which she speaks admirably."
I answered in Italian that I had learned a great deal, but that I was not yet bold enough to speak.
"You should be bold," said the marchioness, "but without showing any pretension. It is the best way to disarm criticism."
My mind having almost unwittingly lent to the words "You should be bold" a meaning which had very likely been far from the idea of the marchioness, I turned very red, and the handsome speaker, observing it, changed the conversation and dismissed me.
The next morning, at seven o'clock, I was at Donna Cecilia's door. The phaeton was there as well as the carriage for two persons, which this time was an elegant vis-a-vis, so light and well-hung that Donna Cecilia praised it highly when she took her seat.
"I shall have my turn as we return to Rome," said Lucrezia; and I bowed to her as if in acceptance of her promise.
Lucrezia thus set suspicion at defiance in order to prevent suspicion arising. My happiness was assured, and I gave way to my natural flow of spirits. I ordered a splendid dinner, and we all set out towards the Villa Ludovisi. As we might have missed each other during our ramblings, we agreed to meet again at the inn at one o'clock. The discreet widow took the arm of her son-in-law, Angelique remained with her sister, and Lucrezia was my delightful share; Ursula and her brother were running about together, and in less than a quarter of an hour I had Lucrezia entirely to myself.
"Did you remark," she said, "with what candour I secured for us two hours of delightful 'tete-a-tete', and a 'tete-a-tete' in a 'vis-a-vis', too! How clever Love is!"
"Yes, darling, Love has made but one of our two souls. I adore you, and if I have the courage to pass so many days without seeing you it is in order to be rewarded by the freedom of one single day like this."
"I did not think it possible. But you have managed it all very well. You know too much for your age, dearest."
"A month ago, my beloved, I was but an ignorant child, and you are the first woman who has initiated me into the mysteries of love. Your departure will kill me, for I could not find another woman like you in all Italy."
"What! am I your first love? Alas! you will never be cured of it. Oh! why am I not entirely your own? You are also the first true love of my heart, and you will be the last. How great will be the happiness of my successor! I should not be jealous of her, but what suffering would be mine if I thought that her heart was not like mine!"
Lucrezia, seeing my eyes wet with tears, began to give way to her own, and, seating ourselves on the grass, our lips drank our tears amidst the sweetest kisses. How sweet is the nectar of the tears shed by love, when that nectar is relished amidst the raptures of mutual ardour! I have often tasted them--those delicious tears, and I can say knowingly that the ancient physicians were right, and that the modern are wrong.
In a moment of calm, seeing the disorder in which we both were, I told her that we might be surprised.
"Do not fear, my best beloved," she said, "we are under the guardianship of our good angels."
We were resting and reviving our strength by gazing into one another's eyes, when suddenly Lucrezia, casting a glance to the right, exclaimed,
"Look there! idol of my heart, have I not told you so? Yes, the angels are watching over us! Ah! how he stares at us! He seems to try to give us confidence. Look at that little demon; admire him! He must certainly be your guardian spirit or mine."
I thought she was delirious.
"What are you saying, dearest? I do not understand you. What am I to admire?"
"Do you not see that beautiful serpent with the blazing skin, which lifts its head and seems to worship us?"
I looked in the direction she indicated, and saw a serpent with changeable colours about three feet in length, which did seem to be looking at us. I was not particularly pleased at the sight, but I could not show myself less courageous than she was.
"What!" said I, "are you not afraid?"
"I tell you, again, that the sight is delightful to me, and I feel certain that it is a spirit with nothing but the shape, or rather the appearance, of a serpent."
"And if the spirit came gliding along the grass and hissed at you?"
"I would hold you tighter against my bosom, and set him at defiance. In your arms Lucrezia is safe. Look! the spirit is going away. Quick, quick! He is warning us of the approach of some profane person, and tells us to seek some other retreat to renew our pleasures. Let us go."
We rose and slowly advanced towards Donna Cecilia and the advocate, who were just emerging from a neighbouring alley. Without avoiding them, and without hurrying, just as if to meet one another was a very natural occurrence, I enquired of Donna Cecilia whether her daughter had any fear of serpents.
"In spite of all her strength of mind," she answered, "she is dreadfully afraid of thunder, and she will scream with terror at the sight of the smallest snake. There are some here, but she need not be frightened, for they are not venomous."
I was speechless with astonishment, for I discovered that I had just witnessed a wonderful love miracle. At that moment the children came up, and, without ceremony, we again parted company.
"Tell me, wonderful being, bewitching woman, what would you have done if, instead of your pretty serpent, you had seen your husband and your mother?"
"Nothing. Do you not know that, in moments of such rapture, lovers see and feel nothing but love? Do you doubt having possessed me wholly, entirely?"
Lucrezia, in speaking thus, was not composing a poetical ode; she was not feigning fictitious sentiments; her looks, the sound of her voice, were truth itself!
"Are you certain," I enquired, "that we are not suspected?"
"My husband does not believe us to be in love with each other, or else he does not mind such trifling pleasures as youth is generally wont to indulge in. My mother is a clever woman, and perhaps she suspects the truth, but she is aware that it is no longer any concern of hers. As to my sister, she must know everything, for she cannot have forgotten the broken-down bed; but she is prudent, and besides, she has taken it into her head to pity me. She has no conception of the nature of my feelings towards you. If I had not met you, my beloved, I should probably have gone through life without realizing such feelings myself; for what I feel for my husband.... well, I have for him the obedience which my position as a wife imposes upon me."
"And yet he is most happy, and I envy him! He can clasp in his arms all your lovely person whenever he likes! There is no hateful veil to hide any of your charms from his gaze."
"Oh! where art thou, my dear serpent? Come to us, come and protect us against the surprise of the uninitiated, and this very instant I fulfil all the wishes of him I adore!"
We passed the morning in repeating that we loved each other, and in exchanging over and over again substantial proofs of our mutual passion.
We had a delicious dinner, during which I was all attention for the amiable Donna Cecilia. My pretty tortoise-shell box, filled with excellent snuff, went more than once round the table. As it happened to be in the hands of Lucrezia who was sitting on my left, her husband told her that, if I had no objection, she might give me her ring and keep the snuff-box in exchange. Thinking that the ring was not of as much value as my box, I immediately accepted, but I found the ring of greater value. Lucrezia would not, however, listen to anything on that subject. She put the box in her pocket, and thus compelled me to keep her ring.
Dessert was nearly over, the conversation was very animated, when suddenly the intended husband of Angelique claimed our attention for the reading of a sonnet which he had composed and dedicated to me. I thanked him, and placing the sonnet in my pocket promised to write one for him. This was not, however, what he wished; he expected that, stimulated by emulation, I would call for paper and pen, and sacrifice to Apollo hours which it was much more to my taste to employ in worshipping another god whom his cold nature knew only by name. We drank coffee, I paid the bill, and we went about rambling through the labyrinthine alleys of the Villa Aldobrandini.
What sweet recollections that villa has left in my memory! It seemed as if I saw my divine Lucrezia for the first time. Our looks were full of ardent love, our hearts were beating in concert with the most tender impatience, and a natural instinct was leading us towards a solitary asylum which the hand of Love seemed to have prepared on purpose for the mysteries of its secret worship. There, in the middle of a long avenue, and under a canopy of thick foliage, we found a wide sofa made of grass, and sheltered by a deep thicket; from that place our eyes could range over an immense plain, and view the avenue to such a distance right and left that we were perfectly secure against any surprise. We did not require to exchange one word at the sight of this beautiful temple so favourable to our love; our hearts spoke the same language.
Without a word being spoken, our ready hands soon managed to get rid of all obstacles, and to expose in a state of nature all the beauties which are generally veiled by troublesome wearing apparel. Two whole hours were devoted to the most delightful, loving ecstasies. At last we exclaimed together in mutual ecstasy, "O Love, we thank thee!"
We slowly retraced our steps towards the carriages, revelling in our intense happiness. Lucrezia informed me that Angelique's suitor was wealthy, that he owned a splendid villa at Tivoli, and that most likely he would invite us all to dine and pass the night there. "I pray the god of love," she added, "to grant us a night as beautiful as this day has been." Then, looking sad, she said, "But alas! the ecclesiastical lawsuit which has brought my husband to Rome is progressing so favourably that I am mortally afraid he will obtain judgment all too soon."
The journey back to the city lasted two hours; we were alone in my vis-a-vis and we overtaxed nature, exacting more than it can possibly give. As we were getting near Rome we were compelled to let the curtain fall before the denouement of the drama which we had performed to the complete satisfaction of the actors.
I returned home rather fatigued, but the sound sleep which was so natural at my age restored my full vigour, and in the morning I took my French lesson at the usual hour.
CHAPTER X
Benedict XIV--Excursion to Tivoli--Departure of Lucrezia--
The Marchioness G.--Barbara Dalacqua--My Misfortunes--
I Leave Rome
M. Dalacqua being very ill, his daughter Barbara gave me my lesson. When it was over, she seized an opportunity of slipping a letter into my pocket, and immediately disappeared, so that I had no chance of refusing. The letter was addressed to me, and expressed feelings of the warmest gratitude. She only desired me to inform her lover that her father had spoken to her again, and that most likely he would engage a new servant as soon as he had recovered from his illness, and she concluded her letter by assuring me that she never would implicate me in this business.
Her father was compelled to keep his bed for a fortnight, and Barbara continued to give me my lesson every day. I felt for her an interest which, from me towards a young and pretty girl, was, indeed, quite a new sentiment. It was a feeling of pity, and I was proud of being able to help and comfort her. Her eyes never rested upon mine, her hand never met mine, I never saw in her toilet the slightest wish to please me. She was very pretty, and I knew she had a tender, loving nature; but nothing interfered with the respect and the regard which I was bound in honour and in good faith to feel towards her, and I was proud to remark that she never thought me capable of taking advantage of her weakness or of her position.
When the father had recovered he dismissed his servant and engaged another. Barbara entreated me to inform her friend of the circumstance, and likewise of her hope to gain the new servant to their interests, at least sufficiently to secure the possibility of carrying on some correspondence. I promised to do so, and as a mark of her gratitude she took my hand to carry it to her lips, but quickly withdrawing it I tried to kiss her; she turned her face away, blushing deeply. I was much pleased with her modesty.
Barbara having succeeded in gaining the new servant over, I had nothing more to do with the intrigue, and I was very glad of it, for I knew my interference might have brought evil on my own head. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
I seldom visited Don Gaspar; the study of the French language took up all my mornings, and it was only in the morning that I could see him; but I called every evening upon Father Georgi, and, although I went to him only as one of his 'proteges', it gave me some reputation. I seldom spoke before his guests, yet I never felt weary, for in his circle his friends would criticise without slandering, discuss politics without stubbornness, literature without passion, and I profited by all. After my visit to the sagacious monk, I used to attend the assembly of the cardinal, my master, as a matter of duty. Almost every evening, when she happened to see me at her card-table, the beautiful marchioness would address to me a few gracious words in French, and I always answered in Italian, not caring to make her laugh before so many persons. My feelings for her were of a singular kind. I must leave them to the analysis of the reader. I thought that woman charming, yet I avoided her; it was not because I was afraid of falling in love with her; I loved Lucrezia, and I firmly believed that such an affection was a shield against any other attachment, but it was because I feared that she might love me or have a passing fancy for me. Was it self-conceit or modesty, vice or virtue? Perhaps neither one nor the other.
One evening she desired the Abbe Gama to call me to her; she was standing near the cardinal, my patron, and the moment I approached her she caused me a strange feeling of surprise by asking me in Italian a question which I was far from anticipating:
"How did you like Frascati?"
"Very much, madam; I have never seen such a beautiful place."
"But your company was still more beautiful, and your vis-a-vis was very smart."
I only bowed low to the marchioness, and a moment after Cardinal Acquaviva said to me, kindly,
"You are astonished at your adventure being known?"
"No, my lord; but I am surprised that people should talk of it. I could not have believed Rome to be so much like a small village."
"The longer you live in Rome," said his eminence, "the more you will find it so. You have not yet presented yourself to kiss the foot of our Holy Father?"
"Not yet, my lord."
"Then you must do so."
I bowed in compliance to his wishes.
The Abbe Gama told me to present myself to the Pope on the morrow, and he added,
"Of course you have already shewn yourself in the Marchioness G.'s palace?"
"No, I have never been there."
"You astonish me; but she often speaks to you!"
"I have no objection to go with you."
"I never visit at her palace."
"Yet she speaks to you likewise."
"Yes, but.... You do not know Rome; go alone; believe me, you ought to go."
"Will she receive me?"
"You are joking, I suppose. Of course it is out of the question for you to be announced. You will call when the doors are wide open to everybody. You will meet there all those who pay homage to her."
"Will she see me?"
"No doubt of it."
On the following day I proceeded to Monte-Cavallo, and I was at once led into the room where the Pope was alone. I threw myself on my knees and kissed the holy cross on his most holy slipper. The Pope enquiring who I was, I told him, and he answered that he knew me, congratulating me upon my being in the service of so eminent a cardinal. He asked me how I had succeeded in gaining the cardinal's favour; I answered with a faithful recital of my adventures from my arrival at Martorano. He laughed heartily at all I said respecting the poor and worthy bishop, and remarked that, instead of trying to address him in Tuscan, I could speak in the Venetian dialect, as he was himself speaking to me in the dialect of Bologna. I felt quite at my ease with him, and I told him so much news and amused him so well that the Holy Father kindly said that he would be glad to see me whenever I presented myself at Monte-Cavallo. I begged his permission to read all forbidden books, and he granted it with his blessing, saying that I should have the permission in writing, but he forgot it.
Benedict XIV, was a learned man, very amiable, and fond of a joke. I saw him for the second time at the Villa Medicis. He called me to him, and continued his walk, speaking of trifling things. He was then accompanied by Cardinal Albani and the ambassador from Venice. A man of modest appearance approached His Holiness, who asked what he required; the man said a few words in a low voice, and, after listening to him, the Pope answered, "You are right, place your trust in God;" and he gave him his blessing. The poor fellow went away very dejected, and the Holy Father continued his walk.
"This man," I said, "most Holy Father, has not been pleased with the answer of Your Holiness."
"Why?"
"Because most likely he had already addressed himself to God before he ventured to apply to you; and when Your Holiness sends him to God again, he finds himself sent back, as the proverb says, from Herod to Pilate."
The Pope, as well as his two companions, laughed heartily; but I kept a serious countenance.
"I cannot," continued the Pope, "do any good without God's assistance."
"Very true, Holy Father; but the man is aware that you are God's prime minister, and it is easy to imagine his trouble now that the minister sends him again to the master. His only resource is to give money to the beggars of Rome, who for one 'bajocco' will pray for him. They boast of their influence before the throne of the Almighty, but as I have faith only in your credit, I entreat Your Holiness to deliver me of the heat which inflames my eyes by granting me permission to eat meat."
"Eat meat, my son."
"Holy Father, give me your blessing."
He blessed me, adding that I was not dispensed from fasting.
That very evening, at the cardinal's assembly, I found that the news of my dialogue with the Pope was already known. Everybody was anxious to speak to me. I felt flattered, but I was much more delighted at the joy which Cardinal Acquaviva tried in vain to conceal.
As I wished not to neglect Gama's advice, I presented myself at the mansion of the beautiful marchioness at the hour at which everyone had free access to her ladyship. I saw her, I saw the cardinal and a great many abbes; but I might have supposed myself invisible, for no one honoured me with a look, and no one spoke to me. I left after having performed for half an hour the character of a mute. Five or six days afterwards, the marchioness told me graciously that she had caught a sight of me in her reception-rooms.
"I was there, it is true, madam; but I had no idea that I had had the honour to be seen by your ladyship."
"Oh! I see everybody. They tell me that you have wit."
"If it is not a mistake on the part of your informants, your ladyship gives me very good news."
"Oh! they are excellent judges."
"Then, madam, those persons must have honoured me with their conversation; otherwise, it is not likely that they would have been able to express such an opinion."
"No doubt; but let me see you often at my receptions."
Our conversation had been overheard by those who were around; his excellency the cardinal told me that, when the marchioness addressed herself particularly to me in French, my duty was to answer her in the same language, good or bad. The cunning politician Gama took me apart, and remarked that my repartees were too smart, too cutting, and that, after a time, I would be sure to displease. I had made considerable progress in French; I had given up my lessons, and practice was all I required. I was then in the habit of calling sometimes upon Lucrezia in the morning, and of visiting in the evening Father Georgi, who was acquainted with the excursion to Frascati, and had not expressed any dissatisfaction.
Two days after the sort of command laid upon me by the marchioness, I presented myself at her reception. As soon as she saw me, she favoured me with a smile which I acknowledged by a deep reverence; that was all. In a quarter of an hour afterwards I left the mansion. The marchioness was beautiful, but she was powerful, and I could not make up my mind to crawl at the feet of power, and, on that head, I felt disgusted with the manners of the Romans.
One morning towards the end of November the advocate, accompanied by Angelique's intended, called on me. The latter gave me a pressing invitation to spend twenty-four hours at Tivoli with the friends I had entertained at Frascati. I accepted with great pleasure, for I had found no opportunity of being alone with Lucrezia since the Festival of St. Ursula. I promised to be at Donna Cecilia's house at day-break with the same 'vis-a-vis'. It was necessary to start very early, because Tivoli is sixteen miles from Rome, and has so many objects of interest that it requires many hours to see them all. As I had to sleep out that night, I craved permission to do so from the cardinal himself, who, hearing with whom I was going, told me that I was quite right not to lose such an opportunity of visiting that splendid place in such good society.
The first dawn of day found me with my 'vis-a-vis' and four at the door of Donna Cecilia, who came with me as before. The charming widow, notwithstanding her strict morality, was delighted at my love for her daughter. The family rode in a large phaeton hired by Don Francisco, which gave room for six persons.
At half-past seven in the morning we made a halt at a small place where had been prepared, by Don Franciso's orders, an excellent breakfast, which was intended to replace the dinner, and we all made a hearty meal, as we were not likely to find time for anything but supper at Tivoli. I wore on my finger the beautiful ring which Lucrezia had given me. At the back of the ring I had had a piece of enamel placed, on it was delineated a saduceus, with one serpent between the letters Alpha and Omega. This ring was the subject of conversation during breakfast, and Don Francisco, as well as the advocate, exerted himself in vain to guess the meaning of the hieroglyphs; much to the amusement of Lucrezia, who understood the mysterious secret so well. We continued our road, and reached Tivoli at ten o'clock.
We began by visiting Don Francisco's villa. It was a beautiful little house, and we spent the following six hours in examining together the antiquities of Tivoli. Lucrezia having occasion to whisper a few words to Don Francisco, I seized the opportunity of telling Angelique that after her marriage I should be happy to spend a few days of the fine season with her.
"Sir," she answered, "I give you fair notice that the moment I become mistress in this house you will be the very first person to be excluded."
"I feel greatly obliged to you, signora, for your timely notice."
But the most amusing part of the affair was that I construed Angelique's wanton insult into a declaration of love. I was astounded. Lucrezia, remarking the state I was in, touched my arm, enquiring what ailed me. I told her, and she said at once,
"My darling, my happiness cannot last long; the cruel moment of our separation is drawing near. When I have gone, pray undertake the task of compelling her to acknowledge her error. Angelique pities me, be sure to avenge me."
I have forgotten to mention that at Don Francisco's villa I happened to praise a very pretty room opening upon the orange-house, and the amiable host, having heard me, came obligingly to me, and said that it should be my room that night. Lucrezia feigned not to hear, but it was to her Ariadne's clue, for, as we were to remain altogether during our visit to the beauties of Tivoli, we had no chance of a tete-a-tete through the day.
I have said that we devoted six hours to an examination of the antiquities of Tivoli, but I am bound to confess here that I saw, for my part, very little of them, and it was only twenty-eight years later that I made a thorough acquaintance with the beautiful spot.
We returned to the villa towards evening, fatigued and very hungry, but an hour's rest before supper--a repast which lasted two hours, the most delicious dishes, the most exquisite wines, and particularly the excellent wine of Tivoli--restored us so well that everybody wanted nothing more than a good bed and the freedom to enjoy the bed according to his own taste.
As everybody objected to sleep alone, Lucrezia said that she would sleep with Angelique in one of the rooms leading to the orange-house, and proposed that her husband should share a room with the young abbe, his brother-in-law, and that Donna Cecilia should take her youngest daughter with her.
The arrangement met with general approbation, and Don Francisco, taking a candle, escorted me to my pretty little room adjoining the one in which the two sisters were to sleep, and, after shewing me how I could lock myself in, he wished me good night and left me alone.
Angelique had no idea that I was her near neighbour, but Lucrezia and I, without exchanging a single word on the subject, had perfectly understood each other.
I watched through the key-hole and saw the two sisters come into their room, preceded by the polite Don Francisco, who carried a taper, and, after lighting a night-lamp, bade them good night and retired. Then my two beauties, their door once locked, sat down on the sofa and completed their night toilet, which, in that fortunate climate, is similar to the costume of our first mother. Lucrezia, knowing that I was waiting to come in, told her sister to lie down on the side towards the window, and the virgin, having no idea that she was exposing her most secret beauties to my profane eyes, crossed the room in a state of complete nakedness. Lucrezia put out the lamp and lay down near her innocent sister.
Happy moments which I can no longer enjoy, but the sweet remembrance of which death alone can make me lose! I believe I never undressed myself as quickly as I did that evening.
I open the door and fall into the arms of my Lucrezia, who says to her sister, "It is my angel, my love; never mind him, and go to sleep."
What a delightful picture I could offer to my readers if it were possible for me to paint voluptuousness in its most enchanting colours! What ecstasies of love from the very onset! What delicious raptures succeed each other until the sweetest fatigue made us give way to the soothing influence of Morpheus!
The first rays of the sun, piercing through the crevices of the shutters, wake us out of our refreshing slumbers, and like two valorous knights who have ceased fighting only to renew the contest with increased ardour, we lose no time in giving ourselves up to all the intensity of the flame which consumes us.
"Oh, my beloved Lucrezia! how supremely happy I am! But, my darling, mind your sister; she might turn round and see us."
"Fear nothing, my life; my sister is kind, she loves me, she pities me; do you not love me, my dear Angelique? Oh! turn round, see how happy your sister is, and know what felicity awaits you when you own the sway of love."
Angelique, a young maiden of seventeen summers, who must have suffered the torments of Tantalus during the night, and who only wishes for a pretext to shew that she has forgiven her sister, turns round, and covering her sister with kisses, confesses that she has not closed her eyes through the night.
"Then forgive likewise, darling Angelique, forgive him who loves me, and whom I adore," says Lucrezia.
Unfathomable power of the god who conquers all human beings!
"Angelique hates me," I say, "I dare not...."
"No, I do not hate you!" answers the charming girl.
"Kiss her, dearest," says Lucrezia, pushing me towards her sister, and pleased to see her in my arms motionless and languid.
But sentiment, still more than love, forbids me to deprive Lucrezia of the proof of my gratitude, and I turn to her with all the rapture of a beginner, feeling that my ardour is increased by Angelique's ecstasy, as for the first time she witnesses the amorous contest. Lucrezia, dying of enjoyment, entreats me to stop, but, as I do not listen to her prayer, she tricks me, and the sweet Angelique makes her first sacrifice to the mother of love. It is thus, very likely, that when the gods inhabited this earth, the voluptuous Arcadia, in love with the soft and pleasing breath of Zephyrus, one day opened her arms, and was fecundated.
Lucrezia was astonished and delighted, and covered us both with kisses. Angelique, as happy as her sister, expired deliciously in my arms for the third time, and she seconded me with so much loving ardour, that it seemed to me I was tasting happiness for the first time.
Phoebus had left the nuptial couch, and his rays were already diffusing light over the universe; and that light, reaching us through the closed shutters, gave me warning to quit the place; we exchanged the most loving adieus, I left my two divinities and retired to my own room. A few minutes afterwards, the cheerful voice of the advocate was heard in the chamber of the sisters; he was reproaching them for sleeping too long! Then he knocked at my door, threatening to bring the ladies to me, and went away, saying that he would send me the hair-dresser.
After many ablutions and a careful toilet, I thought I could shew my face, and I presented myself coolly in the drawing-room. The two sisters were there with the other members of our society, and I was delighted with their rosy cheeks. Lucrezia was frank and gay, and beamed with happiness; Angelique, as fresh as the morning dew, was more radiant than usual, but fidgety, and carefully avoided looking me in the face. I saw that my useless attempts to catch her eyes made her smile, and I remarked to her mother, rather mischievously, that it was a pity Angelique used paint for her face. She was duped by this stratagem, and compelled me to pass a handkerchief over her face, and was then obliged to look at me. I offered her my apologies, and Don Francisco appeared highly pleased that the complexion of his intended had met with such triumph.
After breakfast we took a walk through the garden, and, finding myself alone with Lucrezia, I expostulated tenderly with her for having almost thrown her sister in my arms.
"Do not reproach me," she said, "when I deserve praise. I have brought light into the darkness of my charming sister's soul; I have initiated her in the sweetest of mysteries, and now, instead of pitying me, she must envy me. Far from having hatred for you, she must love you dearly, and as I am so unhappy as to have to part from you very soon, my beloved, I leave her to you; she will replace me."
"Ah, Lucrezia! how can I love her?"
"Is she not a charming girl?"
"No doubt of it; but my adoration for you is a shield against any other love. Besides Don Francisco must, of course, entirely monopolize her, and I do not wish to cause coolness between them, or to ruin the peace of their home. I am certain your sister is not like you, and I would bet that, even now, she upbraids herself for having given way to the ardour of her temperament."
"Most likely; but, dearest, I am sorry to say my husband expects to obtain judgment in the course of this week, and then the short instants of happiness will for ever be lost to me."
This was sad news indeed, and to cause a diversion at the breakfast-table I took much notice of the generous Don Francisco, and promised to compose a nuptial song for his wedding-day, which had been fixed for the early part of January.
We returned to Rome, and for the three hours that she was with me in my vis-a-vis, Lucrezia had no reason to think that my ardour was at all abated. But when we reached the city I was rather fatigued, and proceeded at once to the palace.
Lucrezia had guessed rightly; her husband obtained his judgment three or four days afterwards, and called upon me to announce their departure for the day after the morrow; he expressed his warm friendship for me, and by his invitation I spent the two last evenings with Lucrezia, but we were always surrounded by the family. The day of her departure, wishing to cause her an agreeable surprise, I left Rome before them and waited for them at the place where I thought they would put up for the night, but the advocate, having been detained by several engagements, was detained in Rome, and they only reached the place next day for dinner. We dined together, we exchanged a sad, painful farewell, and they continued their journey while I returned to Rome.
After the departure of this charming woman, I found myself in sort of solitude very natural to a young man whose heart is not full of hope.
I passed whole days in my room, making extracts from the French letters written by the cardinal, and his eminence was kind enough to tell me that my extracts were judiciously made, but that he insisted upon my not working so hard. The beautiful marchioness was present when he paid me that compliment.
Since my second visit to her, I had not presented myself at her house; she was consequently rather cool to me, and, glad of an opportunity of making me feel her displeasure, she remarked to his eminence that very likely work was a consolation to me in the great void caused by the departure of Donna Lucrezia.
"I candidly confess, madam, that I have felt her loss deeply. She was kind and generous; above all, she was indulgent when I did not call often upon her. My friendship for her was innocent."
"I have no doubt of it, although your ode was the work of a poet deeply in love."
"Oh!" said the kindly cardinal, "a poet cannot possibly write without professing to be in love."
"But," replied the marchioness, "if the poet is really in love, he has no need of professing a feeling which he possesses."
As she was speaking, the marchioness drew out of her pocket a paper which she offered to his eminence.
"This is the ode," she said, "it does great honour to the poet, for it is admitted to be a masterpiece by all the literati in Rome, and Donna Lucrezia knows it by heart."
The cardinal read it over and returned it, smiling, and remarking that, as he had no taste for Italian poetry, she must give herself the pleasure of translating it into French rhyme if she wished him to admire it.
"I only write French prose," answered the marchioness, "and a prose translation destroys half the beauty of poetry. I am satisfied with writing occasionally a little Italian poetry without any pretension to poetical fame."
Those words were accompanied by a very significant glance in my direction.
"I should consider myself fortunate, madam, if I could obtain the happiness of admiring some of your poetry."
"Here is a sonnet of her ladyship's," said Cardinal S. C.
I took it respectfully, and I prepared to read it, but the amiable marchioness told me to put it in my pocket and return it to the cardinal the next day, although she did not think the sonnet worth so much trouble. "If you should happen to go out in the morning," said Cardinal S. C., "you could bring it back, and dine with me." Cardinal Aquaviva immediately answered for me: "He will be sure to go out purposely."
With a deep reverence, which expressed my thanks, I left the room quietly and returned to my apartment, very impatient to read the sonnet. Yet, before satisfying my wish, I could not help making some reflections on the situation. I began to think myself somebody since the gigantic stride I had made this evening at the cardinal's assembly. The Marchioness de G. had shewn in the most open way the interest she felt in me, and, under cover of her grandeur, had not hesitated to compromise herself publicly by the most flattering advances. But who would have thought of disapproving? A young abbe like me, without any importance whatever, who could scarcely pretend to her high protection! True, but she was precisely the woman to grant it to those who, feeling themselves unworthy of it, dared not shew any pretensions to her patronage. On that head, my modesty must be evident to everyone, and the marchioness would certainly have insulted me had she supposed me capable of sufficient vanity to fancy that she felt the slightest inclination for me. No, such a piece of self-conceit was not in accordance with my nature. Her cardinal himself had invited me to dinner. Would he have done so if he had admitted the possibility of the beautiful marchioness feeling anything for me? Of course not, and he gave me an invitation to dine with him only because he had understood, from the very words of the lady, that I was just the sort of person with whom they could converse for a few hours without any risk; to be sure, without any risk whatever. Oh, Master Casanova! do you really think so?
Well, why should I put on a mask before my readers? They may think me conceited if they please, but the fact of the matter is that I felt sure of having made a conquest of the marchioness. I congratulated myself because she had taken the first, most difficult, and most important step. Had she not done so, I should never have dared to lay siege to her even in the most approved fashion; I should never have even ventured to dream of winning her. It was only this evening that I thought she might replace Lucrezia. She was beautiful, young, full of wit and talent; she was fond of literary pursuits, and very powerful in Rome; what more was necessary? Yet I thought it would be good policy to appear ignorant of her inclination for me, and to let her suppose from the very next day that I was in love with her, but that my love appeared to me hopeless. I knew that such a plan was infallible, because it saved her dignity. It seemed to me that Father Georgi himself would be compelled to approve such an undertaking, and I had remarked with great satisfaction that Cardinal Acquaviva had expressed his delight at Cardinal S. C.'s invitation--an honour which he had never yet bestowed on me himself. This affair might have very important results for me.
I read the marchioness's sonnet, and found it easy, flowing, and well written. It was composed in praise of the King of Prussia, who had just conquered Silesia by a masterly stroke. As I was copying it, the idea struck me to personify Silesia, and to make her, in answer to the sonnet, bewail that Love (supposed to be the author of the sonnet of the marchioness) could applaud the man who had conquered her, when that conqueror was the sworn enemy of Love.
It is impossible for a man accustomed to write poetry to abstain when a happy subject smiles upon his delighted imagination. If he attempted to smother the poetical flame running through his veins it would consume him. I composed my sonnet, keeping the same rhymes as in the original, and, well pleased with my muse, I went to bed.
The next morning the Abbe Gama came in just as I had finished recopying my sonnet, and said he would breakfast with me. He complimented me upon the honour conferred on me by the invitation of Cardinal S. C.
"But be prudent," he added, "for his eminence has the reputation of being jealous."
I thanked him for his friendly advice, taking care to assure him that I had nothing to fear, because I did not feel the slightest inclination for the handsome marchioness.
Cardinal S. C. received me with great kindness mingled with dignity, to make me realize the importance of the favour he was bestowing upon me.
"What do you think," he enquired, "of the sonnet?"
"Monsignor, it is perfectly written, and, what is more, it is a charming composition. Allow me to return it to you with my thanks."
"She has much talent. I wish to shew you ten stanzas of her composition, my dear abbe, but you must promise to be very discreet about it."
"Your eminence may rely on me."
He opened his bureau and brought forth the stanzas of which he was the subject. I read them, found them well written, but devoid of enthusiasm; they were the work of a poet, and expressed love in the words of passion, but were not pervaded by that peculiar feeling by which true love is so easily discovered. The worthy cardinal was doubtless guilty of a very great indiscretion, but self-love is the cause of so many injudicious steps! I asked his eminence whether he had answered the stanzas.
"No," he replied, "I have not; but would you feel disposed to lend me your poetical pen, always under the seal of secrecy?"
"As to secrecy, monsignor, I promise it faithfully; but I am afraid the marchioness will remark the difference between your style and mine."
"She has nothing of my composition," said the cardinal; "I do not think she supposes me a fine poet, and for that reason your stanzas must be written in such a manner that she will not esteem them above my abilities."
"I will write them with pleasure, monsignor, and your eminence can form an opinion; if they do not seem good enough to be worthy of you, they need not be given to the marchioness."
"That is well said. Will you write them at once?"
"What! now, monsignor? It is not like prose."
"Well, well! try to let me have them to-morrow."
We dined alone, and his eminence complimented me upon my excellent appetite, which he remarked was as good as his own; but I was beginning to understand my eccentric host, and, to flatter him, I answered that he praised me more than I deserved, and that my appetite was inferior to his. The singular compliment delighted him, and I saw all the use I could make of his eminence.
Towards the end of the dinner, as we were conversing, the marchioness made her appearance, and, as a matter of course, without being announced. Her looks threw me into raptures; I thought her a perfect beauty. She did not give the cardinal time to meet her, but sat down near him, while I remained standing, according to etiquette.
Without appearing to notice me, the marchioness ran wittily over various topics until coffee was brought in. Then, addressing herself to me, she told me to sit down, just as if she was bestowing charity upon me.
"By-the-by, abbe," she said, a minute after, "have you read my sonnet?"
"Yes, madam, and I have had the honour to return it to his eminence. I have found it so perfect that I am certain it must have cost you a great deal of time."
"Time?" exclaimed the cardinal; "Oh! you do not know the marchioness."
"Monsignor," I replied, "nothing can be done well without time, and that is why I have not dared to shew to your eminence an answer to the sonnet which I have written in half an hour."
"Let us see it, abbe," said the marchioness; "I want to read it."
"Answer of Silesia to Love." This title brought the most fascinating blushes on her countenance. "But Love is not mentioned in the sonnet," exclaimed the cardinal. "Wait," said the marchioness, "we must respect the idea of the poet."
She read the sonnet over and over, and thought that the reproaches addressed by Silesia to Love were very just. She explained my idea to the cardinal, making him understand why Silesia was offended at having been conquered by the King of Prussia.
"Ah, I see, I see!" exclaimed the cardinal, full of joy; "Silesia is a woman.... and the King of Prussia.... Oh! oh! that is really a fine idea!" And the good cardinal laughed heartily for more than a quarter of an hour. "I must copy that sonnet," he added, "indeed I must have it."
"The abbe," said the obliging marchioness, "will save you the trouble: I will dictate it to him."
I prepared to write, but his eminence suddenly exclaimed, "My dear marchioness, this is wonderful; he has kept the same rhymes as in your own sonnet: did you observe it?"
The beautiful marchioness gave me then a look of such expression that she completed her conquest. I understood that she wanted me to know the cardinal as well as she knew him; it was a kind of partnership in which I was quite ready to play my part.
As soon as I had written the sonnet under the charming woman's dictation, I took my leave, but not before the cardinal had told me that he expected me to dinner the next day.
I had plenty of work before me, for the ten stanzas I had to compose were of the most singular character, and I lost no time in shutting myself up in my room to think of them. I had to keep my balance between two points of equal difficulty, and I felt that great care was indispensable. I had to place the marchioness in such a position that she could pretend to believe the cardinal the author of the stanzas, and, at the same time, compel her to find out that I had written them, and that I was aware of her knowing it. It was necessary to speak so carefully that not one expression should breathe even the faintest hope on my part, and yet to make my stanzas blaze with the ardent fire of my love under the thin veil of poetry. As for the cardinal, I knew well enough that the better the stanzas were written, the more disposed he would be to sign them. All I wanted was clearness, so difficult to obtain in poetry, while a little doubtful darkness would have been accounted sublime by my new Midas. But, although I wanted to please him, the cardinal was only a secondary consideration, and the handsome marchioness the principal object.
As the marchioness in her verses had made a pompous enumeration of every physical and moral quality of his eminence, it was of course natural that he should return the compliment, and here my task was easy. At last having mastered my subject well, I began my work, and giving full career to my imagination and to my feelings I composed the ten stanzas, and gave the finishing stroke with these two beautiful lines from Ariosto:
Le angelicche bellezze nate al cielo
Non si ponno celar sotto alcum velo.
Rather pleased with my production, I presented it the next day to the cardinal, modestly saying that I doubted whether he would accept the authorship of so ordinary a composition. He read the stanzas twice over without taste or expression, and said at last that they were indeed not much, but exactly what he wanted. He thanked me particularly for the two lines from Ariosto, saying that they would assist in throwing the authorship upon himself, as they would prove to the lady for whom they were intended that he had not been able to write them without borrowing. And, as to offer me some consolation, he told me that, in recopying the lines, he would take care to make a few mistakes in the rhythm to complete the illusion.
We dined earlier than the day before, and I withdrew immediately after dinner so as to give him leisure to make a copy of the stanzas before the arrival of the lady.
The next evening I met the marchioness at the entrance of the palace, and offered her my arm to come out of her carriage. The instant she alighted, she said to me,
"If ever your stanzas and mine become known in Rome, you may be sure of my enmity."
"Madam, I do not understand what you mean."
"I expected you to answer me in this manner," replied the marchioness, "but recollect what I have said."
I left her at the door of the reception-room, and thinking that she was really angry with me, I went away in despair. "My stanzas," I said to myself, "are too fiery; they compromise her dignity, and her pride is offended at my knowing the secret of her intrigue with Cardinal S. C. Yet, I feel certain that the dread she expresses of my want of discretion is only feigned, it is but a pretext to turn me out of her favour. She has not understood my reserve! What would she have done, if I had painted her in the simple apparel of the golden age, without any of those veils which modesty imposes upon her sex!" I was sorry I had not done so. I undressed and went to bed. My head was scarcely on the pillow when the Abbe Gama knocked at my door. I pulled the door-string, and coming in, he said,
"My dear sir, the cardinal wishes to see you, and I am sent by the beautiful marchioness and Cardinal S. C., who desire you to come down."
"I am very sorry, but I cannot go; tell them the truth; I am ill in bed."
As the abbe did not return, I judged that he had faithfully acquitted himself of the commission, and I spent a quiet night. I was not yet dressed in the morning, when I received a note from Cardinal S. C. inviting me to dinner, saying that he had just been bled, and that he wanted to speak to me: he concluded by entreating me to come to him early, even if I did not feel well.
The invitation was pressing; I could not guess what had caused it, but the tone of the letter did not forebode anything unpleasant. I went to church, where I was sure that Cardinal Acquaviva would see me, and he did. After mass, his eminence beckoned to me.
"Are you truly ill?" he enquired.
"No, monsignor, I was only sleepy."
"I am very glad to hear it; but you are wrong, for you are loved. Cardinal S. C. has been bled this morning."
"I know it, monsignor. The cardinal tells me so in this note, in which he invites me to dine with him, with your excellency's permission."
"Certainly. But this is amusing! I did not know that he wanted a third person."
"Will there be a third person?"
"I do not know, and I have no curiosity about it."
The cardinal left me, and everybody imagined that his eminence had spoken to me of state affairs.
I went to my new Maecenas, whom I found in bed.
"I am compelled to observe strict diet," he said to me; "I shall have to let you dine alone, but you will not lose by it as my cook does not know it. What I wanted to tell you is that your stanzas are, I am afraid, too pretty, for the marchioness adores them. If you had read them to me in the same way that she does, I could never have made up my mind to offer them." "But she believes them to be written by your eminence?"
"Of course."
"That is the essential point, monsignor."
"Yes; but what should I do if she took it into her head to compose some new stanzas for me?"
"You would answer through the same pen, for you can dispose of me night and day, and rely upon the utmost secrecy."
"I beg of you to accept this small present; it is some negrillo snuff from Habana, which Cardinal Acquaviva has given me."
The snuff was excellent, but the object which contained it was still better. It was a splendid gold-enamelled box. I received it with respect, and with the expression of the deepest gratitude.
If his eminence did not know how to write poetry, at least he knew how to be generous, and in a delicate manner, and that science is, at least in my estimation, superior to the other for a great nobleman.
At noon, and much to my surprise, the beautiful marchioness made her appearance in the most elegant morning toilet.
"If I had known you were in good company," she said to the cardinal, "I would not have come."
"I am sure, dear marchioness, you will not find our dear abbe in the way."
"No, for I believe him to be honest and true."
I kept at a respectful distance, ready to go away with my splendid snuff-box at the first jest she might hurl at me.
The cardinal asked her if she intended to remain to dinner.
"Yes," she answered; "but I shall not enjoy my dinner, for I hate to eat alone."
"If you would honour him so far, the abbe would keep you company."
She gave me a gracious look, but without uttering one word.
This was the first time I had anything to do with a woman of quality, and that air of patronage, whatever kindness might accompany it, always put me out of temper, for I thought it made love out of the question. However, as we were in the presence of the cardinal, I fancied that she might be right in treating me in that fashion.
The table was laid out near the cardinal's bed, and the marchioness, who ate hardly anything, encouraged me in my good appetite.
"I have told you that the abbe is equal to me in that respect," said S. C.
"I truly believe," answered the marchioness, "that he does not remain far behind you; but," added she with flattery, "you are more dainty in your tastes."
"Would her ladyship be so good as to tell me in what I have appeared to her to be a mere glutton? For in all things I like only dainty and exquisite morsels."
"Explain what you mean by saying in all things," said the cardinal. Taking the liberty of laughing, I composed a few impromptu verses in which I named all I thought dainty and exquisite. The marchioness applauded, saying that she admired my courage.
"My courage, madam, is due to you, for I am as timid as a hare when I am not encouraged; you are the author of my impromptu."
"I admire you. As for myself, were I encouraged by Apollo himself, I could not compose four lines without paper and ink."
"Only give way boldly to your genius, madam, and you will produce poetry worthy of heaven."
"That is my opinion, too," said the cardinal. "I entreat you to give me permission to shew your ten stanzas to the abbe."
"They are not very good, but I have no objection provided it remains between us."
The cardinal gave me, then, the stanzas composed by the marchioness, and I read them aloud with all the expression, all the feeling necessary to such reading.
"How well you have read those stanzas!" said the marchioness; "I can hardly believe them to be my own composition; I thank you very much. But have the goodness to give the benefit of your reading to the stanzas which his eminence has written in answer to mine. They surpass them much."
"Do not believe it, my dear abbe," said the cardinal, handing them to me. "Yet try not to let them lose anything through your reading."
There was certainly no need of his eminence enforcing upon me such a recommendation; it was my own poetry. I could not have read it otherwise than in my best style, especially when I had before me the beautiful woman who had inspired them, and when, besides, Bacchus was in me giving courage to Apollo as much as the beautiful eyes of the marchioness were fanning into an ardent blaze the fire already burning through my whole being.
I read the stanzas with so much expression that the cardinal was enraptured, but I brought a deep carnation tint upon the cheeks of the lovely marchioness when I came to the description of those beauties which the imagination of the poet is allowed to guess at, but which I could not, of course, have gazed upon. She snatched the paper from my hands with passion, saying that I was adding verses of my own; it was true, but I did not confess it. I was all aflame, and the fire was scorching her as well as me.
The cardinal having fallen asleep, she rose and went to take a seat on the balcony; I followed her. She had a rather high seat; I stood opposite to her, so that her knee touched the fob-pocket in which was my watch. What a position! Taking hold gently of one of her hands, I told her that she had ignited in my soul a devouring flame, that I adored her, and that, unless some hope was left to me of finding her sensible to my sufferings, I was determined to fly away from her for ever.
"Yes, beautiful marchioness, pronounce my sentence."
"I fear you are a libertine and an unfaithful lover."
"I am neither one nor the other."
With these words I folded her in my arms, and I pressed upon her lovely lips, as pure as a rose, an ardent kiss which she received with the best possible grace. This kiss, the forerunner of the most delicious pleasures, had imparted to my hands the greatest boldness; I was on the point of.... but the marchioness, changing her position, entreated me so sweetly to respect her, that, enjoying new voluptuousness through my very obedience, I not only abandoned an easy victory, but I even begged her pardon, which I soon read in the most loving look.
She spoke of Lucrezia, and was pleased with my discretion. She then alluded to the cardinal, doing her best to make me believe that there was nothing between them but a feeling of innocent friendship. Of course I had my opinion on that subject, but it was my interest to appear to believe every word she uttered. We recited together lines from our best poets, and all the time she was still sitting down and I standing before her, with my looks rapt in the contemplation of the most lovely charms, to which I remained insensible in appearance, for I had made up my mind not to press her that evening for greater favours than those I had already received.
The cardinal, waking from his long and peaceful siesta, got up and joined us in his night-cap, and good-naturedly enquired whether we had not felt impatient at his protracted sleep. I remained until dark and went home highly pleased with my day's work, but determined to keep my ardent desires in check until the opportunity for complete victory offered itself.
From that day, the charming marchioness never ceased to give me the marks of her particular esteem, without the slightest constraint; I was reckoning upon the carnival, which was close at hand, feeling certain that the more I should spare her delicacy, the more she would endeavour to find the opportunity of rewarding my loyalty, and of crowning with happiness my loving constancy. But fate ordained otherwise; Dame Fortune turned her back upon me at the very moment when the Pope and Cardinal Acquaviva were thinking of giving me a really good position.
The Holy Father had congratulated me upon the beautiful snuff-box presented to me by Cardinal S. C., but he had been careful never to name the marchioness. Cardinal Acquaviva expressed openly his delight at his brother-cardinal having given me a taste of his negrillo snuff in so splendid an envelope; the Abbe Gama, finding me so forward on the road to success, did not venture to counsel me any more, and the virtuous Father Georgi gave me but one piece of advice-namely, to cling to the lovely marchioness and not to make any other acquaintances.
Such was my position-truly a brilliant one, when, on Christmas Day, the lover of Barbara Dalacqua entered my room, locked the door, and threw himself on the sofa, exclaiming that I saw him for the last time.
"I only come to beg of you some good advice."
"On what subject can I advise you?"
"Take this and read it; it will explain everything."
It was a letter from his mistress; the contents were these:
"I am pregnant of a child, the pledge of our mutual love; I can no longer have any doubt of it, my beloved, and I forewarn you that I have made up my mind to quit Rome alone, and to go away to die where it may please God, if you refuse to take care of me and save me. I would suffer anything, do anything, rather than let my father discover the truth."
"If you are a man of honour," I said, "you cannot abandon the poor girl. Marry her in spite of your father, in spite of her own, and live together honestly. The eternal Providence of God will watch over you and help you in your difficulties."
My advice seemed to bring calm to his mind, and he left me more composed.
At the beginning of January, 1744, he called again, looking very cheerful. "I have hired," he said, "the top floor of the house next to Barbara's dwelling; she knows it, and to-night I will gain her apartment through one of the windows of the garret, and we will make all our arrangements to enable me to carry her off. I have made up my mind; I have decided upon taking her to Naples, and I will take with us the servant who, sleeping in the garret, had to be made a confidante of."
"God speed you, my friend!"
A week afterwards, towards eleven o'clock at night, he entered my room accompanied by an abbe.
"What do you want so late?"
"I wish to introduce you to this handsome abbe."
I looked up, and to my consternation I recognized Barbara.
"Has anyone seen you enter the house?" I enquired.
"No; and if we had been seen, what of it? It is only an abbe. We now pass every night together."
"I congratulate you."
"The servant is our friend; she has consented to follow us, and all our arrangements are completed."
"I wish you every happiness. Adieu. I beg you to leave me."
Three or four days after that visit, as I was walking with the Abbe Gama towards the Villa Medicis, he told me deliberately that there would be an execution during the night in the Piazza di Spagna.
"What kind of execution?"
"The bargello or his lieutenant will come to execute some 'ordine santissimo', or to visit some suspicious dwelling in order to arrest and carry off some person who does not expect anything of the sort."
"How do you know it?"
"His eminence has to know it, for the Pope would not venture to encroach upon his jurisdiction without asking his permission."
"And his eminence has given it?"
"Yes, one of the Holy Father's auditors came for that purpose this morning."
"But the cardinal might have refused?"
"Of course; but such a permission is never denied."
"And if the person to be arrested happened to be under the protection of the cardinal--what then?"
"His eminence would give timely warning to that person."
We changed the conversation, but the news had disturbed me. I fancied that the execution threatened Barbara and her lover, for her father's house was under the Spanish jurisdiction. I tried to see the young man but I could not succeed in meeting him, and I was afraid lest a visit at his home or at M. Dalacqua's dwelling might implicate me. Yet it is certain that this last consideration would not have stopped me if I had been positively sure that they were threatened; had I felt satisfied of their danger, I would have braved everything.
About midnight, as I was ready to go to bed, and just as I was opening my door to take the key from outside, an abbe rushed panting into my room and threw himself on a chair. It was Barbara; I guessed what had taken place, and, foreseeing all the evil consequences her visit might have for me, deeply annoyed and very anxious, I upbraided her for having taken refuge in my room, and entreated her to go away.
Fool that I was! Knowing that I was only ruining myself without any chance of saving her, I ought to have compelled her to leave my room, I ought to have called for the servants if she had refused to withdraw. But I had not courage enough, or rather I voluntarily obeyed the decrees of destiny.
When she heard my order to go away, she threw herself on her knees, and melting into tears, she begged, she entreated my pity!
Where is the heart of steel which is not softened by the tears, by the prayers of a pretty and unfortunate woman? I gave way, but I told her that it was ruin for both of us.
"No one," she replied, "has seen me, I am certain, when I entered the mansion and came up to your room, and I consider my visit here a week ago as most fortunate; otherwise, I never could have known which was your room."
"Alas! how much better if you had never come! But what has become of your lover?"
"The 'sbirri' have carried him off, as well as the servant. I will tell you all about it. My lover had informed me that a carriage would wait to-night at the foot of the flight of steps before the Church of Trinita del Monte, and that he would be there himself. I entered his room through the garret window an hour ago. There I put on this disguise, and, accompanied by the servant, proceeded to meet him. The servant walked a few yards before me, and carried a parcel of my things. At the corner of the street, one of the buckles of my shoes being unfastened, I stopped an instant, and the servant went on, thinking that I was following her. She reached the carriage, got into it, and, as I was getting nearer, the light from a lantern disclosed to me some thirty sbirri; at the same instant, one of them got on the driver's box and drove off at full speed, carrying off the servant, whom they must have mistaken for me, and my lover who was in the coach awaiting me. What could I do at such a fearful moment? I could not go back to my father's house, and I followed my first impulse which brought me here. And here I am! You tell me that my presence will cause your ruin; if it is so, tell me what to do; I feel I am dying; but find some expedient and I am ready to do anything, even to lay my life down, rather than be the cause of your ruin."
But she wept more bitterly than ever.
Her position was so sad that I thought it worse even than mine, although I could almost fancy I saw ruin before me despite my innocence.
"Let me," I said, "conduct you to your father; I feel sure of obtaining your pardon."
But my proposal only enhanced her fears.
"I am lost," she exclaimed; "I know my father. Ah! reverend sir, turn me out into the street, and abandon me to my miserable fate."
No doubt I ought to have done so, and I would have done it if the consciousness of what was due to my own interest had been stronger than my feeling of pity. But her tears! I have often said it, and those amongst my readers who have experienced it, must be of the same opinion; there is nothing on earth more irresistible than two beautiful eyes shedding tears, when the owner of those eyes is handsome, honest, and unhappy. I found myself physically unable to send her away.
"My poor girl," I said at last, "when daylight comes, and that will not be long, for it is past midnight, what do you intend to do?"
"I must leave the palace," she replied, sobbing. "In this disguise no one can recognize me; I will leave Rome, and I will walk straight before me until I fall on the ground, dying with grief and fatigue."
With these words she fell on the floor. She was choking; I could see her face turn blue; I was in the greatest distress.
I took off her neck-band, unlaced her stays under the abbe's dress, I threw cold water in her face, and I finally succeeded in bringing her back to consciousness.
The night was extremely cold, and there was no fire in my room. I advised her to get into my bed, promising to respect her.
"Alas! reverend sir, pity is the only feeling with which I can now inspire anyone."
And, to speak the truth I was too deeply moved, and, at the same time, too full of anxiety, to leave room in me for any desire. Having induced her to go to bed, and her extreme weakness preventing her from doing anything for herself, I undressed her and put her to bed, thus proving once more that compassion will silence the most imperious requirements of nature, in spite of all the charms which would, under other circumstances, excite to the highest degree the senses of a man. I lay down near her in my clothes, and woke her at day-break. Her strength was somewhat restored, she dressed herself alone, and I left my room, telling her to keep quiet until my return. I intended to proceed to her father's house, and to solicit her pardon, but, having perceived some suspicious-looking men loitering about the palace, I thought it wise to alter my mind, and went to a coffeehouse.
I soon ascertained that a spy was watching my movements at a distance; but I did not appear to notice him, and having taken some chocolate and stored a few biscuits in my pocket, I returned towards the palace, apparently without any anxiety or hurry, always followed by the same individual. I judged that the bargello, having failed in his project, was now reduced to guesswork, and I was strengthened in that view of the case when the gate-keeper of the palace told me, without my asking any question, as I came in, that an arrest had been attempted during the night, and had not succeeded. While he was speaking, one of the auditors of the Vicar-General called to enquire when he could see the Abby Gama. I saw that no time was to be lost, and went up to my room to decide upon what was to be done.
I began by making the poor girl eat a couple of biscuits soaked in some Canary wine, and I took her afterwards to the top story of the palace, where, leaving her in a not very decent closet which was not used by anyone, I told her to wait for me.
My servant came soon after, and I ordered him to lock the door of my room as soon as he finished cleaning it, and to bring me the key at the Abbe Gama's apartment, where I was going. I found Gama in conversation with the auditor sent by the Vicar-General. As soon as he had dismissed him, he came to me, and ordered his servant to serve the chocolate. When we were left alone he gave me an account of his interview with the auditor, who had come to entreat his eminence to give orders to turn out of his palace a person who was supposed to have taken refuge in it about midnight. "We must wait," said the abbe, "until the cardinal is visible, but I am quite certain that, if anyone has taken refuge here unknown to him, his eminence will compel that person to leave the palace." We then spoke of the weather and other trifles until my servant brought my key. Judging that I had at least an hour to spare, I bethought myself of a plan which alone could save Barbara from shame and misery.
Feeling certain that I was unobserved, I went up to my poor prisoner and made her write the following words in French:
"I am an honest girl, monsignor, though I am disguised in the dress of an abbe. I entreat your eminence to allow me to give my name only to you and in person. I hope that, prompted by the great goodness of your soul, your eminence will save me from dishonour." I gave her the necessary instructions, as to sending the note to the cardinal, assuring her that he would have her brought to him as soon as he read it.
"When you are in his presence," I added, "throw yourself on your knees, tell him everything without any concealment, except as regards your having passed the night in my room. You must be sure not to mention that circumstance, for the cardinal must remain in complete ignorance of my knowing anything whatever of this intrigue. Tell him that, seeing your lover carried off, you rushed to his palace and ran upstairs as far as you could go, and that after a most painful night Heaven inspired you with the idea of writing to him to entreat his pity. I feel certain that, one way or the other, his eminence will save you from dishonour, and it certainly is the only chance you have of being united to the man you love so dearly."
She promised to follow my instructions faithfully, and, coming down, I had my hair dressed and went to church, where the cardinal saw me. I then went out and returned only for dinner, during which the only subject of conversation was the adventure of the night. Gama alone said nothing, and I followed his example, but I understood from all the talk going on round the table that the cardinal had taken my poor Barbara under his protection. That was all I wanted, and thinking that I had nothing more to fear I congratulated myself, in petto, upon my stratagem, which had, I thought, proved a master-stroke. After dinner, finding myself alone with Gama, I asked him what was the meaning of it all, and this is what he told me:
"A father, whose name I do not know yet, had requested the assistance of the Vicar-General to prevent his son from carrying off a young girl, with whom he intended to leave the States of the Church; the pair had arranged to meet at midnight in this very square, and the Vicar, having previously obtained the consent of our cardinal, as I told you yesterday, gave orders to the bargello to dispose his men in such a way as to catch the young people in the very act of running away, and to arrest them. The orders were executed, but the 'sbirri' found out, when they returned to the bargello, that they had met with only a half success, the woman who got out of the carriage with the young man not belonging to that species likely to be carried off. Soon afterwards a spy informed the bargello that, at the very moment the arrest was executed, he had seen a young abbe run away very rapidly and take refuge in this palace, and the suspicion immediately arose that it might be the missing young lady in the disguise of an ecclesiastic. The bargello reported to the Vicar-General the failure of his men, as well as the account given by the spy, and the Prelate, sharing the suspicion of the police, sent to his eminence, our master, requesting him to have the person in question, man or woman, turned out of the palace, unless such persons should happen to be known to his excellency, and therefore above suspicion. Cardinal Acquaviva was made acquainted with these circumstances at nine this morning through the auditor you met in my room, and he promised to have the person sent away unless she belonged to his household.
"According to his promise, the cardinal ordered the palace to be searched, but, in less than a quarter of an hour, the major-domo received orders to stop, and the only reason for these new instructions must be this:
"I am told by the major-domo that at nine o'clock exactly a very handsome, young abbe, whom he immediately judged to be a girl in disguise, asked him to deliver a note to his eminence, and that the cardinal, after reading it, had desired the said abbe be brought to his apartment, which he has not left since. As the order to stop searching the palace was given immediately after the introduction of the abbe to the cardinal, it is easy enough to suppose that this ecclesiastic is no other than the young girl missed by the police, who took refuge in the palace in which she must have passed the whole night."
"I suppose," said I, "that his eminence will give her up to-day, if not to the bargello, at least to the Vicar-General."
"No, not even to the Pope himself," answered Gama. "You have not yet a right idea of the protection of our cardinal, and that protection is evidently granted to her, since the young person is not only in the palace of his eminence, but also in his own apartment and under his own guardianship."
The whole affair being in itself very interesting, my attention could not appear extraordinary to Gama, however suspicious he might be naturally, and I was certain that he would not have told me anything if he had guessed the share I had taken in the adventure, and the interest I must have felt in it.
The next day, Gama came to my room with a radiant countenance, and informed me that the Cardinal-Vicar was aware of the ravisher being my friend, and supposed that I was likewise the friend of the girl, as she was the daughter of my French teacher. "Everybody," he added, "is satisfied that you knew the whole affair, and it is natural to suspect that the poor girl spent the night in your room. I admire your prudent reserve during our conversation of yesterday. You kept so well on your guard that I would have sworn you knew nothing whatever of the affair."
"And it is the truth," I answered, very seriously; "I have only learned all the circumstances from you this moment. I know the girl, but I have not seen her for six weeks, since I gave up my French lessons; I am much better acquainted with the young man, but he never confided his project to me. However, people may believe whatever they please. You say that it is natural for the girl to have passed the night in my room, but you will not mind my laughing in the face of those who accept their own suppositions as realities."
"That, my dear friend," said the abbe, "is one of the vices of the Romans; happy those who can afford to laugh at it; but this slander may do you harm, even in the mind of our cardinal."
As there was no performance at the Opera that night, I went to the cardinal's reception; I found no difference towards me either in the cardinal's manners, or in those of any other person, and the marchioness was even more gracious than usual.
After dinner, on the following day, Gama informed me that the cardinal had sent the young girl to a convent in which she would be well treated at his eminence's expense, and that he was certain that she would leave it only to become the wife of the young doctor.
"I should be very happy if it should turn out so," I replied; "for they are both most estimable people."
Two days afterwards, I called upon Father Georgi, and he told me, with an air of sorrow, that the great news of the day in Rome was the failure of the attempt to carry off Dalacqua's daughter, and that all the honour of the intrigue was given to me, which displeased him much. I told him what I had already told Gama, and he appeared to believe me, but he added that in Rome people did not want to know things as they truly were, but only as they wished them to be.
"It is known, that you have been in the habit of going every morning to Dalacqua's house; it is known that the young man often called on you; that is quite enough. People do not care, to know the circumstances which might counteract the slander, but only those, likely to give it new force for slander is vastly relished in the Holy City. Your innocence will not prevent the whole adventure being booked to your account, if, in forty years time you were proposed as pope in the conclave."
During the following days the fatal adventure began to cause me more annoyance than I could express, for everyone mentioned it to me, and I could see clearly that people pretended to believe what I said only because they did not dare to do otherwise. The marchioness told me jeeringly that the Signora Dalacqua had contracted peculiar obligations towards me, but my sorrow was very great when, during the last days of the carnival, I remarked that Cardinal Acquaviva's manner had become constrained, although I was the only person who observed the change.
The noise made by the affair was, however, beginning to subside, when, in the first days of Lent, the cardinal desired me to come to his private room, and spoke as follows:
"The affair of the girl Dalacqua is now over; it is no longer spoken of, but the verdict of the public is that you and I have profited by the clumsiness of the young man who intended to carry her off. In reality I care little for such a verdict, for, under similar circumstances, I should always act in a similar manner, and I do not wish to know that which no one can compel you to confess, and which, as a man of honour, you must not admit. If you had no previous knowledge of the intrigue, and had actually turned the girl out of your room (supposing she did come to you), you would have been guilty of a wrong and cowardly action, because you would have sealed her misery for the remainder of her days, and it would not have caused you to escape the suspicion of being an accomplice, while at the same time it would have attached to you the odium of dastardly treachery. Notwithstanding all I have just said, you can easily imagine that, in spite of my utter contempt for all gossiping fools, I cannot openly defy them. I therefore feel myself compelled to ask you not only to quit my service, but even to leave Rome. I undertake to supply you with an honourable pretext for your departure, so as to insure you the continuation of the respect which you may have secured through the marks of esteem I have bestowed upon you. I promise you to whisper in the ear of any person you may choose, and even to inform everybody, that you are going on an important mission which I have entrusted to you. You have only to name the country where you want to go; I have friends everywhere, and can recommend you to such purpose that you will be sure to find employment. My letters of recommendation will be in my own handwriting, and nobody need know where you are going. Meet me to-morrow at the Villa Negroni, and let me know where my letters are to be addressed. You must be ready to start within a week. Believe me, I am sorry to lose you; but the sacrifice is forced upon me by the most absurd prejudice. Go now, and do not let me witness your grief."
He spoke the last words because he saw my eyes filling with tears, and he did not give me time to answer. Before leaving his room, I had the strength of mind to compose myself, and I put on such an air of cheerfulness that the Abbe Gama, who took me to his room to drink some coffee, complimented me upon my happy looks.
"I am sure," he said, "that they are caused by the conversation you have had with his eminence."
"You are right; but you do not know the sorrow at my heart which I try not to shew outwardly."
"What sorrow?"
"I am afraid of failing in a difficult mission which the cardinal has entrusted me with this morning. I am compelled to conceal how little confidence I feel in myself in order not to lessen the good opinion his eminence is pleased to entertain of me."
"If my advice can be of any service to you, pray dispose of me; but you are quite right to shew yourself calm and cheerful. Is it any business to transact in Rome?"
"No; it is a journey I shall have to undertake in a week or ten days."
"Which way?"
"Towards the west."
"Oh! I am not curious to know."
I went out alone and took a walk in the Villa Borghese, where I spent two hours wrapped in dark despair. I liked Rome, I was on the high road to fortune, and suddenly I found myself in the abyss, without knowing where to go, and with all my hopes scattered to the winds. I examined my conduct, I judged myself severely, I could not find myself guilty of any crime save of too much kindness, but I perceived how right the good Father Georgi had been. My duty was not only to take no part in the intrigue of the two love, but also to change my French teacher the moment I heard of it; but this was like calling in a doctor after death has struck the patient. Besides, young as I was, having no experience yet of misfortune, and still less of the wickedness of society, it was very difficult for me to have that prudence which a man gains only by long intercourse with the world.
"Where shall I go?" This was the question which seemed to me impossible of solution. I thought of it all through the night, and through the morning, but I thought in vain; after Rome, I was indifferent where I went to!
In the evening, not caring for any supper, I had gone to my room; the Abbe Gama came to me with a request from the cardinal not to accept any invitation to dinner for the next day, as he wanted to speak to me. I therefore waited upon his eminence the next day at the Villa Negroni; he was walking with his secretary, whom he dismissed the moment he saw me. As soon as we were alone, I gave him all the particulars of the intrigue of the two lovers, and I expressed in the most vivid manner the sorrow I felt at leaving his service.
"I have no hope of success," I added, "for I am certain that Fortune will smile upon me only as long as I am near your eminence."
For nearly an hour I told him all the grief with which my heart was bursting, weeping bitterly; yet I could not move him from his decision. Kindly, but firmly he pressed me to tell him to what part of Europe I wanted to go, and despair as much as vexation made me name Constantinople.
"Constantinople!" he exclaimed, moving back a step or two.
"Yes, monsignor, Constantinople," I repeated, wiping away my tears.
The prelate, a man of great wit, but a Spaniard to the very back-bone, after remaining silent a few minutes, said, with a smile,
"I am glad you have not chosen Ispahan, as I should have felt rather embarrassed. When do you wish to go?"
"This day week, as your eminence has ordered me."
"Do you intend to sail from Naples or from Venice?"
"From Venice."
"I will give you such a passport as will be needed, for you will find two armies in winter-quarters in the Romagna. It strikes me that you may tell everybody that I sent you to Constantinople, for nobody will believe you."
This diplomatic suggestion nearly made me smile. The cardinal told me that I should dine with him, and he left me to join his secretary.
When I returned to the palace, thinking of the choice I had made, I said to myself, "Either I am mad, or I am obeying the impulse of a mysterious genius which sends me to Constantinople to work out my fate." I was only astonished that the cardinal had so readily accepted my choice. "Without any doubt," I thought, "he did not wish me to believe that he had boasted of more than he could achieve, in telling me that he had friends everywhere. But to whom can he recommend me in Constantinople? I have not the slightest idea, but to Constantinople I must go."
I dined alone with his eminence; he made a great show of peculiar kindness and I of great satisfaction, for my self-pride, stronger even than my sorrow, forbade me to let anyone guess that I was in disgrace. My deepest grief was, however, to leave the marchioness, with whom I was in love, and from whom I had not obtained any important favour.
Two days afterwards, the cardinal gave me a passport for Venice, and a sealed letter addressed to Osman Bonneval, Pacha of Caramania, in Constantinople. There was no need of my saying anything to anyone, but, as the cardinal had not forbidden me to do it, I shewed the address on the letter to all my acquaintances.
The Chevalier de Lezze, the Venetian Ambassador, gave me a letter for a wealthy Turk, a very worthy man who had been his friend; Don Gaspar and Father Georgi asked me to write to them, but the Abbe Gams, laughed, and said he was quite sure I was not going to Constantinople.
I went to take my farewell of Donna Cecilia, who had just received a letter from Lucrezia, imparting the news that she would soon be a mother. I also called upon Angelique and Don Francisco, who had lately been married and had not invited me to the wedding.
When I called to take Cardinal Acquaviva's final instructions he gave me a purse containing one hundred ounces, worth seven hundred sequins. I had three hundred more, so that my fortune amounted to one thousand sequins; I kept two hundred, and for the rest I took a letter of exchange upon a Ragusan who was established in Ancona. I left Rome in the coach with a lady going to Our Lady of Loretto, to fulfil a vow made during a severe illness of her daughter, who accompanied her. The young lady was ugly; my journey was a rather tedious one.
CHAPTER XI
My Short But Rather Too Gay Visit To Ancona--Cecilia,
Marina, Bellino--the Greek Slave of the Lazzaretto--Bellino
Discovers Himself
I arrived in Ancona on the 25th of February, 1744, and put up at the best inn. Pleased with my room, I told mine host to prepare for me a good meat dinner; but he answered that during Lent all good Catholics eat nothing but fish.
"The Holy Father has granted me permission to eat meat."
"Let me see your permission."
"He gave it to me by word of mouth."
"Reverend sir, I am not obliged to believe you."
"You are a fool."
"I am master in my own house, and I beg you will go to some other inn."
Such an answer, coupled to a most unexpected notice to quit, threw me into a violent passion. I was swearing, raving, screaming, when suddenly a grave-looking individual made his appearance in my room, and said to me:
"Sir, you are wrong in calling for meat, when in Ancona fish is much better; you are wrong in expecting the landlord to believe you on your bare word; and if you have obtained the permission from the Pope, you have been wrong in soliciting it at your age; you have been wrong in not asking for such permission in writing; you are wrong in calling the host a fool, because it is a compliment that no man is likely to accept in his own house; and, finally, you are wrong in making such an uproar."
Far from increasing my bad temper, this individual, who had entered my room only to treat me to a sermon, made me laugh.
"I willingly plead guilty, sir," I answered, "to all the counts which you allege against me; but it is raining, it is getting late, I am tired and hungry, and therefore you will easily understand that I do not feel disposed to change my quarters. Will you give me some supper, as the landlord refuses to do so?"
"No," he replied, with great composure, "because I am a good Catholic and fast. But I will undertake to make it all right for you with the landlord, who will give you a good supper."
Thereupon he went downstairs, and I, comparing my hastiness to his calm, acknowledged the man worthy of teaching me some lessons. He soon came up again, informed me that peace was signed, and that I would be served immediately.
"Will you not take supper with me?"
"No, but I will keep you company."
I accepted his offer, and to learn who he was, I told him my name, giving myself the title of secretary to Cardinal Acquaviva.
"My name is Sancio Pico," he said; "I am a Castilian, and the 'proveditore' of the army of H. C. M., which is commanded by Count de Gages under the orders of the generalissimo, the Duke of Modena."
My excellent appetite astonished him, and he enquired whether I had dined. "No," said I; and I saw his countenance assume an air of satisfaction.
"Are you not afraid such a supper will hurt you?" he said.
"On the contrary, I hope it will do me a great deal of good."
"Then you have deceived the Pope?"
"No, for I did not tell him that I had no appetite, but only that I liked meat better than fish."
"If you feel disposed to hear some good music," he said a moment after, "follow me to the next room; the prima donna of Ancona lives there."
The words prima donna interested me at once, and I followed him. I saw, sitting before a table, a woman already somewhat advanced in age, with two young girls and two boys, but I looked in vain for the actress, whom Don Sancio Pico at last presented to me in the shape of one of the two boys, who was remarkably handsome and might have been seventeen. I thought he was a 'castrato' who, as is the custom in Rome, performed all the parts of a prima donna. The mother presented to me her other son, likewise very good-looking, but more manly than the 'castrato', although younger. His name was Petronio, and, keeping up the transformations of the family, he was the first female dancer at the opera. The eldest girl, who was also introduced to me, was named Cecilia, and studied music; she was twelve years old; the youngest, called Marina, was only eleven, and like her brother Petronio was consecrated to the worship of Terpsichore. Both the girls were very pretty.
The family came from Bologna and lived upon the talent of its members; cheerfulness and amiability replaced wealth with them. Bellino, such was the name of the castrato, yielding to the entreaties of Don Sancio, rose from the table, went to the harpsicord, and sang with the voice of an angel and with delightful grace. The Castilian listened with his eyes closed in an ecstasy of enjoyment, but I, far from closing my eyes, gazed into Bellino's, which seemed to dart amorous lightnings upon me. I could discover in him some of the features of Lucrezia and the graceful manner of the marchioness, and everything betrayed a beautiful woman, for his dress concealed but imperfectly the most splendid bosom. The consequence was that, in spite of his having been introduced as a man, I fancied that the so-called Bellino was a disguised beauty, and, my imagination taking at once the highest flight, I became thoroughly enamoured.
We spent two very pleasant hours, and I returned to my room accompanied by the Castilian. "I intend to leave very early to-morrow morning," he said, "for Sinigaglia, with the Abbe Vilmarcati, but I expect to return for supper the day after to-morrow." I wished him a happy journey, saying that we would most likely meet on the road, as I should probably leave Ancona myself on the same day, after paying a visit to my banker.
I went to bed thinking of Bellino and of the impression he had made upon me; I was sorry to go away without having proved to him that I was not the dupe of his disguise. Accordingly, I was well pleased to see him enter my room in the morning as soon as I had opened my door. He came to offer me the services of his young brother Petronio during my stay in Ancona, instead of my engaging a valet de place. I willingly agreed to the proposal, and sent Petronio to get coffee for all the family.
I asked Bellino to sit on my bed with the intention of making love to him, and of treating him like a girl, but the two young sisters ran into my room and disturbed my plans. Yet the trio formed before me a very pleasing sight; they represented natural beauty and artless cheerfulness of three different kinds; unobtrusive familiarity, theatrical wit, pleasing playfulness, and pretty Bolognese manners which I witnessed for the first time; all this would have sufficed to cheer me if I had been downcast. Cecilia and Marina were two sweet rosebuds, which, to bloom in all their beauty, required only the inspiration of love, and they would certainly have had the preference over Bellino if I had seen in him only the miserable outcast of mankind, or rather the pitiful victim of sacerdotal cruelty, for, in spite of their youth, the two amiable girls offered on their dawning bosom the precious image of womanhood.
Petronio came with the coffee which he poured out, and I sent some to the mother, who never left her room. Petronio was a true male harlot by taste and by profession. The species is not scare in Italy, where the offence is not regarded with the wild and ferocious intolerance of England and Spain. I had given him one sequin to pay for the coffee, and told him to keep the change, and, to shew me his gratitude, he gave me a voluptuous kiss with half-open lips, supposing in me a taste which I was very far from entertaining. I disabused him, but he did not seem the least ashamed. I told him to order dinner for six persons, but he remarked that he would order it only for four, as he had to keep his dear mother company; she always took her dinner in bed. Everyone to his taste, I thought, and I let him do as he pleased.
Two minutes after he had gone, the landlord came to my room and said, "Reverend sir, the persons you have invited here have each the appetite of two men at least; I give you notice of it, because I must charge accordingly." "All right," I replied, "but let us have a good dinner."
When I was dressed, I thought I ought to pay my compliments to the compliant mother. I went to her room, and congratulated her upon her children. She thanked me for the present I had given to Petronio, and began to make me the confidant of her distress. "The manager of the theatre," she said, "is a miser who has given us only fifty Roman crowns for the whole carnival. We have spent them for our living, and, to return to Bologna, we shall have to walk and beg our way." Her confidence moved my pity, so I took a gold quadruple from my purse and offered it to her; she wept for joy and gratitude.
"I promise you another gold quadruple, madam," I said, "if you will confide in me entirely. Confess that Bellino is a pretty woman in disguise."
"I can assure you it is not so, although he has the appearance of a woman."
"Not only the appearance, madam, but the tone, the manners; I am a good judge."
"Nevertheless, he is a boy, for he has had to be examined before he could sing on the stage here."
"And who examined him?"
"My lord bishop's chaplain."
"A chaplain?"
"Yes, and you may satisfy yourself by enquiring from him."
"The only way to clear my doubts would be to examine him myself."
"You may, if he has no objection, but truly I cannot interfere, as I do not know what your intentions are."
"They are quite natural."
I returned to my room and sent Petronio for a bottle of Cyprus wine. He brought the wine and seven sequins, the change for the doubloon I had given him. I divided them between Bellino, Cecilia and Marina, and begged the two young girls to leave me alone with their brother.
"Bellino, I am certain that your natural conformation is different from mine; my dear, you are a girl."
"I am a man, but a castrato; I have been examined."
"Allow me to examine you likewise, and I will give you a doubloon."
"I cannot, for it is evident that you love me, and such love is condemned by religion."
"You did not raise these objections with the bishop's chaplain."
"He was an elderly priest, and besides, he only just glanced at me."
"I will know the truth," said I, extending my hand boldly.
But he repulsed me and rose from his chair. His obstinacy vexed me, for I had already spent fifteen or sixteen sequins to satisfy my curiosity.
I began my dinner with a very bad humour, but the excellent appetite of my pretty guests brought me round, and I soon thought that, after all, cheerfulness was better than sulking, and I resolved to make up for my disappointment with the two charming sisters, who seemed well disposed to enjoy a frolic.
I began by distributing a few innocent kisses right and left, as I sat between them near a good fire, eating chestnuts which we wetted with Cyprus wine. But very soon my greedy hands touched every part which my lips could not kiss, and Cecilia, as well as Marina, delighted in the game. Seeing that Bellino was smiling, I kissed him likewise, and his half-open ruffle attracting my hand, I ventured and went in without resistance. The chisel of Praxiteles had never carved a finer bosom!
"Oh! this is enough," I exclaimed; "I can no longer doubt that you are a beautifully-formed woman!"
"It is," he replied, "the defect of all castrati."
"No, it is the perfection of all handsome women. Bellino, believe me, I am enough of a good judge to distinguish between the deformed breast of a castrato, and that of a beautiful woman; and your alabaster bosom belongs to a young beauty of seventeen summers."
Who does not know that love, inflamed by all that can excite it, never stops in young people until it is satisfied, and that one favour granted kindles the wish for a greater one? I had begun well, I tried to go further and to smother with burning kisses that which my hand was pressing so ardently, but the false Bellino, as if he had only just been aware of the illicit pleasure I was enjoying, rose and ran away. Anger increased in me the ardour of love, and feeling the necessity of calming myself either by satisfying my ardent desires or by evaporating them, I begged Cecilia, Bellino's pupil, to sing a few Neapolitan airs.
I then went out to call upon the banker, from whom I took a letter of exchange at sight upon Bologna, for the amount I had to receive from him, and on my return, after a light supper with the two young sisters, I prepared to go to bed, having previously instructed Petronio to order a carriage for the morning.
I was just locking my door when Cecilia, half undressed, came in to say that Bellino begged me to take him to Rimini, where he was engaged to sing in an opera to be performed after Easter.
"Go and tell him, my dear little seraph, that I am ready to do what he wishes, if he will only grant me in your presence what I desire; I want to know for a certainty whether he is a man or a woman."
She left me and returned soon, saying that Bellino had gone to bed, but that if I would postpone my departure for one day only he promised to satisfy me on the morrow.
"Tell me the truth, Cecilia, and I will give you six sequins."
"I cannot earn them, for I have never seen him naked, and I cannot swear to his being a girl. But he must be a man, otherwise he would not have been allowed to perform here."
"Well, I will remain until the day after to-morrow, provided you keep me company tonight."
"Do you love me very much?"
"Very much indeed, if you shew yourself very kind."
"I will be very kind, for I love you dearly likewise. I will go and tell my mother."
"Of course you have a lover?"
"I never had one."
She left my room, and in a short time came back full of joy, saying that her mother believed me an honest man; she of course meant a generous one. Cecilia locked the door, and throwing herself in my arms covered me with kisses. She was pretty, charming, but I was not in love with her, and I was not able to say to her as to Lucrezia: "You have made me so happy!" But she said it herself, and I did not feel much flattered, although I pretended to believe her. When I woke up in the morning I gave her a tender salutation, and presenting her with three doubloons, which must have particularly delighted the mother, I sent her away without losing my time in promising everlasting constancy--a promise as absurd as it is trifling, and which the most virtuous man ought never to make even to the most beautiful of women.
After breakfast I sent for mine host and ordered an excellent supper for five persons, feeling certain that Don Sancio, whom I expected in the evening, would not refuse to honour me by accepting my invitation, and with that idea I made up my mind to go without my dinner. The Bolognese family did not require to imitate my diet to insure a good appetite for the evening.
I then summoned Bellino to my room, and claimed the performance of his promise but he laughed, remarked that the day was not passed yet, and said that he was certain of traveling with me.
"I fairly warn you that you cannot accompany me unless I am fully satisfied."
"Well, I will satisfy you."
"Shall we go and take a walk together?"
"Willingly; I will dress myself."
While I was waiting for him, Marina came in with a dejected countenance, enquiring how she had deserved my contempt.
"Cecilia has passed the night with you, Bellino will go with you to-morrow, I am the most unfortunate of us all."
"Do you want money?"
"No, for I love you."
"But, Marinetta, you are too young."
"I am much stronger than my sister."
"Perhaps you have a lover."
"Oh! no."
"Very well, we can try this evening."
"Good! Then I will tell mother to prepare clean sheets for to-morrow morning; otherwise everybody here would know that I slept with you."
I could not help admiring the fruits of a theatrical education, and was much amused.
Bellino came back, we went out together, and we took our walk towards the harbour. There were several vessels at anchor, and amongst them a Venetian ship and a Turkish tartan. We went on board the first which we visited with interest, but not seeing anyone of my acquaintance, we rowed towards the Turkish tartan, where the most romantic surprise awaited me. The first person I met on board was the beautiful Greek woman I had left in Ancona, seven months before, when I went away from the lazzaretto. She was seated near the old captain, of whom I enquired, without appearing to notice his handsome slave, whether he had any fine goods to sell. He took us to his cabin, but as I cast a glance towards the charming Greek, she expressed by her looks all her delight at such an unexpected meeting.
I pretended not to be pleased with the goods shewn by the Turk, and under the impulse of inspiration I told him that I would willingly buy something pretty which would take the fancy of his better-half. He smiled, and the Greek slave having whispered a few words to him, he left the cabin. The moment he was out of sight, this new Aspasia threw herself in my arms, saying, "Now is your time!" I would not be found wanting in courage, and taking the most convenient position in such a place, I did to her in one instant that which her old master had not done in five years. I had not yet reached the goal of my wishes, when the unfortunate girl, hearing her master, tore herself from my arms with a deep sigh, and placing herself cunningly in front of me, gave me time to repair the disorder of my dress, which might have cost me my life, or at least all I possessed to compromise the affair. In that curious situation, I was highly amused at the surprise of Bellino, who stood there trembling like an aspen leaf.
The trifles chosen by the handsome slave cost me only thirty sequins. 'Spolaitis', she said to me in her own language, and the Turk telling her that she ought to kiss me, she covered her face with her hands, and ran away. I left the ship more sad than pleased, for I regretted that, in spite of her courage, she should have enjoyed only an incomplete pleasure. As soon as we were in our row boat, Bellino, who had recovered from his fright, told me that I had just made him acquainted with a phenomenon, the reality of which he could not admit, and which gave him a very strange idea of my nature; that, as far as the Greek girl was concerned, he could not make her out, unless I should assure him that every woman in her country was like her. "How unhappy they must be!" he added.
"Do you think," I asked, "that coquettes are happier?"
"No, but I think that when a woman yields to love, she should not be conquered before she has fought with her own desires; she should not give way to the first impulse of a lustful desire and abandon herself to the first man who takes her fancy, like an animal--the slave of sense. You must confess that the Greek woman has given you an evident proof that you had taken her fancy, but that she has at the same time given you a proof not less certain of her beastly lust, and of an effrontery which exposed her to the shame of being repulsed, for she could not possibly know whether you would feel as well disposed for her as she felt for you. She is very handsome, and it all turned out well, but the adventure has thrown me into a whirlpool of agitation which I cannot yet control."
I might easily have put a stop to Bellino's perplexity, and rectified the mistake he was labouring under; but such a confession would not have ministered to my self-love, and I held my peace, for, if Bellino happened to be a girl, as I suspected, I wanted her to be convinced that I attached, after all, but very little importance to the great affair, and that it was not worth while employing cunning expedients to obtain it.
We returned to the inn, and, towards evening, hearing Don Sancio's travelling carriage roll into the yard, I hastened to meet him, and told him that I hoped he would excuse me if I had felt certain that he would not refuse me the honour of his company to supper with Bellino. He thanked me politely for the pleasure I was so delicately offering him, and accepted my invitation.
The most exquisite dishes, the most delicious wines of Spain, and, more than everything else, the cheerfulness and the charming voices of Bellino and of Cecilia, gave the Castilian five delightful hours. He left me at midnight, saying that he could not declare himself thoroughly pleased unless I promised to sup with him the next evening with the same guests. It would compel me to postpone my departure for another day, but I accepted.
As soon as Don Sancio had gone, I called upon Bellino to fulfil his promise, but he answered that Marinetta was waiting for me, and that, as I was not going away the next day, he would find an opportunity of satisfying my doubts; and wishing me a good night, he left the room.
Marinetta, as cheerful as a lark, ran to lock the door and came back to me, her eyes beaming with ardour. She was more formed than Cecilia, although one year younger, and seemed anxious to convince me of her superiority, but, thinking that the fatigue of the preceding night might have exhausted my strength, she unfolded all the amorous ideas of her mind, explained at length all she knew of the great mystery she was going to enact with me, and of all the contrivances she had had recourse to in order to acquire her imperfect knowledge, the whole interlarded with the foolish talk natural to her age. I made out that she was afraid of my not finding her a maiden, and of my reproaching her about it. Her anxiety pleased me, and I gave her a new confidence by telling her that nature had refused to many young girls what is called maidenhood, and that only a fool could be angry with a girl for such a reason.
My science gave her courage and confidence, and I was compelled to acknowledge that she was very superior to her sister.
"I am delighted you find me so," she said; "we must not sleep at all throughout the night."
"Sleep, my darling, will prove our friend, and our strength renewed by repose will reward you in the morning for what you may suppose lost time."
And truly, after a quiet sleep, the morning was for her a succession of fresh triumphs, and I crowned her happiness by sending her away with three doubloons, which she took to her mother, and which gave the good woman an insatiable desire to contract new obligations towards Providence.
I went out to get some money from the banker, as I did not know what might happen during my journey. I had enjoyed myself, but I had spent too much: yet there was Bellino who, if a girl, was not to find me less generous than I had been with the two young sisters. It was to be decided during the day, and I fancied that I was sure of the result.
There are some persons who pretend that life is only a succession of misfortunes, which is as much as to say that life itself is a misfortune; but if life is a misfortune, death must be exactly the reverse and therefore death must be happiness, since death is the very reverse of life. That deduction may appear too finely drawn. But those who say that life is a succession of misfortunes are certainly either ill or poor; for, if they enjoyed good health, if they had cheerfulness in their heart and money in their purse, if they had for their enjoyment a Cecilia, a Marinetta, and even a more lovely beauty in perspective, they would soon entertain a very different opinion of life! I hold them to be a race of pessimists, recruited amongst beggarly philosophers and knavish, atrabilious theologians. If pleasure does exist, and if life is necessary to enjoy pleasure, then life is happiness. There are misfortunes, as I know by experience; but the very existence of such misfortunes proves that the sum-total of happiness is greater. Because a few thorns are to be found in a basket full of roses, is the existence of those beautiful flowers to be denied? No; it is a slander to deny that life is happiness. When I am in a dark room, it pleases me greatly to see through a window an immense horizon before me.
As supper-time was drawing near, I went to Don Sancio, whom I found in magnificently-furnished apartments. The table was loaded with silver plate, and his servants were in livery. He was alone, but all his guests arrived soon after me--Cecilia, Marina, and Bellino, who, either by caprice or from taste, was dressed as a woman. The two young sisters, prettily arranged, looked charming, but Bellino, in his female costume, so completely threw them into the shade, that my last doubt vanished.
"Are you satisfied," I said to Don Sancio, "that Bellino is a woman?"
"Woman or man, what do I care! I think he is a very pretty 'castrato', and I have seen many as good-looking as he is."
"But are you sure he is a 'castrato'?"
"'Valgame Dios'!" answered the grave Castilian, "I have not the slightest wish to ascertain the truth."
Oh, how widely different our thoughts were! I admired in him the wisdom of which I was so much in need, and did not venture upon any more indiscreet questions. During the supper, however, my greedy eyes could not leave that charming being; my vicious nature caused me to feel intense voluptuousness in believing him to be of that sex to which I wanted him to belong.
Don Sancio's supper was excellent, and, as a matter of course, superior to mine; otherwise the pride of the Castilian would have felt humbled. As a general rule, men are not satisfied with what is good; they want the best, or, to speak more to the point, the most. He gave us white truffles, several sorts of shell-fish, the best fish of the Adriatic, dry champagne, peralta, sherry and pedroximenes wines.
After that supper worthy of Lucullus, Bellino sang with a voice of such beauty that it deprived us of the small amount of reason left in us by the excellent wine. His movements, the expression of his looks, his gait, his walk, his countenance, his voice, and, above all, my own instinct, which told me that I could not possibly feel for a castrato what I felt for Bellino, confirmed me in my hopes; yet it was necessary that my eyes should ascertain the truth.
After many compliments and a thousand thanks, we took leave of the grand Spaniard, and went to my room, where the mystery was at last to be unravelled. I called upon Bellino to keep his word, or I threatened to leave him alone the next morning at day-break.
I took him by the hand, and we seated ourselves near the fire. I dismissed Cecilia and Marina, and I said to him,
"Bellino, everything must have an end; you have promised: it will soon be over. If you are what you represent yourself to be, I will let you go back to your own room; if you are what I believe you to be, and if you consent to remain with me to-night, I will give you one hundred sequins, and we will start together tomorrow morning."
"You must go alone, and forgive me if I cannot fulfil my promise. I am what I told you, and I can neither reconcile myself to the idea of exposing my shame before you, nor lay myself open to the terrible consequences that might follow the solution of your doubts."
"There can be no consequences, since there will be an end to it at the moment I have assured myself that you are unfortunate enough to be what you say, and without ever mentioning the circumstances again, I promise to take you with me to-morrow and to leave you at Rimini."
"No, my mind is made up; I cannot satisfy your curiosity."
Driven to madness by his words, I was very near using violence, but subduing my angry feelings, I endeavored to succeed by gentle means and by going straight to the spot where the mystery could be solved. I was very near it, when his hand opposed a very strong resistance. I repeated my efforts, but Bellino, rising suddenly, repulsed me, and I found myself undone. After a few moments of calm, thinking I should take him by surprise, I extended my hand, but I drew back terrified, for I fancied that I had recognized in him a man, and a degraded man, contemptible less on account of his degradation than for the want of feeling I thought I could read on his countenance. Disgusted, confused, and almost blushing for myself, I sent him away.
His sisters came to my room, but I dismissed them, sending word to their brother that he might go with me, without any fear of further indiscretion on my part. Yet, in spite of the conviction I thought I had acquired, Bellino, even such as I believe him to be, filled my thoughts; I could not make it out.
Early the next morning I left Ancona with him, distracted by the tears of the two charming sisters and loaded with the blessings of the mother who, with beads in hand, mumbled her 'paternoster', and repeated her constant theme: 'Dio provedera'.
The trust placed in Providence by most of those persons who earn their living by some profession forbidden by religion is neither absurd, nor false, nor deceitful; it is real and even godly, for it flows from an excellent source. Whatever may be the ways of Providence, human beings must always acknowledge it in its action, and those who call upon Providence independently of all external consideration must, at the bottom, be worthy, although guilty of transgressing its laws.
'Pulchra Laverna,
Da mihi fallere; da justo sanctoque videri;
Noctem peccatis, et fraudibus objice nubem.'
Such was the way in which, in the days of Horace, robbers addressed their goddess, and I recollect a Jesuit who told me once that Horace would not have known his own language, if he had said justo sanctoque: but there were ignorant men even amongst the Jesuits, and robbers most likely have but little respect for the rules of grammar.
The next morning I started with Bellino, who, believing me to be undeceived, could suppose that I would not shew any more curiosity about him, but we had not been a quarter of an hour together when he found out his mistake, for I could not let my looks fall upon his splendid eyes without feeling in me a fire which the sight of a man could not have ignited. I told him that all his features were those of a woman, and that I wanted the testimony of my eyes before I could feel perfectly satisfied, because the protuberance I had felt in a certain place might be only a freak of nature. "Should it be the case," I added, "I should have no difficulty in passing over a deformity which, in reality, is only laughable. Bellino, the impression you produce upon me, this sort of magnetism, your bosom worthy of Venus herself, which you have once abandoned to my eager hand, the sound of your voice, every movement of yours, assure me that you do not belong to my sex. Let me see for myself, and, if my conjectures are right, depend upon my faithful love; if, on the contrary, I find that I have been mistaken, you can rely upon my friendship. If you refuse me, I shall be compelled to believe that you are cruelly enjoying my misery, and that you have learned in the most accursed school that the best way of preventing a young man from curing himself of an amorous passion is to excite it constantly; but you must agree with me that, to put such tyranny in practice, it is necessary to hate the person it is practised upon, and, if that be so, I ought to call upon my reason to give me the strength necessary to hate you likewise."
I went on speaking for a long time; Bellino did not answer, but he seemed deeply moved. At last I told him that, in the fearful state to which I was reduced by his resistance, I should be compelled to treat him without any regard for his feelings, and find out the truth by force. He answered with much warmth and dignity: "Recollect that you are not my master, that I am in your hands, because I had faith in your promise, and that, if you use violence, you will be guilty of murder. Order the postillion to stop, I will get out of the carriage, and you may rely upon my not complaining of your treatment."
Those few words were followed by a torrent of tears, a sight which I never could resist. I felt myself moved in the inmost recesses of my soul, and I almost thought that I had been wrong. I say almost, because, had I been convinced of it, I would have thrown myself at his feet entreating pardon; but, not feeling myself competent to stand in judgment in my own cause, I satisfied myself by remaining dull and silent, and I never uttered one word until we were only half a mile from Sinigaglia, where I intended to take supper and to remain for the night. Having fought long enough with my own feelings, I said to him;
"We might have spent a little time in Rimini like good friends, if you had felt any friendship for me, for, with a little kind compliance, you could have easily cured me of my passion."
"It would not cure you," answered Bellino, courageously, but with a sweetness of tone which surprised me; "no, you would not be cured, whether you found me to be man or woman, for you are in love with me independently of my sex, and the certainty you would acquire would make you furious. In such a state, should you find me inexorable, you would very likely give way to excesses which would afterwards cause you deep sorrow."
"You expect to make me admit that you are right, but you are completely mistaken, for I feel that I should remain perfectly calm, and that by complying with my wishes you would gain my friendship."
"I tell you again that you would become furious."
"Bellino, that which has made me furious is the sight of your charms, either too real or too completely deceiving, the power of which you cannot affect to ignore. You have not been afraid to ignite my amorous fury, how can you expect me to believe you now, when you pretend to fear it, and when I am only asking you to let me touch a thing, which, if it be as you say, will only disgust me?"
"Ah! disgust you; I am quite certain of the contrary. Listen to me. Were I a girl, I feel I could not resist loving you, but, being a man, it is my duty not to grant what you desire, for your passion, now very natural, would then become monstrous. Your ardent nature would be stronger than your reason, and your reason itself would easily come to the assistance of your senses and of your nature. That violent clearing-up of the mystery, were you to obtain it, would leave you deprived of all control over yourself. Disappointed in not finding what you had expected, you would satisfy your passion upon that which you would find, and the result would, of course, be an abomination. How can you, intelligent as you are, flatter yourself that, finding me to be a man, you could all at once cease to love me? Would the charms which you now see in me cease to exist then? Perhaps their power would, on the contrary, be enhanced, and your passion, becoming brutal, would lead you to take any means your imagination suggested to gratify it. You would persuade yourself that you might change me into a woman, or, what is worse, that you might change yourself into one. Your passion would invent a thousand sophisms to justify your love, decorated with the fine appellation of friendship, and you would not fail to allege hundreds of similarly disgusting cases in order to excuse your conduct. You would certainly never find me compliant; and how am I to know that you would not threaten me with death?"
"Nothing of the sort would happen, Bellino," I answered, rather tired of the length of his argument, "positively nothing, and I am sure you are exaggerating your fears. Yet I am bound to tell you that, even if all you say should happen, it seems to me that to allow what can strictly be considered only as a temporary fit of insanity, would prove a less evil than to render incurable a disease of the mind which reason would soon cut short."
Thus does a poor philosopher reason when he takes it into his head to argue at those periods during which a passion raging in his soul makes all its faculties wander. To reason well, we must be under the sway neither of love nor of anger, for those two passions have one thing in common which is that, in their excess, they lower us to the condition of brutes acting only under the influence of their predominating instinct, and, unfortunately, we are never more disposed to argue than when we feel ourselves under the influence of either of those two powerful human passions.
We arrived at Sinigaglia late at night, and I went to the best inn, and, after choosing a comfortable room, ordered supper. As there was but one bed in the room, I asked Bellino, in as calm a tone as I could assume, whether he would have a fire lighted in another chamber, and my surprise may be imagined when he answered quietly that he had no objection to sleep in the same bed with me. Such an answer, however, unexpected, was necessary to dispel the angry feelings under which I was labouring. I guessed that I was near the denouement of the romance, but I was very far from congratulating myself, for I did not know whether the denouement would prove agreeable or not. I felt, however, a real satisfaction at having conquered, and was sure of my self-control, in case the senses, my natural instinct, led me astray. But if I found myself in the right, I thought I could expect the most precious favours.
We sat down to supper opposite each other, and during the meal, his words, his countenance, the expression of his beautiful eyes, his sweet and voluptuous smile, everything seemed to announce that he had had enough of playing a part which must have proved as painful to him as to me.
A weight was lifted off my mind, and I managed to shorten the supper as much as possible. As soon as we had left the table, my amiable companion called for a night-lamp, undressed himself, and went to bed. I was not long in following him, and the reader will soon know the nature of a denouement so long and so ardently desired; in the mean time I beg to wish him as happy a night as the one which was then awaiting me.
CHAPTER XII
Bellino's History--I Am Put Under Arrest--I Run Away Against
My Will--My Return To Rimini, and My Arrival In Bologna
Dear reader, I said enough at the end of the last chapter to make you guess what happened, but no language would be powerful enough to make you realize all the voluptuousness which that charming being had in store for me. She came close to me the moment I was in bed. Without uttering one word our lips met, and I found myself in the ecstasy of enjoyment before I had had time to seek for it. After so complete a victory, what would my eyes and my fingers have gained from investigations which could not give me more certainty than I had already obtained? I could not take my gaze off that beautiful face, which was all aflame with the ardour of love.
After a moment of quiet rapture, a spark lighted up in our veins a fresh conflagration which we drowned in a sea of new delights. Bellino felt bound to make me forget my sufferings, and to reward me by an ardour equal to the fire kindled by her charms.
The happiness I gave her increased mine twofold, for it has always been my weakness to compose the four-fifths of my enjoyment from the sum-total of the happiness which I gave the charming being from whom I derived it. But such a feeling must necessarily cause hatred for old age which can still receive pleasure, but can no longer give enjoyment to another. And youth runs away from old age, because it is its most cruel enemy.
An interval of repose became necessary, in consequence of the activity of our enjoyment. Our senses were not tired out, but they required the rest which renews their sensitiveness and restores the buoyancy necessary to active service.
Bellino was the first to break our silence.
"Dearest," she said, "are you satisfied now? Have you found me truly loving?"
"Truly loving? Ah! traitress that you are! Do you, then, confess that I was not mistaken when I guessed that you were a charming woman? And if you truly loved me, tell me how you could contrive to defer your happiness and mine so long? But is it quite certain that I did not make a mistake?"
"I am yours all over; see for yourself."
Oh, what delightful survey! what charming beauties! what an ocean of enjoyment! But I could not find any trace of the protuberance which had so much terrified and disgusted me.
"What has become," I said, "of that dreadful monstrosity?"
"Listen to me," she replied, "and I will tell you everything.
"My name is Therese. My father, a poor clerk in the Institute of Bologna, had let an apartment in his house to the celebrated Salimberi, a castrato, and a delightful musician. He was young and handsome, he became attached to me, and I felt flattered by his affection and by the praise he lavished upon me. I was only twelve years of age; he proposed to teach me music, and finding that I had a fine voice, he cultivated it carefully, and in less than a year I could accompany myself on the harpsichord. His reward was that which his love for me induced him to ask, and I granted the reward without feeling any humiliation, for I worshipped him. Of course, men like yourself are much above men of his species, but Salimberi was an exception. His beauty, his manners, his talent, and the rare qualities of his soul, made him superior in my eyes to all the men I had seen until then. He was modest and reserved, rich and generous, and I doubt whether he could have found a woman able to resist him; yet I never heard him boast of having seduced any. The mutilation practised upon his body had made him a monster, but he was an angel by his rare qualities and endowments.
"Salimberi was at that time educating a boy of the same age as myself, who was in Rimini with a music teacher. The father of the boy, who was poor and had a large family, seeing himself near death, had thought of having his unfortunate son maimed so that he should become the support of his brothers with his voice. The name of the boy was Bellino; the good woman whom you have just seen in Ancona was his mother, and everybody believes that she is mine.
"I had belonged to Salimberi for about a year, when he announced to me one day, weeping bitterly, that he was compelled to leave me to go to Rome, but he promised to see me again. The news threw me into despair. He had arranged everything for the continuation of my musical education, but, as he was preparing himself for his departure, my father died very suddenly, after a short illness, and I was left an orphan.
"Salimberi had not courage enough to resist my tears and my entreaties; he made up his mind to take me to Rimini, and to place me in the same house where his young 'protege' was educated. We reached Rimini, and put up at an inn; after a short rest, Salimberi left me to call upon the teacher of music, and to make all necessary arrangements respecting me with him; but he soon returned, looking sad and unhappy; Bellino had died the day before.
"As he was thinking of the grief which the loss of the young man would cause his mother, he was struck with the idea of bringing me back to Bologna under the name of Bellino, where he could arrange for my board with the mother of the deceased Bellino, who, being very poor, would find it to her advantage to keep the secret. 'I will give her,' he said, 'everything necessary for the completion of your musical education, and in four years, I will take you to Dresden (he was in the service of the Elector of Saxony, King of Poland), not as a girl, but as a castrato. There we will live together without giving anyone cause for scandal, and you will remain with me and minister to my happiness until I die. All we have to do is to represent you as Bellino, and it is very easy, as nobody knows you in Bologna. Bellino's mother will alone know the secret; her other children have seen their brother only when he was very young, and can have no suspicion. But if you love me you must renounce your sex, lose even the remembrance of it, and leave immediately for Bologna, dressed as a boy, and under the name of Bellino. You must be very careful lest anyone should find out that you are a girl; you must sleep alone, dress yourself in private, and when your bosom is formed, as it will be in a year or two, it will only be thought a deformity not uncommon amongst 'castrati'. Besides, before leaving you, I will give you a small instrument, and teach how to fix it in such manner that, if you had at any time to submit to an examination, you would easily be mistaken for a man. If you accept my plan, I feel certain that we can live together in Dresden without losing the good graces of the queen, who is very religious. Tell me, now, whether you will accept my proposal?
"He could not entertain any doubt of my consent, for I adored him. As soon as he had made a boy of me we left Rimini for Bologna, where we arrived late in the evening. A little gold made everything right with Bellino's mother; I gave her the name of mother, and she kissed me, calling me her dear son. Salimberi left us, and returned a short time afterwards with the instrument which would complete my transformation. He taught me, in the presence of my new mother, how to fix it with some tragacanth gum, and I found myself exactly like my friend. I would have laughed at it, had not my heart been deeply grieved at the departure of my beloved Salimberi, for he bade me farewell as soon as the curious operation was completed. People laugh at forebodings; I do not believe in them myself, but the foreboding of evil, which almost broke my heart as he gave me his farewell kiss, did not deceive me. I felt the cold shivering of death run through me; I felt I was looking at him for the last time, and I fainted away. Alas! my fears proved only too prophetic. Salimberi died a year ago in the Tyrol in the prime of life, with the calmness of a true philosopher. His death compelled me to earn my living with the assistance of my musical talent. My mother advised me to continue to give myself out as a castrato, in the hope of being able to take me to Rome. I agreed to do so, for I did not feel sufficient energy to decide upon any other plan. In the meantime she accepted an offer for the Ancona Theatre, and Petronio took the part of first female dancer; in this way we played the comedy of 'The World Turned Upside Down.'
"After Salimberi, you are the only man I have known, and, if you like, you can restore me to my original state, and make me give up the name of Bellino, which I hate since the death of my protector, and which begins to inconvenience me. I have only appeared at two theatres, and each time I have been compelled to submit to the scandalous, degrading examination, because everywhere I am thought to have too much the appearance of a girl, and I am admitted only after the shameful test has brought conviction. Until now, fortunately, I have had to deal only with old priests who, in their good faith, have been satisfied with a very slight examination, and have made a favourable report to the bishop; but I might fall into the hands of some young abbe, and the test would then become a more severe one. Besides, I find myself exposed to the daily persecutions of two sorts of beings: those who, like you, cannot and will not believe me to be a man, and those who, for the satisfaction of their disgusting propensities, are delighted at my being so, or find it advantageous to suppose me so. The last particularly annoy me! Their tastes are so infamous, their habits so low, that I fear I shall murder one of them some day, when I can no longer control the rage in which their obscene language throws me. Out of pity, my beloved angel, be generous; and, if you love me, oh! free me from this state of shame and degradation! Take me with you. I do not ask to become your wife, that would be too much happiness; I will only be your friend, your mistress, as I would have been Salimberi's; my heart is pure and innocent, I feel that I can remain faithful to my lover through my whole life. Do not abandon me. The love I have for you is sincere; my affection for Salimberi was innocent; it was born of my inexperience and of my gratitude, and it is only with you that I have felt myself truly a woman."
Her emotion, an inexpressible charm which seemed to flow from her lips and to enforce conviction, made me shed tears of love and sympathy. I blended my tears with those falling from her beautiful eyes, and deeply moved, I promised not to abandon her and to make her the sharer of my fate. Interested in the history, as singular as extraordinary, that she had just narrated, and having seen nothing in it that did not bear the stamp of truth, I felt really disposed to make her happy but I could not believe that I had inspired her with a very deep passion during my short stay in Ancona, many circumstances of which might, on the contrary, have had an opposite effect upon her heart.
"If you loved me truly," I said, "how could you let me sleep with your sisters, out of spite at your resistance?"
"Alas, dearest! think of our great poverty, and how difficult it was for me to discover myself. I loved you; but was it not natural that I should suppose your inclination for me only a passing caprice? When I saw you go so easily from Cecilia to Marinetta, I thought that you would treat me in the same manner as soon as your desires were satisfied, I was likewise confirmed in my opinion of your want of constancy and of the little importance you attached to the delicacy of the sentiment of love, when I witnessed what you did on board the Turkish vessel without being hindered by my presence; had you loved me, I thought my being present would have made you uncomfortable. I feared to be soon despised, and God knows how much I suffered! You have insulted me, darling, in many different ways, but my heart pleaded in your favour, because I knew you were excited, angry, and thirsting for revenge. Did you not threaten me this very day in your carriage? I confess you greatly frightened me, but do not fancy that I gave myself to you out of fear. No, I had made up my mind to be yours from the moment you sent me word by Cecilia that you would take me to Rimini, and your control over your own feelings during a part of our journey confirmed me in my resolution, for I thought I could trust myself to your honour, to your delicacy."
"Throw up," I said, "the engagement you have in Rimini; let us proceed on our journey, and, after remaining a couple of days in Bologna, you will go with me to Venice; dressed as a woman, and with another name, I would challenge the manager here to find you out."
"I accept. Your will shall always be my law. I am my own mistress, and I give myself to you without any reserve or restriction; my heart belongs to you, and I trust to keep yours."
Man has in himself a moral force of action which always makes him overstep the line on which he is standing. I had obtained everything, I wanted more. "Shew me," I said, "how you were when I mistook you for a man." She got out of bed, opened her trunk, took out the instrument and fixed it with the gum: I was compelled to admire the ingenuity of the contrivance. My curiosity was satisfied, and I passed a most delightful night in her arms.
When I woke up in the morning, I admired her lovely face while she was sleeping: all I knew of her came back to my mind; the words which had been spoken by her bewitching mouth, her rare talent, her candour, her feelings so full of delicacy, and her misfortunes, the heaviest of which must have been the false character she had been compelled to assume, and which exposed her to humiliation and shame, everything strengthened my resolution to make her the companion of my destiny, whatever it might be, or to follow her fate, for our positions were very nearly the same; and wishing truly to attach myself seriously to that interesting being, I determined to give to our union the sanction of religion and of law, and to take her legally for my wife. Such a step, as I then thought, could but strengthen our love, increase our mutual esteem, and insure the approbation of society which could not accept our union unless it was sanctioned in the usual manner.
The talents of Therese precluded the fear of our being ever in want of the necessaries of life, and, although I did not know in what way my own talents might be made available, I had faith in myself. Our love might have been lessened, she would have enjoyed too great advantages over me, and my self-dignity would have too deeply suffered if I had allowed myself to be supported by her earnings only. It might, after a time, have altered the nature of our feelings; my wife, no longer thinking herself under any obligation to me, might have fancied herself the protecting, instead of the protected party, and I felt that my love would soon have turned into utter contempt, if it had been my misfortune to find her harbouring such thoughts. Although I trusted it would not be so, I wanted, before taking the important step of marriage, to probe her heart, and I resolved to try an experiment which would at once enable me to judge the real feelings of her inmost soul. As soon as she was awake, I spoke to her thus:
"Dearest Therese, all you have told me leaves me no doubt of your love for me, and the consciousness you feel of being the mistress of my heart enhances my love for you to such a degree, that I am ready to do everything to convince you that you were not mistaken in thinking that you had entirely conquered me. I wish to prove to you that I am worthy of the noble confidence you have reposed in me by trusting you with equal sincerity.
"Our hearts must be on a footing of perfect equality. I know you, my dearest Therese, but you do not know me yet. I can read in your eyes that you do not mind it, and it proves our great love, but that feeling places me too much below you, and I do not wish you to have so great an advantage over me. I feel certain that my confidence is not necessary to your love; that you only care to be mine, that your only wish is to possess my heart, and I admire you, my Therese; but I should feel humiliated if I found myself either too much above or too much below you. You have entrusted your secrets to me, now listen to mine; but before I begin, promise me that, when you know everything that concerns me, you will tell me candidly if any change has taken place either in your feelings or in your hopes."
"I promise it faithfully; I promise not to conceal anything from you; but be upright enough not to tell me anything that is not perfectly true, for I warn you that it would be useless. If you tried any artifice in order to find me less worthy of you than I am in reality, you would only succeed in lowering yourself in my estimation. I should be very sorry to see you guilty of any cunning towards me. Have no more suspicion of me than I have of you; tell me the whole truth."
"Here it is. You suppose me wealthy, and I am not so; as soon as what there is now in my purse is spent I shall have nothing left. You may fancy that I was born a patrician, but my social condition is really inferior to your own. I have no lucrative talents, no profession, nothing to give me the assurance that I am able to earn my living. I have neither relatives nor friends, nor claims upon anyone, and I have no serious plan or purpose before me. All I possess is youth, health, courage, some intelligence, honour, honesty, and some tincture of letters. My greatest treasure consists in being my own master, perfectly independent, and not afraid of misfortune. With all that, I am naturally inclined to extravagance. Lovely Therese, you have my portrait. What is your answer?"
"In the first place, dearest, let me assure you that I believe every word you have just uttered, as I would believe in the Gospel; in the second, allow me to tell you that several times in Ancona I have judged you such as you have just described yourself, but far from being displeased at such a knowledge of your nature, I was only afraid of some illusion on my part, for I could hope to win you if you were what I thought you to be. In one word, dear one, if it is true that you are poor and a very bad hand at economy, allow me to tell you that I feel delighted, because, if you love me, you will not refuse a present from me, or despise me for offering it. The present consists of myself, such as I am, and with all my faculties. I give myself to you without any condition, with no restriction; I am yours, I will take care of you. For the future think only of your love for me, but love me exclusively. From this moment I am no longer Bellino. Let us go to Venice, where my talent will keep us both comfortably; if you wish to go anywhere else, let us go where you please."
"I must go to Constantinople."
"Then let us proceed to Constantinople. If you are afraid to lose me through want of constancy, marry me, and your right over me will be strengthened by law. I should not love you better than I do now, but I should be happy to be your wife."
"It is my intention to marry you, and I am delighted that we agree in that respect. The day after to-morrow, in Bologna, you shall be made my legal-wife before the altar of God; I swear it to you here in the presence of Love. I want you to be mine, I want to be yours, I want us to be united by the most holy ties."
"I am the happiest of women! We have nothing to do in Rimini; suppose we do not get up; we can have our dinner in bed, and go away to-morrow well rested after our fatigues."
We left Rimini the next day, and stayed for breakfast at Pesaro. As we were getting into the carriage to leave that place, an officer, accompanied by two soldiers, presented himself, enquired for our names, and demanded our passports. Bellino had one and gave it, but I looked in vain for mine; I could not find it.
The officer, a corporal, orders the postillion to wait and goes to make his report. Half an hour afterwards, he returns, gives Bellino his passport, saying that he can continue his journey, but tells me that his orders are to escort me to the commanding officer, and I follow him.
"What have you done with your passport?" enquires that officer.
"I have lost it."
"A passport is not so easily lost."
"Well, I have lost mine."
"You cannot proceed any further."
"I come from Rome, and I am going to Constantinople, bearing a letter from Cardinal Acquaviva. Here is the letter stamped with his seal."
"All I can do for you is to send you to M. de Gages."
I found the famous general standing, surrounded by his staff. I told him all I had already explained to the officer, and begged him to let me continue my journey.
"The only favour I can grant you is to put you under arrest till you receive another passport from Rome delivered under the same name as the one you have given here. To lose a passport is a misfortune which befalls only a thoughtless, giddy man, and the cardinal will for the future know better than to put his confidence in a giddy fellow like you."
With these words, he gave orders to take me to the guard-house at St. Mary's Gate, outside the city, as soon as I should have written to the cardinal for a new passport. His orders were executed. I was brought back to the inn, where I wrote my letter, and I sent it by express to his eminence, entreating him to forward the document, without loss of time, direct to the war office. Then I embraced Therese who was weeping, and, telling her to go to Rimini and to wait there for my return, I made her take one hundred sequins. She wished to remain in Pesaro, but I would not hear of it; I had my trunk brought out, I saw Therese go away from the inn, and was taken to the place appointed by the general.
It is undoubtedly under such circumstances that the most determined optimist finds himself at a loss; but an easy stoicism can blunt the too sharp edge of misfortune.
My greatest sorrow was the heart-grief of Therese who, seeing me torn from her arms at the very moment of our union, was suffocated by the tears which she tried to repress. She would not have left me if I had not made her understand that she could not remain in Pesaro, and if I had not promised to join her within ten days, never to be parted again. But fate had decided otherwise.
When we reached the gate, the officer confined me immediately in the guard-house, and I sat down on my trunk. The officer was a taciturn Spaniard who did not even condescend to honour me with an answer, when I told him that I had money and would like to have someone to wait on me. I had to pass the night on a little straw, and without food, in the midst of the Spanish soldiers. It was the second night of the sort that my destiny had condemned me to, immediately after two delightful nights. My good angel doubtless found some pleasure in bringing such conjunctions before my mind for the benefit of my instruction. At all events, teachings of that description have an infallible effect upon natures of a peculiar stamp.
If you should wish to close the lips of a logician calling himself a philosopher, who dares to argue that in this life grief overbalances pleasure, ask him whether he would accept a life entirely without sorrow and happiness. Be certain that he will not answer you, or he will shuffle, because, if he says no, he proves that he likes life such as it is, and if he likes it, he must find it agreeable, which is an utter impossibility, if life is painful; should he, on the contrary, answer in the affirmative, he would declare himself a fool, for it would be as much as to say that he can conceive pleasure arising from indifference, which is absurd nonsense.
Suffering is inherent in human nature; but we never suffer without entertaining the hope of recovery, or, at least, very seldom without such hope, and hope itself is a pleasure. If it happens sometimes that man suffers without any expectation of a cure, he necessarily finds pleasure in the complete certainty of the end of his life; for the worst, in all cases, must be either a sleep arising from extreme dejection, during which we have the consolation of happy dreams or the loss of all sensitiveness. But when we are happy, our happiness is never disturbed by the thought that it will be followed by grief. Therefore pleasure, during its active period, is always complete, without alloy; grief is always soothed by hope.
I suppose you, dear reader, at the age of twenty, and devoting yourself to the task of making a man of yourself by furnishing your mind with all the knowledge necessary to render you a useful being through the activity of your brain. Someone comes in and tells you, "I bring you thirty years of existence; it is the immutable decree of fate; fifteen consecutive years must be happy, and fifteen years unhappy. You are at liberty to choose the half by which you wish to begin."
Confess it candidly, dear reader, you will not require much more consideration to decide, and you will certainly begin by the unhappy series of years, because you will feel that the expectation of fifteen delightful years cannot fail to brace you up with the courage necessary to bear the unfortunate years you have to go through, and we can even surmise, with every probability of being right, that the certainty of future happiness will soothe to a considerable extent the misery of the first period.
You have already guessed, I have no doubt, the purpose of this lengthy argument. The sagacious man, believe me, can never be utterly miserable, and I most willingly agree with my friend Horace, who says that, on the contrary, such a man is always happy.
'Nisi quum pituita molesta est.'
But, pray where is the man who is always suffering from a rheum?
The fact is that the fearful night I passed in the guardhouse of St. Mary resulted for me in a slight loss and in a great gain. The small loss was to be away from my dear Therese, but, being certain of seeing her within ten days, the misfortune was not very great: as to the gain, it was in experience the true school for a man. I gained a complete system against thoughtlessness, a system of foresight. You may safely bet a hundred to one that a young man who has once lost his purse or his passport, will not lose either a second time. Each of those misfortunes has befallen me once only, and I might have been very often the victim of them, if experience had not taught me how much they were to be dreaded. A thoughtless fellow is a man who has not yet found the word dread in the dictionary of his life.
The officer who relieved my cross-grained Castilian on the following day seemed of a different nature altogether; his prepossessing countenance pleased me much. He was a Frenchman, and I must say that I have always liked the French, and never the Spaniards; there is in the manners of the first something so engaging, so obliging, that you feel attracted towards them as towards a friend, whilst an air of unbecoming haughtiness gives to the second a dark, forbidding countenance which certainly does not prepossess in their favour. Yet I have often been duped by Frenchmen, and never by Spaniards--a proof that we ought to mistrust our tastes.
The new officer, approaching me very politely, said to me,--
"To what chance, reverend sir, am I indebted for the honour of having you in my custody?"
Ah! here was a way of speaking which restored to my lungs all their elasticity! I gave him all the particulars of my misfortune, and he found the mishap very amusing. But a man disposed to laugh at my disappointment could not be disagreeable to me, for it proved that the turn of his mind had more than one point of resemblance with mine. He gave me at once a soldier to serve me, and I had very quickly a bed, a table, and a few chairs. He was kind enough to have my bed placed in his own room, and I felt very grateful to him for that delicate attention.
He gave me an invitation to share his dinner, and proposed a game of piquet afterwards, but from the very beginning he saw that I was no match for him; he told me so, and he warned me that the officer who would relieve him the next day was a better player even than he was himself; I lost three or four ducats. He advised me to abstain from playing on the following day, and I followed his advice. He told me also that he would have company to supper, that there would be a game of faro, but that the banker being a Greek and a crafty player, I ought not to play. I thought his advice very considerate, particularly when I saw that all the punters lost, and that the Greek, very calm in the midst of the insulting treatment of those he had duped, was pocketing his money, after handing a share to the officer who had taken an interest in the bank. The name of the banker was Don Pepe il Cadetto, and by his accent I knew he was a Neapolitan. I communicated my discovery to the officer, asking him why he had told me that the man was a Greek. He explained to me the meaning of the word greek applied to a gambler, and the lesson which followed his explanation proved very useful to me in after years.
During the five following days, my life was uniform and rather dull, but on the sixth day the same French officer was on guard, and I was very glad to see him. He told me, with a hearty laugh, that he was delighted to find me still in the guard-house, and I accepted the compliment for what it was worth. In the evening, we had the same bank at faro, with the same result as the first time, except a violent blow from the stick of one of the punters upon the back of the banker, of which the Greek stoically feigned to take no notice. I saw the same man again nine years afterwards in Vienna, captain in the service of Maria Theresa; he then called himself d'Afflisso. Ten years later, I found him a colonel, and some time after worth a million; but the last time I saw him, some thirteen or fourteen years ago, he was a galley slave. He was handsome, but (rather a singular thing) in spite of his beauty, he had a gallows look. I have seen others with the same stamp--Cagliostro, for instance, and another who has not yet been sent to the galleys, but who cannot fail to pay them a visit. Should the reader feel any curiosity about it, I can whisper the name in his ear.
Towards the ninth or tenth day everyone in the army knew and liked me, and I was expecting the passport, which could not be delayed much longer. I was almost free, and I would often walk about even out of sight of the sentinel. They were quite right not to fear my running away, and I should have been wrong if I had thought of escaping, but the most singular adventure of my life happened to me then, and most unexpectedly.
It was about six in the morning. I was taking a walk within one hundred yards of the sentinel, when an officer arrived and alighted from his horse, threw the bridle on the neck of his steed, and walked off. Admiring the docility of the horse, standing there like a faithful servant to whom his master has given orders to wait for him I got up to him, and without any purpose I get hold of the bridle, put my foot in the stirrup, and find myself in the saddle. I was on horseback for the first time in my life. I do not know whether I touched the horse with my cane or with my heels, but suddenly the animal starts at full speed. My right foot having slipped out of the stirrup, I press against the horse with my heels, and, feeling the pressure, it gallops faster and faster, for I did not know how to check it. At the last advanced post the sentinels call out to me to stop; but I cannot obey the order, and the horse carrying me away faster than ever, I hear the whizzing of a few musket balls, the natural consequence of my involuntary disobedience. At last, when I reach the first advanced picket of the Austrians, the horse is stopped, and I get off his back thanking God.
An officer of Hussars asks where I am running so fast, and my tongue, quicker than my thought, answers without any privity on my part, that I can render no account but to Prince Lobkowitz, commander-in-chief of the army, whose headquarters were at Rimini. Hearing my answer, the officer gave orders for two Hussars to get on horseback, a fresh one is given me, and I am taken at full gallop to Rimini, where the officer on guard has me escorted at once to the prince.
I find his highness alone, and I tell him candidly what has just happened to me. My story makes him laugh, although he observes that it is hardly credible.
"I ought," he says, "to put you under arrest, but I am willing to save you that unpleasantness." With that he called one of his officers and ordered him to escort me through the Cesena Gate. "Then you can go wherever you please," he added, turning round to me; "but take care not to again enter the lines of my army without a passport, or you might fare badly."
I asked him to let me have the horse again, but he answered that the animal did not belong to me. I forgot to ask him to send me back to the place I had come from, and I regretted it; but after all perhaps I did for the best.
The officer who accompanied me asked me, as we were passing a coffee-house, whether I would like to take some chocolate, and we went in. At that moment I saw Petronio going by, and availing myself of a moment when the officer was talking to someone, I told him not to appear to be acquainted with me, but to tell me where he lived. When we had taken our chocolate the officer paid and we went out. Along the road we kept up the conversation; he told me his name, I gave him mine, and I explained how I found myself in Rimini. He asked me whether I had not remained some time in Ancona; I answered in the affirmative, and he smiled and said I could get a passport in Bologna, return to Rimini and to Pesaro without any fear, and recover my trunk by paying the officer for the horse he had lost. We reached the gate, he wished me a pleasant journey, and we parted company.
I found myself free, with gold and jewels, but without my trunk. Therese was in Rimini, and I could not enter that city. I made up my mind to go to Bologna as quickly as possible in order to get a passport, and to return to Pesaro, where I should find my passport from Rome, for I could not make up my mind to lose my trunk, and I did not want to be separated from Therese until the end of her engagement with the manager of the Rimini Theatre.
It was raining; I had silk stockings on, and I longed for a carriage. I took shelter under the portal of a church, and turned my fine overcoat inside out, so as not to look like an abbe. At that moment a peasant happened to come along, and I asked him if a carriage could be had to drive me to Cesena. "I have one, sir," he said, "but I live half a league from here."
"Go and get it, I will wait for you here."
While I was waiting for the return of the peasant with his vehicle, some forty mules laden with provisions came along the road towards Rimini. It was still raining fast, and the mules passing close by me, I placed my hand mechanically upon the neck of one of them, and following the slow pace of the animals I re-entered Rimini without the slightest notice being taken of me, even by the drivers of the mules. I gave some money to the first street urchin I met, and he took me to Therese's house.
With my hair fastened under a night-cap, my hat pulled down over my face, and my fine cane concealed under my coat, I did not look a very elegant figure. I enquired for Bellino's mother, and the mistress of the house took me to a room where I found all the family, and Therese in a woman's dress. I had reckoned upon surprising them, but Petronio had told them of our meeting, and they were expecting me. I gave a full account of my adventures, but Therese, frightened at the danger that threatened me, and in spite of her love, told me that it was absolutely necessary for me to go to Bologna, as I had been advised by M. Vais, the officer.
"I know him," she said, "and he is a worthy man, but he comes here every evening, and you must conceal yourself."
It was only eight o'clock in the morning; we had the whole day before us, and everyone promised to be discreet. I allayed Therese's anxiety by telling her that I could easily contrive to leave the city without being observed.
Therese took me to her own room, where she told me that she had met the manager of the theatre on her arrival in Rimini, and that he had taken her at once to the apartments engaged for the family. She had informed him that she was a woman, and that she had made up her mind not to appear as a castrato any more; he had expressed himself delighted at such news, because women could appear on the stage at Rimini, which was not under the same legate as Ancona. She added that her engagement would be at an end by the 1st of May, and that she would meet me wherever it would be agreeable to me to wait for her.
"As soon as I can get a passport," I said, "there is nothing to hinder me from remaining near you until the end of your engagement. But as M. Vais calls upon you, tell me whether you have informed him of my having spent a few days in Ancona?"
"I did, and I even told him that you had been arrested because you had lost your passport."
I understood why the officer had smiled as he was talking with me. After my conversation with Therese, I received the compliments of the mother and of the young sisters who appeared to me less cheerful and less free than they had been in Ancona. They felt that Bellino, transformed into Therese, was too formidable a rival. I listened patiently to all the complaints of the mother who maintained that, in giving up the character of castrato, Therese had bidden adieu to fortune, because she might have earned a thousand sequins a year in Rome.
"In Rome, my good woman," I said, "the false Bellino would have been found out, and Therese would have been consigned to a miserable convent for which she was never made."
Notwithstanding the danger of my position, I spent the whole of the day alone with my beloved mistress, and it seemed that every moment gave her fresh beauties and increased my love. At eight o'clock in the evening, hearing someone coming in, she left me, and I remained in the dark, but in such a position that I could see everything and hear every word. The Baron Vais came in, and Therese gave him her hand with the grace of a pretty woman and the dignity of a princess. The first thing he told her was the news about me; she appeared to be pleased, and listened with well-feigned indifference, when he said that he had advised me to return with a passport. He spent an hour with her, and I was thoroughly well pleased with her manners and behaviour, which had been such as to leave me no room for the slightest feeling of jealousy. Marina lighted him out and Therese returned to me. We had a joyous supper together, and, as we were getting ready to go to bed, Petronio came to inform me that ten muleteers would start for Cesena two hours before day-break, and that he was sure I could leave the city with them if I would go and meet them a quarter of an hour before their departure, and treat them to something to drink. I was of the same opinion, and made up my mind to make the attempt. I asked Petronio to sit up and to wake me in good time. It proved an unnecessary precaution, for I was ready before the time, and left Therese satisfied with my love, without any doubt of my constancy, but rather anxious as to my success in attempting to leave Rimini. She had sixty sequins which she wanted to force back upon me, but I asked her what opinion she would have of me if I accepted them, and we said no more about it.
I went to the stable, and having treated one of the muleteers to some drink I told him that I would willingly ride one of his mules as far as Sarignan.
"You are welcome to the ride," said the good fellow, "but I would advise you not to get on the mule till we are outside the city, and to pass through the gate on foot as if you were one of the drivers."
It was exactly what I wanted. Petronio accompanied me as far as the gate, where I gave him a substantial proof of my gratitude. I got out of the city without the slightest difficulty, and left the muleteers at Sarignan, whence I posted to Bologna.
I found out that I could not obtain a passport, for the simple reason that the authorities of the city persisted that it was not necessary; but I knew better, and it was not for me to tell them why. I resolved to write to the French officer who had treated me so well at the guardhouse. I begged him to enquire at the war office whether my passport had arrived from Rome, and, if so, to forward it to me. I also asked him to find out the owner of the horse who had run away with me, offering to pay for it. I made up my mind to wait for Therese in Bologna, and I informed her of my decision, entreating her to write very often. The reader will soon know the new resolution I took on the very same day.
EPISODE 3 -- MILITARY CAREER
CHAPTER XIII
I Renounce the Clerical Profession, and Enter the Military
Service--Therese Leaves for Naples, and I Go to Venice--I Am
Appointed Ensign in the Army of My Native Country--I Embark
for Corfu, and Land at Orsera to Take a Walk
I had been careful, on my arrival in Bologna, to take up my quarters at a small inn, so as not to attract any notice, and as soon as I had dispatched my letters to Therese and the French officer, I thought of purchasing some linen, as it was at least doubtful whether I should ever get my trunk. I deemed it expedient to order some clothes likewise. I was thus ruminating, when it suddenly struck me that I was not likely now to succeed in the Church, but feeling great uncertainty as to the profession I ought to adopt, I took a fancy to transform myself into an officer, as it was evident that I had not to account to anyone for my actions. It was a very natural fancy at my age, for I had just passed through two armies in which I had seen no respect paid to any garb but to the military uniform, and I did not see why I should not cause myself to be respected likewise. Besides, I was thinking of returning to Venice, and felt great delight at the idea of shewing myself there in the garb of honour, for I had been rather ill-treated in that of religion.
I enquired for a good tailor: death was brought to me, for the tailor sent to me was named Morte. I explained to him how I wanted my uniform made, I chose the cloth, he took my measure, and the next day I was transformed into a follower of Mars. I procured a long sword, and with my fine cane in hand, with a well-brushed hat ornamented with a black cockade, and wearing a long false pigtail, I sallied forth and walked all over the city.
I bethought myself that the importance of my new calling required a better and more showy lodging than the one I had secured on my arrival, and I moved to the best inn. I like even now to recollect the pleasing impression I felt when I was able to admire myself full length in a large mirror. I was highly pleased with my own person! I thought myself made by nature to wear and to honour the military costume, which I had adopted through the most fortunate impulse. Certain that nobody knew me, I enjoyed by anticipation all the conjectures which people would indulge in respecting me, when I made my first appearance in the most fashionable cafe of the town.
My uniform was white, the vest blue, a gold and silver shoulder-knot, and a sword-knot of the same material. Very well pleased with my grand appearance, I went to the coffee-room, and, taking some chocolate, began to read the newspapers, quite at my ease, and delighted to see that everybody was puzzled. A bold individual, in the hope of getting me into conversation, came to me and addressed me; I answered him with a monosyllable, and I observed that everyone was at a loss what to make of me. When I had sufficiently enjoyed public admiration in the coffee-room, I promenaded in the busiest thoroughfares of the city, and returned to the inn, where I had dinner by myself.
I had just concluded my repast when my landlord presented himself with the travellers' book, in which he wanted to register my name.
"Casanova."
"Your profession, if you please, sir?"
"Officer."
"In which service?"
"None."
"Your native place?"
"Venice."
"Where do you come from?"
"That is no business of yours."
This answer, which I thought was in keeping with my external appearance, had the desired effect: the landlord bowed himself out, and I felt highly pleased with myself, for I knew that I should enjoy perfect freedom in Bologna, and I was certain that mine host had visited me at the instance of some curious person eager to know who I was.
The next day I called on M. Orsi, the banker, to cash my bill of exchange, and took another for six hundred sequins on Venice, and one hundred sequins in gold after which I again exhibited myself in the public places. Two days afterwards, whilst I was taking my coffee after dinner, the banker Orsi was announced. I desired him to be shewn in, and he made his appearance accompanied my Monsignor Cornaro, whom I feigned not to know. M. Orsi remarked that he had called to offer me his services for my letters of exchange, and introduced the prelate. I rose and expressed my gratification at making his acquaintance. "But we have met before," he replied, "at Venice and Rome." Assuming an air of blank surprise, I told him he must certainly be mistaken. The prelate, thinking he could guess the reason of my reserve, did not insist, and apologized. I offered him a cup of coffee, which he accepted, and, on leaving me, he begged the honour of my company to breakfast the next day.
I made up my mind to persist in my denials, and called upon the prelate, who gave me a polite welcome. He was then apostolic prothonotary in Bologna. Breakfast was served, and as we were sipping our chocolate, he told me that I had most likely some good reasons to warrant my reserve, but that I was wrong not to trust him, the more so that the affair in question did me great honour. "I do not know," said I, "what affair you are alluding to." He then handed me a newspaper, telling me to read a paragraph which he pointed out. My astonishment may be imagined when I read the following correspondence from Pesaro: "M. de Casanova, an officer in the service of the queen, has deserted after having killed his captain in a duel; the circumstances of the duel are not known; all that has been ascertained is that M. de Casanova has taken the road to Rimini, riding the horse belonging to the captain, who was killed on the spot."
In spite of my surprise, and of the difficulty I had in keeping my gravity at the reading of the paragraph, in which so much untruth was blended with so little that was real, I managed to keep a serious countenance, and I told the prelate that the Casanova spoken of in the newspaper must be another man.
"That may be, but you are certainly the Casanova I knew a month ago at Cardinal Acquaviva's, and two years ago at the house of my sister, Madame Lovedan, in Venice. Besides the Ancona banker speaks of you as an ecclesiastic in his letter of advice to M. Orsi."
"Very well, monsignor; your excellency compels me to agree to my being the same Casanova, but I entreat you not to ask me any more questions as I am bound in honour to observe the strictest reserve."
"That is enough for me, and I am satisfied. Let us talk of something else."
I was amused at the false reports which were being circulated about me, and I became from that moment a thorough sceptic on the subject of historical truth. I enjoyed, however, very great pleasure in thinking that my reserve had fed the belief of my being the Casanova mentioned in the newspaper. I felt certain that the prelate would write the whole affair to Venice, where it would do me great honour, at least until the truth should be known, and in that case my reserve would be justified, besides, I should then most likely be far away. I made up my mind to go to Venice as soon as I heard from Therese, as I thought that I could wait for her there more comfortably than in Bologna, and in my native place there was nothing to hinder me from marrying her openly. In the mean time the fable from Pesaro amused me a good deal, and I expected every day to see it denied in some newspaper. The real officer Casanova must have laughed at the accusation brought against him of having run away with the horse, as much as I laughed at the caprice which had metamorphosed me into an officer in Bologna, just as if I had done it for the very purpose of giving to the affair every appearance of truth.
On the fourth day of my stay in Bologna, I received by express a long letter from Therese. She informed me that, on the day after my escape from Rimini, Baron Vais had presented to her the Duke de Castropignano, who, having heard her sing, had offered her one thousand ounces a year, and all travelling expenses paid, if she would accept an engagement as prima-donna at the San Carlo Theatre, at Naples, where she would have to go immediately after her Rimini engagement. She had requested and obtained a week to come to a decision. She enclosed two documents, the first was the written memorandum of the duke's proposals, which she sent in order that I should peruse it, as she did not wish to sign it without my consent; the second was a formal engagement, written by herself, to remain all her life devoted to me and at my service. She added in her letter that, if I wished to accompany her to Naples, she would meet me anywhere I might appoint, but that, if I had any objection to return to that city, she would immediately refuse the brilliant offer, for her only happiness was to please me in all things.
For the first time in my life I found myself in need of thoughtful consideration before I could make up my mind. Therese's letter had entirely upset all my ideas, and, feeling that I could not answer it at once, I told the messenger to call the next day.
Two motives of equal weight kept the balance wavering; self-love and love for Therese. I felt that I ought not to require Therese to give up such prospects of fortune; but I could not take upon myself either to let her go to Naples without me, or to accompany her there. On one side, I shuddered at the idea that my love might ruin Therese's prospects; on the other side, the idea of the blow inflicted on my self-love, on my pride, if I went to Naples with her, sickened me.
How could I make up my mind to reappear in that city, in the guise of a cowardly fellow living at the expense of his mistress or his wife? What would my cousin Antonio, Don Polo and his dear son, Don Lelio Caraffa, and all the patricians who knew me, have said? The thought of Lucrezia and of her husband sent a cold shiver through me. I considered that, in spite of my love for Therese, I should become very miserable if everyone despised me. Linked to her destiny as a lover or as a husband, I would be a degraded, humbled, and mean sycophant. Then came the thought, Is this to be the end of all my hopes? The die was cast, my head had conquered my heart. I fancied that I had hit upon an excellent expedient, which at all events made me gain time, and I resolved to act upon it. I wrote to Therese, advising her to accept the engagement for Naples, where she might expect me to join her in the month of July, or after my return from Constantinople. I cautioned her to engage an honest-looking waiting-woman, so as to appear respectably in the world, and, to lead such a life as would permit me to make her my wife, on my return, without being ashamed of myself. I foresaw that her success would be insured by her beauty even more than by her talent, and, with my nature, I knew that I could never assume the character of an easy-going lover or of a compliant husband.
Had I received Therese's letter one week sooner, it is certain that she would not have gone to Naples, for my love would then have proved stronger than my reason; but in matters of love, as well as in all others, Time is a great teacher.
I told Therese to direct her answer to Bologna, and, three days after, I received from her a letter loving, and at the same time sad, in which she informed me that she had signed the engagement. She had secured the services of a woman whom she could present as her mother; she would reach Naples towards the middle of May, and she would wait for me there till she heard from me that I no longer wanted her.
Four days after the receipt of that letter, the last but one that Therese wrote me, I left Bologna for Venice. Before my departure I had received an answer from the French officer, advising me that my passport had reached Pesaro, and that he was ready to forward it to me with my trunk, if I would pay M. Marcello Birna, the proveditore of the Spanish army, whose address he enclosed, the sum of fifty doubloons for the horse which I had run away with, or which had run away with me. I repaired at once to the house of the proveditore, well pleased to settle that affair, and I received my trunk and my passport a few hours before leaving Bologna. But as my paying for the horse was known all over the town, Monsignor Cornaro was confirmed in his belief that I had killed my captain in a duel.
To go to Venice, it was necessary to submit to a quarantine, which had been adhered to only because the two governments had fallen out. The Venetians wanted the Pope to be the first in giving free passage through his frontiers, and the Pope insisted that the Venetians should take the initiative. The result of this trifling pique between the two governments was great hindrance to commerce, but very often that which bears only upon the private interest of the people is lightly treated by the rulers. I did not wish to be quarantined, and determined on evading it. It was rather a delicate undertaking, for in Venice the sanitary laws are very strict, but in those days I delighted in doing, if not everything that was forbidden, at least everything which offered real difficulties.
I knew that between the state of Mantua and that of Venice the passage was free, and I knew likewise that there was no restriction in the communication between Mantua and Modena; if I could therefore penetrate into the state of Mantua by stating that I was coming from Modena, my success would be certain, because I could then cross the Po and go straight to Venice. I got a carrier to drive me to Revero, a city situated on the river Po, and belonging to the state of Mantua.
The driver told me that, if he took the crossroads, he could go to Revero, and say that we came from Mantua, and that the only difficulty would be in the absence of the sanitary certificate which is delivered in Mantua, and which was certain to be asked for in Revero. I suggested that the best way to manage would be for him to say that he had lost it, and a little money removed every objection on his part.
When we reached the gates of Revero, I represented myself as a Spanish officer going to Venice to meet the Duke of Modena (whom I knew to be there) on business of the greatest importance. The sanitary certificate was not even demanded, military honours were duly paid to me, and I was most civilly treated. A certificate was immediately delivered to me, setting forth that I was travelling from Revero, and with it I crossed the Po, without any difficulty, at Ostiglia, from which place I proceeded to Legnago. There I left my carrier as much pleased with my generosity as with the good luck which had attended our journey, and, taking post-horses, I reached Venice in the evening. I remarked that it was the end of April, 1744, the anniversary of my birth, which, ten times during my life, has been marked by some important event.
The very next morning I went to the exchange in order to procure a passage to Constantinople, but I could not find any passenger ship sailing before two or three months, and I engaged a berth in a Venetian ship called Our Lady of the Rosary, Commander Zane, which was to sail for Corfu in the course of the month.
Having thus prepared myself to obey my destiny, which, according to my superstitious feelings, called me imperiously to Constantinople, I went to St. Mark's Square in order to see and to be seen, enjoying by anticipation the surprise of my acquaintances at not finding me any longer an abbe. I must not forget to state that at Revero I had decorated my hat with a red cockade.
I thought that my first visit was, by right, due to the Abbe Grimani. The moment he saw me he raised a perfect shriek of astonishment, for he thought I was still with Cardinal Acquaviva, on the road to a political career, and he saw standing before him a son of Mars. He had just left the dinner-table as I entered, and he had company. I observed amongst the guests an officer wearing the Spanish uniform, but I was not put out of countenance. I told the Abbe Grimani that I was only passing through Venice, and that I had felt it a duty and a pleasure to pay my respects to him.
"I did not expect to see you in such a costume."
"I have resolved to throw off the garb which could not procure me a fortune likely to satisfy my ambition."
"Where are you going?"
"To Constantinople; and I hope to find a quick passage to Corfu, as I have dispatches from Cardinal Acquaviva."
"Where do you come from now?"
"From the Spanish army, which I left ten days ago."
These words were hardly spoken, when I heard the voice of a young nobleman exclaiming;
"That is not true."
"The profession to which I belong," I said to him with great animation, "does not permit me to let anyone give me the lie."
And upon that, bowing all round, I went away, without taking any notice of those who were calling me back.
I wore an uniform; it seemed to me that I was right in showing that sensitive and haughty pride which forms one of the characteristics of military men. I was no longer a priest: I could not bear being given the lie, especially when it had been given to me in so public a manner.
I called upon Madame Manzoni, whom I was longing to see. She was very happy to see me, and did not fail to remind me of her prediction. I told her my history, which amused her much; but she said that if I went to Constantinople I should most likely never see her again.
After my visit to Madame Manzoni I went to the house of Madame Orio, where I found worthy M. Rosa, Nanette, and Marton. They were all greatly surprised, indeed petrified at seeing me. The two lovely sisters looked more beautiful than ever, but I did not think it necessary to tell them the history of my nine months absence, for it would not have edified the aunt or pleased the nieces. I satisfied myself with telling them as much as I thought fit, and amused them for three hours. Seeing that the good old lady was carried away by her enthusiasm, I told her that I should be very happy to pass under her roof the four or five weeks of my stay in Venice, if she could give me a room and supper, but on condition that I should not prove a burden to her or to her charming nieces.
"I should be only too happy," she answered, "to have you so long, but I have no room to offer you."
"Yes, you have one, my dear," exclaimed M. Rosa, "and I undertake to put it to rights within two hours."
It was the room adjoining the chamber of the two sisters. Nanette said immediately that she would come downstairs with her sister, but Madame Orio answered that it was unnecessary, as they could lock themselves in their room.
"There would be no need for them to do that, madam," I said, with a serious and modest air; "and if I am likely to occasion the slightest disturbance, I can remain at the inn."
"There will be no disturbance whatever; but forgive my nieces, they are young prudes, and have a very high opinion of themselves."
Everything being satisfactorily arranged, I forced upon Madame Orio a payment of fifteen sequins in advance, assuring her that I was rich, and that I had made a very good bargain, as I should spend a great deal more if I kept my room at the inn. I added that I would send my luggage, and take up my quarters in her house on the following day. During the whole of the conversation, I could see the eyes of my two dear little wives sparkling with pleasure, and they reconquered all their influence over my heart in spite of my love for Therese, whose image was, all the same, brilliant in my soul: this was a passing infidelity, but not inconstancy.
On the following day I called at the war office, but, to avoid every chance of unpleasantness, I took care to remove my cockade. I found in the office Major Pelodoro, who could not control his joy when he saw me in a military uniform, and hugged me with delight. As soon as I had explained to him that I wanted to go to Constantinople, and that, although in uniform, I was free, he advised me earnestly to seek the favour of going to Turkey with the bailo, who intended to leave within two months, and even to try to obtain service in the Venetian army.
His advice suited me exactly, and the secretary of war, who had known me the year before, happening to see me, summoned me to him. He told me that he had received letters from Bologna which had informed him of a certain adventure entirely to my honour, adding that he knew that I would not acknowledge it. He then asked me if I had received my discharge before leaving the Spanish army.
"I could not receive my discharge, as I was never in the service."
"And how did you manage to come to Venice without performing quarantine?"
"Persons coming from Mantua are not subject to it."
"True; but I advise you to enter the Venetian service like Major Pelodoro."
As I was leaving the ducal palace, I met the Abbe Grimani who told me that the abrupt manner in which I had left his house had displeased everybody.
"Even the Spanish officer?"
"No, for he remarked that, if you had truly been with the army, you could not act differently, and he has himself assured me that you were there, and to prove what he asserted he made me read an article in the newspaper, in which it is stated that you killed your captain in a duel. Of course it is only a fable?"
"How do you know that it is not a fact?"
"Is it true, then?"
"I do not say so, but it may be true, quite as true as my having been with the Spanish army ten days ago."
"But that is impossible, unless you have broken through the quarantine."
"I have broken nothing. I have openly crossed the Po at Revero, and here I am. I am sorry not to be able to present myself at your excellency's palace, but I cannot do so until I have received the most complete satisfaction from the person who has given me the lie. I could put up with an insult when I wore the livery of humility, but I cannot bear one now that I wear the garb of honour."
"You are wrong to take it in such a high tone. The person who attacked your veracity is M. Valmarana, the proveditore of the sanitary department, and he contends that, as nobody can pass through the cordon, it would be impossible for you to be here. Satisfaction, indeed! Have you forgotten who you are?"
"No, I know who I am; and I know likewise that, if I was taken for a coward before leaving Venice, now that I have returned no one shall insult me without repenting it."
"Come and dine with me."
"No, because the Spanish officer would know it."
"He would even see you, for he dines with me every day."
"Very well, then I will go, and I will let him be the judge of my quarrel with M. Valmarana."
I dined that day with Major Pelodoro and several other officers, who agreed in advising me to enter the service of the Republic, and I resolved to do so. "I am acquainted," said the major, "with a young lieutenant whose health is not sufficiently strong to allow him to go to the East, and who would be glad to sell his commission, for which he wants one hundred sequins. But it would be necessary to obtain the consent of the secretary of war." "Mention the matter to him," I replied, "the one hundred sequins are ready." The major undertook the commission.
In the evening I went to Madame Orio, and I found myself very comfortably lodged. After supper, the aunt told her nieces to shew me to my room, and, as may well be supposed, we spent a most delightful night. After that they took the agreeable duty by turns, and in order to avoid any surprise in case the aunt should take it into her head to pay them a visit, we skilfully displaced a part of the partition, which allowed them to come in and out of my room without opening the door. But the good lady believed us three living specimens of virtue, and never thought of putting us to the test.
Two or three days afterwards, M. Grimani contrived an interview between me and M. Valmarana, who told me that, if he had been aware that the sanitary line could be eluded, he would never have impugned my veracity, and thanked me for the information I had given him. The affair was thus agreeably arranged, and until my departure I honoured M. Grimani's excellent dinner with my presence every day.
Towards the end of the month I entered the service of the Republic in the capacity of ensign in the Bala regiment, then at Corfu; the young man who had left the regiment through the magical virtue of my one hundred sequins was lieutenant, but the secretary of war objected to my having that rank for reasons to which I had to submit, if I wished to enter the army; but he promised me that, at the end of the year, I would be promoted to the grade of lieutenant, and he granted me a furlough to go to Constantinople. I accepted, for I was determined to serve in the army.
M. Pierre Vendramin, an illustrious senator, obtained me the favour of a passage to Constantinople with the Chevalier Venier, who was proceeding to that city in the quality of bailo, but as he would arrive in Corfu a month after me, the chevalier very kindly promised to take me as he called at Corfu.
A few days before my departure, I received a letter from Therese, who informed me that the Duke de Castropignano escorted her everywhere. "The duke is old," she wrote, "but even if he were young, you would have no cause for uneasiness on my account. Should you ever want any money, draw upon me from any place where you may happen to be, and be quite certain that your letters of exchange will be paid, even if I had to sell everything I possess to honour your signature."
There was to be another passenger on board the ship of the line on which I had engaged my passage, namely, a noble Venetian, who was going to Zante in the quality of counsellor, with a numerous and brilliant retinue. The captain of the ship told me that, if I was obliged to take my meals alone, I was not likely to fare very well, and he advised me to obtain an introduction to the nobleman, who would not fail to invite me to share his table. His name was Antonio Dolfin, and he had been nicknamed Bucentoro, in consequence of his air of grandeur and the elegance of his toilet. Fortunately I did not require to beg an introduction, for M. Grimani offered, of his own accord, to present me to the magnificent councillor, who received me in the kindest manner, and invited me at once to take my meals at his table. He expressed a desire that I should make the acquaintance of his wife, who was to accompany him in the journey. I called upon her the next day, and I found a lady perfect in manners, but already of a certain age and completely deaf. I had therefore but little pleasure to expect from her conversation. She had a very charming young daughter whom she left in a convent. She became celebrated afterwards, and she is still alive, I believe, the widow of Procurator Iron, whose family is extinct.
I have seldom seen a finer-looking man, or a man of more imposing appearance than M. Dolfin. He was eminently distinguished for his wit and politeness. He was eloquent, always cheerful when he lost at cards, the favourite of ladies, whom he endeavoured to please in everything, always courageous, and of an equal temper, whether in good or in adverse fortune.
He had ventured on travelling without permission, and had entered a foreign service, which had brought him into disgrace with the government, for a noble son of Venice cannot be guilty of a greater crime. For this offence he had been imprisoned in the Leads--a favour which destiny kept also in reserve for me.
Highly gifted, generous, but not wealthy, M. Dolfin had been compelled to solicit from the Grand Council a lucrative governorship, and had been appointed to Zante; but he started with such a splendid suite that he was not likely to save much out of his salary. Such a man as I have just portrayed could not make a fortune in Venice, because an aristocratic government can not obtain a state of lasting, steady peace at home unless equality is maintained amongst the nobility, and equality, either moral or physical, cannot be appreciated in any other way than by appearances. The result is that the man who does not want to lay himself open to persecution, and who happens to be superior or inferior to the others, must endeavour to conceal it by all possible means. If he is ambitious, he must feign great contempt for dignities; if he seeks employment, he must not appear to want any; if his features are handsome, he must be careless of his physical appearance; he must dress badly, wear nothing in good taste, ridicule every foreign importation, make his bow without grace, be careless in his manner; care nothing for the fine arts, conceal his good breeding, have no foreign cook, wear an uncombed wig, and look rather dirty. M. Dolfin was not endowed with any of those eminent qualities, and therefore he had no hope of a great fortune in his native country.
The day before my departure from Venice I did not go out; I devoted the whole of the day to friendship. Madame Orio and her lovely nieces shed many tears, and I joined them in that delightful employment. During the last night that I spent with both of them, the sisters repeated over and over, in the midst of the raptures of love, that they never would see me again. They guessed rightly; but if they had happened to see me again they would have guessed wrongly. Observe how wonderful prophets are!
I went on board, on the 5th of May, with a good supply of clothing, jewels, and ready cash. Our ship carried twenty-four guns and two hundred Sclavonian soldiers. We sailed from Malamacca to the shores of Istria during the night, and we came to anchor in the harbour of Orsera to take ballast. I landed with several others to take a stroll through the wretched place where I had spent three days nine months before, a recollection which caused me a pleasant sensation when I compared my present position to what it was at that time. What a difference in everything--health, social condition, and money! I felt quite certain that in the splendid uniform I was now wearing nobody would recognize the miserable-looking abbe who, but for Friar Stephano, would have become--God knows what!
CHAPTER XIV
An Amusing Meeting in Orsera--Journey to Corfu--My Stay in
Constantinople--Bonneval--My Return to Corfu--Madame F.--The
False Prince--I Run Away from Corfu--My Frolics at Casopo--I
Surrender Myself a Prisoner--My Speedy Release and Triumph--
My Success with Madame F.
I affirm that a stupid servant is more dangerous than a bad one, and a much greater plague, for one can be on one's guard against a wicked person, but never against a fool. You can punish wickedness but not stupidity, unless you send away the fool, male or female, who is guilty of it, and if you do so you generally find out that the change has only thrown you out of the frying-pan into the fire.
This chapter and the two following ones were written; they gave at full length all the particulars which I must now abridge, for my silly servant has taken the three chapters for her own purposes. She pleaded as an excuse that the sheets of paper were old, written upon, covered with scribbling and erasures, and that she had taken them in preference to nice, clean paper, thinking that I would care much more for the last than for the first. I flew into a violent passion, but I was wrong, for the poor girl had acted with a good intent; her judgment alone had misled her. It is well known that the first result of anger is to deprive the angry man of the faculty of reason, for anger and reason do not belong to the same family. Luckily, passion does not keep me long under its sway: 'Irasci, celerem tamen et placabilem esse'. After I had wasted my time in hurling at her bitter reproaches, the force of which did not strike her, and in proving to her that she was a stupid fool, she refuted all my arguments by the most complete silence. There was nothing to do but to resign myself, and, although not yet in the best of tempers, I went to work. What I am going to write will probably not be so good as what I had composed when I felt in the proper humour, but my readers must be satisfied with it they will, like the engineer, gain in time what they lose in strength.
I landed at Orsera while our ship was taking ballast, as a ship cannot sail well when she is too light, and I was walking about when I remarked a man who was looking at me very attentively. As I had no dread of any creditor, I thought that he was interested by my fine appearance; I could not find fault with such a feeling, and kept walking on, but as I passed him, he addressed me:
"Might I presume to enquire whether this is your first visit to Orsera, captain?"
"No, sir, it is my second visit to this city."
"Were you not here last year?"
"I was."
"But you were not in uniform then?"
"True again; but your questions begin to sound rather indiscreet."
"Be good enough to forgive me, sir, for my curiosity is the offspring of gratitude. I am indebted to you for the greatest benefits, and I trust that Providence has brought you here again only to give me the opportunity of making greater still my debt of gratitude to you."
"What on earth have I done, and what can I do for you? I am at a loss to guess your meaning."
"Will you be so kind as to come and breakfast with me? My house is near at hand; my refosco is delicious, please to taste it, and I will convince you in a few words that you are truly my benefactor, and that I have a right to expect that you have returned Orsera to load me with fresh benefits."
I could not suspect the man of insanity; but, as I could not make him out, I fancied that he wanted to make me purchase some of his refosco, and I accepted his invitation. We went up to his room, and he left me for a few moments to order breakfast. I observed several surgical instruments, which made me suppose that he was a surgeon, and I asked him when he returned.
"Yes, captain; I have been practising surgery in this place for twenty years, and in a very poor way, for I had nothing to do, except a few cases of bleeding, of cupping, and occasionally some slight excoriation to dress or a sprained ankle to put to rights. I did not earn even the poorest living. But since last year a great change has taken place; I have made a good deal of money, I have laid it out advantageously, and it is to you, captain, to you (may God bless you!) that I am indebted for my present comforts."
"But how so?"
"In this way, captain. You had a connection with Don Jerome's housekeeper, and you left her, when you went away, a certain souvenir which she communicated to a friend of hers, who, in perfect good faith, made a present of it to his wife. This lady did not wish, I suppose, to be selfish, and she gave the souvenir to a libertine who, in his turn, was so generous with it that, in less than a month, I had about fifty clients. The following months were not less fruitful, and I gave the benefit of my attendance to everybody, of course, for a consideration. There are a few patients still under my care, but in a short time there will be no more, as the souvenir left by you has now lost all its virtue. You can easily realize now the joy I felt when I saw you; you are a bird of good omen. May I hope that your visit will last long enough to enable you to renew the source of my fortune?"
I laughed heartily, but he was grieved to hear that I was in excellent health. He remarked, however, that I was not likely to be so well off on my return, because, in the country to which I was going, there was abundance of damaged goods, but that no one knew better than he did how to root out the venom left by the use of such bad merchandise. He begged that I would depend upon him, and not trust myself in the hands of quacks, who would be sure to palm their remedies upon me. I promised him everything, and, taking leave of him with many thanks, I returned to the ship. I related the whole affair to M. Dolfin, who was highly amused. We sailed on the following day, but on the fourth day, on the other side of Curzola, we were visited by a storm which very nearly cost me my life. This is how it happened:
The chaplain of the ship was a Sclavonian priest, very ignorant, insolent and coarse-mannered, and, as I turned him into ridicule whenever the opportunity offered, he had naturally become my sworn enemy. 'Tant de fiel entre-t-il dans l'ame d'un devot!' When the storm was at its height, he posted himself on the quarter-deck, and, with book in hand, proceeded to exorcise all the spirits of hell whom he thought he could see in the clouds, and to whom he pointed for the benefit of the sailors who, believing themselves lost, were crying, howling, and giving way to despair, instead of attending to the working of the ship, then in great danger on account of the rocks and of the breakers which surrounded us.
Seeing the peril of our position, and the evil effect of his stupid, incantations upon the minds of the sailors whom the ignorant priest was throwing into the apathy of despair, instead of keeping up their courage, I thought it prudent to interfere. I went up the rigging, calling upon the sailors to do their duty cheerfully, telling them that there were no devils, and that the priest who pretended to see them was a fool. But it was in vain that I spoke in the most forcible manner, in vain that I went to work myself, and shewed that safety was only to be insured by active means, I could not prevent the priest declaring that I was an Atheist, and he managed to rouse against me the anger of the greatest part of the crew. The wind continued to lash the sea into fury for the two following days, and the knave contrived to persuade the sailors who listened to him that the hurricane would not abate as long as I was on board. Imbued with that conviction, one of the men, thinking he had found a good opportunity of fulfilling the wishes of the priest, came up to me as I was standing at the extreme end of the forecastle, and pushed me so roughly that I was thrown over. I should have been irretrievably lost, but the sharp point of an anchor, hanging along the side of the ship, catching in my clothes, prevented me from falling in the sea, and proved truly my sheet-anchor. Some men came to my assistance, and I was saved. A corporal then pointed out to me the sailor who had tried to murder me, and taking a stout stick I treated the scoundrel to a sound thrashing; but the sailors, headed by the furious priest, rushed towards us when they heard his screams, and I should have been killed if the soldiers had not taken my part. The commander and M. Dolfin then came on deck, but they were compelled to listen to the chaplain, and to promise, in order to pacify the vile rabble, that they would land me at the first opportunity. But even this was not enough; the priest demanded that I should give up to him a certain parchment that I had purchased from a Greek at Malamocco just before sailing. I had no recollection of it, but it was true. I laughed, and gave it to M. Dolfin; he handed it to the fanatic chaplain, who, exulting in his victory, called for a large pan of live coals from the cook's galley, and made an auto-da-fe of the document. The unlucky parchment, before it was entirely consumed, kept writhing on the fire for half an hour, and the priest did not fail to represent those contortions as a miracle, and all the sailors were sure that it was an infernal manuscript given to me by the devil. The virtue claimed for that piece of parchment by the man who had sold it to me was that it insured its lucky possessor the love of all women, but I trust my readers will do me the justice to believe that I had no faith whatever in amorous philtres, talismans, or amulets of any kind: I had purchased it only for a joke.
You can find throughout Italy, in Greece, and generally in every country the inhabitants of which are yet wrapped up in primitive ignorance, a tribe of Greeks, of Jews, of astronomers, and of exorcists, who sell their dupes rags and toys to which they boastingly attach wonderful virtues and properties; amulets which render invulnerable, scraps of cloth which defend from witchcraft, small bags filled with drugs to keep away goblins, and a thousand gewgaws of the same description. These wonderful goods have no marketable value whatever in France, in England, in Germany, and throughout the north of Europe generally, but, in revenge, the inhabitants of those countries indulge in knavish practices of a much worse kind.
The storm abated just as the innocent parchment was writhing on the fire, and the sailors, believing that the spirits of hell had been exorcised, thought no more of getting rid of my person, and after a prosperous voyage of a week we cast anchor at Corfu. As soon as I had found a comfortable lodging I took my letters to his eminence the proveditore-generale, and to all the naval commanders to whom I was recommended; and after paying my respects to my colonel, and making the acquaintance of the officers of my regiment, I prepared to enjoy myself until the arrival of the Chevalier Venier, who had promised to take me to Constantinople. He arrived towards the middle of June, but in the mean time I had been playing basset, and had lost all my money, and sold or pledged all my jewellery.
Such must be the fate awaiting every man who has a taste for gambling, unless he should know how to fix fickle fortune by playing with a real advantage derived from calculation or from adroitness, which defies chance. I think that a cool and prudent player can manage both without exposing himself to censure, or deserving to be called a cheat.
During the month that I spent in Corfu, waiting for the arrival of M. Venier, I did not devote any time to the study, either moral or physical, of the country, for, excepting the days on which I was on duty, I passed my life at the coffee-house, intent upon the game, and sinking, as a matter of course, under the adverse fortune which I braved with obstinacy. I never won, and I had not the moral strength to stop till all my means were gone. The only comfort I had, and a sorry one truly, was to hear the banker himself call me--perhaps sarcastically--a fine player, every time I lost a large stake. My misery was at its height, when new life was infused in me by the booming of the guns fired in honour of the arrival of the bailo. He was on board the Europa, a frigate of seventy-two guns, and he had taken only eight days to sail from Venice to Corfu. The moment he cast anchor, the bailo hoisted his flag of captain-general of the Venetian navy, and the proveditore hauled down his own colours. The Republic of Venice has not on the sea any authority greater than that of Bailo to the Porte. The Chevalier Venier had with him a distinguished and brilliant suite; Count Annibal Gambera, Count Charles Zenobio, both Venetian noblemen of the first class, and the Marquis d'Anchotti of Bressan, accompanied him to Constantinople for their own amusement. The bailo remained a week in Corfu, and all the naval authorities entertained him and his suite in turn, so that there was a constant succession of balls and suppers. When I presented myself to his excellency, he informed me that he had already spoken to the proveditore, who had granted me a furlough of six months to enable me to accompany him to Constantinople as his adjutant; and as soon as the official document for my furlough had been delivered to me, I sent my small stock of worldly goods on board the Europa, and we weighed anchor early the next day.
We sailed with a favourable wind which remained steady and brought us in six days to Cerigo, where we stopped to take in some water. Feeling some curiosity to visit the ancient Cythera, I went on shore with the sailors on duty, but it would have been better for me if I had remained on board, for in Cerigo I made a bad acquaintance. I was accompanied by the captain of marines.
The moment we set foot on shore, two men, very poorly dressed and of unprepossessing appearance, came to us and begged for assistance. I asked them who they were, and one, quicker than the other, answered;
"We are sentenced to live, and perhaps to die, in this island by the despotism of the Council of Ten. There are forty others as unfortunate as ourselves, and we are all born subjects of the Republic.
"The crime of which we have been accused, which is not considered a crime anywhere, is that we were in the habit of living with our mistresses, without being jealous of our friends, when, finding our ladies handsome, they obtained their favours with our ready consent. As we were not rich, we felt no remorse in availing ourselves of the generosity of our friends in such cases, but it was said that we were carrying on an illicit trade, and we have been sent to this place, where we receive every day ten sous in 'moneta lunga'. We are called 'mangia-mayroni', and are worse off than galley slaves, for we are dying of ennui, and we are often starving without knowing how to stay our hunger. My name is Don Antonio Pocchini, I am of a noble Paduan family, and my mother belongs to the illustrious family of Campo San-Piero."
We gave them some money, and went about the island, returning to the ship after we had visited the fortress. I shall have to speak of that Pocchini in a few years.
The wind continued in our favour, and we reached the Dardanelles in eight or ten days; the Turkish barges met us there to carry us to Constantinople. The sight offered by that city at the distance of a league is truly wonderful; and I believe that a more magnificent panorama cannot be found in any part of the world. It was that splendid view which was the cause of the fall of the Roman, and of the rise of the Greek empire. Constantine the Great, arriving at Byzantium by sea, was so much struck with the wonderful beauty of its position, that he exclaimed, "Here is the proper seat of the empire of the whole world!" and in order to secure the fulfilment of his prediction, he left Rome for Byzantium. If he had known the prophecy of Horace, or rather if he had believed in it, he would not have been guilty of such folly. The poet had said that the downfall of the Roman empire would begin only when one of the successors of Augustus bethought him removing the capital of the empire to where it had originated. The road is not far distant from Thrace.
We arrived at the Venetian Embassy in Pera towards the middle of July, and, for a wonder, there was no talk of the plague in Constantinople just then. We were all provided with very comfortable lodgings, but the intensity of the heat induced the baili to seek for a little coolness in a country mansion which had been hired by the Bailo Dona. It was situated at Bouyoudere. The very first order laid upon me was never to go out unknown to the bailo, and without being escorted by a janissary, and this order I obeyed to the letter. In those days the Russians had not tamed the insolence of the Turkish people. I am told that foreigners can now go about as much as they please in perfect security.
The day after our arrival, I took a janissary to accompany me to Osman Pacha, of Caramania, the name assumed by Count de Bonneval ever since he had adopted the turban. I sent in my letter, and was immediately shewn into an apartment on the ground floor, furnished in the French fashion, where I saw a stout elderly gentleman, dressed like a Frenchman, who, as I entered the room, rose, came to meet me with a smiling countenance, and asked me how he could serve the 'protege' of a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, which he could no longer call his mother. I gave him all the particulars of the circumstances which, in a moment of despair, had induced me to ask the cardinal for letters of introduction for Constantinople, and I added that, the letters once in my possession, my superstitious feelings had made me believe that I was bound to deliver them in person.
"Then, without this letter," he said, "you never would have come to Constantinople, and you have no need of me?"
"True, but I consider myself fortunate in having thus made the acquaintance of a man who has attracted the attention of the whole of Europe, and who still commands that attention."
His excellency made some remark respecting the happiness of young men who, like me, without care, without any fixed purpose, abandon themselves to fortune with that confidence which knows no fear, and telling me that the cardinal's letter made it desirable that he should do something for me, he promised to introduce me to three or four of his Turkish friends who deserved to be known. He invited me to dine with him every Thursday, and undertook to send me a janissary who would protect me from the insults of the rabble and shew me everything worth seeing.
The cardinal's letter representing me as a literary man, the pacha observed that I ought to see his library. I followed him through the garden, and we entered a room furnished with grated cupboards; curtains could be seen behind the wirework; the books were most likely behind the curtains.
Taking a key out of his pocket, he opened one of the cupboards, and, instead of folios, I saw long rows of bottles of the finest wines. We both laughed heartily.
"Here are," said the pacha, "my library and my harem. I am old, women would only shorten my life but good wine will prolong it, or at least, make it more agreeable.
"I imagine your excellency has obtained a dispensation from the mufti?"
"You are mistaken, for the Pope of the Turks is very far from enjoying as great a power as the Christian Pope. He cannot in any case permit what is forbidden by the Koran; but everyone is at liberty to work out his own damnation if he likes. The Turkish devotees pity the libertines, but they do not persecute them; there is no inquisition in Turkey. Those who do not know the precepts of religion, say the Turks, will suffer enough in the life to come; there is no need to make them suffer in this life. The only dispensation I have asked and obtained, has been respecting circumcision, although it can hardly be called so, because, at my age, it might have proved dangerous. That ceremony is generally performed, but it is not compulsory."
During the two hours that we spent together, the pacha enquired after several of his friends in Venice, and particularly after Marc Antonio Dieto. I told him that his friends were still faithful to their affection for him, and did not find fault with his apostasy. He answered that he was a Mahometan as he had been a Christian, and that he was not better acquainted with the Koran than he had been with the Gospel. "I am certain," he added, "that I shall die-calmer and much happier than Prince Eugene. I have had to say that God is God, and that Mahomet is the prophet. I have said it, and the Turks care very little whether I believe it or not. I wear the turban as the soldier wears the uniform. I was nothing but a military man; I could not have turned my hand to any other profession, and I made up my mind to become lieutenant-general of the Grand Turk only when I found myself entirely at a loss how to earn my living. When I left Venice, the pitcher had gone too often to the well, it was broken at last, and if the Jews had offered me the command of an army of fifty thousand men, I would have gone and besieged Jerusalem."
Bonneval was handsome, but too stout. He had received a sabre-cut in the lower part of the abdomen, which compelled him to wear constantly a bandage supported by a silver plate. He had been exiled to Asia, but only for a short time, for, as he told me, the cabals are not so tenacious in Turkey as they are in Europe, and particularly at the court of Vienna. As I was taking leave of him, he was kind enough to say that, since his arrival in Turkey, he had never passed two hours as pleasantly as those he had just spent with me, and that he would compliment the bailo about me.
The Bailo Dona, who had known him intimately in Venice, desired me to be the bearer of all his friendly compliments for him, and M. Venier expressed his deep regret at not being able to make his acquaintance.
The second day after my first visit to him being a Thursday, the pacha did not forget to send a janissary according to his promise. It was about eleven in the morning when the janissary called for me, I followed him, and this time I found Bonneval dressed in the Turkish style. His guests soon arrived, and we sat down to dinner, eight of us, all well disposed to be cheerful and happy. The dinner was entirely French, in cooking and service; his steward and his cook were both worthy French renegades.
He had taken care to introduce me to all his guests and at the same time to let me know who they were, but he did not give me an opportunity of speaking before dinner was nearly over. The conversation was entirely kept up in Italian, and I remarked that the Turks did not utter a single word in their own language, even to say the most ordinary thing. Each guest had near him a bottle which might have contained either white wine or hydromel; all I know is that I drank, as well as M. de Bonneval, next to whom I was seated, some excellent white Burgundy.
The guests got me on the subject of Venice, and particularly of Rome, and the conversation very naturally fell upon religion, but not upon dogmatic questions; the discipline of religion and liturgical questions were alone discussed.
One of the guests, who was addressed as effendi, because he had been secretary for foreign affairs, said that the ambassador from Venice to Rome was a friend of his, and he spoke of him in the highest manner. I told him that I shared his admiration for that ambassador, who had given me a letter of introduction for a Turkish nobleman, whom he had represented as an intimate friend. He enquired for the name of the person to whom the letter was addressed, but I could not recollect it, and took the letter out of my pocket-book. The effendi was delighted when he found that the letter was for himself. He begged leave to read it at once, and after he had perused it, he kissed the signature and came to embrace me. This scene pleased M. de Bonneval and all his friends. The effendi, whose name was Ismail, entreated the pacha to come to dine with him, and to bring me; Bonneval accepted, and fixed a day.
Notwithstanding all the politeness of the effendi, I was particularly interested during our charming dinner in a fine elderly man of about sixty, whose countenance breathed at the same time the greatest sagacity and the most perfect kindness. Two years afterwards I found again the same features on the handsome face of M. de Bragadin, a Venetian senator of whom I shall have to speak at length when we come to that period of my life. That elderly gentleman had listened to me with the greatest attention, but without uttering one word. In society, a man whose face and general appearance excite your interest, stimulates strongly your curiosity if he remains silent. When we left the dining-room I enquired from de Bonneval who he was; he answered that he was wealthy, a philosopher, a man of acknowledged merit, of great purity of morals, and strongly attached to his religion. He advised me to cultivate his acquaintance if he made any advances to me.
I was pleased with his advice, and when, after a walk under the shady trees of the garden, we returned to a drawing-room furnished in the Turkish fashion, I purposely took a seat near Yusuf Ali. Such was the name of the Turk for whom I felt so much sympathy. He offered me his pipe in a very graceful manner; I refused it politely, and took one brought to me by one of M. de Bonneval's servants. Whenever I have been amongst smokers I have smoked or left the room; otherwise I would have fancied that I was swallowing the smoke of the others, and that idea which is true and unpleasant, disgusted me. I have never been able to understand how in Germany the ladies, otherwise so polite and delicate, could inhale the suffocating fumes of a crowd of smokers.
Yusuf, pleased to have me near him, at once led the conversation to subjects similar to those which had been discussed at table, and particularly to the reasons which had induced me to give up the peaceful profession of the Church and to choose a military life; and in order to gratify his curiosity without losing his good opinion, I gave him, but with proper caution, some of the particulars of my life, for I wanted him to be satisfied that, if I had at first entered the career of the holy priesthood, it had not been through any vocation of mine. He seemed pleased with my recital, spoke of natural vocations as a Stoic philosopher, and I saw that he was a fatalist; but as I was careful not to attack his system openly, he did not dislike my objections, most likely because he thought himself strong enough to overthrow them.
I must have inspired the honest Mussulman with very great esteem, for he thought me worthy of becoming his disciple; it was not likely that he could entertain the idea of becoming himself the disciple of a young man of nineteen, lost, as he thought, in a false religion.
After spending an hour in examining me, in listening to my principles, he said that he believed me fit to know the real truth, because he saw that I was seeking for it, and that I was not certain of having obtained it so far. He invited me to come and spend a whole day with him, naming the days when I would be certain to find him at home, but he advised me to consult the Pacha Osman before accepting his invitation. I told him that the pacha had already mentioned him to me and had spoken very highly of his character; he seemed much pleased. I fixed a day for my visit, and left him.
I informed M. de Bonneval of all that had occurred; he was delighted, and promised that his janissary would be every day at the Venetian palace, ready to execute my orders.
I received the congratulations of the baili upon the excellent acquaintances I had already made, and M. Venier advised me not to neglect such friends in a country where weariness of life was more deadly to foreigners than the plague.
On the day appointed, I went early to Yusuf's palace, but he was out. His gardener, who had received his instructions, shewed me every attention, and entertained me very agreeably for two hours in doing the honours of his master's splendid garden, where I found the most beautiful flowers. This gardener was a Neapolitan, and had belonged to Yusuf for thirty years. His manners made me suspect that he was well born and well educated, but he told me frankly that he had never been taught even to read, that he was a sailor when he was taken in slavery, and that he was so happy in the service of Yusuf that liberty would be a punishment to him. Of course I did not venture to address him any questions about his master, for his reserve might have put my curiosity to the blush.
Yusuf had gone out on horseback; he returned, and, after the usual compliments, we dined alone in a summerhouse, from which we had a fine view of the sea, and in which the heat was cooled by a delightful breeze, which blows regularly at the same hour every day from the north-west; and is called the mistral. We had a good dinner; there was no prepared dish except the cauroman, a peculiar delicacy of the Turks. I drank water and hydromel, and I told Yusuf that I preferred the last to wine, of which I never took much at that time. "Your hydromel," I said, "is very good, and the Mussulmans who offend against the law by drinking wine do not deserve any indulgence; I believe they drink wine only because it is forbidden." "Many of the true believers," he answered, "think that they can take it as a medicine. The Grand Turk's physician has brought it into vogue as a medicine, and it has been the cause of his fortune, for he has captivated the favour of his master who is in reality constantly ill, because he is always in a state of intoxication." I told Yusuf that in my country drunkards were scarce, and that drunkenness was a vice to be found only among the lowest people; he was much astonished. "I cannot understand," he said, "why wine is allowed by all religions, when its use deprives man of his reason."--"All religions," I answered, "forbid excess in drinking wine, and the crime is only in the abuse." I proved him the truth of what I had said by telling him that opium produced the same results as wine, but more powerfully, and consequently Mahomet ought to have forbidden the use of it. He observed that he had never taken either wine or opium in the course of his life.
After dinner, pipes were brought in and we filled them ourselves. I was smoking with pleasure, but, at the same time, was expectorating. Yusuf, who smoked like a Turk, that is to say, without spitting, said,--
"The tobacco you are now smoking is of a very fine quality, and you ought to swallow its balsam which is mixed with the saliva."
"I suppose you are right; smoking cannot be truly enjoyed without the best tobacco."
"That is true to a certain extent, but the enjoyment found in smoking good tobacco is not the principal pleasure, because it only pleases our senses; true enjoyment is that which works upon the soul, and is completely independent of the senses."
"I cannot realize pleasures enjoyed by the soul without the instrumentality of the senses."
"Listen to me. When you fill your pipe do you feel any pleasure?"
"Yes."
"Whence does that pleasure arise, if it is not from your soul? Let us go further. Do you not feel pleased when you give up your pipe after having smoked all the tobacco in it--when you see that nothing is left but some ashes?"
"It is true."
"Well, there are two pleasures in which your senses have certainly nothing to do, but I want you to guess the third, and the most essential."
"The most essential? It is the perfume."
"No; that is a pleasure of the organ of smelling--a sensual pleasure."
"Then I do not know."
"Listen. The principal pleasure derived from tobacco smoking is the sight of a smoke itself. You must never see it go out of the bowl of your pipe,--but only from the corner of your mouth, at regular intervals which must not be too frequent. It is so truly the greatest pleasure connected with the pipe, that you cannot find anywhere a blind man who smokes. Try yourself the experiment of smoking a pipe in your room, at night and without a light; you will soon lay the pipe down."
"It is all perfectly true; yet you must forgive me if I give the preference to several pleasures, in which my senses are interested, over those which afford enjoyment only to my soul."
"Forty years ago I was of the same opinion, and in forty years, if you succeed in acquiring wisdom, you will think like me. Pleasures which give activity to our senses, my dear son, disturb the repose of our soul--a proof that they do not deserve the name of real enjoyments."
"But if I feel them to be real enjoyments, it is enough to prove that they are truly so."
"Granted; but if you would take the trouble of analyzing them after you have tasted them, you would not find them unalloyed."
"It may be so, but why should I take a trouble which would only lessen my enjoyment."
"A time will come when you will feel pleasure in that very trouble."
"It strikes me, dear father, that you prefer mature age to youth."
"You may boldly say old age."
"You surprise me. Must I believe that your early life has been unhappy?"
"Far from it. I was always fortunate in good health, and the master of my own passions; but all I saw in my equals was for me a good school in which I have acquired the knowledge of man, and learned the real road to happiness. The happiest of men is not the most voluptuous, but the one who knows how to choose the highest standards of voluptuousness, which can be found, I say again, not in the pleasures which excite our senses, but in those which give greater repose to the soul."
"That is the voluptuousness which you consider unalloyed."
"Yes, and such is the sight of a vast prairie all covered with grass. The green colour, so strongly recommended by our divine prophet, strikes my eyes, and at the same moment I feel that my soul is wrapped up in a calm so delightful that I fancy myself nearer the Creator. I enjoy the same peace, the same repose, when I am seated on the banks of a river, when I look upon the water so quiet, yet always moving, which flows constantly, yet never disappears from my sight, never loses any of its clearness in spite of its constant motion. It strikes me as the image of my own existence, and of the calm which I require for my life in order to reach, like the water I am gazing upon, the goal which I do not see, and which can only be found at the other end of the journey."
Thus did the Turk reason, and we passed four hours in this sort of conversation. He had buried two wives, and he had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son, having received his patrimony, had established himself in the city of Salonica, where he was a wealthy merchant; the other was in the seraglio, in the service of the Grand Turk and his fortune was in the hands of a trustee. His daughter, Zelmi, then fifteen years of age, was to inherit all his remaining property. He had given her all the accomplishments which could minister to the happiness of the man whom heaven had destined for her husband. We shall hear more of that daughter anon. The mother of the three children was dead, and five years previous to the time of my visit, Yusuf had taken another wife, a native of Scio, young and very beautiful, but he told me himself that he was now too old, and could not hope to have any child by her. Yet he was only sixty years of age. Before I left, he made me promise to spend at least one day every week with him.
At supper, I told the baili how pleasantly the day had passed.
"We envy you," they said, "the prospect you have before you of spending agreeably three or four months in this country, while, in our quality of ministers, we must pine away with melancholy."
A few days afterwards, M. de Bonneval took me with him to dine at Ismail's house, where I saw Asiatic luxury on a grand scale, but there were a great many guests, and the conversation was held almost entirely in the Turkish language--a circumstance which annoyed me and M. de Bonneval also. Ismail saw it, and he invited me to breakfast whenever I felt disposed, assuring me that he would have much pleasure in receiving me. I accepted the invitation, and I went ten or twelve days afterwards. When we reach that period my readers must kindly accompany me to the breakfast. For the present I must return to Yusuf who, during my second visit, displayed a character which inspired, me with the greatest esteem and the warmest affection.
We had dined alone as before, and, conversation happening to turn upon the fine arts, I gave my opinion upon one of the precepts in the Koran, by which the Mahometans are deprived of the innocent enjoyment of paintings and statues. He told me that Mahomet, a very sagacious legislator, had been right in removing all images from the sight of the followers of Islam.
"Recollect, my son, that the nations to which the prophet brought the knowledge of the true God were all idolators. Men are weak; if the disciples of the prophet had continued to see the same objects, they might have fallen back into their former errors."
"No one ever worshipped an image as an image; the deity of which the image is a representation is what is worshipped."
"I may grant that, but God cannot be matter, and it is right to remove from the thoughts of the vulgar the idea of a material divinity. You are the only men, you Christians, who believe that you see God."
"It is true, we are sure of it, but observe that faith alone gives us that certainty."
"I know it; but you are idolators, for you see nothing but a material representation, and yet you have a complete certainty that you see God, unless you should tell me that faith disaffirms it."
"God forbid I should tell you such a thing! Faith, on the contrary, affirms our certainty."
"We thank God that we have no need of such self-delusion, and there is not one philosopher in the world who could prove to me that you require it."
"That would not be the province of philosophy, dear father, but of theology--a very superior science."
"You are now speaking the language of our theologians, who differ from yours only in this; they use their science to make clearer the truths we ought to know, whilst your theologians try to render those truths more obscure."
"Recollect, dear father, that they are mysteries."
"The existence of God is a sufficiently important mystery to prevent men from daring to add anything to it. God can only be simple; any kind of combination would destroy His essence; such is the God announced by our prophet, who must be the same for all men and in all times. Agree with me that we can add nothing to the simplicity of God. We say that God is one; that is the image of simplicity. You say that He is one and three at the same time, and such a definition strikes us as contradictory, absurd, and impious."
"It is a mystery."
"Do you mean God or the definition? I am speaking only of the definition, which ought not to be a mystery or absurd. Common sense, my son, must consider as absurd an assertion which is substantially nonsensical. Prove to me that three is not a compound, that it cannot be a compound and I will become a Christian at once."
"My religion tells me to believe without arguing, and I shudder, my dear Yusuf, when I think that, through some specious reasoning, I might be led to renounce the creed of my fathers. I first must be convinced that they lived in error. Tell me whether, respecting my father's memory, I ought to have such a good opinion of myself as to sit in judgement over him, with the intention of giving my sentence against him?"
My lively remonstrance moved Yusuf deeply, but after a few instants of silence he said to me,--
"With such feelings, my son, you are sure to find grace in the eyes of God, and you are, therefore, one of the elect. If you are in error, God alone can convince you of it, for no just man on earth can refute the sentiment you have just given expression to."
We spoke of many other things in a friendly manner, and in the evening we parted with the often repeated assurance of the warmest affection and of the most perfect devotion.
But my mind was full of our conversation, and as I went on pondering over the matter, I thought that Yusuf might be right in his opinion as to the essence of God, for it seemed evident that the Creator of all beings ought to be perfectly simple; but I thought at the same time how impossible it would be for me, because the Christian religion had made a mistake, to accept the Turkish creed, which might perhaps have just a conception of God, but which caused me to smile when I recollected that the man who had given birth to it had been an arrant imposter. I had not the slightest idea, however, that Yusuf wished to make a convert of me.
The third time I dined with him religion was again the subject of conversation.
"Do you believe, dear father, that the religion of Mahomet is the only one in which salvation can be secured?"
"No, my dear son, I am not certain of it, and no man can have such a certainty; but I am sure that the Christian religion is not the true one, because it cannot be universal."
"Why not?"
"Because there is neither bread nor wine to be found in three-fourths of the world. Observe that the precepts of the Koran can be followed everywhere."
I did not know how to answer, and I would not equivocate.
"If God cannot be matter," I said, "then He must be a spirit?"
"We know what He is not but we do not know what He is: man cannot affirm that God is a spirit, because he can only realize the idea in an abstract manner. God is immaterial; that is the extent of our knowledge and it can never be greater."
I was reminded of Plato, who had said exactly the same and most certainly Yusuf never read Plato.
He added that the existence of God could be useful only to those who did not entertain a doubt of that existence, and that, as a natural consequence, Atheists must be the most miserable of men. God has made in man His own image in order that, amongst all the animals created by Him, there should be one that can understand and confess the existence of the Creator. Without man, God would have no witness of His own glory, and man must therefore understand that his first and highest duty is to glorify God by practising justice and trusting to His providence.
"Observe, my son, that God never abandons the man who, in the midst of misfortunes, falls down in prayer before Him, and that He often allows the wretch who has no faith in prayer to die miserably."
"Yet we meet with Atheists who are fortunate and happy."
"True; but, in spite of their tranquillity, I pity them because they have no hope beyond this life, and are on a level with animals. Besides, if they are philosophers, they must linger in dark ignorance, and, if they never think, they have no consolation, no resource, when adversity reaches them. God has made man in such a manner that he cannot be happy unless he entertains no doubt of the existence of his Divine Creator; in all stations of life man is naturally prone to believe in that existence, otherwise man would never have admitted one God, Creator of all beings and of all things."
"I should like to know why Atheism has only existed in the systems of the learned, and never as a national creed."
"Because the poor feel their wants much more than the rich, There are amongst us a great many impious men who deride the true believers because they have faith in the pilgrimage to Mecca. Wretches that they are, they ought to respect the ancient customs which, exciting the devotion of fervent souls, feed religious principles, and impart courage under all misfortunes. Without such consolation, people would give way to all the excess of despair."
Much pleased with the attention I gave to all he said, Yusuf would thus yield to the inclination he felt to instruct me, and, on my side, feeling myself drawn towards him by the charm which amiable goodness exerts upon all hearts, I would often go and spend the day with him, even without any previous invitation, and Yusuf's friendship soon became one of my most precious treasures.
One morning, I told my janissary to take me to the palace of Ismail Effendi, in order to fulfil my promise to breakfast with him. He gave me the most friendly welcome, and after an excellent breakfast he invited me to take a walk in his garden. We found there a pretty summer-house which we entered, and Ismail attempted some liberties which were not at all to my taste, and which I resented by rising in a very abrupt manner. Seeing that I was angry, the Turk affected to approve my reserve, and said that he had only been joking. I left him after a few minutes, with the intention of not visiting him again, but I was compelled to do so, as I will explain by-and-by.
When I saw M. de Bonneval I told him what had happened and he said that, according to Turkish manners, Ismail had intended to give me a great proof of his friendship, but that I need not be afraid of the offence being repeated. He added that politeness required that I should visit him again, and that Ismail was, in spite of his failing, a perfect gentleman, who had at his disposal the most beautiful female slaves in Turkey.
Five or six weeks after the commencement of our intimacy, Yusuf asked me one day whether I was married. I answered that I was not; the conversation turned upon several moral questions, and at last fell upon chastity, which, in his opinion, could be accounted a virtue only if considered from one point of view, namely, that of total abstinence, but he added that it could not be acceptable to God; because it transgressed against the very first precept He had given to man.
"I would like to know, for instance," he said, "what name can be given to the chastity of your knights of Malta. They take a vow of chastity, but it does not mean that they will renounce women altogether, they renounce marriage only. Their chastity, and therefore chastity in general, is violated only by marriage; yet I observe that marriage is one of your sacraments. Therefore, those knights of Malta promise not to give way to lustful incontinence in the only case in which God might forgive it, but they reserve the license of being lustful unlawfully as often as they please, and whenever an opportunity may offer itself; and that immoral, illicit license is granted to them to such an extent, that they are allowed to acknowledge legally a child which can be born to them only through a double crime! The most revolting part of it all is that these children of crime, who are of course perfectly innocent themselves, are called natural children, as if children born in wedlock came into the world in an unnatural manner! In one word, my dear son, the vow of chastity is so much opposed to Divine precepts and to human nature that it can be agreeable neither to God nor to society, nor to those who pledge themselves to keep it, and being in such opposition to every divine and human law, it must be a crime."
He enquired for the second time whether I was married; I replied in the negative, and added that I had no idea of ever getting married.
"What!" he exclaimed; "I must then believe that you are not a perfect man, or that you intend to work out your own damnation; unless you should tell me that you are a Christian only outwardly."
"I am a man in the very strongest sense of the word, and I am a true Christian. I must even confess that I adore women, and that I have not the slightest idea of depriving myself of the most delightful of all pleasures."
"According to your religion, damnation awaits you."
"I feel certain of the contrary, because, when we confess our sins, our priests are compelled to give us absolution."
"I know it, but you must agree with me that it is absurd to suppose that God will forgive a crime which you would, perhaps, not commit, if you did not think that, after confession, a priest, a man like you, will give you absolution. God forgives only the repenting sinner."
"No doubt of it, and confession supposes repentance; without it, absolution has no effect."
"Is onanism a crime amongst you?"
"Yes, even greater than lustful and illegitimate copulation."
"I was aware of it, and it has always caused me great surprise, for the legislator who enacts a law, the execution of which is impossible, is a fool. A man in good health, if he cannot have a woman, must necessarily have recourse to onanism, whenever imperious nature demands it, and the man who, from fear of polluting his soul, would abstain from it, would only draw upon himself a mortal disease."
"We believe exactly the reverse; we think that young people destroy their constitutions, and shorten their lives through self-abuse. In several communities they are closely watched, and are as much as possible deprived of every opportunity of indulging in that crime."
"Those who watch them are ignorant fools, and those who pay the watchers for such a service are even more stupid, because prohibition must excite the wish to break through such a tyrannical law, to set at nought an interdiction so contrary to nature."
"Yet it seems to me that self-abuse in excess must be injurious to health, for it must weaken and enervate."
"Certainly, because excess in everything is prejudicial and pernicious; but all such excess is the result of our severe prohibition. If girls are not interfered with in the matter of self-abuse, I do not see why boys should be."
"Because girls are very far from running the same risk; they do not lose a great deal in the action of self-abuse, and what they lose does not come from the same source whence flows the germinal liquid in men."
"I do not know, but we have some physicians who say that chlorosis in girls is the result of that pleasure indulged in to excess."
After many such conversations, in which he seemed to consider me as endowed with reason and talent, even when I was not of his opinion, Yusuf Ali surprised me greatly one day by the following proposition:
"I have two sons and a daughter. I no longer think of my sons, because they have received their share of my fortune. As far as my daughter is concerned she will, after my death, inherit all my possessions, and I am, besides, in a position while I am alive to promote the fortune of the man who may marry her. Five years ago I took a young wife, but she has not given me any progeny, and I know to a certainty that no offspring will bless our union. My daughter, whose name is Zelmi, is now fifteen; she is handsome, her eyes are black and lovely like her mother's, her hair is of the colour of the raven's wing, her complexion is animated alabaster; she is tall, well made, and of a sweet disposition; I have given her an education which would make her worthy of our master, the Sultan. She speaks Greek and Italian fluently, she sings delightfully, and accompanies herself on the harp; she can draw and embroider, and is always contented and cheerful. No living man can boast of having seen her features, and she loves me so dearly that my will is hers. My daughter is a treasure, and I offer her to you if you will consent to go for one year to Adrianople to reside with a relative of mine, who will teach you our religion, our language, and our manners. You will return at the end of one year, and as soon as you have become a Mussulman my daughter shall be your wife. You will find a house ready furnished, slaves of your own, and an income which will enable you to live in comfort. I have no more to say at present. I do not wish you to answer me either to-day, or to-morrow, or on any fixed day. You will give me your decision whenever you feel yourself called upon by your genius to give it, and you need not give me any answer unless you accept my offer, for, should you refuse it, it is not necessary that the subject should be again mentioned. I do not ask you to give full consideration to my proposal, for now that I have thrown the seed in your soul it must fructify. Without hurry, without delay, without anxiety, you can but obey the decrees of God and follow the immutable decision of fate. Such as I know you, I believe that you only require the possession of Zelmi to be completely happy, and that you will become one of the pillars of the Ottoman Empire."
Saying those words, Yusuf pressed me affectionately in his arms, and left me by myself to avoid any answer I might be inclined to make. I went away in such wonder at all I had just heard, that I found myself at the Venetian Embassy without knowing how I had reached it. The baili thought me very pensive, and asked whether anything was the matter with me, but I did not feel disposed to gratify their curiosity. I found that Yusuf had indeed spoken truly: his proposal was of such importance that it was my duty, not only not to mention it to anyone, but even to abstain from thinking it over, until my mind had recovered its calm sufficiently to give me the assurance that no external consideration would weigh in the balance and influence my decision. I had to silence all my passions; prejudices, principles already formed, love, and even self-interest were to remain in a state of complete inaction.
When I awoke the next morning I began to think the matter over, and I soon discovered that, if I wanted to come to a decision, I ought not to ponder over it, as the more I considered the less likely I should be to decide. This was truly a case for the 'sequere Deum' of the Stoics.
I did not visit Yusuf for four days, and when I called on him on the fifth day, we talked cheerfully without once mentioning his proposal, although it was very evident that we were both thinking of it. We remained thus for a fortnight, without ever alluding to the matter which engrossed all our thoughts, but our silence was not caused by dissimulation, or by any feeling contrary to our mutual esteem and friendship; and one day Yusuf suggested that very likely I had communicated his proposal to some wise friend, in order to obtain good advice. I immediately assured him it was not so, and that in a matter of so delicate a nature I thought I ought not to ask anybody's advice.
"I have abandoned myself to God, dear Yusuf, and, full of confidence in Him, I feel certain that I shall decide for the best, whether I make up my mind to become your son, or believe that I ought to remain what I am now. In the mean time, my mind ponders over it day and night, whenever I am quiet and feel myself composed and collected. When I come to a decision, I will impart it to you alone, and from that moment you shall have over me the authority of a father."
At these words the worthy Yusuf, his eyes wet with tears, placed his left hand over my head, and the first two fingers of the right hand on my forehead, saying:
"Continue to act in that way, my dear son, and be certain that you can never act wrongly."
"But," I said to him, "one thing might happen, Zelmi might not accept me."
"Have no anxiety about that. My daughter loves you; she, as well as my wife and her nurse, sees you every time that we dine together, and she listens to you with pleasure."
"Does she know that you are thinking of giving her to me as my wife?"
"She knows that I ardently wish you to become a true believer, so as to enable me to link her destiny to yours."
"I am glad that your habits do not permit you to let me see her, because she might dazzle me with her beauty, and then passion would soon have too much weight in the scale; I could no longer flatter myself that my decision had been taken in all the unbiased, purity of my soul."
Yusuf was highly delighted at hearing me speak in that manner, and I spoke in perfect good faith. The mere idea of seeing Zelmi caused me to shudder. I felt that, if I had fallen in love with her, I would have become a Mussulman in order to possess her, and that I might soon have repented such a step, for the religion of Mahomet presented to my eyes and to my mind nothing but a disagreeable picture, as well for this life as for a future one. As for wealth, I did not think it deserved the immense sacrifice demanded from me. I could find equal wealth in Europe, without stamping my forehead with the shameful brand of apostasy. I cared deeply for the esteem of the persons of distinction who knew me, and did not want to render myself unworthy of it. Besides, I felt an immense desire to obtain fame amongst civilized and polite nations, either in the fine arts or in literature, or in any other honourable profession, and I could not reconcile myself to the idea of abandoning to my equals the triumph which I might win if I lived amongst them. It seemed to me, and I am still of the same opinion, that the decision of wearing the turban befits only a Christian despairing of himself and at the end of his wits, and fortunately I was lost not in that predicament. My greatest objection was to spend a year in Adrianople to learn a language for which I did not feel any liking, and which I should therefore have learned but imperfectly. How could I, at my age, renounce the prerogative, so pleasant to my vanity, of being reputed a fine talker? and I had secured that reputation wherever I was known. Then I would often think that Zelmi, the eighth wonder of creation in the eyes of her father might not appear such in my eyes, and it would have been enough to make me miserable, for Yusuf was likely to live twenty years longer, and I felt that gratitude, as well as respect, would never have permitted me to give that excellent man any cause for unhappiness by ceasing to shew myself a devoted and faithful husband to his daughter. Such were my thoughts, and, as Yusuf could not guess them, it was useless to make a confidant of him.
A few days afterwards, I dined with the Pacha Osman and met my Effendi Ismail. He was very friendly to me, and I reciprocated his attentions, though I paid no attention to the reproaches he addressed to me for not having come to breakfast with him for such a long time. I could not refuse to dine at his house with Bonneval, and he treated me to a very pleasing sight; Neapolitan slaves, men and women, performed a pantomime and some Calabrian dances. M. de Bonneval happened to mention the dance called forlana, and Ismail expressing a great wish to know it, I told him that I could give him that pleasure if I had a Venetian woman to dance with and a fiddler who knew the time. I took a violin, and played the forlana, but, even if the partner had been found, I could not play and dance at the same time.
Ismail whispered a few words to one of his eunuchs, who went out of the room and returned soon with some message that he delivered to him. The effendi told me that he had found the partner I wanted, and I answered that the musician could be had easily, if he would send a note to the Venetian Embassy, which was done at once. The Bailo Dona sent one of his men who played the violin well enough for dancing purposes. As soon as the musician was ready, a door was thrown open, and a fine looking woman came in, her face covered with a black velvet mask, such as we call moretta in Venice. The appearance of that beautiful masked woman surprised and delighted every one of the guests, for it was impossible to imagine a more interesting object, not only on account of the beauty of that part of the face which the mask left exposed, but also for the elegance of her shape, the perfection of her figure, and the exquisite taste displayed in her costume. The nymph took her place, I did the same, and we danced the forlana six times without stopping.
I was in perspiration and out of breath, for the forlana is the most violent of our national dances; but my beautiful partner stood near me without betraying the slightest fatigue, and seemed to challenge me to a new performance. At the round of the dance, which is the most difficult step, she seemed to have wings. I was astounded, for I had never seen anyone, even in Venice, dance the forlana so splendidly. After a few minutes rest, rather ashamed of my feeling tired, I went up to her, and said, 'Ancora sei, a poi basta, se non volete vedermi a morire.' She would have answered me if she had been able, but she wore one of those cruel masks which forbid speech. But a pressure of her hand which nobody could see made me guess all I wanted to know. The moment we finished dancing the eunuch opened the door, and my lovely partner disappeared.
Ismail could not thank me enough, but it was I who owed him my thanks, for it was the only real pleasure which I enjoyed in Constantinople. I asked him whether the lady was from Venice, but he only answered by a significant smile.
"The worthy Ismail," said M. de Bonneval to me, as we were leaving the house late in the evening, "has been to-day the dupe of his vanity, and I have no doubt that he is sorry already for what he has done. To bring out his beautiful slave to dance with you! According to the prejudices of this country it is injurious to his dignity, for you are sure to have kindled an amorous flame in the poor girl's breast. I would advise you to be careful and to keep on your guard, because she will try to get up some intrigue with you; but be prudent, for intrigues are always dangerous in Turkey."
I promised to be prudent, but I did not keep my promise; for, three or four days afterwards, an old slave woman met me in the street, and offered to sell me for one piaster a tobacco-bag embroidered in gold; and as she put it in my hand she contrived to make me feel that there was a letter in the bag.
I observed that she tried to avoid the eyes of the janissary who was walking behind me; I gave her one piaster, she left me, and I proceeded toward Yusuf's house. He was not at home, and I went to his garden to read the letter with perfect freedom. It was sealed and without any address, and the slave might have made a mistake; but my curiosity was excited to the highest pitch; I broke the seal, and found the following note written in good enough Italian:
"Should you wish to see the person with whom you danced the forlana, take a walk towards evening in the garden beyond the fountain, and contrive to become acquainted with the old servant of the gardener by asking her for some lemonade. You may perchance manage to see your partner in the forlana without running any risk, even if you should happen to meet Ismail; she is a native of Venice. Be careful not to mention this invitation to any human being."
"I am not such a fool, my lovely countrywoman," I exclaimed, as if she had been present, and put the letter in my pocket. But at that very moment, a fine-looking elderly woman came out of a thicket, pronounced my name, and enquired what I wanted and how I had seen her. I answered that I had been speaking to the wind, not supposing that anyone could hear me, and without any more preparation, she abruptly told me that she was very glad of the opportunity of speaking with me, that she was from Rome, that she had brought up Zelmi, and had taught her to sing and to play the harp. She then praised highly the beauty and the excellent qualities of her pupil, saying that, if I saw her, I would certainly fall in love with her, and expressing how much she regretted that the law should not allow it.
"She sees us at this very moment," she added, "from behind that green window-blind, and we love you ever since Yusuf has informed us that you may, perhaps, become Zelmi's husband."
"May I mention our conversation to Yusuf?" I enquired.
"No."
Her answering in the negative made me understand that, if I had pressed her a little, she would have allowed me to see her lovely pupil, and perhaps it was with that intention that she had contrived to speak to me, but I felt great reluctance to do anything to displease my worthy host. I had another reason of even greater importance: I was afraid of entering an intricate maze in which the sight of a turban hovering over me made me shudder.
Yusuf came home, and far from being angry when he saw me with the woman, he remarked that I must have found much pleasure in conversing with a native of Rome, and he congratulated me upon the delight I must have felt in dancing with one of the beauties from the harem of the voluptuous Ismail.
"Then it must be a pleasure seldom enjoyed, if it is so much talked of?"
"Very seldom indeed, for there is amongst us an invincible prejudice against exposing our lovely women to the eyes of other men; but everyone may do as he pleases in his own house: Ismail is a very worthy and a very intelligent man."
"Is the lady with whom I danced known?"
"I believe not. She wore a mask, and everybody knows that Ismail possesses half a dozen slaves of surpassing beauty."
I spent a pleasant day with Yusuf, and when I left him, I ordered my janissary to take me to Ismail's. As I was known by his servants, they allowed me to go in, and I proceeded to the spot described in the letter. The eunuch came to me, informed me that his master was out, but that he would be delighted to hear of my having taken a walk in the garden. I told him that I would like a glass of lemonade, and he took me to the summerhouse, where I recognized the old woman who had sold me the tobacco-pouch. The eunuch told her to give me a glass of some liquid which I found delicious, and would not allow me to give her any money. We then walked together towards the fountain, but he told me abruptly that we were to go back, as he saw three ladies to whom he pointed, adding that, for the sake of decency, it was necessary to avoid them. I thanked him for his attentions, left my compliments for Ismail, and went away not dissatisfied with my first attempt, and with the hope of being more fortunate another time.
The next morning I received a letter from Ismail inviting me to go fishing with him on the following day, and stating that he intended to enjoy the sport by moonlight. I immediately gave way to my suppositions, and I went so far as to fancy that Ismail might be capable of arranging an interview between me and the lovely Venetian. I did not mind his being present. I begged permission of Chevalier Venier to stop out of the palace for one night, but he granted it with the greatest difficulty, because he was afraid of some love affair and of the results it might have. I took care to calm his anxiety as much as I could, but without acquainting him with all the circumstances of the case, for I thought I was wise in being discreet.
I was exact to the appointed time, and Ismail received me with the utmost cordiality, but I was surprised when I found myself alone with him in the boat. We had two rowers and a man to steer; we took some fish, fried in oil, and ate it in the summer-house. The moon shone brightly, and the night was delightful. Alone with Ismail, and knowing his unnatural tastes, I did not feel very comfortable for, in spite of what M. de Bonneval had told me, I was afraid lest the Turk should take a fancy to give me too great a proof of his friendship, and I did not relish our tete-a-tete. But my fears were groundless.
"Let us leave this place quietly," said Ismail, "I have just heard a slight noise which heralds something that will amuse us."
He dismissed his attendants, and took my hand, saying,
"Let us go to a small room, the key of which I luckily have with me, but let us be careful not to make any noise. That room has a window overlooking the fountain where I think that two or three of my beauties have just gone to bathe. We will see them and enjoy a very pleasing sight, for they do not imagine that anyone is looking at them. They know that the place is forbidden to everybody except me."
We entered the room, we went to the window, and, the moon shining right over the basin of the fountain, we saw three nymphs who, now swimming, now standing or sitting on the marble steps, offered themselves to our eyes in every possible position, and in all the attitudes of graceful voluptuousness. Dear reader, I must not paint in too vivid colours the details of that beautiful picture, but if nature has endowed you with an ardent imagination and with equally ardent senses, you will easily imagine the fearful havoc which that unique, wonderful, and enchanting sight must have made upon my poor body.
A few days after that delightful fishing and bathing party by moonlight, I called upon Yusuf early in the morning; as it was raining, I could not go to the garden, and I went into the dining-room, in which I had never seen anyone. The moment I entered the room, a charming female form rose, covering her features with a thick veil which fell to the feet. A slave was sitting near the window, doing some tambour-work, but she did not move. I apologized, and turned to leave the room, but the lady stopped me, observing, with a sweet voice, that Yusuf had commanded her to entertain me before going out. She invited me to be seated, pointing to a rich cushion placed upon two larger ones, and I obeyed, while, crossing her legs, she sat down upon another cushion opposite to me. I thought I was looking upon Zelmi, and fancied that Yusuf had made up his mind to shew me that he was not less courageous than Ismail. Yet I was surprised, for, by such a proceeding, he strongly contradicted his maxims, and ran the risk of impairing the unbiased purity of my consent by throwing love in the balance. But I had no fear of that, because, to become enamoured, I should have required to see her face.
"I suppose," said the veiled beauty, "that you do not know who I am?"
"I could not guess, if I tried."
"I have been for the last five years the wife of your friend, and I am a native of Scio. I was thirteen years of age when I became his wife."
I was greatly astonished to find that my Mussulman philosopher had gone so far as to allow me to converse with his wife, but I felt more at ease after I had received that information, and fancied that I might carry the adventure further, but it would be necessary to see the lady's face, for a finely-dressed body, the head of which is not seen, excites but feeble desires. The fire lighted by amorous desires is like a fire of straw; the moment it burns up it is near its end. I had before me a magnificent appearance, but I could not see the soul of the image, for a thick gauze concealed it from my hungry gaze. I could see arms as white as alabaster, and hands like those of Alcina, 'dove ne nodo appasisce ne vena accede', and my active imagination fancied that all the rest was in harmony with those beautiful specimens, for the graceful folds of the muslin, leaving the outline all its perfection, hid from me only the living satin of the surface; there was no doubt that everything was lovely, but I wanted to see, in the expression of her eyes, that all that my imagination created had life and was endowed with feeling. The Oriental costume is a beautiful varnish placed upon a porcelain vase to protect from the touch the colours of the flowers and of the design, without lessening the pleasure of the eyes. Yusuf's wife was not dressed like a sultana; she wore the costume of Scio, with a short skirt which concealed neither the perfection of the leg nor the round form of the thigh, nor the voluptuous plump fall of the hips, nor the slender, well-made waist encompassed in a splendid band embroidered in silver and covered with arabesques. Above all those beauties, I could see the shape of two globes which Apelles would have taken for the model of those of his lovely Venus, and the rapid, inequal movement of which proved to me that those ravishing hillocks were animated. The small valley left between them, and which my eyes greedily feasted upon, seemed to me a lake of nectar, in which my burning lips longed to quench their thirst with more ardour than they would have drunk from the cup of the gods.
Enraptured, unable to control myself, I thrust my arm forward by a movement almost independent of my will, and my hand, too audacious, was on the point of lifting the hateful veil, but she prevented me by raising herself quickly on tiptoe, upbraiding me at the same time for my perfidious boldness, with a voice as commanding as her attitude.
"Dost thou deserve," she said, "Yusuf's friendship, when thou abusest the sacred laws of hospitality by insulting his wife?"
"Madam, you must kindly forgive me, for I never had any intention to insult you. In my country the lowest of men may fix his eyes upon the face of a queen."
"Yes, but he cannot tear off her veil, if she chooses to wear it. Yusuf shall avenge me."
The threat, and the tone in which it was pronounced, frightened me. I threw myself at her feet, and succeeded in calming her anger.
"Take a seat," she said.
And she sat down herself, crossing her legs with so much freedom that I caught a glimpse of charms which would have caused me to lose all control over myself if the delightful sight had remained one moment longer exposed to my eyes. I then saw that I had gone the wrong way to work, and I felt vexed with myself; but it was too late.
"Art thou excited?" she said.
"How could I be otherwise," I answered, "when thou art scorching me with an ardent fire?"
I had become more prudent, and I seized her hand without thinking any more of her face.
"Here is my husband," she said, and Yusuf came into the room. We rose, Yusuf embraced me, I complimented him, the slave left the room. Yusuf thanked his wife for having entertained me, and offered her his arm to take her to her own apartment. She took it, but when she reached the door, she raised her veil, and kissing her husband she allowed me to see her lovely face as if it had been done unwittingly. I followed her with my eyes as long as I could, and Yusuf, coming back to me, said with a laugh that his wife had offered to dine with us.
"I thought," I said to him, "that I had Zelmi before me."
"That would have been too much against our established rules. What I have done is not much, but I do not know an honest man who would be bold enough to bring his daughter into the presence of a stranger."
"I think your wife must be handsome; is she more beautiful than Zelmi?"
"My daughter's beauty is cheerful, sweet, and gentle; that of Sophia is proud and haughty. She will be happy after my death. The man who will marry her will find her a virgin."
I gave an account of my adventure to M. de Bonneval, somewhat exaggerating the danger I had run in trying to raise the veil of the handsome daughter of Scio.
"She was laughing at you," said the count, "and you ran no danger. She felt very sorry, believe me, to have to deal with a novice like you. You have been playing the comedy in the French fashion, when you ought to have gone straight to the point. What on earth did you want to see her nose for? She knew very well that she would have gained nothing by allowing you to see her. You ought to have secured the essential point. If I were young I would perhaps manage to give her a revenge, and to punish my friend Yusuf. You have given that lovely woman a poor opinion of Italian valour. The most reserved of Turkish women has no modesty except on her face, and, with her veil over it, she knows to a certainty that she will not blush at anything. I am certain that your beauty keeps her face covered whenever our friend Yusuf wishes to joke with her."
"She is yet a virgin."
"Rather a difficult thing to admit, my good friend; but I know the daughters of Scio; they have a talent for counterfeiting virginity."
Yusuf never paid me a similar compliment again, and he was quite right.
A few days after, I happened to be in the shop of an Armenian merchant, looking at some beautiful goods, when Yusuf entered the shop and praised my taste; but, although I had admired a great many things, I did not buy, because I thought they were too dear. I said so to Yusuf, but he remarked that they were, on the contrary, very cheap, and he purchased them all. We parted company at the door, and the next morning I received all the beautiful things he had bought; it was a delicate attention of my friend, and to prevent my refusal of such a splendid present, he had enclosed a note stating that, on my arrival in Corfu, he would let me know to whom the goods were to be delivered. He had thus sent me gold and silver filigrees from Damascus, portfolios, scarfs, belts, handkerchiefs and pipes, the whole worth four or five hundred piasters. When I called to thank him, I compelled him to confess that it was a present offered by his friendship.
The day before my departure from Constantinople, the excellent man burst into tears as I bade him adieu, and my grief was as great as his own. He told me that, by not accepting the offer of his daughter's hand, I had so strongly captivated his esteem that his feelings for me could not have been warmer if I had become his son. When I went on board ship with the Bailo Jean Dona, I found another case given to me by him, containing two quintals of the best Mocha coffee, one hundred pounds of tobacco leaves, two large flagons filled, one with Zabandi tobacco, the other with camussa, and a magnificent pipe tube of jessamine wood, covered with gold filigrane, which I sold in Corfu for one hundred sequins. I had not it in my power to give my generous Turk any mark of my gratitude until I reached Corfu, but there I did not fail to do so. I sold all his beautiful presents, which made me the possessor of a small fortune.
Ismail gave me a letter for the Chevalier de Lezze, but I could not forward it to him because I unfortunately lost it; he presented me with a barrel of hydromel, which I turned likewise into money. M. de Bonneval gave me a letter for Cardinal Acquaviva, which I sent to Rome with an account of my journey, but his eminence did not think fit to acknowledge the receipt of either. Bonneval made me a present of twelve bottles of malmsey from Ragusa, and of twelve bottles of genuine scopolo--a great rarity, with which I made a present in Corfu which proved very useful to me, as the reader will discover.
The only foreign minister I saw much in Constantinople was the lord marshal of Scotland, the celebrated Keith, who represented the King of Prussia, and who, six years later was of great service to me in Paris.
We sailed from Constantinople in the beginning of September in the same man-of-war which had brought us, and we reached Corfu in fourteen days. The Bailo Dona did not land. He had with him eight splendid Turkish horses; I saw two of them still alive in Gorizia in the year 1773.
As soon as I had landed with my luggage, and had engaged a rather mean lodging, I presented myself to M. Andre Dolfin, the proveditore-generale, who promised me again that I should soon be promoted to a lieutenancy. After my visit to him, I called upon M. Camporese, my captain, and was well received by him. My third visit was to the commander of galleases, M. D---- R----, to whom M. Antonio Dolfin, with whom I had travelled from Venice to Corfu, had kindly recommended me. After a short conversation, he asked me if I would remain with him with the title of adjutant. I did not hesitate one instant, but accepted, saying how deeply honoured I felt by his offer, and assuring him that he would always find me ready to carry out his orders. He immediately had me taken to my room, and, the next day, I found myself established in his house. I obtained from my captain a French soldier to serve me, and I was well pleased when I found that the man was a hairdresser by trade, and a great talker by nature, for he could take care of my beautiful head of hair, and I wanted to practise French conversation. He was a good-for-nothing fellow, a drunkard and a debauchee, a peasant from Picardy, and he could hardly read or write, but I did not mind all that; all I wanted from him was to serve me, and to talk to me, and his French was pretty good. He was an amusing rogue, knowing by heart a quantity of erotic songs and of smutty stories which he could tell in the most laughable manner.
When I had sold my stock of goods from Constantinople (except the wines), I found myself the owner of nearly five hundred sequins. I redeemed all the articles which I had pledged in the hands of Jews, and turned into money everything of which I had no need. I was determined not to play any longer as a dupe, but to secure in gambling all the advantages which a prudent young man could obtain without sullying his honour.
I must now make my readers acquainted with the sort of life we were at that time leading in Corfu. As to the city itself, I will not describe it, because there are already many descriptions better than the one I could offer in these pages.
We had then in Corfu the 'proveditore-generale' who had sovereign authority, and lived in a style of great magnificence. That post was then filled by M. Andre Dolfin, a man sixty years of age, strict, headstrong, and ignorant. He no longer cared for women, but liked to be courted by them. He received every evening, and the supper-table was always laid for twenty-four persons.
We had three field-officers of the marines who did duty on the galleys, and three field-officers for the troops of the line on board the men-of-war. Each galeass had a captain called 'sopracomito', and we had ten of those captains; we had likewise ten commanders, one for each man-of-war, including three 'capi di mare', or admirals. They all belonged to the nobility of Venice. Ten young Venetian noblemen, from twenty to twenty-two years of age, were at Corfu as midshipmen in the navy. We had, besides, about a dozen civil clerks in the police of the island, or in the administration of justice, entitled 'grandi offciali di terra'. Those who were blessed with handsome wives had the pleasure of seeing their houses very much frequented by admirers who aspired to win the favours of the ladies, but there was not much heroic love-making, perhaps for the reason that there were then in Corfu many Aspasias whose favours could be had for money. Gambling was allowed everywhere, and that all absorbing passion was very prejudicial to the emotions of the heart.
The lady who was then most eminent for beauty and gallantry was Madame F----. Her husband, captain of a galley, had come to Corfu with her the year before, and madam had greatly astonished all the naval officers. Thinking that she had the privilege of the choice, she had given the preference to M. D---- R----, and had dismissed all the suitors who presented themselves. M. F---- had married her on the very day she had left the convent; she was only seventeen years of age then, and he had brought her on board his galley immediately after the marriage ceremony.
I saw her for the first time at the dinner-table on the very day of my installation at M. D---- R----'s, and she made a great impression upon me. I thought I was gazing at a supernatural being, so infinitely above all the women I had ever seen, that it seemed impossible to fall in love with her She appeared to me of a nature different and so greatly superior to mine that I did not see the possibility of rising up to her. I even went so far as to persuade myself that nothing but a Platonic friendship could exist between her and M. D---- R----, and that M. F---- was quite right now not to shew any jealousy. Yet, that M. F---- was a perfect fool, and certainly not worthy of such a woman. The impression made upon me by Madame F---- was too ridiculous to last long, and the nature of it soon changed, but in a novel manner, at least as far as I was concerned.
My position as adjutant procured me the honour of dining at M. D---- R----'s table, but nothing more. The other adjutant, like me, an ensign in the army, but the greatest fool I had ever seen, shared that honour with me. We were not, however, considered as guests, for nobody ever spoke to us, and, what is more, no one ever honoured us with a look. It used to put me in a rage. I knew very well that people acted in that manner through no real contempt for us, but it went very hard with me. I could very well understand that my colleague, Sanzonio, should not complain of such treatment, because he was a blockhead, but I did not feel disposed to allow myself to be put on a par with him. At the end of eight or ten days, Madame F----, not having condescended to cast one glance upon my person, began to appear disagreeable to me. I felt piqued, vexed, provoked, and the more so because I could not suppose that the lady acted in that manner wilfully and purposely; I would have been highly pleased if there had been premeditation on her part. I felt satisfied that I was a nobody in her estimation, and as I was conscious of being somebody, I wanted her to know it. At last a circumstance offered itself in which, thinking that she could address me, she was compelled to look at me.
M. D---- R---- having observed that a very, very fine turkey had been placed before me, told me to carve it, and I immediately went to work. I was not a skilful carver, and Madame F----, laughing at my want of dexterity, told me that, if I had not been certain of performing my task with credit to myself, I ought not to have undertaken it. Full of confusion, and unable to answer her as my anger prompted, I sat down, with my heart overflowing with spite and hatred against her. To crown my rage, having one day to address me, she asked me what was my name. She had seen me every day for a fortnight, ever since I had been the adjutant of M. D---- R----; therefore she ought to have known my name. Besides, I had been very lucky at the gaming-table, and I had become rather famous in Corfu. My anger against Madame F was at its height.
I had placed my money in the hands of a certain Maroli, a major in the army and a gamester by profession, who held the faro bank at the coffee-house. We were partners; I helped him when he dealt, and he rendered me the same office when I held the cards, which was often the case, because he was not generally liked. He used to hold the cards in a way which frightened the punters; my manners were very different, and I was very lucky. Besides I was easy and smiling when my bank was losing, and I won without shewing any avidity, and that is a manner which always pleases the punters.
This Maroli was the man who had won all my money during my first stay in Corfu, and finding, when I returned, that I was resolved not to be duped any more, he judged me worthy of sharing the wise maxims without which gambling must necessarily ruin all those who meddle with it. But as Maroli had won my confidence only to a very slight extent, I was very careful. We made up our accounts every night, as soon as playing was over; the cashier kept the capital of the bank, the winnings were divided, and each took his share away. Lucky at play, enjoying good health and the friendship of my comrades, who, whenever the opportunity offered, always found me generous and ready to serve them, I would have been well pleased with my position if I had been a little more considered at the table of M. D---- R----, and treated with less haughtiness by his lady who, without any reason, seemed disposed to humiliate me. My self-love was deeply hurt, I hated her, and, with such a disposition of mind, the more I admired the perfection of her charms, the more I found her deficient in wit and intelligence. She might have made the conquest of my heart without bestowing hers upon me, for all I wanted was not to be compelled to hate her, and I could not understand what pleasure it could be for her to be detested, while with only a little kindness she could have been adored. I could not ascribe her manner to a spirit of coquetry, for I had never given her the slightest proof of the opinion I entertained of her beauty, and I could not therefore attribute her behaviour to a passion which might have rendered me disagreeable in her eyes; M. D---- R---- seemed to interest her only in a very slight manner, and as to her husband, she cared nothing for him. In short, that charming woman made me very unhappy, and I was angry with myself because I felt that, if it had not been for the manner in which she treated me, I would not have thought of her, and my vexation was increased by the feeling of hatred entertained by my heart against her, a feeling which until then I had never known to exist in me, and the discovery of which overwhelmed me with confusion.
One day a gentleman handed me, as we were leaving the dinner-table, a roll of gold that he had lost upon trust; Madame F---- saw it, and she said to me very abruptly,--
"What do you do with your money?"
"I keep it, madam, as a provision against possible losses."
"But as you do not indulge in any expense it would be better for you not to play; it is time wasted."
"Time given to pleasure is never time lost, madam; the only time which a young man wastes is that which is consumed in weariness, because when he is a prey to ennui he is likely to fall a prey to love, and to be despised by the object of his affection."
"Very likely; but you amuse yourself with hoarding up your money, and shew yourself to be a miser, and a miser is not less contemptible than a man in love. Why do you not buy yourself a pair of gloves?"
You may be sure that at these words the laughter was all on her side, and my vexation was all the greater because I could not deny that she was quite right. It was the adjutant's business to give the ladies an arm to their carriages, and it was not proper to fulfil that duty without gloves. I felt mortified, and the reproach of avarice hurt me deeply. I would a thousand times rather that she had laid my error to a want of education; and yet, so full of contradictions is the human heart, instead of making amends by adopting an appearance of elegance which the state of my finances enabled me to keep up, I did not purchase any gloves, and I resolved to avoid her and to abandon her to the insipid and dull gallantry of Sanzonio, who sported gloves, but whose teeth were rotten, whose breath was putrid, who wore a wig, and whose face seemed to be covered with shrivelled yellow parchment.
I spent my days in a continual state of rage and spite, and the most absurd part of it all was that I felt unhappy because I could not control my hatred for that woman whom, in good conscience, I could not find guilty of anything. She had for me neither love nor dislike, which was quite natural; but being young and disposed to enjoy myself I had become, without any wilful malice on her part, an eye-sore to her and the butt of her bantering jokes, which my sensitiveness exaggerated greatly. For all that I had an ardent wish to punish her and to make her repent. I thought of nothing else. At one time I would think of devoting all my intelligence and all my money to kindling an amorous passion in her heart, and then to revenge myself by treating her with contempt. But I soon realized the impracticability of such a plan, for even supposing that I should succeed in finding my way to her heart, was I the man to resist my own success with such a woman? I certainly could not flatter myself that I was so strong-minded. But I was the pet child of fortune, and my position was suddenly altered.
M. D---- R---- having sent me with dispatches to M. de Condulmer, captain of a 'galeazza', I had to wait until midnight to deliver them, and when I returned I found that M. D---- R---- had retired to his apartment for the night. As soon as he was visible in the morning I went to him to render an account of my mission. I had been with him only a few minutes when his valet brought a letter saying that Madame F----'s adjutant was waiting for an answer. M. D---- R---- read the note, tore it to pieces, and in his excitement stamped with his foot upon the fragments. He walked up and down the room for a little time, then wrote an answer and rang for the adjutant, to whom he delivered it. He then recovered his usual composure, concluded the perusal of the dispatch sent by M. de Condulmer, and told me to write a letter. He was looking it over when the valet came in, telling me that Madame F---- desired to see me. M. D---- R---- told me that he did not require my services any more for the present, and that I might go. I left the room, but I had not gone ten yards when he called me back to remind me that my duty was to know nothing; I begged to assure him that I was well aware of that. I ran to Madame F----'s house, very eager to know what she wanted with me. I was introduced immediately, and I was greatly surprised to find her sitting up in bed, her countenance flushed and excited, and her eyes red from the tears she had evidently just been shedding. My heart was beating quickly, yet I did not know why.
"Pray be seated," she said, "I wish to speak with you."
"Madam," I answered, "I am not worthy of so great a favour, and I have not yet done anything to deserve it; allow me to remain standing."
She very likely recollected that she had never been so polite before, and dared not press me any further. She collected her thoughts for an instant or two, and said to me:
"Last evening my husband lost two hundred sequins upon trust at your faro bank; he believed that amount to be in my hands, and I must therefore give it to him immediately, as he is bound in honour to pay his losses to-day. Unfortunately I have disposed of the money, and I am in great trouble. I thought you might tell Maroli that I have paid you the amount lost by my husband. Here is a ring of some value; keep it until the 1st of January, when I will return the two hundred sequins for which I am ready to give you my note of hand."
"I accept the note of hand, madam, but I cannot consent to deprive you of your ring. I must also tell you that M. F---- must go himself to the bank, or send some one there, to redeem his debt. Within ten minutes you shall have the amount you require."
I left her without waiting for an answer, and I returned within a few minutes with the two hundred ducats, which I handed to her, and putting in my pocket her note of hand which she had just written, I bowed to take my leave, but she addressed to me these precious words:
"I believe, sir, that if I had known that you were so well disposed to oblige me, I could not have made up my mind to beg that service from you."
"Well, madam, for the future be quite certain that there is not a man in the world capable of refusing you such an insignificant service whenever you will condescend to ask for it in person."
"What you say is very complimentary, but I trust never to find myself again under the necessity of making such a cruel experiment."
I left Madame F----, thinking of the shrewdness of her answer. She had not told me that I was mistaken, as I had expected she would, for that would have caused her some humiliation: she knew that I was with M. D---- R---- when the adjutant had brought her letter, and she could not doubt that I was aware of the refusal she had met with. The fact of her not mentioning it proved to me that she was jealous of her own dignity; it afforded me great gratification, and I thought her worthy of adoration. I saw clearly that she could have no love for M. D---- R----, and that she was not loved by him, and the discovery made me leap for joy. From that moment I felt I was in love with her, and I conceived the hope that she might return my ardent affection.
The first thing I did, when I returned to my room was to cross out with ink every word of her note of hand, except her name, in such a manner that it was impossible to guess at the contents, and putting it in an envelope carefully sealed, I deposited it in the hands of a public notary who stated, in the receipt he gave me of the envelope, that he would deliver it only to Madame F----, whenever she should request its delivery.
The same evening M. F---- came to the bank, paid me, played with cash in hand, and won some fifty ducats. What caused me the greatest surprise was that M. D---- R---- continued to be very gracious to Madame F----, and that she remained exactly the same towards him as she used to be before. He did not even enquire what she wanted when she had sent for me. But if she did not seem to change her manner towards my master, it was a very different case with me, for whenever she was opposite to me at dinner, she often addressed herself to me, and she thus gave me many opportunities of shewing my education and my wit in amusing stories or in remarks, in which I took care to blend instruction with witty jests. At that time F---- had the great talent of making others laugh while I kept a serious countenance myself. I had learnt that accomplishment from M. de Malipiero, my first master in the art of good breeding, who used to say to me,--
"If you wish your audience to cry, you must shed tears yourself, but if you wish to make them laugh you must contrive to look as serious as a judge."
In everything I did, in every word I uttered, in the presence of Madame F----, the only aim I had was to please her, but I did not wish her to suppose so, and I never looked at her unless she spoke to me. I wanted to force her curiosity, to compel her to suspect nay, to guess my secret, but without giving her any advantage over me: it was necessary for me to proceed by slow degrees. In the mean time, and until I should have a greater happiness, I was glad to see that my money, that magic talisman, and my good conduct, obtained me a consideration much greater than I could have hoped to obtain either through my position, or from my age, or in consequence of any talent I might have shewn in the profession I had adopted.
Towards the middle of November, the soldier who acted as my servant was attacked with inflammation of the chest; I gave notice of it to the captain of his company, and he was carried to the hospital. On the fourth day I was told that he would not recover, and that he had received the last sacraments; in the evening I happened to be at his captain's when the priest who had attended him came to announce his death, and to deliver a small parcel which the dying man had entrusted to him to be given up to his captain only after his death. The parcel contained a brass seal engraved with ducal arms, a certificate of baptism, and a sheet of paper covered with writing in French. Captain Camporese, who only spoke Italian, begged me to translate the paper, the contents of which were as follows:
"My will is that this paper, which I have written and signed with my own hand, shall be delivered to my captain only after I have breathed my last: until then, my confessor shall not make any use of it, for I entrust it to his hands only under the seal of confession. I entreat my captain to have me buried in a vault from which my body can be exhumed in case the duke, my father, should request its exhumation. I entreat him likewise to forward my certificate of baptism, the seal with the armorial bearings of my family, and a legal certificate of my birth to the French ambassador in Venice, who will send the whole to the duke, my father, my rights of primogeniture belonging, after my demise, to the prince, my brother. In faith of which I have signed and sealed these presents: Francois VI. Charles Philippe Louis Foucaud, Prince de la Rochefoucault."
The certificate of baptism, delivered at St. Sulpice gave the same names, and the title of the father was Francois V. The name of the mother was Gabrielle du Plessis.
As I was concluding my translation I could not help bursting into loud laughter; but the foolish captain, who thought my mirth out of place, hurried out to render an account of the affair to the proveditore-generale, and I went to the coffee-house, not doubting for one moment that his excellency would laugh at the captain, and that the post-mortem buffoonery would greatly amuse the whole of Corfu.
I had known in Rome, at Cardinal Acquaviva's, the Abbe de Liancourt, great-grandson of Charles, whose sister, Gabrielle du Plessis, had been the wife of Francois V., but that dated from the beginning of the last century. I had made a copy from the records of the cardinal of the account of certain circumstances which the Abbe de Liancourt wanted to communicate to the court of Spain, and in which there were a great many particulars respecting the house of Du Plessis. I thought at the same time that the singular imposture of La Valeur (such was the name by which my soldier generally went) was absurd and without a motive, since it was to be known only after his death, and could not therefore prove of any advantage to him.
Half an hour afterwards, as I was opening a fresh pack of cards, the Adjutant Sanzonio came in, and told the important news in the most serious manner. He had just come from the office of the proveditore, where Captain Camporese had run in the utmost hurry to deposit in the hands of his excellency the seal and the papers of the deceased prince. His excellency had immediately issued his orders for the burial of the prince in a vault with all the honours due to his exalted rank. Another half hour passed, and M. Minolto, adjutant of the proveditore-generale, came to inform me that his excellency wanted to see me. I passed the cards to Major Maroli, and went to his excellency's house. I found him at supper with several ladies, three or four naval commanders, Madame F----, and M. D---- R----.
"So, your servant was a prince!" said the old general to me.
"Your excellency, I never would have suspected it, and even now that he is dead I do not believe it."
"Why? He is dead, but he was not insane. You have seen his armorial bearings, his certificate of baptism, as well as what he wrote with his own hand. When a man is so near death, he does not fancy practical jokes."
"If your excellency is satisfied of the truth of the story, my duty is to remain silent."
"The story cannot be anything but true, and your doubts surprise me."
"I doubt, monsignor, because I happen to have positive information respecting the families of La Rochefoucault and Du Plessis. Besides, I have seen too much of the man. He was not a madman, but he certainly was an extravagant jester. I have never seen him write, and he has told me himself a score of times that he had never learned."
"The paper he has written proves the contrary. His arms have the ducal bearings; but perhaps you are not aware that M. de la Rochefoucault is a duke and peer of the French realm?"
"I beg your eminence's pardon; I know all about it; I know even more, for I know that Francois VI. married a daughter of the house of Vivonne."
"You know nothing."
When I heard this remark, as foolish as it was rude, I resolved on remaining silent, and it was with some pleasure that I observed the joy felt by all the male guests at what they thought an insult and a blow to my vanity. An officer remarked that the deceased was a fine man, a witty man, and had shewn wonderful cleverness in keeping up his assumed character so well that no one ever had the faintest suspicion of what he really was. A lady said that, if she had known him, she would have been certain to find him out. Another flatterer, belonging to that mean, contemptible race always to be found near the great and wealthy of the earth, assured us that the late prince had always shewn himself cheerful, amiable, obliging, devoid of haughtiness towards his comrades, and that he used to sing beautifully. "He was only twenty-five years of age," said Madame Sagredo, looking me full in the face, "and if he was endowed with all those qualities, you must have discovered them."
"I can only give you, madam, a true likeness of the man, such as I have seen him. Always gay, often even to folly, for he could throw a somersault beautifully; singing songs of a very erotic kind, full of stories and of popular tales of magic, miracles, and ghosts, and a thousand marvellous feats which common-sense refused to believe, and which, for that very reason, provoked the mirth of his hearers. His faults were that he was drunken, dirty, quarrelsome, dissolute, and somewhat of a cheat. I put up with all his deficiences, because he dressed my hair to my taste, and his constant chattering offered me the opportunity of practising the colloquial French which cannot be acquired from books. He has always assured me that he was born in Picardy, the son of a common peasant, and that he had deserted from the French army. He may have deceived me when he said that he could not write."
Just then Camporese rushed into the room, and announced that La Veleur was yet breathing. The general, looking at me significantly, said that he would be delighted if the man could be saved.
"And I likewise, monsignor, but his confessor will certainly kill him to-night."
"Why should the father confessor kill him?"
"To escape the galleys to which your excellency would not fail to send him for having violated the secrecy of the confessional."
Everybody burst out laughing, but the foolish old general knitted his brows. The guests retired soon afterwards, and Madame F----, whom I had preceded to the carriage, M. D---- R---- having offered her his arm, invited me to get in with her, saying that it was raining. It was the first time that she had bestowed such an honour upon me.
"I am of your opinion about that prince," she said, "but you have incurred the displeasure of the proveditore."
"I am very sorry, madam, but it could not have been avoided, for I cannot help speaking the truth openly."
"You might have spared him," remarked M. D---- R----, "the cutting jest of the confessor killing the false prince."
"You are right, sir, but I thought it would make him laugh as well as it made madam and your excellency. In conversation people generally do not object to a witty jest causing merriment and laughter."
"True; only those who have not wit enough to laugh do not like the jest."
"I bet a hundred sequins that the madman will recover, and that, having the general on his side, he will reap all the advantages of his imposture. I long to see him treated as a prince, and making love to Madame Sagredo."
Hearing the last words, Madame F----, who did not like Madame Sagredo, laughed heartily, and, as we were getting out of the carriage, M. D---- R---- invited me to accompany them upstairs. He was in the habit of spending half an hour alone with her at her own house when they had taken supper together with the general, for her husband never shewed himself. It was the first time that the happy couple admitted a third person to their tete-a-tete. I felt very proud of the compliment thus paid to me, and I thought it might have important results for me. My satisfaction, which I concealed as well as I could, did not prevent me from being very gay and from giving a comic turn to every subject brought forward by the lady or by her lord.
We kept up our pleasant trio for four hours; and returned to the mansion of M. D---- R---- only at two o'clock in the morning. It was during that night that Madame F---- and M. D---- R---- really made my acquaintance. Madame F---- told him that she had never laughed so much, and that she had never imagined that a conversation, in appearance so simple, could afford so much pleasure and merriment. On my side, I discovered in her so much wit and cheerfulness, that I became deeply enamoured, and went to bed fully satisfied that, in the future, I could not keep up the show of indifference which I had so far assumed towards her.
When I woke up the next morning, I heard from the new soldier who served me that La Valeur was better, and had been pronounced out of danger by the physician. At dinner the conversation fell upon him, but I did not open my lips. Two days afterwards, the general gave orders to have him removed to a comfortable apartment, sent him a servant, clothed him, and the over-credulous proveditore having paid him a visit, all the naval commanders and officers thought it their duty to imitate him, and to follow his example: the general curiosity was excited, there was a rush to see the new prince. M. D---- R---- followed his leaders, and Madame Sagredo, having set the ladies in motion, they all called upon him, with the exception of Madame F----, who told me laughingly that she would not pay him a visit unless I would consent to introduce her. I begged to be excused. The knave was called your highness, and the wonderful prince styled Madame Sagredo his princess. M. D---- R---- tried to persuade me to call upon the rogue, but I told him that I had said too much, and that I was neither courageous nor mean enough to retract my words. The whole imposture would soon have been discovered if anyone had possessed a peerage, but it just happened that there was not a copy in Corfu, and the French consul, a fat blockhead, like many other consuls, knew nothing of family trees. The madcap La Valeur began to walk out a week after his metamorphosis into a prince. He dined and had supper every day with the general, and every evening he was present at the reception, during which, owing to his intemperance, he always went fast asleep. Yet, there were two reasons which kept up the belief of his being a prince: the first was that he did not seem afraid of the news expected from Venice, where the proveditore had written immediately after the discovery; the second was that he solicited from the bishop the punishment of the priest who had betrayed his secret by violating the seal of confession. The poor priest had already been sent to prison, and the proveditore had not the courage to defend him. The new prince had been invited to dinner by all the naval officers, but M. D---- R---- had not made up his mind to imitate them so far, because Madame F---- had clearly warned him that she would dine at her own house on the day he was invited. I had likewise respectfully intimated that, on the same occasion, I would take the liberty of dining somewhere else.
I met the prince one day as I was coming out of the old fortress leading to the esplanade. He stopped, and reproached me for not having called upon him. I laughed, and advised him to think of his safety before the arrival of the news which would expose all the imposture, in which case the proveditore was certain to treat him very severely. I offered to help him in his flight from Corfu, and to get a Neapolitan captain, whose ship was ready to sail, to conceal him on board; but the fool, instead of accepting my offer, loaded me with insults.
He was courting Madame Sagredo, who treated him very well, feeling proud that a French prince should have given her the preference over all the other ladies. One day that she was dining in great ceremony at M. D---- R----'s house, she asked me why I had advised the prince to run away.
"I have it from his own lips," she added, "and he cannot make out your obstinacy in believing him an impostor."
"I have given him that advice, madam, because my heart is good, and my judgment sane."
"Then we are all of us as many fools, the proveditore included?"
"That deduction would not be right, madam. An opinion contrary to that of another does not necessarily make a fool of the person who entertains it. It might possibly turn out, in ten or twelve days, that I have been entirely mistaken myself, but I should not consider myself a fool in consequence. In the mean time, a lady of your intelligence must have discovered whether that man is a peasant or a prince by his education and manners. For instance, does he dance well?"
"He does not know one step, but he is the first to laugh about it; he says he never would learn dancing."
"Does he behave well at table?"
"Well, he doesn't stand on ceremony. He does not want his plate to be changed, he helps himself with his spoon out of the dishes; he does not know how to check an eructation or a yawn, and if he feels tired he leaves the table. It is evident that he has been very badly brought up."
"And yet he is very pleasant, I suppose. Is he clean and neat?"
"No, but then he is not yet well provided with linen."
"I am told that he is very sober."
"You are joking. He leaves the table intoxicated twice a day, but he ought to be pitied, for he cannot drink wine and keep his head clear. Then he swears like a trooper, and we all laugh, but he never takes offence."
"Is he witty?"
"He has a wonderful memory, for he tells us new stories every day."
"Does he speak of his family?"
"Very often of his mother, whom he loved tenderly. She was a Du Plessis."
"If his mother is still alive she must be a hundred and fifty years old."
"What nonsense!"
"Not at all; she was married in the days of Marie de Medicis."
"But the certificate of baptism names the prince's mother, and his seal--"
"Does he know what armorial bearings he has on that seal?"
"Do you doubt it?"
"Very strongly, or rather I am certain that he knows nothing about it."
We left the table, and the prince was announced. He came in, and Madame Sagredo lost no time in saying to him, "Prince, here is M. Casanova; he pretends that you do not know your own armorial bearings." Hearing these words, he came up to me, sneering, called me a coward, and gave me a smack on the face which almost stunned me. I left the room very slowly, not forgetting my hat and my cane, and went downstairs, while M. D---- R---- was loudly ordering the servants to throw the madman out of the window.
I left the palace and went to the esplanade in order to wait for him. The moment I saw him, I ran to meet him, and I beat him so violently with my cane that one blow alone ought to have killed him. He drew back, and found himself brought to a stand between two walls, where, to avoid being beaten to death, his only resource was to draw his sword, but the cowardly scoundrel did not even think of his weapon, and I left him, on the ground, covered with blood. The crowd formed a line for me to pass, and I went to the coffee-house, where I drank a glass of lemonade, without sugar to precipitate the bitter saliva which rage had brought up from my stomach. In a few minutes, I found myself surrounded by all the young officers of the garrison, who joined in the general opinion that I ought to have killed him, and they at last annoyed me, for it was not my fault if I had not done so, and I would certainly have taken his life if he had drawn his sword.
I had been in the coffee-house for half an hour when the general's adjutant came to tell me that his excellency ordered me to put myself under arrest on board the bastarda, a galley on which the prisoners had their legs in irons like galley slaves. The dose was rather too strong to be swallowed, and I did not feel disposed to submit to it. "Very good, adjutant," I replied, "it shall be done." He went away, and I left the coffee-house a moment after him, but when I reached the end of the street, instead of going towards the esplanade, I proceeded quickly towards the sea. I walked along the beach for a quarter of an hour, and finding a boat empty, but with a pair of oars, I got in her, and unfastening her, I rowed as hard as I could towards a large caicco, sailing against the wind with six oars. As soon as I had come up to her, I went on board and asked the carabouchiri to sail before the wind and to take me to a large wherry which could be seen at some distance, going towards Vido Rock. I abandoned the row-boat, and, after paying the master of the caicco generously, I got into the wherry, made a bargain with the skipper who unfurled three sails, and in less than two hours we were fifteen miles away from Corfu. The wind having died away, I made the men row against the current, but towards midnight they told me that they could not row any longer, they were worn out with fatigue. They advised me to sleep until day-break, but I refused to do so, and for a trifle I got them to put me on shore, without asking where I was, in order not to raise their suspicions. It was enough for me to know that I was at a distance of twenty miles from Corfu, and in a place where nobody could imagine me to be. The moon was shining, and I saw a church with a house adjoining, a long barn opened on both sides, a plain of about one hundred yards confined by hills, and nothing more. I found some straw in the barn, and laying myself down, I slept until day-break in spite of the cold. It was the 1st of December, and although the climate is very mild in Corfu I felt benumbed when I awoke, as I had no cloak over my thin uniform.
The bells begin to toll, and I proceed towards the church. The long-bearded papa, surprised at my sudden apparition, enquires whether I am Romeo (a Greek); I tell him that I am Fragico (Italian), but he turns his back upon me and goes into his house, the door of which he shuts without condescending to listen to me.
I then turned towards the sea, and saw a boat leaving a tartan lying at anchor within one hundred yards of the island; the boat had four oars and landed her passengers. I come up to them and meet a good-looking Greek, a woman and a young boy ten or twelve years old. Addressing myself to the Greek, I ask him whether he has had a pleasant passage, and where he comes from. He answers in Italian that he has sailed from Cephalonia with his wife and his son, and that he is bound for Venice; he had landed to hear mass at the Church of Our Lady of Casopo, in order to ascertain whether his father-in-law was still alive, and whether he would pay the amount he had promised him for the dowry of his wife.
"But how can you find it out?"
"The Papa Deldimopulo will tell me; he will communicate faithfully the oracle of the Holy Virgin." I say nothing and follow him into the church; he speaks to the priest, and gives him some money. The papa says the mass, enters the sanctum sanctorum, comes out again in a quarter of an hour, ascends the steps of the altar, turns towards his audience, and, after meditating for a minute and stroking his long beard, he delivers his oracle in a dozen words. The Greek of Cephalonia, who certainly could not boast of being as wise as Ulysses, appears very well pleased, and gives more money to the impostor. We leave the church, and I ask him whether he feels satisfied with the oracle.
"Oh! quite satisfied. I know now that my father-in-law is alive, and that he will pay me the dowry, if I consent to leave my child with him. I am aware that it is his fancy and I will give him the boy."
"Does the papa know you?"
"No; he is not even acquainted with my name."
"Have you any fine goods on board your tartan?"
"Yes; come and breakfast with me; you can see all I have."
"Very willingly."
Delighted at hearing that oracles were not yet defunct, and satisfied that they will endure as long as there are in this world simple-minded men and deceitful, cunning priests, I follow the good man, who took me to his tartan and treated me to an excellent breakfast. His cargo consisted of cotton, linen, currants, oil, and excellent wines. He had also a stock of night-caps, stockings, cloaks in the Eastern fashion, umbrellas, and sea biscuits, of which I was very fond; in those days I had thirty teeth, and it would have been difficult to find a finer set. Alas! I have but two left now, the other twenty-eight are gone with other tools quite as precious; but 'dum vita super est, bene est.' I bought a small stock of everything he had except cotton, for which I had no use, and without discussing his price I paid him the thirty-five or forty sequins he demanded, and seeing my generosity he made me a present of six beautiful botargoes.
I happened during our conversation to praise the wine of Xante, which he called generoydes, and he told me that if I would accompany him to Venice he would give me a bottle of that wine every day including the quarantine. Always superstitious, I was on the point of accepting, and that for the most foolish reason-namely, that there would be no premeditation in that strange resolution, and it might be the impulse of fate. Such was my nature in those days; alas; it is very different now. They say that it is because wisdom comes with old age, but I cannot reconcile myself to cherish the effect of a most unpleasant cause.
Just as I was going to accept his offer he proposes to sell me a very fine gun for ten sequins, saying that in Corfu anyone would be glad of it for twelve. The word Corfu upsets all my ideas on the spot! I fancy I hear the voice of my genius telling me to go back to that city. I purchase the gun for the ten sequins, and my honest Cephalonian, admiring my fair dealing, gives me, over and above our bargain, a beautiful Turkish pouch well filled with powder and shot. Carrying my gun, with a good warm cloak over my uniform and with a large bag containing all my purchases, I take leave of the worthy Greek, and am landed on the shore, determined on obtaining a lodging from the cheating papa, by fair means or foul. The good wine of my friend the Cephalonian had excited me just enough to make me carry my determination into immediate execution. I had in my pockets four or five hundred copper gazzette, which were very heavy, but which I had procured from the Greek, foreseeing that I might want them during my stay on the island.
I store my bag away in the barn and I proceed, gun in hand, towards the house of the priest; the church was closed.
I must give my readers some idea of the state I was in at that moment. I was quietly hopeless. The three or four hundred sequins I had with me did not prevent me from thinking that I was not in very great security on the island; I could not remain long, I would soon be found out, and, being guilty of desertion, I should be treated accordingly. I did not know what to do, and that is always an unpleasant predicament. It would be absurd for me to return to Corfu of my own accord; my flight would then be useless, and I should be thought a fool, for my return would be a proof of cowardice or stupidity; yet I did not feel the courage to desert altogether. The chief cause of my decision was not that I had a thousand sequins in the hands of the faro banker, or my well-stocked wardrobe, or the fear of not getting a living somewhere else, but the unpleasant recollection that I should leave behind me a woman whom I loved to adoration, and from whom I had not yet obtained any favour, not even that of kissing her hand. In such distress of mind I could not do anything else but abandon myself to chance, whatever the result might be, and the most essential thing for the present was to secure a lodging and my daily food.
I knock at the door of the priest's dwelling. He looks out of a window and shuts it without listening to me, I knock again, I swear, I call out loudly, all in vain, Giving way to my rage, I take aim at a poor sheep grazing with several others at a short distance, and kill it. The herdsman begins to scream, the papa shows himself at the window, calling out, "Thieves! Murder!" and orders the alarm-bell to be rung. Three bells are immediately set in motion, I foresee a general gathering: what is going to happen? I do not know, but happen what will, I load my gun and await coming events.
In less than eight or ten minutes, I see a crowd of peasants coming down the hills, armed with guns, pitchforks, or cudgels: I withdraw inside of the barn, but without the slightest fear, for I cannot suppose that, seeing me alone, these men will murder me without listening to me.
The first ten or twelve peasants come forward, gun in hand and ready to fire: I stop them by throwing down my gazzette, which they lose no time in picking up from the ground, and I keep on throwing money down as the men come forward, until I had no more left. The clowns were looking at each other in great astonishment, not knowing what to make out of a well-dressed young man, looking very peaceful, and throwing his money to them with such generosity. I could not speak to them until the deafening noise of the bells should cease. I quietly sit down on my large bag, and keep still, but as soon as I can be heard I begin to address the men. The priest, however, assisted by his beadle and by the herdsman, interrupts me, and all the more easily that I was speaking Italian. My three enemies, who talked all at once, were trying to excite the crowd against me.
One of the peasants, an elderly and reasonable-looking man, comes up to me and asks me in Italian why I have killed the sheep.
"To eat it, my good fellow, but not before I have paid for it."
"But his holiness, the papa, might choose to charge one sequin for it."
"Here is one sequin."
The priest takes the money and goes away: war is over. The peasant tells me that he has served in the campaign of 1716, and that he was at the defence of Corfu. I compliment him, and ask him to find me a lodging and a man able to prepare my meals. He answers that he will procure me a whole house, that he will be my cook himself, but I must go up the hill. No matter! He calls two stout fellows, one takes my bag, the other shoulders my sheep, and forward! As we are walking along, I tell him,--
"My good man, I would like to have in my service twenty-four fellows like these under military discipline. I would give each man twenty gazzette a day, and you would have forty as my lieutenant."
"I will," says the old soldier, "raise for you this very day a body-guard of which you will be proud."
We reach a very convenient house, containing on the ground floor three rooms and a stable, which I immediately turned into a guard-room.
My lieutenant went to get what I wanted, and particularly a needlewoman to make me some shirts. In the course of the day I had furniture, bedding, kitchen utensils, a good dinner, twenty-four well-equipped soldiers, a super-annuated sempstress and several young girls to make my shirts. After supper, I found my position highly pleasant, being surrounded with some thirty persons who looked upon me as their sovereign, although they could not make out what had brought me to their island. The only thing which struck me as disagreeable was that the young girls could not speak Italian, and I did not know Greek enough to enable me to make love to them.
The next morning my lieutenant had the guard relieved, and I could not help bursting into a merry laugh. They were like a flock of sheep: all fine men, well-made and strong; but without uniform and without discipline the finest band is but a herd. However, they quickly learned how to present arms and to obey the orders of their officer. I caused three sentinels to be placed, one before the guardroom, one at my door, and the third where he could have a good view of the sea. This sentinel was to give me warning of the approach of any armed boat or vessel. For the first two or three days I considered all this as mere amusement, but, thinking that I might really want the men to repel force by force, I had some idea of making my army take an oath of allegiance. I did not do so, however, although my lieutenant assured me that I had only to express my wishes, for my generosity had captivated the love of all the islanders.
My sempstress, who had procured some young needlewomen to sew my shirts, had expected that I would fall in love with one and not with all, but my amorous zeal overstepped her hopes, and all the pretty ones had their turn; they were all well satisfied with me, and the sempstress was rewarded for her good offices. I was leading a delightful life, for my table was supplied with excellent dishes, juicy mutton, and snipe so delicious that I have never tasted their like except in St. Petersburg. I drank scopolo wine or the best muscatel of the Archipelago. My lieutenant was my only table companion. I never took a walk without him and two of my body-guard, in order to defend myself against the attacks of a few young men who had a spite against me because they fancied, not without some reason, that my needlewomen, their mistresses, had left them on my account. I often thought while I was rambling about the island, that without money I should have been unhappy, and that I was indebted to my gold for all the happiness I was enjoying; but it was right to suppose at the same time that, if I had not felt my purse pretty heavy, I would not have been likely to leave Corfu.
I had thus been playing the petty king with success for a week or ten days, when, towards ten o'clock at night I heard the sentinel's challenge. My lieutenant went out, and returned announcing that an honest-looking man, who spoke Italian, wished to see me on important business. I had him brought in, and, in the presence of my lieutenant, he told me in Italian:
"Next Sunday, the Papa Deldimopulo will fulminate against you the 'cataramonachia'. If you do not prevent him, a slow fever will send you into the next world in six weeks."
"I have never heard of such a drug."
"It is not a drug. It is a curse pronounced by a priest with the Host in his hands, and it is sure to be fulfilled."
"What reason can that priest have to murder me?"
"You disturb the peace and discipline of his parish. You have seduced several young girls, and now their lovers refuse to marry them."
I made him drink, and thanking him heartily, wished him good night. His warning struck me as deserving my attention, for, if I had no fear of the 'cataramonachia', in which I had not the slightest faith, I feared certain poisons which might be by far more efficient. I passed a very quiet night, but at day-break I got up, and without saying anything to my lieutenant, I went straight to the church where I found the priest, and addressed him in the following words, uttered in a tone likely to enforce conviction:
"On the first symptom of fever, I will shoot you like a dog. Throw over me a curse which will kill me instantly, or make your will. Farewell!"
Having thus warned him, I returned to my royal palace. Early on the following Monday, the papa called on me. I had a slight headache; he enquired after my health, and when I told him that my head felt rather heavy, he made me laugh by the air of anxiety with which he assured me that it could be caused by nothing else than the heavy atmosphere of the island of Casopo.
Three days after his visit, the advanced sentinel gave the war-cry. The lieutenant went out to reconnoitre, and after a short absence he gave me notice that the long boat of an armed vessel had just landed an officer. Danger was at hand.
I go out myself, I call my men to arms, and, advancing a few steps, I see an officer, accompanied by a guide, who was walking towards my dwelling. As he was alone, I had nothing to fear. I return to my room, giving orders to my lieutenant to receive him with all military honours and to introduce him. Then, girding my sword, I wait for my visitor.
In a few minutes, Adjutant Minolto, the same who had brought me the order to put myself under arrest, makes his appearance.
"You are alone," I say to him, "and therefore you come as a friend. Let us embrace."
"I must come as a friend, for, as an enemy, I should not have enough men. But what I see seems a dream."
"Take a seat, and dine with me. I will treat you splendidly."
"Most willingly, and after dinner we will leave the island together."
"You may go alone, if you like; but I will not leave this place until I have the certainty, not only that I shall not be sent to the 'bastarda', but also that I shall have every satisfaction from the knave whom the general ought to send to the galleys."
"Be reasonable, and come with me of your own accord. My orders are to take you by force, but as I have not enough men to do so, I shall make my report, and the general will, of course, send a force sufficient to arrest you."
"Never; I will not be taken alive."
"You must be mad; believe me, you are in the wrong. You have disobeyed the order I brought you to go to the 'bastarda; in that you have acted wrongly, and in that alone, for in every other respect you were perfectly right, the general himself says so."
"Then I ought to have put myself under arrest?"
"Certainly; obedience is necessary in our profession."
"Would you have obeyed, if you had been in my place?"
"I cannot and will not tell you what I would have done, but I know that if I had disobeyed orders I should have been guilty of a crime."
"But if I surrendered now I should be treated like a criminal, and much more severely than if I had obeyed that unjust order."
"I think not. Come with me, and you will know everything."
"What! Go without knowing what fate may be in store for me? Do not expect it. Let us have dinner. If I am guilty of such a dreadful crime that violence must be used against me, I will surrender only to irresistible force. I cannot be worse off, but there may be blood spilled."
"You are mistaken, such conduct would only make you more guilty. But I say like you, let us have dinner. A good meal will very likely render you more disposed to listen to reason."
Our dinner was nearly over, when we heard some noise outside. The lieutenant came in, and informed me that the peasants were gathering in the neighbourhood of my house to defend me, because a rumour had spread through the island that the felucca had been sent with orders to arrest me and take me to Corfu. I told him to undeceive the good fellows, and to send them away, but to give them first a barrel of wine.
The peasants went away satisfied, but, to shew their devotion to me, they all fired their guns.
"It is all very amusing," said the adjutant, "but it will turn out very serious if you let me go away alone, for my duty compels me to give an exact account of all I have witnessed."
"I will follow you, if you will give me your word of honour to land me free in Corfu."
"I have orders to deliver your person to M. Foscari, on board the bastarda."
"Well, you shall not execute your orders this time."
"If you do not obey the commands of the general, his honour will compel him to use violence against you, and of course he can do it. But tell me, what would you do if the general should leave you in this island for the sake of the joke? There is no fear of that, however, and, after the report which I must give, the general will certainly make up his mind to stop the affair without shedding blood."
"Without a fight it will be difficult to arrest me, for with five hundred peasants in such a place as this I would not be afraid of three thousand men."
"One man will prove enough; you will be treated as a leader of rebels. All these peasants may be devoted to you, but they cannot protect you against one man who will shoot you for the sake of earning a few pieces of gold. I can tell you more than that: amongst all those men who surround you there is not one who would not murder you for twenty sequins. Believe me, go with me. Come to enjoy the triumph which is awaiting you in Corfu. You will be courted and applauded. You will narrate yourself all your mad frolics, people will laugh, and at the same time will admire you for having listened to reason the moment I came here. Everybody feels esteem for you, and M. D---- R---- thinks a great deal of you. He praises very highly the command you have shewn over your passion in refraining from thrusting your sword through that insolent fool, in order not to forget the respect you owed to his house. The general himself must esteem you, for he cannot forget what you told him of that knave."
"What has become of him?"
"Four days ago Major Sardina's frigate arrived with dispatches, in which the general must have found all the proof of the imposture, for he has caused the false duke or prince to disappear very suddenly. Nobody knows where he has been sent to, and nobody ventures to mention the fellow before the general, for he made the most egregious blunder respecting him."
"But was the man received in society after the thrashing I gave him?"
"God forbid! Do you not recollect that he wore a sword? From that moment no one would receive him. His arm was broken and his jaw shattered to pieces.
"But in spite of the state he was in, in spite of what he must have suffered, his excellency had him removed a week after you had treated him so severely. But your flight is what everyone has been wondering over. It was thought for three days that M. D---- R---- had concealed you in his house, and he was openly blamed for doing so. He had to declare loudly at the general's table that he was in the most complete ignorance of your whereabouts. His excellency even expressed his anxiety about your escape, and it was only yesterday that your place of refuge was made known by a letter addressed by the priest of this island to the Proto-Papa Bulgari, in which he complained that an Italian officer had invaded the island of Casopo a week before, and had committed unheard-of violence. He accused you of seducing all the girls, and of threatening to shoot him if he dared to pronounce 'cataramonachia' against you. This letter, which was read publicly at the evening reception, made the general laugh, but he ordered me to arrest you all the same."
"Madame Sagredo is the cause of it all."
"True, but she is well punished for it. You ought to call upon her with me to-morrow."
"To-morrow? Are you then certain that I shall not be placed under arrest?"
"Yes, for I know that the general is a man of honour."
"I am of the same opinion. Well, let us go on board your felucca. We will embark together after midnight."
"Why not now?"
"Because I will not run the risk of spending the night on board M. Foscari's bastarda. I want to reach Corfu by daylight, so as to make your victory more brilliant."
"But what shall we do for the next eight hours?"
"We will pay a visit to some beauties of a species unknown in Corfu, and have a good supper."
I ordered my lieutenant to send plenty to eat and to drink to the men on board the felucca, to prepare a splendid supper, and to spare nothing, as I should leave the island at midnight. I made him a present of all my provisions, except such as I wanted to take with me; these I sent on board. My janissaries, to whom I gave a week's pay, insisted upon escorting me, fully equipped, as far as the boat, which made the adjutant laugh all the way.
We reached Corfu by eight o'clock in the morning, and we went alongside the 'bastarda. The adjutant consigned me to M. Foscari, assuring me that he would immediately give notice of my arrival to M. D---- R----, send my luggage to his house, and report the success of his expedition to the general.
M. Foscari, the commander of the bastarda, treated me very badly. If he had been blessed with any delicacy of feeling, he would not have been in such a hurry to have me put in irons. He might have talked to me, and have thus delayed for a quarter of an hour that operation which greatly vexed me. But, without uttering a single word, he sent me to the 'capo di scalo' who made me sit down, and told me to put my foot forward to receive the irons, which, however, do not dishonour anyone in that country, not even the galley slaves, for they are better treated than soldiers.
My right leg was already in irons, and the left one was in the hands of the man for the completion of that unpleasant ceremony, when the adjutant of his excellency came to tell the executioner to set me at liberty and to return me my sword. I wanted to present my compliments to the noble M. Foscari, but the adjutant, rather ashamed, assured me that his excellency did not expect me to do so. The first thing I did was to pay my respects to the general, without saying one word to him, but he told me with a serious countenance to be more prudent for the future, and to learn that a soldier's first duty was to obey, and above all to be modest and discreet. I understood perfectly the meaning of the two last words, and acted accordingly.
When I made my appearance at M. D---- R----'s, I could see pleasure on everybody's face. Those moments have always been so dear to me that I have never forgotten them, they have afforded me consolation in the time of adversity. If you would relish pleasure you must endure pain, and delights are in proportion to the privations we have suffered. M. D---- R---- was so glad to see me that he came up to me and warmly embraced me. He presented me with a beautiful ring which he took from his own finger, and told me that I had acted quite rightly in not letting anyone, and particularly himself, know where I had taken refuge.
"You can't think," he added, frankly, "how interested Madame F---- was in your fate. She would be really delighted if you called on her immediately."
How delightful to receive such advice from his own lips! But the word "immediately" annoyed me, because, having passed the night on board the felucca, I was afraid that the disorder of my toilet might injure me in her eyes. Yet I could neither refuse M. D---- R----, nor tell him the reason of my refusal, and I bethought myself that I could make a merit of it in the eyes of Madame F---- I therefore went at once to her house; the goddess was not yet visible, but her attendant told me to come in, assuring me that her mistress's bell would soon be heard, and that she would be very sorry if I did not wait to see her. I spent half an hour with that young and indiscreet person, who was a very charming girl, and learned from her many things which caused me great pleasure, and particularly all that had been said respecting my escape. I found that throughout the affair my conduct had met with general approbation.
As soon as Madame F---- had seen her maid, she desired me to be shewn in. The curtains were drawn aside, and I thought I saw Aurora surrounded with the roses and the pearls of morning. I told her that, if it had not been for the order I received from M. D---- R---- I would not have presumed to present myself before her in my travelling costume; and in the most friendly tone she answered that M. D---- R----, knowing all the interest she felt in me, had been quite right to tell me to come, and she assured me that M. D---- R---- had the greatest esteem for me.
"I do not know, madam, how I have deserved such great happiness, for all I dared aim at was toleration."
"We all admired the control you kept over your feelings when you refrained from killing that insolent madman on the spot; he would have been thrown out of the window if he had not beat a hurried retreat."
"I should certainly have killed him, madam, if you had not been present."
"A very pretty compliment, but I can hardly believe that you thought of me in such a moment."
I did not answer, but cast my eyes down, and gave a deep sigh. She observed my new ring, and in order to change the subject of conversation she praised M. D---- R---- very highly, as soon as I had told her how he had offered it to me. She desired me to give her an account of my life on the island, and I did so, but allowed my pretty needlewomen to remain under a veil, for I had already learnt that in this world the truth must often remain untold.
All my adventures amused her much, and she greatly admired my conduct.
"Would you have the courage," she said, "to repeat all you have just told me, and exactly in the same terms, before the proveditore-generale?"
"Most certainly, madam, provided he asked me himself."
"Well, then, prepare to redeem your promise. I want our excellent general to love you and to become your warmest protector, so as to shield you against every injustice and to promote your advancement. Leave it all to me."
Her reception fairly overwhelmed me with happiness, and on leaving her house I went to Major Maroli to find out the state of my finances. I was glad to hear that after my escape he had no longer considered me a partner in the faro bank. I took four hundred sequins from the cashier, reserving the right to become again a partner, should circumstances prove at any time favourable.
In the evening I made a careful toilet, and called for the Adjutant Minolto in order to pay with him a visit to Madame Sagredo, the general's favourite. With the exception of Madame F---- she was the greatest beauty of Corfu. My visit surprised her, because, as she had been the cause of all that had happened, she was very far from expecting it. She imagined that I had a spite against her. I undeceived her, speaking to her very candidly, and she treated me most kindly, inviting me to come now and then to spend the evening at her house.
But I neither accepted nor refused her amiable invitation, knowing that Madame F---- disliked her; and how could I be a frequent guest at her house with such a knowledge! Besides, Madame Sagredo was very fond of gambling, and, to please her, it was necessary either to lose or make her win, but to accept such conditions one must be in love with the lady or wish to make her conquest, and I had not the slightest idea of either. The Adjutant Minolto never played, but he had captivated the lady's good graces by his services in the character of Mercury.
When I returned to the palace I found Madame F---- alone, M. D---- R---- being engaged with his correspondence. She asked me to sit near her, and to tell her all my adventures in Constantinople. I did so, and I had no occasion to repent it. My meeting with Yusuf's wife pleased her extremely, but the bathing scene by moonlight made her blush with excitement. I veiled as much as I could the too brilliant colours of my picture, but, if she did not find me clear, she would oblige me to be more explicit, and if I made myself better understood by giving to my recital a touch of voluptuousness which I borrowed from her looks more than from my recollection, she would scold me and tell me that I might have disguised a little more. I felt that the way she was talking would give her a liking for me, and I was satisfied that the man who can give birth to amorous desires is easily called upon to gratify them. It was the reward I was ardently longing for, and I dared to hope it would be mine, although I could see it only looming in the distance.
It happened that, on that day, M. D---- R---- had invited a large company to supper. I had, as a matter of course, to engross all conversation, and to give the fullest particulars of all that had taken place from the moment I received the order to place myself under arrest up to the time of my release from the 'bastarda'. M. Foscari was seated next to me, and the last part of my narrative was not, I suppose, particularly agreeable to him.
The account I gave of my adventures pleased everybody, and it was decided that the proveditore-generale must have the pleasure of hearing my tale from my own lips. I mentioned that hay was very plentiful in Casopo, and as that article was very scarce in Corfu, M. D---- R---- told me that I ought to seize the opportunity of making myself agreeable to the general by informing him of that circumstance without delay. I followed his advice the very next day, and was very well received, for his excellency immediately ordered a squad of men to go to the island and bring large quantities of hay to Corfu.
A few days later the Adjutant Minolto came to me in the coffee-house, and told me that the general wished to see me: this time I promptly obeyed his commands.
CHAPTER XV
Progress of My Amour--My Journey to Otranto--I Enter the
Service of Madame F.--A Fortunate Excoriation
The room I entered was full of people. His excellency, seeing me, smiled and drew upon me the attention of all his guests by saying aloud, "Here comes the young man who is a good judge of princes."
"My lord, I have become a judge of nobility by frequenting the society of men like you."
"The ladies are curious to know all you have done from the time of your escape from Corfu up to your return."
"Then you sentence me, monsignor, to make a public confession?"
"Exactly; but, as it is to be a confession, be careful not to omit the most insignificant circumstance, and suppose that I am not in the room."
"On the contrary, I wish to receive absolution only from your excellency. But my history will be a long one."
"If such is the case, your confessor gives you permission to be seated."
I gave all the particulars of my adventures, with the exception of my dalliance with the nymphs of the island.
"Your story is a very instructive one," observed the general.
"Yes, my lord, for the adventures shew that a young man is never so near his utter ruin than when, excited by some great passion, he finds himself able to minister to it, thanks to the gold in his purse."
I was preparing to take my leave, when the majordomo came to inform me that his excellency desired me to remain to supper. I had therefore the honour of a seat at his table, but not the pleasure of eating, for I was obliged to answer the questions addressed to me from all quarters, and I could not contrive to swallow a single mouthful. I was seated next to the Proto-Papa Bulgari, and I entreated his pardon for having ridiculed Deldimopulo's oracle. "It is nothing else but regular cheating," he said, "but it is very difficult to put a stop to it; it is an old custom."
A short time afterwards, Madame F---- whispered a few words to the general, who turned to me and said that he would be glad to hear me relate what had occurred to me in Constantinople with the wife of the Turk Yusuf, and at another friend's house, where I had seen bathing by moonlight. I was rather surprised at such an invitation, and told him that such frolics were not worth listening to, and the general not pressing me no more was said about it. But I was astonished at Madame F----'s indiscretion; she had no business to make my confidences public. I wanted her to be jealous of her own dignity, which I loved even more than her person.
Two or three days later, she said to me,
"Why did you refuse to tell your adventures in Constantinople before the general?"
"Because I do not wish everybody to know that you allow me to tell you such things. What I may dare, madam, to say to you when we are alone, I would certainly not say to you in public."
"And why not? It seems to me, on the contrary, that if you are silent in public out of respect for me, you ought to be all the more silent when we are alone."
"I wanted to amuse you, and have exposed myself to the danger of displeasing you, but I can assure you, madam, that I will not run such a risk again."
"I have no wish to pry into your intentions, but it strikes me that if your wish was to please me, you ought not to have run the risk of obtaining the opposite result. We take supper with the general this evening, and M. D---- R---- has been asked to bring you. I feel certain that the general will ask you again for your adventures in Constantinople, and this time you cannot refuse him."
M. D---- R---- came in and we went to the general's. I thought as we were driving along that, although Madame F---- seemed to have intended to humiliate me, I ought to accept it all as a favour of fortune, because, by compelling me to explain my refusal to the general; Madame F---- had, at the same time, compelled me to a declaration of my feelings, which was not without importance.
The 'proveditore-generale' gave me a friendly welcome, and kindly handed me a letter which had come with the official dispatches from Constantinople. I bowed my thanks, and put the letter in my pocket: but he told me that he was himself a great lover of news, and that I could read my letter. I opened it; it was from Yusuf, who announced the death of Count de Bonneval. Hearing the name of the worthy Yusuf, the general asked me to tell him my adventure with his wife. I could not now refuse, and I began a story which amused and interested the general and his friends for an hour or so, but which was from beginning to end the work of my imagination.
Thus I continued to respect the privacy of Yusuf, to avoid implicating the good fame of Madame F----, and to shew myself in a light which was tolerably advantageous to me. My story, which was full of sentiment, did me a great deal of honour, and I felt very happy when I saw from the expression of Madame F----'s face that she was pleased with me, although somewhat surprised.
When we found ourselves again in her house she told me, in the presence of M. D---- R----, that the story I had related to the general was certainly very pretty, although purely imaginary, that she was not angry with me, because I had amused her, but that she could not help remarking my obstinacy in refusing compliance with her wishes. Then, turning to M. D---- R----, she said,
"M. Casanova pretends that if he had given an account of his meeting with Yusuf's wife without changing anything everybody would think that I allowed him to entertain me with indecent stories. I want you to give your opinion about it. Will you," she added, speaking to me, "be so good as to relate immediately the adventure in the same words which you have used when you told me of it?"
"Yes, madam, if you wish me to do so."
Stung to the quick by an indiscretion which, as I did not yet know women thoroughly, seemed to me without example, I cast all fears of displeasing to the winds, related the adventure with all the warmth of an impassioned poet, and without disguising or attenuating in the least the desires which the charms of the Greek beauty had inspired me with.
"Do you think," said M. D---- R---- to Madame F----, "that he ought to have related that adventure before all our friends as he has just related it to us?"
"If it be wrong for him to tell it in public, it is also wrong to tell it to me in private."
"You are the only judge of that: yes, if he has displeased you; no, if he has amused you. As for my own opinion, here it is: He has just now amused me very much, but he would have greatly displeased me if he had related the same adventure in public."
"Then," exclaimed Madame F----, "I must request you never to tell me in private anything that you cannot repeat in public."
"I promise, madam, to act always according to your wishes."
"It being understood," added M. D---- R----, smiling, "that madam reserves all rights of repealing that order whenever she may think fit."
I was vexed, but I contrived not to show it. A few minutes more, and we took leave of Madame F----.
I was beginning to understand that charming woman, and to dread the ordeal to which she would subject me. But love was stronger than fear, and, fortified with hope, I had the courage to endure the thorns, so as to gather the rose at the end of my sufferings. I was particularly pleased to find that M. D---- R---- was not jealous of me, even when she seemed to dare him to it. This was a point of the greatest importance.
A few days afterwards, as I was entertaining her on various subjects, she remarked how unfortunate it had been for me to enter the lazzaretto at Ancona without any money.
"In spite of my distress," I said, "I fell in love with a young and beautiful Greek slave, who very nearly contrived to make me break through all the sanitary laws."
"How so?"
"You are alone, madam, and I have not forgotten your orders."
"Is it a very improper story?"
"No: yet I would not relate it to you in public."
"Well," she said, laughing, "I repeal my order, as M. D---- R---- said I would. Tell me all about it."
I told my story, and, seeing that she was pensive, I exaggerated the misery I had felt at not being able to complete my conquest.
"What do you mean by your misery? I think that the poor girl was more to be pitied than you. You have never seen her since?"
"I beg your pardon, madam; I met her again, but I dare not tell you when or how."
"Now you must go on; it is all nonsense for you to stop. Tell me all; I expect you have been guilty of some black deed."
"Very far from it, madam, for it was a very sweet, although incomplete, enjoyment."
"Go on! But do not call things exactly by their names. It is not necessary to go into details."
Emboldened by the renewal of her order, I told her, without looking her in the face, of my meeting with the Greek slave in the presence of Bellino, and of the act which was cut short by the appearance of her master. When I had finished my story, Madame F---- remained silent, and I turned the conversation into a different channel, for though I felt myself on an excellent footing with her, I knew likewise that I had to proceed with great prudence. She was too young to have lowered herself before, and she would certainly look upon a connection with me as a lowering of her dignity.
Fortune which had always smiled upon me in the most hopeless cases, did not intend to ill-treat me on this occasion, and procured me, on that very same day, a favour of a very peculiar nature. My charming ladylove having pricked her finger rather severely, screamed loudly, and stretched her hand towards me, entreating me to suck the blood flowing from the wound. You may judge, dear reader, whether I was long in seizing that beautiful hand, and if you are, or if you have ever been in love, you will easily guess the manner in which I performed my delightful work. What is a kiss? Is it not an ardent desire to inhale a portion of the being we love? Was not the blood I was sucking from that charming wound a portion of the woman I worshipped? When I had completed my work, she thanked me affectionately, and told me to spit out the blood I had sucked.
"It is here," I said, placing my hand on my heart, "and God alone knows what happiness it has given me."
"You have drunk my blood with happiness! Are you then a cannibal?"
"I believe not, madam; but it would have been sacrilege in my eyes if I had suffered one single drop of your blood to be lost."
One evening, there was an unusually large attendance at M. D---- R----'s assembly, and we were talking of the carnival which was near at hand. Everybody was regretting the lack of actors, and the impossibility of enjoying the pleasures of the theatre. I immediately offered to procure a good company at my expense, if the boxes were at once subscribed for, and the monopoly of the faro bank granted to me. No time was to be lost, for the carnival was approaching, and I had to go to Otranto to engage a troop. My proposal was accepted with great joy, and the proveditore-generale placed a felucca at my disposal. The boxes were all taken in three days, and a Jew took the pit, two nights a week excepted, which I reserved for my own profit.
The carnival being very long that year, I had every chance of success. It is said generally that the profession of theatrical manager is difficult, but, if that is the case, I have not found it so by experience, and am bound to affirm the contrary.
I left Corfu in the evening, and having a good breeze in my favour, I reached Otranto by day-break the following morning, without the oarsmen having had to row a stroke. The distance from Corfu to Otranto is only about fifteen leagues.
I had no idea of landing, owing to the quarantine which is always enforced for any ship or boat coming to Italy from the east. I only went to the parlour of the lazaretto, where, placed behind a grating, you can speak to any person who calls, and who must stand behind another grating placed opposite, at a distance of six feet.
As soon as I announced that I had come for the purpose of engaging a troupe of actors to perform in Corfu, the managers of the two companies then in Otranto came to the parlour to speak to me. I told them at once that I wished to see all the performers, one company at a time.
The two rival managers gave me then a very comic scene, each manager wanting the other to bring his troupe first. The harbour-master told me that the only way to settle the matter was to say myself which of the two companies I would see first: one was from Naples, the other from Sicily. Not knowing either I gave the preference to the first. Don Fastidio, the manager, was very vexed, while Battipaglia, the director of the second, was delighted because he hoped that, after seeing the Neapolitan troupe, I would engage his own.
An hour afterwards, Fastidio returned with all his performers, and my surprise may be imagined when amongst them I recognized Petronio and his sister Marina, who, the moment she saw me, screamed for joy, jumped over the grating, and threw herself in my arms. A terrible hubbub followed, and high words passed between Fastidio and the harbour-master. Marina being in the service of Fastidio, the captain compelled him to confine her to the lazaretto, where she would have to perform quarantine at his expense. The poor girl cried bitterly, but I could not remedy her imprudence.
I put a stop to the quarrel by telling Fastidio to shew me all his people, one after the other. Petronio belonged to his company, and performed the lovers. He told me that he had a letter for me from Therese. I was also glad to see a Venetian of my acquaintance who played the pantaloon in the pantomime, three tolerably pretty actresses, a pulcinella, and a scaramouch. Altogether, the troupe was a decent one.
I told Fastidio to name the lowest salary he wanted for all his company, assuring him that I would give the preference to his rival, if he should ask me too much.
"Sir," he answered, "we are twenty, and shall require six rooms with ten beds, one sitting-room for all of us, and thirty Neapolitan ducats a day, all travelling expenses paid. Here is my stock of plays, and we will perform those that you may choose."
Thinking of poor Marina who would have to remain in the lazaretto before she could reappear on the stage at Otranto, I told Fastidio to get the contract ready, as I wanted to go away immediately.
I had scarcely pronounced these words than war broke out again between the manager-elect and his unfortunate competitor. Battipaglia, in his rage, called Marina a harlot, and said that she had arranged beforehand with Fastidio to violate the rules of the lazaretto in order to compel me to choose their troupe. Petronio, taking his sister's part, joined Fastidio, and the unlucky Battipaglia was dragged outside and treated to a generous dose of blows and fisticuffs, which was not exactly the thing to console him for a lost engagement.
Soon afterwards, Petronio brought me Therese's letter. She was ruining the duke, getting rich accordingly, and waiting for me in Naples.
Everything being ready towards evening, I left Otranto with twenty actors, and six large trunks containing their complete wardrobes. A light breeze which was blowing from the south might have carried us to Corfu in ten hours, but when we had sailed about one hour my cayabouchiri informed me that he could see by the moonlight a ship which might prove to be a corsair, and get hold of us. I was unwilling to risk anything, so I ordered them to lower the sails and return to Otranto. At day-break we sailed again with a good westerly wind, which would also have taken us to Corfu; but after we had gone two or three hours, the captain pointed out to me a brigantine, evidently a pirate, for she was shaping her course so as to get to windward of us. I told him to change the course, and to go by starboard, to see if the brigantine would follow us, but she immediately imitated our manoeuvre. I could not go back to Otranto, and I had no wish to go to Africa, so I ordered the men to shape our course, so as to land on the coast of Calabria, by hard rowing and at the nearest point. The sailors, who were frightened to death, communicated their fears to my comedians, and soon I heard nothing but weeping and sobbing. Every one of them was calling earnestly upon some saint, but not one single prayer to God did I hear. The bewailings of scaramouch, the dull and spiritless despair of Fastidio, offered a picture which would have made me laugh heartily if the danger had been imaginary and not real. Marina alone was cheerful and happy, because she did not realize the danger we were running, and she laughed at the terror of the crew and of her companions.
A strong breeze sprang up towards evening, so I ordered them to clap on all sail and scud before the wind, even if it should get stronger. In order to escape the pirate, I had made up my mind to cross the gulf. We took the wind through the night, and in the morning we were eighty miles from Corfu, which I determined to reach by rowing. We were in the middle of the gulf, and the sailors were worn out with fatigue, but I had no longer any fear. A gale began to blow from the north, and in less than an hour it was blowing so hard that we were compelled to sail close to the wind in a fearful manner. The felucca looked every moment as if it must capsize. Every one looked terrified but kept complete silence, for I had enjoined it on penalty of death. In spite of our dangerous position, I could not help laughing when I heard the sobs of the cowardly scaramouch. The helmsman was a man of great nerve, and the gale being steady I felt we would reach Corfu without mishap. At day-break we sighted the town, and at nine in the morning we landed at Mandrachia. Everybody was surprised to see us arrive that way.
As soon as my company was landed, the young officers naturally came to inspect the actresses, but they did not find them very desirable, with the exception of Marina, who received uncomplainingly the news that I could not renew my acquaintance with her. I felt certain that she would not lack admirers. But my actresses, who had appeared ugly at the landing, produced a very different effect on the stage, and particularly the pantaloon's wife. M. Duodo, commander of a man-of-war, called upon her, and, finding master pantaloon intolerant on the subject of his better-half, gave him a few blows with his cane. Fastidio informed me the next day that the pantaloon and his wife refused to perform any more, but I made them alter their mind by giving them a benefit night.
The pantaloon's wife was much applauded, but she felt insulted because, in the midst of the applause, the pit called out, "Bravo, Duodo!" She presented herself to the general in his own box, in which I was generally, and complained of the manner in which she was treated. The general promised her, in my name, another benefit night for the close of the carnival, and I was of course compelled to ratify his promise. The fact is, that, to satisfy the greedy actors, I abandoned to my comedians, one by one, the seventeen nights I had reserved for myself. The benefit I gave to Marina was at the special request of Madame F----, who had taken her into great favour since she had had the honour of breakfasting alone with M. D---- R---- in a villa outside of the city.
My generosity cost me four hundred sequins, but the faro bank brought me a thousand and more, although I never held the cards, my management of the theatre taking up all my time. My manner with the actresses gained me great kindness; it was clearly seen that I carried on no intrigue with any of them, although I had every facility for doing so. Madame F---- complimented me, saying that she had not entertained such a good opinion of my discretion. I was too busy through the carnival to think of love, even of the passion which filled my heart. It was only at the beginning of Lent, and after the departure of the comedians, that I could give rein to my feelings.
One morning Madame F---- sent, a messenger who, summoned me to her presence. It was eleven o'clock; I immediately went to her, and enquired what I could do for her service.
"I wanted to see you," she said, "to return the two hundred sequins which you lent me so nobly. Here they are; be good enough to give me back my note of hand."
"Your note of hand, madam, is no longer in my possession. I have deposited it in a sealed envelope with the notary who, according to this receipt of his, can return it only to you."
"Why did you not keep it yourself?"
"Because I was afraid of losing it, or of having it stolen. And in the event of my death I did not want such a document to fall into any other hands but yours."
"A great proof of your extreme delicacy, certainly, but I think you ought to have reserved the right of taking it out of the notary's custody yourself."
"I did not forsee the possibility of calling for it myself."
"Yet it was a very likely thing. Then I can send word to the notary to transmit it to me?"
"Certainly, madam; you alone can claim it."
She sent to the notary, who brought the note himself.
She tore the envelope open, and found only a piece of paper besmeared with ink, quite illegible, except her own name, which had not been touched.
"You have acted," she said, "most nobly; but you must agree with me that I cannot be certain that this piece of paper is really my note of hand, although I see my name on it."
"True, madam; and if you are not certain of it, I confess myself in the wrong."
"I must be certain of it, and I am so; but you must grant that I could not swear to it."
"Granted, madam."
During the following days it struck me that her manner towards me was singularly altered. She never received me in her dishabille, and I had to wait with great patience until her maid had entirely dressed her before being admitted into her presence.
If I related any story, any adventure, she pretended not to understand, and affected not to see the point of an anecdote or a jest; very often she would purposely not look at me, and then I was sure to relate badly. If M. D---- R---- laughed at something I had just said, she would ask what he was laughing for, and when he had told her, she would say it was insipid or dull. If one of her bracelets became unfastened, I offered to fasten it again, but either she would not give me so much trouble, or I did not understand the fastening, and the maid was called to do it. I could not help shewing my vexation, but she did not seem to take the slightest notice of it. If M. D---- R---- excited me to say something amusing or witty, and I did not speak immediately, she would say that my budget was empty, laughing, and adding that the wit of poor M. Casanova was worn out. Full of rage, I would plead guilty by my silence to her taunting accusation, but I was thoroughly miserable, for I did not see any cause for that extraordinary change in her feelings, being conscious that I had not given her any motive for it. I wanted to shew her openly my indifference and contempt, but whenever an opportunity offered, my courage would forsake me, and I would let it escape.
One evening M. D---- R---- asking me whether I had often been in love, I answered,
"Three times, my lord."
"And always happily, of course."
"Always unhappily. The first time, perhaps, because, being an ecclesiastic, I durst not speak openly of my love. The second, because a cruel, unexpected event compelled me to leave the woman I loved at the very moment in which my happiness would have been complete. The third time, because the feeling of pity, with which I inspired the beloved object, induced her to cure me of my passion, instead of crowning my felicity."
"But what specific remedies did she use to effect your cure?"
"She has ceased to be kind."
"I understand she has treated you cruelly, and you call that pity, do you? You are mistaken."
"Certainly," said Madame F----, "a woman may pity the man she loves, but she would not think of ill-treating him to cure him of his passion. That woman has never felt any love for you."
"I cannot, I will not believe it, madam."
"But are you cured?"
"Oh! thoroughly; for when I happen to think of her, I feel nothing but indifference and coldness. But my recovery was long."
"Your convalescence lasted, I suppose, until you fell in love with another."
"With another, madam? I thought I had just told you that the third time I loved was the last."
A few days after that conversation, M. D---- R---- told me that Madame F---- was not well, that he could not keep her company, and that I ought to go to her, as he was sure she would be glad to see me. I obeyed, and told Madame F---- what M. D---- R---- had said. She was lying on a sofa. Without looking at me, she told me she was feverish, and would not ask me to remain with her, because I would feel weary.
"I could not experience any weariness in your society, madam; at all events, I can leave you only by your express command, and, in that case, I must spend the next four hours in your ante-room, for M. D-- R---- has told me to wait for him here."
"If so, you may take a seat."
Her cold and distant manner repelled me, but I loved her, and I had never seen her so beautiful, a slight fever animating her complexion which was then truly dazzling in its beauty. I kept where I was, dumb and as motionless as a statue, for a quarter of an hour. Then she rang for her maid, and asked me to leave her alone for a moment. I was called back soon after, and she said to me,
"What has become of your cheerfulness?"
"If it has disappeared, madam, it can only be by your will. Call it back, and you will see it return in full force."
"What must I do to obtain that result?"
"Only be towards me as you were when I returned from Casopo. I have been disagreeable to you for the last four months, and as I do not know why, I feel deeply grieved."
"I am always the same: in what do you find me changed?"
"Good heavens! In everything, except in beauty. But I have taken my decision."
"And what is it?"
"To suffer in silence, without allowing any circumstance to alter the feelings with which you have inspired me; to wish ardently to convince you of my perfect obedience to your commands; to be ever ready to give you fresh proofs of my devotion."
"I thank you, but I cannot imagine what you can have to suffer in silence on my account. I take an interest in you, and I always listen with pleasure to your adventures. As a proof of it, I am extremely curious to hear the history of your three loves."
I invented on the spot three purely imaginary stories, making a great display of tender sentiments and of ardent love, but without alluding to amorous enjoyment, particularly when she seemed to expect me to do so. Sometimes delicacy, sometimes respect or duty, interfered to prevent the crowning pleasure, and I took care to observe, at such moments of disappointment, that a true lover does not require that all important item to feel perfectly happy. I could easily see that her imagination was travelling farther than my narrative, and that my reserve was agreeable to her. I believed I knew her nature well enough to be certain that I was taking the best road to induce her to follow me where I wished to lead her. She expressed a sentiment which moved me deeply, but I was careful not to shew it. We were talking of my third love, of the woman who, out of pity, had undertaken to cure me, and she remarked,
"If she truly loved you, she may have wished not to cure you, but to cure herself."
On the day following this partial reconciliation, M. F----, her husband, begged my commanding officer, D---- R----, to let me go with him to Butintro for an excursion of three days, his own adjutant being seriously ill.
Butintro is seven miles from Corfu, almost opposite to that city; it is the nearest point to the island from the mainland. It is not a fortress, but only a small village of Epirus, or Albania, as it is now called, and belonging to the Venetians. Acting on the political axiom that "neglected right is lost right," the Republic sends every year four galleys to Butintro with a gang of galley slaves to fell trees, cut them, and load them on the galleys, while the military keep a sharp look-out to prevent them from escaping to Turkey and becoming Mussulmans. One of the four galleys was commanded by M. F---- who, wanting an adjutant for the occasion, chose me.
I went with him, and on the fourth day we came back to Corfu with a large provision of wood. I found M. D---- R---- alone on the terrace of his palace. It was Good Friday. He seemed thoughtful, and, after a silence of a few minutes, he spoke the following words, which I can never forget:
"M. F----, whose adjutant died yesterday, has just been entreating me to give you to him until he can find another officer. I have told him that I had no right to dispose of your person, and that he ought to apply to you, assuring him that, if you asked me leave to go with him, I would not raise any objection, although I require two adjutants. Has he not mentioned the matter to you?"
"No, monsignor, he has only tendered me his thanks for having accompanied him to Butintro, nothing else."
"He is sure to speak to you about it. What do you intend to say?"
"Simply that I will never leave the service of your excellency without your express command to do so."
"I never will give you such an order."
As M. D---- R---- was saying the last word, M. and Madame F---- came in. Knowing that the conversation would most likely turn upon the subject which had just been broached, I hurried out of the room. In less than a quarter of an hour I was sent for, and M. F---- said to me, confidentially,
"Well, M. Casanova, would you not be willing to live with me as my adjutant?"
"Does his excellency dismiss me from his service?"
"Not at all," observed M. D---- R----, "but I leave you the choice."
"My lord, I could not be guilty of ingratitude."
And I remained there standing, uneasy, keeping my eyes on the ground, not even striving to conceal my mortification, which was, after all, very natural in such a position. I dreaded looking at Madame F----, for I knew that she could easily guess all my feelings. An instant after, her foolish husband coldly remarked that I should certainly have a more fatiguing service with him than with M. D---- R----, and that, of course, it was more honourable to serve the general governor of the galeazze than a simple sopra-committo. I was on the point of answering, when Madame F---- said, in a graceful and easy manner, "M. Casanova is right," and she changed the subject. I left the room, revolving in my mind all that had just taken place.
My conclusion was that M. F---- had asked M. D---- R---- to let me go with him at the suggestion of his wife, or, at least with her consent, and it was highly flattering to my love and to my vanity. But I was bound in honour not to accept the post, unless I had a perfect assurance that it would not be disagreeable to my present patron. "I will accept," I said to myself, "if M. D---- R---- tells me positively that I shall please him by doing so. It is for M. F---- to make him say it."
On the same night I had the honour of offering my arm to Madame F--during the procession which takes place in commemoration of the death of our Lord and Saviour, which was then attended on foot by all the nobility. I expected she would mention the matter, but she did not. My love was in despair, and through the night I could not close my eyes. I feared she had been offended by my refusal, and was overwhelmed with grief. I passed the whole of the next day without breaking my fast, and did not utter a single word during the evening reception. I felt very unwell, and I had an attack of fever which kept me in bed on Easter Sunday. I was very weak on the Monday, and intended to remain in my room, when a messenger from Madame F---- came to inform me that she wished to see me. I told the messenger not to say that he had found me in bed, and dressing myself rapidly I hurried to her house. I entered her room, pale, looking very ill: yet she did not enquire after my health, and kept silent a minute or two, as if she had been trying to recollect what she had to say to me.
"Ah! yes, you are aware that our adjutant is dead, and that we want to replace him. My husband, who has a great esteem for you, and feels that M. D---- R---- leaves you perfectly free to make your choice, has taken the singular fancy that you will come, if I ask you myself to do us that pleasure. Is he mistaken? If you would come to us, you would have that room."
She was pointing to a room adjoining the chamber in which she slept, and so situated that, to see her in every part of her room, I should not even require to place myself at the window.
"M. D---- R----," she continued, "will not love you less, and as he will see you here every day, he will not be likely to forget his interest in your welfare. Now, tell me, will you come or not?"
"I wish I could, madam, but indeed I cannot."
"You cannot? That is singular. Take a seat, and tell me what there is to prevent you, when, in accepting my offer, you are sure to please M. D---- R---- as well as us."
"If I were certain of it, I would accept immediately; but all I have heard from his lips was that he left me free to make a choice."
"Then you are afraid to grieve him, if you come to us?"
"It might be, and for nothing on earth...."
"I am certain of the contrary."
"Will you be so good as to obtain that he says so to me himself?"
"And then you will come?"
"Oh, madam! that very minute!"
But the warmth of my exclamation might mean a great deal, and I turned my head round so as not to embarrass her. She asked me to give her her mantle to go to church, and we went out. As we were going down the stairs, she placed her ungloved hand upon mine. It was the first time that she had granted me such a favour, and it seemed to me a good omen. She took off her hand, asking me whether I was feverish. "Your hand," she said, "is burning."
When we left the church, M. D---- R----'s carriage happened to pass, and I assisted her to get in, and as soon as she had gone, hurried to my room in order to breathe freely and to enjoy all the felicity which filled my soul; for I no longer doubted her love for me, and I knew that, in this case, M. D---- R---- was not likely to refuse her anything.
What is love? I have read plenty of ancient verbiage on that subject, I have read likewise most of what has been said by modern writers, but neither all that has been said, nor what I have thought about it, when I was young and now that I am no longer so, nothing, in fact, can make me agree that love is a trifling vanity. It is a sort of madness, I grant that, but a madness over which philosophy is entirely powerless; it is a disease to which man is exposed at all times, no matter at what age, and which cannot be cured, if he is attacked by it in his old age. Love being sentiment which cannot be explained! God of all nature!--bitter and sweet feeling! Love!--charming monster which cannot be fathomed! God who, in the midst of all the thorns with which thou plaguest us, strewest so many roses on our path that, without thee, existence and death would be united and blended together!
Two days afterwards, M. D---- R----, told me to go and take orders from M. F---- on board his galley, which was ready for a five or six days' voyage. I quickly packed a few things, and called for my new patron who received me with great joy. We took our departure without seeing madam, who was not yet visible. We returned on the sixth day, and I went to establish myself in my new home, for, as I was preparing to go to M. D---- R----, to take his orders, after our landing, he came himself, and after asking M. F---- and me whether we were pleased with each other, he said to me,
"Casanova, as you suit each other so well, you may be certain that you will greatly please me by remaining in the service of M. F."
I obeyed respectfully, and in less than one hour I had taken possession of my new quarters. Madame F---- told me how delighted she was to see that great affair ended according to her wishes, and I answered with a deep reverence.
I found myself like the salamander, in the very heart of the fire for which I had been longing so ardently.
Almost constantly in the presence of Madame F----, dining often alone with her, accompanying her in her walks, even when M. D---- R---- was not with us, seeing her from my room, or conversing with her in her chamber, always reserved and attentive without pretension, the first night passed by without any change being brought about by that constant intercourse. Yet I was full of hope, and to keep up my courage I imagined that love was not yet powerful enough to conquer her pride. I expected everything from some lucky chance, which I promised myself to improve as soon as it should present itself, for I was persuaded that a lover is lost if he does not catch fortune by the forelock.
But there was one circumstance which annoyed me. In public, she seized every opportunity of treating me with distinction, while, when we were alone, it was exactly the reverse. In the eyes of the world I had all the appearance of a happy lover, but I would rather have had less of the appearance of happiness and more of the reality. My love for her was disinterested; vanity had no share in my feelings.
One day, being alone with me, she said,
"You have enemies, but I silenced them last night."
"They are envious, madam, and they would pity me if they could read the secret pages of my heart. You could easily deliver me from those enemies."
"How can you be an object of pity for them, and how could I deliver you from them?"
"They believe me happy, and I am miserable; you would deliver me from them by ill-treating me in their presence."
"Then you would feel my bad treatment less than the envy of the wicked?"
"Yes, madam, provided your bad treatment in public were compensated by your kindness when we are alone, for there is no vanity in the happiness I feel in belonging to you. Let others pity me, I will be happy on condition that others are mistaken."
"That's a part that I can never play."
I would often be indiscreet enough to remain behind the curtain of the window in my room, looking at her when she thought herself perfectly certain that nobody saw her; but the liberty I was thus guilty of never proved of great advantage to me. Whether it was because she doubted my discretion or from habitual reserve, she was so particular that, even when I saw her in bed, my longing eyes never could obtain a sight of anything but her head.
One day, being present in her room while her maid was cutting off the points of her long and beautiful hair, I amused myself in picking up all those pretty bits, and put them all, one after the other, on her toilet-table, with the exception of one small lock which I slipped into my pocket, thinking that she had not taken any notice of my keeping it; but the moment we were alone she told me quietly, but rather too seriously, to take out of my pocket the hair I had picked up from the floor. Thinking she was going too far, and such rigour appearing to me as cruel as it was unjust and absurd, I obeyed, but threw the hair on the toilet-table with an air of supreme contempt.
"Sir, you forget yourself."
"No, madam, I do not, for you might have feigned not to have observed such an innocent theft."
"Feigning is tiresome."
"Was such petty larceny a very great crime?"
"No crime, but it was an indication of feelings which you have no right to entertain for me."
"Feelings which you are at liberty not to return, madam, but which hatred or pride can alone forbid my heart to experience. If you had a heart you would not be the victim of either of those two fearful passions, but you have only head, and it must be a very wicked head, judging by the care it takes to heap humiliation upon me. You have surprised my secret, madam, you may use it as you think proper, but in the meantime I have learned to know you thoroughly. That knowledge will prove more useful than your discovery, for perhaps it will help me to become wiser."
After this violent tirade I left her, and as she did not call me back retired to my room. In the hope that sleep would bring calm, I undressed and went to bed. In such moments a lover hates the object of his love, and his heart distils only contempt and hatred. I could not go to sleep, and when I was sent for at supper-time I answered that I was ill. The night passed off without my eyes being visited by sleep, and feeling weak and low I thought I would wait to see what ailed me, and refused to have my dinner, sending word that I was still very unwell. Towards evening I felt my heart leap for joy when I heard my beautiful lady-love enter my room. Anxiety, want of food and sleep, gave me truly the appearance of being ill, and I was delighted that it should be so. I sent her away very soon, by telling her with perfect indifference that it was nothing but a bad headache, to which I was subject, and that repose and diet would effect a speedy cure.
But at eleven o'clock she came back with her friend, M. D---- R----, and coming to my bed she said, affectionately,
"What ails you, my poor Casanova?"
"A very bad headache, madam, which will be cured to-morrow."
"Why should you wait until to-morrow? You must get better at once. I have ordered a basin of broth and two new-laid eggs for you."
"Nothing, madam; complete abstinence can alone cure me."
"He is right," said M. D---- R----, "I know those attacks."
I shook my head slightly. M. D---- R---- having just then turned round to examine an engraving, she took my hand, saying that she would like me to drink some broth, and I felt that she was giving me a small parcel. She went to look at the engraving with M. D---- R----.
I opened the parcel, but feeling that it contained hair, I hurriedly concealed it under the bed-clothes: at the same moment the blood rushed to my head with such violence that it actually frightened me. I begged for some water, she came to me, with M. D---- R----, and then were both frightened to see me so red, when they had seen me pale and weak only one minute before.
Madame F---- gave me a glass of water in which she put some Eau des carmes which instantly acted as a violent emetic. Two or three minutes after I felt better, and asked for something to eat. Madame F---- smiled. The servant came in with the broth and the eggs, and while I was eating I told the history of Pandolfin. M. D---- R---- thought it was all a miracle, and I could read, on the countenance of the charming woman, love, affection, and repentance. If M. D---- R---- had not been present, it would have been the moment of my happiness, but I felt certain that I should not have long to wait. M. D---- R---- told Madame F---- that, if he had not seen me so sick, he would have believed my illness to be all sham, for he did not think it possible for anyone to rally so rapidly.
"It is all owing to my Eau des carmes," said Madame F----, looking at me, "and I will leave you my bottle."
"No, madam, be kind enough to take it with you, for the water would have no virtue without your presence."
"I am sure of that," said M. D---- R----, "so I will leave you here with your patient."
"No, no, he must go to sleep now."
I slept all night, but in my happy dreams I was with her, and the reality itself would hardly have procured me greater enjoyment than I had during my happy slumbers. I saw I had taken a very long stride forward, for twenty-four hours of abstinence gave me the right to speak to her openly of my love, and the gift of her hair was an irrefutable confession of her own feelings.
On the following day, after presenting myself before M. F----, I went to have a little chat with the maid, to wait until her mistress was visible, which was not long, and I had the pleasure of hearing her laugh when the maid told her I was there. As soon as I went in, without giving me time to say a single word, she told me how delighted she was to see me looking so well, and advised me to call upon M. D---- R----.
It is not only in the eyes of a lover, but also in those of every man of taste, that a woman is a thousand times more lovely at the moment she comes out of the arms of Morpheus than when she has completed her toilet. Around Madame F---- more brilliant beams were blazing than around the sun when he leaves the embrace of Aurora. Yet the most beautiful woman thinks as much of her toilet as the one who cannot do without it--very likely because more human creatures possess the more they want.
In the order given to me by Madame F---- to call on M. D---- R----, I saw another reason to be certain of approaching happiness, for I thought that, by dismissing me so quickly, she had only tried to postpone the consummation which I might have pressed upon her, and which she could not have refused.
Rich in the possession of her hair, I held a consultation with my love to decide what I ought to do with it, for Madame F----, very likely in her wish to atone for the miserly sentiment which had refused me a small bit, had given me a splendid lock, full a yard and a half long. Having thought it over, I called upon a Jewish confectioner whose daughter was a skilful embroiderer, and I made her embroider before me, on a bracelet of green satin, the four initial letters of our names, and make a very thin chain with the remainder. I had a piece of black ribbon added to one end of the chain, in the shape of a sliding noose, with which I could easily strangle myself if ever love should reduce me to despair, and I passed it round my neck. As I did not want to lose even the smallest particle of so precious a treasure, I cut with a pair of scissors all the small bits which were left, and devoutly gathered them together. Then I reduced them into a fine powder, and ordered the Jewish confectioner to mix the powder in my presence with a paste made of amber, sugar, vanilla, angelica, alkermes and storax, and I waited until the comfits prepared with that mixture were ready. I had some more made with the same composition, but without any hair; I put the first in a beautiful sweetmeat box of fine crystal, and the second in a tortoise-shell box.
From the day when, by giving me her hair, Madame F---- had betrayed the secret feelings of her heart, I no longer lost my time in relating stories or adventures; I only spoke to her of my Love, of my ardent desires; I told her that she must either banish me from her presence, or crown my happiness, but the cruel, charming woman would not accept that alternative. She answered that happiness could not be obtained by offending every moral law, and by swerving from our duties. If I threw myself at her feet to obtain by anticipation her forgiveness for the loving violence I intended to use against her, she would repulse me more powerfully than if she had had the strength of a female Hercules, for she would say, in a voice full of sweetness and affection,
"My friend, I do not entreat you to respect my weakness, but be generous enough to spare me for the sake of all the love I feel for you."
"What! you love me, and you refuse to make me happy! It is impossible! it is unnatural. You compel me to believe that you do not love me. Only allow me to press my lips one moment upon your lips, and I ask no more."
"No, dearest, no; it would only excite the ardour of your desires, shake my resolution, and we should then find ourselves more miserable than we are now."
Thus did she every day plunge me in despair, and yet she complained that my wit was no longer brilliant in society, that I had lost that elasticity of spirits which had pleased her so much after my arrival from Constantinople. M. D---- R----, who often jestingly waged war against me, used to say that I was getting thinner and thinner every day. Madame F---- told me one day that my sickly looks were very disagreeable to her, because wicked tongues would not fail to say that she treated me with cruelty. Strange, almost unnatural thought! On it I composed an idyll which I cannot read, even now, without feeling tears in my eyes.
"What!" I answered, "you acknowledge your cruelty towards me? You are afraid of the world guessing all your heartless rigour, and yet you continue to enjoy it! You condemn me unmercifully to the torments of Tantalus! You would be delighted to see me gay, cheerful, happy, even at the expense of a judgment by which the world would find you guilty of a supposed but false kindness towards me, and yet you refuse me even the slightest favours!"
"I do not mind people believing anything, provided it is not true."
"What a contrast! Would it be possible for me not to love you, for you to feel nothing for me? Such contradictions strike me as unnatural. But you are growing thinner yourself, and I am dying. It must be so; we shall both die before long, you of consumption, I of exhausting decline; for I am now reduced to enjoying your shadow during the day, during the night, always, everywhere, except when I am in your presence."
At that passionate declaration, delivered with all the ardour of an excited lover, she was surprised, deeply moved, and I thought that the happy hour had struck. I folded her in my arms, and was already tasting the first fruits of enjoyment. . . . The sentinel knocked twice! . . . Oh! fatal mischance! I recovered my composure and stood in front of her. . . . M. D---- R---- made his appearance, and this time he found me in so cheerful a mood that he remained with us until one o'clock in the morning.
My comfits were beginning to be the talk of our society. M. D---- R----, Madame F----, and I were the only ones who had a box full of them. I was stingy with them, and no one durst beg any from me, because I had said that they were very expensive, and that in all Corfu there was no confectioner who could make or physician who could analyse them. I never gave one out of my crystal box, and Madame F. remarked it. I certainly did not believe them to be amorous philtre, and I was very far from supposing that the addition of the hair made them taste more delicious; but a superstition, the offspring of my love, caused me to cherish them, and it made me happy to think that a small portion of the woman I worshipped was thus becoming a part of my being.
Influenced perhaps by some secret sympathy, Madame F. was exceedingly fond of the comfits. She asserted before all her friends that they were the universal panacea, and knowing herself perfect mistress of the inventor, she did not enquire after the secret of the composition. But having observed that I gave away only the comfits which I kept in my tortoise-shell box, and that I never eat any but those from the crystal box, she one day asked me what reason I had for that. Without taking time to think, I told her that in those I kept for myself there was a certain ingredient which made the partaker love her.
"I do not believe it," she answered; "but are they different from those I eat myself?"
"They are exactly the same, with the exception of the ingredient I have just mentioned, which has been put only in mine."
"Tell me what the ingredient is."
"It is a secret which I cannot reveal to you."
"Then I will never eat any of your comfits."
Saying which, she rose, emptied her box, and filled it again with chocolate drops; and for the next few days she was angry with me, and avoided my company. I felt grieved, I became low-spirited, but I could not make up my mind to tell her that I was eating her hair!
She enquired why I looked so sad.
"Because you refuse to take my comfits."
"You are master of your secret, and I am mistress of my diet."
"That is my reward for having taken you into my confidence."
And I opened my box, emptied its contents in my hand, and swallowed the whole of them, saying, "Two more doses like this, and I shall die mad with love for you. Then you will be revenged for my reserve. Farewell, madam."
She called me back, made me take a seat near her, and told me not to commit follies which would make her unhappy; that I knew how much she loved me, and that it was not owing to the effect of any drug. "To prove to you," she added, "that you do not require anything of the sort to be loved, here is a token of my affection." And she offered me her lovely lips, and upon them mine remained pressed until I was compelled to draw a breath. I threw myself at her feet, with tears of love and gratitude blinding my eyes, and told her that I would confess my crime, if she would promise to forgive me.
"Your crime! You frighten me. Yes, I forgive you, but speak quickly, and tell me all."
"Yes, everything. My comfits contain your hair reduced to a powder. Here on my arm, see this bracelet on which our names are written with your hair, and round my neck this chain of the same material, which will help me to destroy my own life when your love fails me. Such is my crime, but I would not have been guilty of it, if I had not loved you."
She smiled, and, bidding me rise from my kneeling position, she told me that I was indeed the most criminal of men, and she wiped away my tears, assuring me that I should never have any reason to strangle myself with the chain.
After that conversation, in which I had enjoyed the sweet nectar of my divinity's first kiss, I had the courage to behave in a very different manner. She could see the ardour which consumed me; perhaps the same fire burned in her veins, but I abstained from any attack.
"What gives you," she said one day, "the strength to control yourself?"
"After the kiss which you granted to me of your own accord, I felt that I ought not to wish any favour unless your heart gave it as freely. You cannot imagine the happiness that kiss has given me."
"I not imagine it, you ungrateful man! Which of us has given that happiness?"
"Neither you nor I, angel of my soul! That kiss so tender, so sweet, was the child of love!"
"Yes, dearest, of love, the treasures of which are inexhaustible."
The words were scarcely spoken, when our lips were engaged in happy concert. She held me so tight against her bosom that I could not use my hands to secure other pleasures, but I felt myself perfectly happy. After that delightful skirmish, I asked her whether we were never to go any further.
"Never, dearest friend, never. Love is a child which must be amused with trifles; too substantial food would kill it."
"I know love better than you; it requires that substantial food, and unless it can obtain it, love dies of exhaustion. Do not refuse me the consolation of hope."
"Hope as much as you please, if it makes you happy."
"What should I do, if I had no hope? I hope, because I know you have a heart."
"Ah! yes. Do you recollect the day, when, in your anger, you told me that I had only a head, but no heart, thinking you were insulting me grossly!"
"Oh! yes, I recollect it."
"How heartily I laughed, when I had time to think! Yes, dearest, I have a heart, or I should not feel as happy as I feel now. Let us keep our happiness, and be satisfied with it, as it is, without wishing for anything more."
Obedient to her wishes, but every day more deeply enamoured, I was in hope that nature at last would prove stronger than prejudice, and would cause a fortunate crisis. But, besides nature, fortune was my friend, and I owed my happiness to an accident.
Madame F. was walking one day in the garden, leaning on M. D---- R----'s arm, and was caught by a large rose-bush, and the prickly thorns left a deep cut on her leg. M. D---- R---- bandaged the wound with his handkerchief, so as to stop the blood which was flowing abundantly, and she had to be carried home in a palanquin.
In Corfu, wounds on the legs are dangerous when they are not well attended to, and very often the wounded are compelled to leave the city to be cured.
Madame F---- was confined to her bed, and my lucky position in the house condemned me to remain constantly at her orders. I saw her every minute; but, during the first three days, visitors succeeded each other without intermission, and I never was alone with her. In the evening, after everybody had gone, and her husband had retired to his own apartment, M. D---- R---- remained another hour, and for the sake of propriety I had to take my leave at the same time that he did. I had much more liberty before the accident, and I told her so half seriously, half jestingly. The next day, to make up for my disappointment, she contrived a moment of happiness for me.
An elderly surgeon came every morning to dress her wound, during which operation her maid only was present, but I used to go, in my morning dishabille, to the girl's room, and to wait there, so as to be the first to hear how my dear one was.
That morning, the girl came to tell me to go in as the surgeon was dressing the wound.
"See whether my leg is less inflamed."
"To give an opinion, madam, I ought to have seen it yesterday."
"True. I feel great pain, and I am afraid of erysipelas."
"Do not be afraid, madam," said the surgeon, "keep your bed, and I answer for your complete recovery."
The surgeon being busy preparing a poultice at the other end of the room, and the maid out, I enquired whether she felt any hardness in the calf of the leg, and whether the inflammation went up the limb; and naturally, my eyes and my hands kept pace with my questions.... I saw no inflammation, I felt no hardness, but... and the lovely patient hurriedly let the curtain fall, smiling, and allowing me to take a sweet kiss, the perfume of which I had not enjoyed for many days. It was a sweet moment; a delicious ecstacy. From her mouth my lips descended to her wound, and satisfied in that moment that my kisses were the best of medicines, I would have kept my lips there, if the noise made by the maid coming back had not compelled me to give up my delightful occupation.
When we were left alone, burning with intense desires, I entreated her to grant happiness at least to my eyes.
"I feel humiliated," I said to her, "by the thought that the felicity I have just enjoyed was only a theft."
"But supposing you were mistaken?"
The next day I was again present at the dressing of the wound, and as soon as the surgeon had left, she asked me to arrange her pillows, which I did at once. As if to make that pleasant office easier, she raised the bedclothes to support herself, and she thus gave me a sight of beauties which intoxicated my eyes, and I protracted the easy operation without her complaining of my being too slow.
When I had done I was in a fearful state, and I threw myself in an arm-chair opposite her bed, half dead, in a sort of trance. I was looking at that lovely being who, almost artless, was continually granting me greater and still greater favours, and yet never allowed me to reach the goal for which I was so ardently longing.
"What are you thinking of?" she said.
"Of the supreme felicity I have just been enjoying."
"You are a cruel man."
"No, I am not cruel, for, if you love me, you must not blush for your indulgence. You must know, too, that, loving you passionately, I must not suppose that it is to be a surprise that I am indebted for my happiness in the enjoyment of the most ravishing sights, for if I owed it only to mere chance I should be compelled to believe that any other man in my position might have had the same happiness, and such an idea would be misery to me. Let me be indebted to you for having proved to me this morning how much enjoyment I can derive from one of my senses. Can you be angry with my eyes?"
"Yes."
"They belong to you; tear them out."
The next day, the moment the doctor had gone, she sent her maid out to make some purchases.
"Ah!" she said a few minutes after, "my maid has forgotten to change my chemise."
"Allow me to take her place."
"Very well, but recollect that I give permission only to your eyes to take a share in the proceedings."
"Agreed!"
She unlaced herself, took off her stays and her chemise, and told me to be quick and put on the clean one, but I was not speedy enough, being too much engaged by all I could see.
"Give me my chemise," she exclaimed; "it is there on that small table."
"Where?"
"There, near the bed. Well, I will take it myself."
She leaned over towards the table, and exposed almost everything I was longing for, and, turning slowly round, she handed me the chemise which I could hardly hold, trembling all over with fearful excitement. She took pity on me, my hands shared the happiness of my eyes; I fell in her arms, our lips fastened together, and, in a voluptuous, ardent pressure, we enjoyed an amorous exhaustion not sufficient to allay our desires, but delightful enough to deceive them for the moment.
With greater control over herself than women have generally under similar circumstances, she took care to let me reach only the porch of the temple, without granting me yet a free entrance to the sanctuary.
EPISODE 4 -- RETURN TO VENICE
CHAPTER XVI
A Fearful Misfortune Befalls Me--Love Cools Down--Leave
Corfu and Return to Venice--Give Up the Army and Become a
Fiddler
The wound was rapidly healing up, and I saw near at hand the moment when Madame F---- would leave her bed, and resume her usual avocations.
The governor of the galeasses having issued orders for a general review at Gouyn, M. F----, left for that place in his galley, telling me to join him there early on the following day with the felucca. I took supper alone with Madame F----, and I told her how unhappy it made me to remain one day away from her.
"Let us make up to-night for to-morrow's disappointment," she said, "and let us spend it together in conversation. Here are the keys; when you know that my maid has left me, come to me through my husband's room."
I did not fail to follow her instructions to the letter, and we found ourselves alone with five hours before us. It was the month of June, and the heat was intense. She had gone to bed; I folded her in my arms, she pressed me to her bosom, but, condemning herself to the most cruel torture, she thought I had no right to complain, if I was subjected to the same privation which she imposed upon herself. My remonstrances, my prayers, my entreaties were of no avail.
"Love," she said, "must be kept in check with a tight hand, and we can laugh at him, since, in spite of the tyranny which we force him to obey, we succeed all the same in gratifying our desires."
After the first ecstacy, our eyes and lips unclosed together, and a little apart from each other we take delight in seeing the mutual satisfaction beaming on our features.
Our desires revive; she casts a look upon my state of innocence entirely exposed to her sight. She seems vexed at my want of excitement, and, throwing off everything which makes the heat unpleasant and interferes with our pleasure, she bounds upon me. It is more than amorous fury, it is desperate lust. I share her frenzy, I hug her with a sort of delirium, I enjoy a felicity which is on the point of carrying me to the regions of bliss.... but, at the very moment of completing the offering, she fails me, moves off, slips away, and comes back to work off my excitement with a hand which strikes me as cold as ice.
"Ah, thou cruel, beloved woman! Thou art burning with the fire of love, and thou deprivest thyself of the only remedy which could bring calm to thy senses! Thy lovely hand is more humane than thou art, but thou has not enjoyed the felicity that thy hand has given me. My hand must owe nothing to thine. Come, darling light of my heart, come! Love doubles my existence in the hope that I will die again, but only in that charming retreat from which you have ejected me in the very moment of my greatest enjoyment."
While I was speaking thus, her very soul was breathing forth the most tender sighs of happiness, and as she pressed me tightly in her arms I felt that she was weltering in an ocean of bliss.
Silence lasted rather a long time, but that unnatural felicity was imperfect, and increased my excitement.
"How canst thou complain," she said tenderly, "when it is to that very imperfection of our enjoyment that we are indebted for its continuance? I loved thee a few minutes since, now I love thee a thousand times more, and perhaps I should love thee less if thou hadst carried my enjoyment to its highest limit."
"Oh! how much art thou mistaken, lovely one! How great is thy error! Thou art feeding upon sophisms, and thou leavest reality aside; I mean nature which alone can give real felicity. Desires constantly renewed and never fully satisfied are more terrible than the torments of hell."
"But are not these desires happiness when they are always accompanied by hope?"
"No, if that hope is always disappointed. It becomes hell itself, because there is no hope, and hope must die when it is killed by constant deception."
"Dearest, if hope does not exist in hell, desires cannot be found there either; for to imagine desires without hopes would be more than madness."
"Well, answer me. If you desire to be mine entirely, and if you feel the hope of it, which, according to your way of reasoning, is a natural consequence, why do you always raise an impediment to your own hope? Cease, dearest, cease to deceive yourself by absurd sophisms. Let us be as happy as it is in nature to be, and be quite certain that the reality of happiness will increase our love, and that love will find a new life in our very enjoyment."
"What I see proves the contrary; you are alive with excitement now, but if your desires had been entirely satisfied, you would be dead, benumbed, motionless. I know it by experience: if you had breathed the full ecstacy of enjoyment, as you desired, you would have found a weak ardour only at long intervals."
"Ah! charming creature, your experience is but very small; do not trust to it. I see that you have never known love. That which you call love's grave is the sanctuary in which it receives life, the abode which makes it immortal. Give way to my prayers, my lovely friend, and then you shall know the difference between Love and Hymen. You shall see that, if Hymen likes to die in order to get rid of life, Love on the contrary expires only to spring up again into existence, and hastens to revive, so as to savour new enjoyment. Let me undeceive you, and believe me when I say that the full gratification of desires can only increase a hundredfold the mutual ardour of two beings who adore each other."
"Well, I must believe you; but let us wait. In the meantime let us enjoy all the trifles, all the sweet preliminaries of love. Devour thy mistress, dearest, but abandon to me all thy being. If this night is too short we must console ourselves to-morrow by making arrangements for another one."
"And if our intercourse should be discovered?"
"Do we make a mystery of it? Everybody can see that we love each other, and those who think that we do not enjoy the happiness of lovers are precisely the only persons we have to fear. We must only be careful to guard against being surprised in the very act of proving our love. Heaven and nature must protect our affection, for there is no crime when two hearts are blended in true love. Since I have been conscious of my own existence, Love has always seemed to me the god of my being, for every time I saw a man I was delighted; I thought that I was looking upon one-half of myself, because I felt I was made for him and he for me. I longed to be married. It was that uncertain longing of the heart which occupies exclusively a young girl of fifteen. I had no conception of love, but I fancied that it naturally accompanied marriage. You can therefore imagine my surprise when my husband, in the very act of making a woman of me, gave me a great deal of pain without giving me the slightest idea of pleasure! My imagination in the convent was much better than the reality I had been condemned to by my husband! The result has naturally been that we have become very good friends, but a very indifferent husband and wife, without any desires for each other. He has every reason to be pleased with me, for I always shew myself docile to his wishes, but enjoyment not being in those cases seasoned by love, he must find it without flavour, and he seldom comes to me for it.
"When I found out that you were in love with me, I felt delighted, and gave you every opportunity of becoming every day more deeply enamoured of me, thinking myself certain of never loving you myself. As soon as I felt that love had likewise attacked my heart, I ill-treated you to punish you for having made my heart sensible. Your patience and constancy have astonished me, and have caused me to be guilty, for after the first kiss I gave you I had no longer any control over myself. I was indeed astounded when I saw the havoc made by one single kiss, and I felt that my happiness was wrapped up in yours. That discovery flattered and delighted me, and I have found out, particularly to-night, that I cannot be happy unless you are so yourself."
"That is, my beloved, the most refined of all sentiments experienced by love, but it is impossible for you to render me completely happy without following in everything the laws and the wishes of nature."
The night was spent in tender discussions and in exquisite voluptuousness, and it was not without some grief that at day-break I tore myself from her arms to go to Gouyn. She wept for joy when she saw that I left her without having lost a particle of my vigour, for she did not imagine such a thing possible.
After that night, so rich in delights, ten or twelve days passed without giving us any opportunity of quenching even a small particle of the amorous thirst which devoured us, and it was then that a fearful misfortune befell me.
One evening after supper, M. D---- R---- having retired, M. F---- used no ceremony, and, although I was present, told his wife that he intended to pay her a visit after writing two letters which he had to dispatch early the next morning. The moment he had left the room we looked at each other, and with one accord fell into each other's arms. A torrent of delights rushed through our souls without restraint, without reserve, but when the first ardour had been appeased, without giving me time to think or to enjoy the most complete, the most delicious victory, she drew back, repulsed me, and threw herself, panting, distracted, upon a chair near her bed. Rooted to the spot, astonished, almost mad, I tremblingly looked at her, trying to understand what had caused such an extraordinary action. She turned round towards me and said, her eyes flashing with the fire of love,
"My darling, we were on the brink of the precipice."
"The precipice! Ah! cruel woman, you have killed me, I feel myself dying, and perhaps you will never see me again."
I left her in a state of frenzy, and rushed out, towards the esplanade, to cool myself, for I was choking. Any man who has not experienced the cruelty of an action like that of Madame F----, and especially in the situation I found myself in at that moment, mentally and bodily, can hardly realize what I suffered, and, although I have felt that suffering, I could not give an idea of it.
I was in that fearful state, when I heard my name called from a window, and unfortunately I condescended to answer. I went near the window, and I saw, thanks to the moonlight, the famous Melulla standing on her balcony.
"What are you doing there at this time of night?" I enquired.
"I am enjoying the cool evening breeze. Come up for a little while."
This Melulla, of fatal memory, was a courtezan from Zamte, of rare beauty, who for the last four months had been the delight and the rage of all the young men in Corfu. Those who had known her agreed in extolling her charms: she was the talk of all the city. I had seen her often, but, although she was very beautiful, I was very far from thinking her as lovely as Madame F----, putting my affection for the latter on one side. I recollect seeing in Dresden, in the year 1790, a very handsome woman who was the image of Melulla.
I went upstairs mechanically, and she took me to a voluptuous boudoir; she complained of my being the only one who had never paid her a visit, when I was the man she would have preferred to all others, and I had the infamy to give way.... I became the most criminal of men.
It was neither desire, nor imagination, nor the merit of the woman which caused me to yield, for Melulla was in no way worthy of me; no, it was weakness, indolence, and the state of bodily and mental irritation in which I then found myself: it was a sort of spite, because the angel whom I adored had displeased me by a caprice, which, had I not been unworthy of her, would only have caused me to be still more attached to her.
Melulla, highly pleased with her success, refused the gold I wanted to give her, and allowed me to go after I had spent two hours with her.
When I recovered my composure, I had but one feeling--hatred for myself and for the contemptible creature who had allured me to be guilty of so vile an insult to the loveliest of her sex. I went home the prey to fearful remorse, and went to bed, but sleep never closed my eyes throughout that cruel night.
In the morning, worn out with fatigue and sorrow, I got up, and as soon as I was dressed I went to M. F----, who had sent for me to give me some orders. After I had returned, and had given him an account of my mission, I called upon Madame F----, and finding her at her toilet I wished her good morning, observing that her lovely face was breathing the cheerfulness and the calm of happiness; but, suddenly, her eyes meeting mine, I saw her countenance change, and an expression of sadness replace her looks of satisfaction. She cast her eyes down as if she was deep in thought, raised them again as if to read my very soul, and breaking our painful silence, as soon as she had dismissed her maid, she said to me, with an accent full of tenderness and of solemnity,
"Dear one, let there be no concealment either on my part or on yours. I felt deeply grieved when I saw you leave me last night, and a little consideration made me understand all the evil which might accrue to you in consequence of what I had done. With a nature like yours, such scenes might cause very dangerous disorders, and I have resolved not to do again anything by halves. I thought that you went out to breathe the fresh air, and I hoped it would do you good. I placed myself at my window, where I remained more than an hour without seeing a light in your room. Sorry for what I had done, loving you more than ever, I was compelled, when my husband came to my room, to go to bed with the sad conviction that you had not come home. This morning, M. F. sent an officer to tell you that he wanted to see you, and I heard the messenger inform him that you were not yet up, and that you had come home very late. I felt my heart swell with sorrow. I am not jealous, dearest, for I know that you cannot love anyone but me; I only felt afraid of some misfortune. At last, this morning, when I heard you coming, I was happy, because I was ready to shew my repentance, but I looked at you, and you seemed a different man. Now, I am still looking at you, and, in spite of myself, my soul reads upon your countenance that you are guilty, that you have outraged my love. Tell me at once, dearest, if I am mistaken; if you have deceived me, say so openly. Do not be unfaithful to love and to truth. Knowing that I was the cause of it, I should never forgive my self, but there is an excuse for you in my heart, in my whole being."
More than once, in the course of my life, I have found myself under the painful necessity of telling falsehoods to the woman I loved; but in this case, after so true, so touching an appeal, how could I be otherwise than sincere? I felt myself sufficiently debased by my crime, and I could not degrade myself still more by falsehood. I was so far from being disposed to such a line of conduct that I could not speak, and I burst out crying.
"What, my darling! you are weeping! Your tears make me miserable. You ought not to have shed any with me but tears of happiness and love. Quick, my beloved, tell me whether you have made me wretched. Tell me what fearful revenge you have taken on me, who would rather die than offend you. If I have caused you any sorrow, it has been in the innocence of a loving and devoted heart."
"My own darling angel, I never thought of revenge, for my heart, which can never cease to adore you, could never conceive such a dreadful idea. It is against my own heart that my cowardly weakness has allured me to the commission of a crime which, for the remainder of my life, makes me unworthy of you."
"Have you, then, given yourself to some wretched woman?"
"Yes, I have spent two hours in the vilest debauchery, and my soul was present only to be the witness of my sadness, of my remorse, of my unworthiness."
"Sadness and remorse! Oh, my poor friend! I believe it. But it is my fault; I alone ought to suffer; it is I who must beg you to forgive me."
Her tears made mine flow again.
"Divine soul," I said, "the reproaches you are addressing to yourself increase twofold the gravity of my crime. You would never have been guilty of any wrong against me if I had been really worthy of your love."
I felt deeply the truth of my words.
We spent the remainder of the day apparently quiet and composed, concealing our sadness in the depths of our hearts. She was curious to know all the circumstances of my miserable adventure, and, accepting it as an expiation, I related them to her. Full of kindness, she assured me that we were bound to ascribe that accident to fate, and that the same thing might have happened to the best of men. She added that I was more to be pitied than condemned, and that she did not love me less. We both were certain that we would seize the first favourable opportunity, she of obtaining her pardon, I of atoning for my crime, by giving each other new and complete proofs of our mutual ardour. But Heaven in its justice had ordered differently, and I was cruelly punished for my disgusting debauchery.
On the third day, as I got up in the morning, an awful pricking announced the horrid state into which the wretched Melulla had thrown me. I was thunderstruck! And when I came to think of the misery which I might have caused if, during the last three days, I had obtained some new favour from my lovely mistress, I was on the point of going mad. What would have been her feelings if I had made her unhappy for the remainder of her life! Would anyone, then, knowing the whole case, have condemned me if I had destroyed my own life in order to deliver myself from everlasting remorse? No, for the man who kills himself from sheer despair, thus performing upon himself the execution of the sentence he would have deserved at the hands of justice cannot be blamed either by a virtuous philosopher or by a tolerant Christian. But of one thing I am quite certain: if such a misfortune had happened, I should have committed suicide.
Overwhelmed with grief by the discovery I had just made, but thinking that I should get rid of the inconvenience as I had done three times before, I prepared myself for a strict diet, which would restore my health in six weeks without anyone having any suspicion of my illness, but I soon found out that I had not seen the end of my troubles; Melulla had communicated to my system all the poisons which corrupt the source of life. I was acquainted with an elderly doctor of great experience in those matters; I consulted him, and he promised to set me to rights in two months; he proved as good as his word. At the beginning of September I found myself in good health, and it was about that time that I returned to Venice.
The first thing I resolved on, as soon as I discovered the state I was in, was to confess everything to Madame F----. I did not wish to wait for the time when a compulsory confession would have made her blush for her weakness, and given her cause to think of the fearful consequences which might have been the result of her passion for me. Her affection was too dear to me to run the risk of losing it through a want of confidence in her. Knowing her heart, her candour, and the generosity which had prompted her to say that I was more to be pitied than blamed, I thought myself bound to prove by my sincerity that I deserved her esteem.
I told her candidly my position and the state I had been thrown in, when I thought of the dreadful consequences it might have had for her. I saw her shudder and tremble, and she turned pale with fear when I added that I would have avenged her by killing myself.
"Villainous, infamous Melulla!" she exclaimed.
And I repeated those words, but turning them against myself when I realized all I had sacrificed through the most disgusting weakness.
Everyone in Corfu knew of my visit to the wretched Melulla, and everyone seemed surprised to see the appearance of health on my countenance; for many were the victims that she had treated like me.
My illness was not my only sorrow; I had others which, although of a different nature, were not less serious. It was written in the book of fate that I should return to Venice a simple ensign as when I left: the general did not keep his word, and the bastard son of a nobleman was promoted to the lieutenancy instead of myself. From that moment the military profession, the one most subject to arbitrary despotism, inspired me with disgust, and I determined to give it up. But I had another still more important motive for sorrow in the fickleness of fortune which had completely turned against me. I remarked that, from the time of my degradation with Melulla, every kind of misfortune befell me. The greatest of all--that which I felt most, but which I had the good sense to try and consider a favour--was that a week before the departure of the army M. D---- R---- took me again for his adjutant, and M. F---- had to engage another in my place. On the occasion of that change Madame F. told me, with an appearance of regret, that in Venice we could not, for many reasons, continue our intimacy. I begged her to spare me the reasons, as I foresaw that they would only throw humiliation upon me. I began to discover that the goddess I had worshipped was, after all, a poor human being like all other women, and to think that I should have been very foolish to give up my life for her. I probed in one day the real worth of her heart, for she told me, I cannot recollect in reference to what, that I excited her pity. I saw clearly that she no longer loved me; pity is a debasing feeling which cannot find a home in a heart full of love, for that dreary sentiment is too near a relative of contempt. Since that time I never found myself alone with Madame F----. I loved her still; I could easily have made her blush, but I did not do it.
As soon as we reached Venice she became attached to M. F---- R----, whom she loved until death took him from her. She was unhappy enough to lose her sight twenty years after. I believe she is still alive.
During the last two months of my stay in Corfu, I learned the most bitter and important lessons. In after years I often derived useful hints from the experience I acquired at that time.
Before my adventure with the worthless Melulla, I enjoyed good health, I was rich, lucky at play, liked by everybody, beloved by the most lovely woman of Corfu. When I spoke, everybody would listen and admire my wit; my words were taken for oracles, and everyone coincided with me in everything. After my fatal meeting with the courtezan I rapidly lost my health, my money, my credit; cheerfulness, consideration, wit, everything, even the faculty of eloquence vanished with fortune. I would talk, but people knew that I was unfortunate, and I no longer interested or convinced my hearers. The influence I had over Madame F---- faded away little by little, and, almost without her knowing it, the lovely woman became completely indifferent to me.
I left Corfu without money, although I had sold or pledged everything I had of any value. Twice I had reached Corfu rich and happy, twice I left it poor and miserable. But this time I had contracted debts which I have never paid, not through want of will but through carelessness.
Rich and in good health, everyone received me with open arms; poor and looking sick, no one shewed me any consideration. With a full purse and the tone of a conqueror, I was thought witty, amusing; with an empty purse and a modest air, all I said appeared dull and insipid. If I had become rich again, how soon I would have been again accounted the eighth wonder of the world! Oh, men! oh, fortune! Everyone avoided me as if the ill luck which crushed me down was infectious.
We left Corfu towards the end of September, with five galleys, two galeasses, and several smaller vessels, under the command of M. Renier. We sailed along the shores of the Adriatic, towards the north of the gulf, where there are a great many harbours, and we put in one of them every night. I saw Madame F---- every evening; she always came with her husband to take supper on board our galeass. We had a fortunate voyage, and cast anchor in the harbour of Venice on the 14th of October, 1745, and after having performed quarantine on board our ships, we landed on the 25th of November. Two months afterwards, the galeasses were set aside altogether. The use of these vessels could be traced very far back in ancient times; their maintenance was very expensive, and they were useless. A galeass had the frame of a frigate with the rowing apparatus of the galley, and when there was no wind, five hundred slaves had to row.
Before simple good sense managed to prevail and to enforce the suppression of these useless carcasses, there were long discussions in the senate, and those who opposed the measure took their principal ground of opposition in the necessity of respecting and conserving all the institutions of olden times. That is the disease of persons who can never identify themselves with the successive improvements born of reason and experience; worthy persons who ought to be sent to China, or to the dominions of the Grand Lama, where they would certainly be more at home than in Europe.
That ground of opposition to all improvements, however absurd it may be, is a very powerful one in a republic, which must tremble at the mere idea of novelty either in important or in trifling things. Superstition has likewise a great part to play in these conservative views.
There is one thing that the Republic of Venice will never alter: I mean the galleys, because the Venetians truly require such vessels to ply, in all weathers and in spite of the frequent calms, in a narrow sea, and because they would not know what to do with the men sentenced to hard labour.
I have observed a singular thing in Corfu, where there are often as many as three thousand galley slaves; it is that the men who row on the galleys, in consequence of a sentence passed upon them for some crime, are held in a kind of opprobrium, whilst those who are there voluntarily are, to some extent, respected. I have always thought it ought to be the reverse, because misfortune, whatever it may be, ought to inspire some sort of respect; but the vile fellow who condemns himself voluntarily and as a trade to the position of a slave seems to me contemptible in the highest degree. The convicts of the Republic, however, enjoy many privileges, and are, in every way, better treated than the soldiers. It very often occurs that soldiers desert and give themselves up to a 'sopracomito' to become galley slaves. In those cases, the captain who loses a soldier has nothing to do but to submit patiently, for he would claim the man in vain. The reason of it is that the Republic has always believed galley slaves more necessary than soldiers. The Venetians may perhaps now (I am writing these lines in the year 1797) begin to realize their mistake.
A galley slave, for instance, has the privilege of stealing with impunity. It is considered that stealing is the least crime they can be guilty of, and that they ought to be forgiven for it.
"Keep on your guard," says the master of the galley slave; "and if you catch him in the act of stealing, thrash him, but be careful not to <DW36> him; otherwise you must pay me the one hundred ducats the man has cost me."
A court of justice could not have a galley slave taken from a galley, without paying the master the amount he has disbursed for the man.
As soon as I had landed in Venice, I called upon Madame Orio, but I found the house empty. A neighbour told me that she had married the Procurator Rosa, and had removed to his house. I went immediately to M. Rosa and was well received. Madame Orio informed me that Nanette had become Countess R., and was living in Guastalla with her husband.
Twenty-four years afterwards, I met her eldest son, then a distinguished officer in the service of the Infante of Parma.
As for Marton, the grace of Heaven had touched her, and she had become a nun in the convent at Muran. Two years afterwards, I received from her a letter full of unction, in which she adjured me, in the name of Our Saviour and of the Holy Virgin, never to present myself before her eyes. She added that she was bound by Christian charity to forgive me for the crime I had committed in seducing her, and she felt certain of the reward of the elect, and she assured me that she would ever pray earnestly for my conversion.
I never saw her again, but she saw me in 1754, as I will mention when we reach that year.
I found Madame Manzoni still the same. She had predicted that I would not remain in the military profession, and when I told her that I had made up my mind to give it up, because I could not be reconciled to the injustice I had experienced, she burst out laughing. She enquired about the profession I intended to follow after giving up the army, and I answered that I wished to become an advocate. She laughed again, saying that it was too late. Yet I was only twenty years old.
When I called upon M. Grimani I had a friendly welcome from him, but, having enquired after my brother Francois, he told me that he had had him confined in Fort Saint Andre, the same to which I had been sent before the arrival of the Bishop of Martorano.
"He works for the major there," he said; "he copies Simonetti's battle-pieces, and the major pays him for them; in that manner he earns his living, and is becoming a good painter."
"But he is not a prisoner?"
"Well, very much like it, for he cannot leave the fort. The major, whose name is Spiridion, is a friend of Razetta, who could not refuse him the pleasure of taking care of your brother."
I felt it a dreadful curse that the fatal Razetta should be the tormentor of all my family, but I concealed my anger.
"Is my sister," I enquired, "still with him?"
"No, she has gone to your mother in Dresden."
This was good news.
I took a cordial leave of the Abbe Grimani, and I proceeded to Fort Saint Andre. I found my brother hard at work, neither pleased nor displeased with his position, and enjoying good health. After embracing him affectionately, I enquired what crime he had committed to be thus a prisoner.
"Ask the major," he said, "for I have not the faintest idea."
The major came in just then, so I gave him the military salute, and asked by what authority he kept my brother under arrest.
"I am not accountable to you for my actions."
"That remains to be seen."
I then told my brother to take his hat, and to come and dine with me. The major laughed, and said that he had no objection provided the sentinel allowed him to pass.
I saw that I should only waste my time in discussion, and I left the fort fully bent on obtaining justice.
The next day I went to the war office, where I had the pleasure of meeting my dear Major Pelodoro, who was then commander of the Fortress of Chiozza. I informed him of the complaint I wanted to prefer before the secretary of war respecting my brother's arrest, and of the resolution I had taken to leave the army. He promised me that, as soon as the consent of the secretary for war could be obtained, he would find a purchaser for my commission at the same price I had paid for it.
I had not long to wait. The war secretary came to the office, and everything was settled in half an hour. He promised his consent to the sale of my commission as soon as he ascertained the abilities of the purchaser, and Major Spiridion happening to make his appearance in the office while I was still there, the secretary ordered him rather angrily, to set my brother at liberty immediately, and cautioned him not to be guilty again of such reprehensible and arbitrary acts.
I went at once for my brother, and we lived together in furnished lodgings.
A few days afterwards, having received my discharge and one hundred sequins, I threw off my uniform, and found myself once more my own master.
I had to earn my living in one way or another, and I decided for the profession of gamester. But Dame Fortune was not of the same opinion, for she refused to smile upon me from the very first step I took in the career, and in less than a week I did not possess a groat. What was to become of me? One must live, and I turned fiddler. Doctor Gozzi had taught me well enough to enable me to scrape on the violin in the orchestra of a theatre, and having mentioned my wishes to M. Grimani he procured me an engagement at his own theatre of Saint Samuel, where I earned a crown a day, and supported myself while I awaited better things.
Fully aware of my real position, I never shewed myself in the fashionable circles which I used to frequent before my fortune had sunk so low. I knew that I was considered as a worthless fellow, but I did not care. People despised me, as a matter of course; but I found comfort in the consciousness that I was worthy of contempt. I felt humiliated by the position to which I was reduced after having played so brilliant a part in society; but as I kept the secret to myself I was not degraded, even if I felt some shame. I had not exchanged my last word with Dame Fortune, and was still in hope of reckoning with her some day, because I was young, and youth is dear to Fortune.
CHAPTER XVII
I Turn Out A Worthless Fellow--My Good Fortune--I Become A
Rich Nobleman
With an education which ought to have ensured me an honourable standing in the world, with some intelligence, wit, good literary and scientific knowledge, and endowed with those accidental physical qualities which are such a good passport into society, I found myself, at the age of twenty, the mean follower of a sublime art, in which, if great talent is rightly admired, mediocrity is as rightly despised. I was compelled by poverty to become a member of a musical band, in which I could expect neither esteem nor consideration, and I was well aware that I should be the laughing-stock of the persons who had known me as a doctor in divinity, as an ecclesiastic, and as an officer in the army, and had welcomed me in the highest society.
I knew all that, for I was not blind to my position; but contempt, the only thing to which I could not have remained indifferent, never shewed itself anywhere under a form tangible enough for me to have no doubt of my being despised, and I set it at defiance, because I was satisfied that contempt is due only to cowardly, mean actions, and I was conscious that I had never been guilty of any. As to public esteem, which I had ever been anxious to secure, my ambition was slumbering, and satisfied with being my own master I enjoyed my independence without puzzling my head about the future. I felt that in my first profession, as I was not blessed with the vocation necessary to it, I should have succeeded only by dint of hypocrisy, and I should have been despicable in my own estimation, even if I had seen the purple mantle on my shoulders, for the greatest dignities cannot silence a man's own conscience. If, on the other hand, I had continued to seek fortune in a military career, which is surrounded by a halo of glory, but is otherwise the worst of professions for the constant self-abnegation, for the complete surrender of one's will which passive obedience demands, I should have required a patience to which I could not lay any claim, as every kind of injustice was revolting to me, and as I could not bear to feel myself dependent. Besides, I was of opinion that a man's profession, whatever it might be, ought to supply him with enough money to satisfy all his wants; and the very poor pay of an officer would never have been sufficient to cover my expenses, because my education had given me greater wants than those of officers in general. By scraping my violin I earned enough to keep myself without requiring anybody's assistance, and I have always thought that the man who can support himself is happy. I grant that my profession was not a brilliant one, but I did not mind it, and, calling prejudices all the feelings which rose in my breast against myself, I was not long in sharing all the habits of my degraded comrades. When the play was over, I went with them to the drinking-booth, which we often left intoxicated to spend the night in houses of ill-fame. When we happened to find those places already tenanted by other men, we forced them by violence to quit the premises, and defrauded the miserable victims of prostitution of the mean salary the law allows them, after compelling them to yield to our brutality. Our scandalous proceedings often exposed us to the greatest danger.
We would very often spend the whole night rambling about the city, inventing and carrying into execution the most impertinent, practical jokes. One of our favourite pleasures was to unmoor the patricians' gondolas, and to let them float at random along the canals, enjoying by anticipation all the curses that gondoliers would not fail to indulge in. We would rouse up hurriedly, in the middle of the night, an honest midwife, telling her to hasten to Madame So-and-so, who, not being even pregnant, was sure to tell her she was a fool when she called at the house. We did the same with physicians, whom we often sent half dressed to some nobleman who was enjoying excellent health. The priests fared no better; we would send them to carry the last sacraments to married men who were peacefully slumbering near their wives, and not thinking of extreme unction.
We were in the habit of cutting the wires of the bells in every house, and if we chanced to find a gate open we would go up the stairs in the dark, and frighten the sleeping inmates by telling them very loudly that the house door was not closed, after which we would go down, making as much noise as we could, and leave the house with the gate wide open.
During a very dark night we formed a plot to overturn the large marble table of St. Angelo's Square, on which it was said that in the days of the League of Cambray the commissaries of the Republic were in the habit of paying the bounty to the recruits who engaged to fight under the standard of St. Mark--a circumstance which secured for the table a sort of public veneration.
Whenever we could contrive to get into a church tower we thought it great fun to frighten all the parish by ringing the alarm bell, as if some fire had broken out; but that was not all, we always cut the bell ropes, so that in the morning the churchwardens had no means of summoning the faithful to early mass. Sometimes we would cross the canal, each of us in a different gondola, and take to our heels without paying as soon as we landed on the opposite side, in order to make the gondoliers run after us.
The city was alive with complaints, and we laughed at the useless search made by the police to find out those who disturbed the peace of the inhabitants. We took good care to be careful, for if we had been discovered we stood a very fair chance of being sent to practice rowing at the expense of the Council of Ten.
We were seven, and sometimes eight, because, being much attached to my brother Francois, I gave him a share now and then in our nocturnal orgies. But at last fear put a stop to our criminal jokes, which in those days I used to call only the frolics of young men. This is the amusing adventure which closed our exploits.
In every one of the seventy-two parishes of the city of Venice, there is a large public-house called 'magazzino'. It remains open all night, and wine is retailed there at a cheaper price than in all the other drinking houses. People can likewise eat in the 'magazzino', but they must obtain what they want from the pork butcher near by, who has the exclusive sale of eatables, and likewise keeps his shop open throughout the night. The pork butcher is usually a very poor cook, but as he is cheap, poor people are willingly satisfied with him, and these resorts are considered very useful to the lower class. The nobility, the merchants, even workmen in good circumstances, are never seen in the 'magazzino', for cleanliness is not exactly worshipped in such places. Yet there are a few private rooms which contain a table surrounded with benches, in which a respectable family or a few friends can enjoy themselves in a decent way.
It was during the Carnival of 1745, after midnight; we were, all the eight of us, rambling about together with our masks on, in quest of some new sort of mischief to amuse us, and we went into the magazzino of the parish of the Holy Cross to get something to drink. We found the public room empty, but in one of the private chambers we discovered three men quietly conversing with a young and pretty woman, and enjoying their wine.
Our chief, a noble Venetian belonging to the Balbi family, said to us, "It would be a good joke to carry off those three blockheads, and to keep the pretty woman in our possession." He immediately explained his plan, and under cover of our masks we entered their room, Balbi at the head of us. Our sudden appearance rather surprised the good people, but you may fancy their astonishment when they heard Balbi say to them: "Under penalty of death, and by order of the Council of Ten, I command you to follow us immediately, without making the slightest noise; as to you, my good woman, you need not be frightened, you will be escorted to your house." When he had finished his speech, two of us got hold of the woman to take her where our chief had arranged beforehand, and the others seized the three poor fellows, who were trembling all over, and had not the slightest idea of opposing any resistance.
The waiter of the magazzino came to be paid, and our chief gave him what was due, enjoining silence under penalty of death. We took our three prisoners to a large boat. Balbi went to the stern, ordered the boatman to stand at the bow, and told him that he need not enquire where we were going, that he would steer himself whichever way he thought fit. Not one of us knew where Balbi wanted to take the three poor devils.
He sails all along the canal, gets out of it, takes several turnings, and in a quarter of an hour, we reach Saint George where Balbi lands our prisoners, who are delighted to find themselves at liberty. After this, the boatman is ordered to take us to Saint Genevieve, where we land, after paying for the boat.
We proceed at once to Palombo Square, where my brother and another of our band were waiting for us with our lovely prisoner, who was crying.
"Do not weep, my beauty," says Balbi to her, "we will not hurt you. We intend only to take some refreshment at the Rialto, and then we will take you home in safety."
"Where is my husband?"
"Never fear; you shall see him again to-morrow."
Comforted by that promise, and as gentle as a lamb, she follows us to the "Two Swords." We ordered a good fire in a private room, and, everything we wanted to eat and to drink having been brought in, we send the waiter away, and remain alone. We take off our masks, and the sight of eight young, healthy faces seems to please the beauty we had so unceremoniously carried off. We soon manage to reconcile her to her fate by the gallantry of our proceedings; encouraged by a good supper and by the stimulus of wine, prepared by our compliments and by a few kisses, she realizes what is in store for her, and does not seem to have any unconquerable objection. Our chief, as a matter of right, claims the privilege of opening the ball; and by dint of sweet words he overcomes the very natural repugnance she feels at consummating the sacrifice in so numerous company. She, doubtless, thinks the offering agreeable, for, when I present myself as the priest appointed to sacrifice a second time to the god of love, she receives me almost with gratitude, and she cannot conceal her joy when she finds out that she is destined to make us all happy. My brother Francois alone exempted himself from paying the tribute, saying that he was ill, the only excuse which could render his refusal valid, for we had established as a law that every member of our society was bound to do whatever was done by the others.
After that fine exploit, we put on our masks, and, the bill being paid, escorted the happy victim to Saint Job, where she lived, and did not leave her till we had seen her safe in her house, and the street door closed.
My readers may imagine whether we felt inclined to laugh when the charming creature bade us good night, thanking us all with perfect good faith!
Two days afterwards, our nocturnal orgy began to be talked of. The young woman's husband was a weaver by trade, and so were his two friends. They joined together to address a complaint to the Council of Ten. The complaint was candidly written and contained nothing but the truth, but the criminal portion of the truth was veiled by a circumstance which must have brought a smile on the grave countenances of the judges, and highly amused the public at large: the complaint setting forth that the eight masked men had not rendered themselves guilty of any act disagreeable to the wife. It went on to say that the two men who had carried her off had taken her to such a place, where they had, an hour later, been met by the other six, and that they had all repaired to the "Two Swords," where they had spent an hour in drinking. The said lady having been handsomely entertained by the eight masked men, had been escorted to her house, where she had been politely requested to excuse the joke perpetrated upon her husband. The three plaintiffs had not been able to leave the island of Saint George until day-break, and the husband, on reaching his house, had found his wife quietly asleep in her bed. She had informed him of all that had happened; she complained of nothing but of the great fright she had experienced on account of her husband, and on that count she entreated justice and the punishment of the guilty parties.
That complaint was comic throughout, for the three rogues shewed themselves very brave in writing, stating that they would certainly not have given way so easily if the dread authority of the council had not been put forth by the leader of the band. The document produced three different results; in the first place, it amused the town; in the second, all the idlers of Venice went to Saint Job to hear the account of the adventure from the lips of the heroine herself, and she got many presents from her numerous visitors; in the third place, the Council of Ten offered a reward of five hundred ducats to any person giving such information as would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the practical joke, even if the informer belonged to the band, provided he was not the leader.
The offer of that reward would have made us tremble if our leader, precisely the one who alone had no interest in turning informer, had not been a patrician. The rank of Balbi quieted my anxiety at once, because I knew that, even supposing one of us were vile enough to betray our secret for the sake of the reward, the tribunal would have done nothing in order not to implicate a patrician. There was no cowardly traitor amongst us, although we were all poor; but fear had its effect, and our nocturnal pranks were not renewed.
Three or four months afterwards the chevalier Nicolas Iron, then one of the inquisitors, astonished me greatly by telling me the whole story, giving the names of all the actors. He did not tell me whether any one of the band had betrayed the secret, and I did not care to know; but I could clearly see the characteristic spirit of the aristocracy, for which the 'solo mihi' is the supreme law.
Towards the middle of April of the year 1746 M. Girolamo Cornaro, the eldest son of the family Cornaro de la Reine, married a daughter of the house of Soranzo de St. Pol, and I had the honour of being present at the wedding--as a fiddler. I played the violin in one of the numerous bands engaged for the balls which were given for three consecutive days in the Soranzo Palace.
On the third day, towards the end of the dancing, an hour before day-break, feeling tired, I left the orchestra abruptly; and as I was going down the stairs I observed a senator, wearing his red robes, on the point of getting into a gondola. In taking his handkerchief out of his pocket he let a letter drop on the ground. I picked it up, and coming up to him just as he was going down the steps I handed it to him. He received it with many thanks, and enquired where I lived. I told him, and he insisted upon my coming with him in the gondola saying that he would leave me at my house. I accepted gratefully, and sat down near him. A few minutes afterwards he asked me to rub his left arm, which, he said, was so benumbed that he could not feel it. I rubbed it with all my strength, but he told me in a sort of indistinct whisper that the numbness was spreading all along the left side, and that he was dying.
I was greatly frightened; I opened the curtain, took the lantern, and found him almost insensible, and the mouth drawn on one side. I understood that he was seized with an apoplectic stroke, and called out to the gondoliers to land me at once, in order to procure a surgeon to bleed the patient.
I jumped out of the gondola, and found myself on the very spot where three years before I had taught Razetta such a forcible lesson; I enquired for a surgeon at the first coffee-house, and ran to the house that was pointed out to me. I knocked as hard as I could; the door was at last opened, and I made the surgeon follow me in his dressing-gown as far as the gondola, which was waiting; he bled the senator while I was tearing my shirt to make the compress and the bandage.
The operation being performed, I ordered the gondoliers to row as fast as possible, and we soon reached St. Marina; the servants were roused up, and taking the sick man out of the gondola we carried him to his bed almost dead.
Taking everything upon myself, I ordered a servant to hurry out for a physician, who came in a short time, and ordered the patient to be bled again, thus approving the first bleeding prescribed by me. Thinking I had a right to watch the sick man, I settled myself near his bed to give him every care he required.
An hour later, two noblemen, friends of the senator, came in, one a few minutes after the other. They were in despair; they had enquired about the accident from the gondoliers, and having been told that I knew more than they did, they loaded me with questions which I answered. They did not know who I was, and did not like to ask me; whilst I thought it better to preserve a modest silence.
The patient did not move; his breathing alone shewed that he was still alive; fomentations were constantly applied, and the priest who had been sent for, and was of very little use under such circumstances, seemed to be there only to see him die. All visitors were sent away by my advice, and the two noblemen and myself were the only persons in the sick man's room. At noon we partook silently of some dinner which was served in the sick room.
In the evening one of the two friends told me that if I had any business to attend to I could go, because they would both pass the night on a mattress near the patient.
"And I, sir," I said, "will remain near his bed in this arm-chair, for if I went away the patient would die, and he will live as long as I am near him."
This sententious answer struck them with astonishment, as I expected it would, and they looked at each other in great surprise.
We had supper, and in the little conversation we had I gathered the information that the senator, their friend, was M. de Bragadin, the only brother of the procurator of that name. He was celebrated in Venice not only for his eloquence and his great talents as a statesman, but also for the gallantries of his youth. He had been very extravagant with women, and more than one of them had committed many follies for him. He had gambled and lost a great deal, and his brother was his most bitter enemy, because he was infatuated with the idea that he had tried to poison him. He had accused him of that crime before the Council of Ten, which, after an investigation of eight months, had brought in a verdict of not guilty: but that just sentence, although given unanimously by that high tribunal, had not had the effect of destroying his brother's prejudices against him.
M. de Bragadin, who was perfectly innocent of such a crime and oppressed by an unjust brother who deprived him of half of his income, spent his days like an amiable philosopher, surrounded by his friends, amongst whom were the two noblemen who were then watching him; one belonged to the Dandolo family, the other was a Barbaro, and both were excellent men. M. de Bragadin was handsome, learned, cheerful, and most kindly disposed; he was then about fifty years old.
The physician who attended him was named Terro; he thought, by some peculiar train of reasoning, that he could cure him by applying a mercurial ointment to the chest, to which no one raised any objection. The rapid effect of the remedy delighted the two friends, but it frightened me, for in less than twenty-four hours the patient was labouring under great excitement of the brain. The physician said that he had expected that effect, but that on the following day the remedy would act less on the brain, and diffuse its beneficial action through the whole of the system, which required to be invigorated by a proper equilibrium in the circulation of the fluids.
At midnight the patient was in a state of high fever, and in a fearful state of irritation. I examined him closely, and found him hardly able to breathe. I roused up his two friends; and declared that in my opinion the patient would soon die unless the fatal ointment was at once removed. And without waiting for their answer, I bared his chest, took off the plaster, washed the skin carefully with lukewarm water, and in less than three minutes he breathed freely and fell into a quiet sleep. Delighted with such a fortunate result, we lay down again.
The physician came very early in the morning, and was much pleased to see his patient so much better, but when M. Dandolo informed him of what had been done, he was angry, said it was enough to kill his patient, and asked who had been so audacious as to destroy the effect of his prescription. M. de Bragadin, speaking for the first time, said to him--
"Doctor, the person who has delivered me from your mercury, which was killing me, is a more skilful physician than you;" and, saying these words, he pointed to me.
It would be hard to say who was the more astonished: the doctor, when he saw an unknown young man, whom he must have taken for an impostor, declared more learned than himself; or I, when I saw myself transformed into a physician, at a moment's notice. I kept silent, looking very modest, but hardly able to control my mirth, whilst the doctor was staring at me with a mixture of astonishment and of spite, evidently thinking me some bold quack who had tried to supplant him. At last, turning towards M. de Bragadin, he told him coldly that he would leave him in my hands; he was taken at his word, he went away, and behold! I had become the physician of one of the most illustrious members of the Venetian Senate! I must confess that I was very glad of it, and I told my patient that a proper diet was all he needed, and that nature, assisted by the approaching fine season, would do the rest.
The dismissed physician related the affair through the town, and, as M. de Bragadin was rapidly improving, one of his relations, who came to see him, told him that everybody was astonished at his having chosen for his physician a fiddler from the theatre; but the senator put a stop to his remarks by answering that a fiddler could know more than all the doctors in Venice, and that he owed his life to me.
The worthy nobleman considered me as his oracle, and his two friends listened to me with the deepest attention. Their infatuation encouraging me, I spoke like a learned physician, I dogmatized, I quoted authors whom I had never read.
M. de Bragadin, who had the weakness to believe in the occult sciences, told me one day that, for a young man of my age, he thought my learning too extensive, and that he was certain I was the possessor of some supernatural endowment. He entreated me to tell him the truth.
What extraordinary things will sometimes occur from mere chance, or from the force of circumstances! Unwilling to hurt his vanity by telling him that he was mistaken, I took the wild resolution of informing him, in the presence of his two friends, that I possessed a certain numeral calculus which gave answers (also in numbers), to any questions I liked to put.
M. de Bragadin said that it was Solomon's key, vulgarly called cabalistic science, and he asked me from whom I learnt it.
"From an old hermit," I answered, "who lives on the Carpegna Mountain, and whose acquaintance I made quite by chance when I was a prisoner in the Spanish army."
"The hermit," remarked the senator, "has without informing you of it, linked an invisible spirit to the calculus he has taught you, for simple numbers can not have the power of reason. You possess a real treasure, and you may derive great advantages from it."
"I do not know," I said, "in what way I could make my science useful, because the answers given by the numerical figures are often so obscure that I have felt discouraged, and I very seldom tried to make any use of my calculus. Yet, it is very true that, if I had not formed my pyramid, I never should have had the happiness of knowing your excellency."
"How so?"
"On the second day, during the festivities at the Soranzo Palace, I enquired of my oracle whether I would meet at the ball anyone whom I should not care to see. The answer I obtained was this: 'Leave the ball-room precisely at four o'clock.' I obeyed implicitly, and met your excellency."
The three friends were astounded. M. Dandolo asked me whether I would answer a question he would ask, the interpretation of which would belong only to him, as he was the only person acquainted with the subject of the question.
I declared myself quite willing, for it was necessary to brazen it out, after having ventured as far as I had done. He wrote the question, and gave it to me; I read it, I could not understand either the subject or the meaning of the words, but it did not matter, I had to give an answer. If the question was so obscure that I could not make out the sense of it, it was natural that I should not understand the answer. I therefore answered, in ordinary figures, four lines of which he alone could be the interpreter, not caring much, at least in appearance, how they would be understood. M. Dandolo read them twice over, seemed astonished, said that it was all very plain to him; it was Divine, it was unique, it was a gift from Heaven, the numbers being only the vehicle, but the answer emanating evidently from an immortal spirit.
M. Dandolo was so well pleased that his two friends very naturally wanted also to make an experiment. They asked questions on all sorts of subjects, and my answers, perfectly unintelligible to myself, were all held as Divine by them. I congratulated them on their success, and congratulated myself in their presence upon being the possessor of a thing to which I had until then attached no importance whatever, but which I promised to cultivate carefully, knowing that I could thus be of some service to their excellencies.
They all asked me how long I would require to teach them the rules of my sublime calculus. "Not very long," I answered, "and I will teach you as you wish, although the hermit assured me that I would die suddenly within three days if I communicated my science to anyone, but I have no faith whatever in that prediction." M. de Bragadin who believed in it more than I did, told me in a serious tone that I was bound to have faith in it, and from that day they never asked me again to teach them. They very likely thought that, if they could attach me to them, it would answer the purpose as well as if they possessed the science themselves. Thus I became the hierophant of those three worthy and talented men, who, in spite of their literary accomplishments, were not wise, since they were infatuated with occult and fabulous sciences, and believed in the existence of phenomena impossible in the moral as well as in the physical order of things. They believed that through me they possessed the philosopher's stone, the universal panacea, the intercourse with all the elementary, heavenly, and infernal spirits; they had no doubt whatever that, thanks to my sublime science, they could find out the secrets of every government in Europe.
After they had assured themselves of the reality of my cabalistic science by questions respecting the past, they decided to turn it to some use by consulting it upon the present and upon the future. I had no difficulty in shewing myself a good guesser, because I always gave answers with a double meaning, one of the meanings being carefully arranged by me, so as not to be understood until after the event; in that manner, my cabalistic science, like the oracle of Delphi, could never be found in fault. I saw how easy it must have been for the ancient heathen priests to impose upon ignorant, and therefore credulous mankind. I saw how easy it will always be for impostors to find dupes, and I realized, even better than the Roman orator, why two augurs could never look at each other without laughing; it was because they had both an equal interest in giving importance to the deceit they perpetrated, and from which they derived such immense profits. But what I could not, and probably never shall, understand, was the reason for which the Fathers, who were not so simple or so ignorant as our Evangelists, did not feel able to deny the divinity of oracles, and, in order to get out of the difficulty, ascribed them to the devil. They never would have entertained such a strange idea if they had been acquainted with cabalistic science. My three worthy friends were like the holy Fathers; they had intelligence and wit, but they were superstitious, and no philosophers. But, although believing fully in my oracles, they were too kind-hearted to think them the work of the devil, and it suited their natural goodness better to believe my answers inspired by some heavenly spirit. They were not only good Christians and faithful to the Church, but even real devotees and full of scruples. They were not married, and, after having renounced all commerce with women, they had become the enemies of the female sex; perhaps a strong proof of the weakness of their minds. They imagined that chastity was the condition 'sine qua non' exacted by the spirits from those who wished to have intimate communication or intercourse with them: they fancied that spirits excluded women, and 'vice versa'.
With all these oddities, the three friends were truly intelligent and even witty, and, at the beginning of my acquaintance with them, I could not reconcile these antagonistic points. But a prejudiced mind cannot reason well, and the faculty of reasoning is the most important of all. I often laughed when I heard them talk on religious matters; they would ridicule those whose intellectual faculties were so limited that they could not understand the mysteries of religion. The incarnation of the Word, they would say, was a trifle for God, and therefore easy to understand, and the resurrection was so comprehensible that it did not appear to them wonderful, because, as God cannot die, Jesus Christ was naturally certain to rise again. As for the Eucharist, transubstantiation, the real presence, it was all no mystery to them, but palpable evidence, and yet they were not Jesuits. They were in the habit of going to confession every week, without feeling the slightest trouble about their confessors, whose ignorance they kindly regretted. They thought themselves bound to confess only what was a sin in their own opinion, and in that, at least, they reasoned with good sense.
With those three extraordinary characters, worthy of esteem and respect for their moral qualities, their honesty, their reputation, and their age, as well as for their noble birth, I spent my days in a very pleasant manner: although, in their thirst for knowledge, they often kept me hard at work for ten hours running, all four of us being locked up together in a room, and unapproachable to everybody, even to friends or relatives.
I completed the conquest of their friendship by relating to them the whole of my life, only with some proper reserve, so as not to lead them into any capital sins. I confess candidly that I deceived them, as the Papa Deldimopulo used to deceive the Greeks who applied to him for the oracles of the Virgin. I certainly did not act towards them with a true sense of honesty, but if the reader to whom I confess myself is acquainted with the world and with the spirit of society, I entreat him to think before judging me, and perhaps I may meet with some indulgence at his hands.
I might be told that if I had wished to follow the rules of pure morality I ought either to have declined intimate intercourse with them or to have undeceived them. I cannot deny these premises, but I will answer that I was only twenty years of age, I was intelligent, talented, and had just been a poor fiddler. I should have lost my time in trying to cure them of their weakness; I should not have succeeded, for they would have laughed in my face, deplored my ignorance, and the result of it all would have been my dismissal. Besides, I had no mission, no right, to constitute myself an apostle, and if I had heroically resolved on leaving them as soon as I knew them to be foolish visionaries, I should have shewn myself a misanthrope, the enemy of those worthy men for whom I could procure innocent pleasures, and my own enemy at the same time; because, as a young man, I liked to live well, to enjoy all the pleasures natural to youth and to a good constitution.
By acting in that manner I should have failed in common politeness, I should perhaps have caused or allowed M. de Bragadin's death, and I should have exposed those three honest men to becoming the victims of the first bold cheat who, ministering to their monomania, might have won their favour, and would have ruined them by inducing them to undertake the chemical operations of the Great Work. There is also another consideration, dear reader, and as I love you I will tell you what it is. An invincible self-love would have prevented me from declaring myself unworthy of their friendship either by my ignorance or by my pride; and I should have been guilty of great rudeness if I had ceased to visit them.
I took, at least it seems to me so, the best, the most natural, and the noblest decision, if we consider the disposition of their mind, when I decided upon the plan of conduct which insured me the necessaries of life and of those necessaries who could be a better judge than your very humble servant?
Through the friendship of those three men, I was certain of obtaining consideration and influence in my own country. Besides, I found it very flattering to my vanity to become the subject of the speculative chattering of empty fools who, having nothing else to do, are always trying to find out the cause of every moral phenomenon they meet with, which their narrow intellect cannot understand.
People racked their brain in Venice to find out how my intimacy with three men of that high character could possibly exist; they were wrapped up in heavenly aspirations, I was a world's devotee; they were very strict in their morals, I was thirsty of all pleasures! At the beginning of summer, M. de Bragadin was once more able to take his seat in the senate, and, the day before he went out for the first time, he spoke to me thus:
"Whoever you may be, I am indebted to you for my life. Your first protectors wanted to make you a priest, a doctor, an advocate, a soldier, and ended by making a fiddler of you; those persons did not know you. God had evidently instructed your guardian angel to bring you to me. I know you and appreciate you. If you will be my son, you have only to acknowledge me for your father, and, for the future, until my death, I will treat you as my own child. Your apartment is ready, you may send your clothes: you shall have a servant, a gondola at your orders, my own table, and ten sequins a month. It is the sum I used to receive from my father when I was your age. You need not think of the future; think only of enjoying yourself, and take me as your adviser in everything that may happen to you, in everything you may wish to undertake, and you may be certain of always finding me your friend."
I threw myself at his feet to assure him of my gratitude, and embraced him calling him my father. He folded me in his arms, called me his dear son; I promised to love and to obey him; his two friends, who lived in the same palace, embraced me affectionately, and we swore eternal fraternity.
Such is the history of my metamorphosis, and of the lucky stroke which, taking me from the vile profession of a fiddler, raised me to the rank of a grandee.
CHAPTER XVIII
I lead a dissolute life--Zawoiski--Rinaldi--L'Abbadie--the
young countess--the Capuchin friar --Z. Steffani--Ancilla--La
Ramor--I take a gondola at St. Job to go to Mestra.
Fortune, which had taken pleasure in giving me a specimen of its despotic caprice, and had insured my happiness through means which sages would disavow, had not the power to make me adopt a system of moderation and prudence which alone could establish my future welfare on a firm basis.
My ardent nature, my irresistible love of pleasure, my unconquerable independence, would not allow me to submit to the reserve which my new position in life demanded from me. I began to lead a life of complete freedom, caring for nothing but what ministered to my tastes, and I thought that, as long as I respected the laws, I could trample all prejudices under my feet. I fancied that I could live free and independent in a country ruled entirely by an aristocratic government, but this was not the case, and would not have been so even if fortune had raised me to a seat in that same government, for the Republic of Venice, considering that its primary duty is to preserve its own integrity, finds itself the slave of its own policy, and is bound to sacrifice everything to self-preservation, before which the laws themselves cease to be inviolable.
But let us abandon the discussion of a principle now too trite, for humankind, at least in Europe, is satisfied that unlimited liberty is nowhere consistent with a properly-regulated state of society. I have touched lightly on the matter, only to give to my readers some idea of my conduct in my own country, where I began to tread a path which was to lead me to a state prison as inscrutable as it was unconstitutional.
With enough money, endowed by nature with a pleasing and commanding physical appearance, a confirmed gambler, a true spendthrift, a great talker, very far from modest, intrepid, always running after pretty women, supplanting my rivals, and acknowledging no good company but that which ministered to my enjoyment, I was certain to be disliked; but, ever ready to expose myself to any danger, and to take the responsibility of all my actions, I thought I had a right to do anything I pleased, for I always broke down abruptly every obstacle I found in my way.
Such conduct could not but be disagreeable to the three worthy men whose oracle I had become, but they did not like to complain. The excellent M. de Bragadin would only tell me that I was giving him a repetition of the foolish life he had himself led at my age, but that I must prepare to pay the penalty of my follies, and to feel the punishment when I should reach his time of life. Without wanting in the respect I owed him, I would turn his terrible forebodings into jest, and continue my course of extravagance. However, I must mention here the first proof he gave me of his true wisdom.
At the house of Madame Avogadro, a woman full of wit in spite of her sixty years, I had made the acquaintance of a young Polish nobleman called Zawoiski. He was expecting money from Poland, but in the mean time the Venetian ladies did not let him want for any, being all very much in love with his handsome face and his Polish manners. We soon became good friends, my purse was his, but, twenty years later, he assisted me to a far greater extent in Munich. Zawoiski was honest, he had only a small dose of intelligence, but it was enough for his happiness. He died in Trieste five or six years ago, the ambassador of the Elector of Treves. I will speak of him in another part of these Memoirs.
This amiable young man, who was a favourite with everybody and was thought a free-thinker because he frequented the society of Angelo Querini and Lunardo Venier, presented me one day, as we were out walking, to an unknown countess who took my fancy very strongly. We called on her in the evening, and, after introducing me to her husband, Count Rinaldi, she invited us to remain and have supper.
The count made a faro bank in the course of the evening, I punted with his wife as a partner, and won some fifty ducats.
Very much pleased with my new acquaintance, I called alone on the countess the next morning. The count, apologizing for his wife who was not up yet, took me to her room. She received me with graceful ease, and, her husband having left us alone, she had the art to let me hope for every favour, yet without committing herself; when I took leave of her, she invited me to supper for the evening. After supper I played, still in partnership with her, won again, and went away very much in love. I did not fail to pay her another visit the next morning, but when I presented myself at the house I was told that she had gone out.
I called again in the evening, and, after she had excused herself for not having been at home in the morning, the faro bank began, and I lost all my money, still having the countess for my partner. After supper, and when the other guests had retired, I remained with Zawoiski, Count Rinaldi having offered to give us our revenge. As I had no more money, I played upon trust, and the count threw down the cards after I had lost five hundred sequins. I went away in great sorrow. I was bound in honour to pay the next morning, and I did not possess a groat. Love increased my despair, for I saw myself on the point of losing the esteem of a woman by whom I was smitten, and the anxiety I felt did not escape M. de Bragadin when we met in the morning. He kindly encouraged me to confess my troubles to him. I was conscious that it was my only chance, and candidly related the whole affair, and I ended by saying that I should not survive my disgrace. He consoled me by promising that my debt would be cancelled in the course of the day, if I would swear never to play again upon trust. I took an oath to that effect, and kissing his hand, I went out for a walk, relieved from a great load. I had no doubt that my excellent father would give me five hundred sequins during the day, and I enjoyed my anticipation the honour I would derive, in the opinion of the lovely countess, by my exactitude and prompt discharge of my debt. I felt that it gave new strength to my hopes, and that feeling prevented me from regretting my heavy loss, but grateful for the great generosity of my benefactor I was fully determined on keeping my promise.
I dined with the three friends, and the matter was not even alluded to; but, as we were rising from the table, a servant brought M. de Bragadin a letter and a parcel.
He read the letter, asked me to follow him into his study, and the moment we were alone, he said;
"Here is a parcel for you."
I opened it, and found some forty sequins. Seeing my surprise, M. de Bragadin laughed merrily and handed me the letter, the contents of which ran thus:
"M. de Casanova may be sure that our playing last night was only a joke: he owes me nothing. My wife begs to send him half of the gold which he has lost in cash. "COUNT RINALDI."
I looked at M. de Bragadin, perfectly amazed, and he burst out laughing. I guessed the truth, thanked him, and embracing him tenderly I promised to be wiser for the future. The mist I had before my eyes was dispelled, I felt that my love was defunct, and I remained rather ashamed, when I realized that I had been the dupe of the wife as well as of the husband.
"This evening," said my clever physician, "you can have a gay supper with the charming countess."
"This evening, my dear, respected benefactor, I will have supper with you. You have given me a masterly lesson."
"The next time you lose money upon trust, you had better not pay it."
"But I should be dishonoured."
"Never mind. The sooner you dishonour yourself, the more you will save, for you will always be compelled to accept your dishonour whenever you find yourself utterly unable to pay your losses. It is therefore more prudent not to wait until then."
"It is much better still to avoid that fatal impossibility by never playing otherwise than with money in hand."
"No doubt of it, for then you will save both your honour and your purse. But, as you are fond of games of chance, I advise you never to punt. Make the bank, and the advantage must be on your side."
"Yes, but only a slight advantage."
"As slight as you please, but it will be on your side, and when the game is over you will find yourself a winner and not a loser. The punter is excited, the banker is calm. The last says, 'I bet you do not guess,' while the first says, 'I bet I can guess.' Which is the fool, and which is the wise man? The question is easily answered. I adjure you to be prudent, but if you should punt and win, recollect that you are only an idiot if at the end you lose."
"Why an idiot? Fortune is very fickle."
"It must necessarily be so; it is a natural consequence. Leave off playing, believe me, the very moment you see luck turning, even if you should, at that moment, win but one groat."
I had read Plato, and I was astonished at finding a man who could reason like Socrates.
The next day, Zawoiski called on me very early to tell me that I had been expected to supper, and that Count Rinaldi had praised my promptness in paying my debts of honour. I did not think it necessary to undeceive him, but I did not go again to Count Rinaldi's, whom I saw sixteen years afterwards in Milan. As to Zawoiski, I did not tell him the story till I met him in Carlsbad, old and deaf, forty years later.
Three or four months later, M. de Bragadin taught me another of his masterly lessons. I had become acquainted, through Zawoiski, with a Frenchman called L'Abbadie, who was then soliciting from the Venetian Government the appointment of inspector of the armies of the Republic. The senate appointed, and I presented him to my protector, who promised him his vote; but the circumstance I am going to relate prevented him from fulfilling his promise.
I was in need of one hundred sequins to discharge a few debts, and I begged M. de Bragadin to give them to me.
"Why, my dear son, do you not ask M. de l'Abbadie to render you that service?"
"I should not dare to do so, dear father."
"Try him; I am certain that he will be glad to lend you that sum."
"I doubt it, but I will try."
I called upon L'Abbadie on the following day, and after a short exchange of compliments I told him the service I expected from his friendship. He excused himself in a very polite manner, drowning his refusal in that sea of commonplaces which people are sure to repeat when they cannot or will not oblige a friend. Zawoiski came in as he was still apologizing, and I left them together. I hurried at once to M. de Bragadin, and told him my want of success. He merely remarked that the Frenchman was deficient in intelligence.
It just happened that it was the very day on which the appointment of the inspectorship was to be brought before the senate. I went out to attend to my business (I ought to say to my pleasure), and as I did not return home till after midnight I went to bed without seeing my father. In the morning I said in his presence that I intended to call upon L'Abbadie to congratulate him upon his appointment.
"You may spare yourself that trouble; the senate has rejected his nomination."
"How so? Three days ago L'Abbadie felt sure of his success."
"He was right then, for he would have been appointed if I had not made up my mind to speak against him. I have proved to the senate that a right policy forbade the government to trust such an important post to a foreigner."
"I am much surprised, for your excellency was not of that opinion the day before yesterday."
"Very true, but then I did not know M. de l'Abbadie. I found out only yesterday that the man was not sufficiently intelligent to fill the position he was soliciting. Is he likely to possess a sane judgment when he refuses to lend you one hundred sequins? That refusal has cost him an important appointment and an income of three thousand crowns, which would now be his."
When I was taking my walk on the same day I met Zawoiski with L'Abbadie, and did not try to avoid them. L'Abbadie was furious, and he had some reason to be so.
"If you had told me," he said angrily, "that the one hundred sequins were intended as a gag to stop M. de Bragadin's mouth, I would have contrived to procure them for you."
"If you had had an inspector's brains you would have easily guessed it."
The Frenchman's resentment proved very useful to me, because he related the circumstance to everybody. The result was that from that time those who wanted the patronage of the senator applied to me. Comment is needless; this sort of thing has long been in existence, and will long remain so, because very often, to obtain the highest of favours, all that is necessary is to obtain the good-will of a minister's favourite or even of his valet. My debts were soon paid.
It was about that time that my brother Jean came to Venice with Guarienti, a converted Jew, a great judge of paintings, who was travelling at the expense of His Majesty the King of Poland, and Elector of Saxony. It was the converted Jew who had purchased for His Majesty the gallery of the Duke of Modena for one hundred thousand sequins. Guarienti and my brother left Venice for Rome, where Jean remained in the studio of the celebrated painter Raphael Mengs, whom we shall meet again hereafter.
Now, as a faithful historian, I must give my readers the story of a certain adventure in which were involved the honour and happiness of one of the most charming women in Italy, who would have been unhappy if I had not been a thoughtless fellow.
In the early part of October, 1746, the theatres being opened, I was walking about with my mask on when I perceived a woman, whose head was well enveloped in the hood of her mantle, getting out of the Ferrara barge which had just arrived. Seeing her alone, and observing her uncertain walk, I felt myself drawn towards her as if an unseen hand had guided me.
I come up to her, and offer my services if I can be of any use to her. She answers timidly that she only wants to make some enquiries.
"We are not here in the right place for conversation," I say to her; "but if you would be kind enough to come with me to a cafe, you would be able to speak and to explain your wishes."
She hesitates, I insist, and she gives way. The tavern was close at hand; we go in, and are alone in a private room. I take off my mask, and out of politeness she must put down the hood of her mantle. A large muslin head-dress conceals half of her face, but her eyes, her nose, and her pretty mouth are enough to let me see on her features beauty, nobleness, sorrow, and that candour which gives youth such an undefinable charm. I need not say that, with such a good letter of introduction, the unknown at once captivated my warmest interest. After wiping away a few tears which are flowing, in spite of all her efforts, she tells me that she belongs to a noble family, that she has run away from her father's house, alone, trusting in God, to meet a Venetian nobleman who had seduced her and then deceived her, thus sealing her everlasting misery.
"You have then some hope of recalling him to the path of duty? I suppose he has promised you marriage?"
"He has engaged his faith to me in writing. The only favour I claim from your kindness is to take me to his house, to leave me there, and to keep my secret."
"You may trust, madam, to the feelings of a man of honour. I am worthy of your trust. Have entire confidence in me, for I already take a deep interest in all your concerns. Tell me his name."
"Alas! sir, I give way to fate."
With these words, she takes out of her bosom a paper which she gives me; I recognize the handwriting of Zanetto Steffani. It was a promise of marriage by which he engaged his word of honour to marry within a week, in Venice, the young countess A---- S----. When I have read the paper, I return it to her, saying that I knew the writer quite well, that he was connected with the chancellor's office, known as a great libertine, and deeply in debt, but that he would be rich after his mother's death.
"For God's sake take me to his house."
"I will do anything you wish; but have entire confidence in me, and be good enough to hear me. I advise you not to go to his house. He has already done you great injury, and, even supposing that you should happen to find him at home, he might be capable of receiving you badly; if he should not be at home, it is most likely that his mother would not exactly welcome you, if you should tell her who you are and what is your errand. Trust to me, and be quite certain that God has sent me on your way to assist you. I promise you that to-morrow at the latest you shall know whether Steffani is in Venice, what he intends to do with you, and what we may compel him to do. Until then my advice is not to let him know your arrival in Venice."
"Good God! where shall I go to-night?"
"To a respectable house, of course."
"I will go to yours, if you are married."
"I am a bachelor."
I knew an honest widow who resided in a lane, and who had two furnished rooms. I persuade the young countess to follow me, and we take a gondola. As we are gliding along, she tells me that, one month before, Steffani had stopped in her neighbourhood for necessary repairs to his travelling-carriage, and that, on the same day he had made her acquaintance at a house where she had gone with her mother for the purpose of offering their congratulations to a newly-married lady.
"I was unfortunate enough," she continued, "to inspire him with love, and he postponed his departure. He remained one month in C----, never going out but in the evening, and spending every night under my windows conversing with me. He swore a thousand times that he adored me, that his intentions were honourable. I entreated him to present himself to my parents to ask me in marriage, but he always excused himself by alleging some reason, good or bad, assuring me that he could not be happy unless I shewed him entire confidence. He would beg of me to make up my mind to run away with him, unknown to everybody, promising that my honour should not suffer from such a step, because, three days after my departure, everybody should receive notice of my being his wife, and he assured me that he would bring me back on a visit to my native place shortly after our marriage. Alas, sir! what shall I say now? Love blinded me; I fell into the abyss; I believed him; I agreed to everything. He gave me the paper which you have read, and the following night I allowed him to come into my room through the window under which he was in the habit of conversing with me.
"I consented to be guilty of a crime which I believed would be atoned for within three days, and he left me, promising that the next night he would be again under my window, ready to receive me in his arms. Could I possibly entertain any doubt after the fearful crime I had committed for him? I prepared a small parcel, and waited for his coming, but in vain. Oh! what a cruel long night it was! In the morning I heard that the monster had gone away with his servant one hour after sealing my shame. You may imagine my despair! I adopted the only plan that despair could suggest, and that, of course, was not the right one. One hour before midnight I left my father's roof, alone, thus completing my dishonour, but resolved on death, if the man who has cruelly robbed me of my most precious treasure, and whom a natural instinct told me I could find here, does not restore me the honour which he alone can give me back. I walked all night and nearly the whole day, without taking any food, until I got into the barge, which brought me here in twenty-four hours. I travelled in the boat with five men and two women, but no one saw my face or heard my voice, I kept constantly sitting down in a corner, holding my head down, half asleep, and with this prayer-book in my hands. I was left alone, no one spoke to me, and I thanked God for it. When I landed on the wharf, you did not give me time to think how I could find out the dwelling of my perfidious seducer, but you may imagine the impression produced upon me by the sudden apparition of a masked man who, abruptly, and as if placed there purposely by Providence, offered me his services; it seemed to me that you had guessed my distress, and, far from experiencing any repugnance, I felt that I was acting rightly in trusting myself in your hands, in spite of all prudence which, perhaps, ought to have made me turn a deaf ear to your words, and refuse the invitation to enter alone with you the house to which you took me.
"You know all now, sir; but I entreat you not to judge me too severely; I have been virtuous all through my life; one month ago I had never committed a fault which could call a blush upon my face, and the bitter tears which I shed every day will, I hope, wash out my crime in the eyes of God. I have been carefully brought up, but love and the want of experience have thrown me into the abyss. I am in your hands, and I feel certain that I shall have no cause to repent it."
I needed all she had just told me to confirm me in the interest which I had felt in her from the first moment. I told her unsparingly that Steffani had seduced and abandoned her of malice aforethought, and that she ought to think of him only to be revenged of his perfidy. My words made her shudder, and she buried her beautiful face in her hands.
We reached the widow's house. I established her in a pretty, comfortable room, and ordered some supper for her, desiring the good landlady to shew her every attention and to let her want for nothing. I then took an affectionate leave of her, promising to see her early in the morning.
On leaving this interesting but hapless girl, I proceeded to the house of Steffani. I heard from one of his mother's gondoliers that he had returned to Venice three days before, but that, twenty-four hours after his return, he had gone away again without any servant, and nobody knew his whereabouts, not even his mother. The same evening, happening to be seated next to an abbe from Bologna at the theatre, I asked him several questions respecting the family of my unfortunate protegee.
The abbe being intimately acquainted with them, I gathered from him all the information I required, and, amongst other things, I heard that the young countess had a brother, then an officer in the papal service.
Very early the next morning I called upon her. She was still asleep. The widow told me that she had made a pretty good supper, but without speaking a single word, and that she had locked herself up in her room immediately afterwards. As soon as she had opened her door, I entered her room, and, cutting short her apologies for having kept me waiting, I informed her of all I had heard.
Her features bore the stamp of deep sorrow, but she looked calmer, and her complexion was no longer pale. She thought it unlikely that Steffani would have left for any other place but for C----. Admitting the possibility that she might be right, I immediately offered to go to C---- myself, and to return without loss of time to fetch her, in case Steffani should be there. Without giving her time to answer I told her all the particulars I had learned concerning her honourable family, which caused her real satisfaction.
"I have no objection," she said, "to your going to C----, and I thank you for the generosity of your offer, but I beg you will postpone your journey. I still hope that Steffani will return, and then I can take a decision."
"I think you are quite right," I said. "Will you allow me to have some breakfast with you?"
"Do you suppose I could refuse you?"
"I should be very sorry to disturb you in any way. How did you use to amuse yourself at home?"
"I am very fond of books and music; my harpsichord was my delight."
I left her after breakfast, and in the evening I came back with a basket full of good books and music, and I sent her an excellent harpsichord. My kindness confused her, but I surprised her much more when I took out of my pocket three pairs of slippers. She blushed, and thanked me with great feeling. She had walked a long distance, her shoes were evidently worn out, her feet sore, and she appreciated the delicacy of my present. As I had no improper design with regard to her, I enjoyed her gratitude, and felt pleased at the idea she evidently entertained of my kind attentions. I had no other purpose in view but to restore calm to her mind, and to obliterate the bad opinion which the unworthy Steffani had given her of men in general. I never thought of inspiring her with love for me, and I had not the slightest idea that I could fall in love with her. She was unhappy, and her unhappiness--a sacred thing in my eyes--called all the more for my most honourable sympathy, because, without knowing me, she had given me her entire confidence. Situated as she was, I could not suppose her heart susceptible of harbouring a new affection, and I would have despised myself if I had tried to seduce her by any means in my power.
I remained with her only a quarter of an hour, being unwilling that my presence should trouble her at such a moment, as she seemed to be at a loss how to thank me and to express all her gratitude.
I was thus engaged in a rather delicate adventure, the end of which I could not possibly foresee, but my warmth for my protegee did not cool down, and having no difficulty in procuring the means to keep her I had no wish to see the last scene of the romance. That singular meeting, which gave me the useful opportunity of finding myself endowed with generous dispositions, stronger even than my love for pleasure, flattered my self-love more than I could express. I was then trying a great experiment, and conscious that I wanted sadly to study myself, I gave up all my energies to acquire the great science of the 'xxxxxxxxxxxx'.
On the third day, in the midst of expressions of gratitude which I could not succeed in stopping she told me that she could not conceive why I shewed her so much sympathy, because I ought to have formed but a poor opinion of her in consequence of the readiness with which she had followed me into the cafe. She smiled when I answered that I could not understand how I had succeeded in giving her so great a confidence in my virtue, when I appeared before her with a mask on my face, in a costume which did not indicate a very virtuous character.
"It was easy for me, madam," I continued, "to guess that you were a beauty in distress, when I observed your youth, the nobleness of your countenance, and, more than all, your candour. The stamp of truth was so well affixed to the first words you uttered that I could not have the shadow of a doubt left in me as to your being the unhappy victim of the most natural of all feelings, and as to your having abandoned your home through a sentiment of honour. Your fault was that of a warm heart seduced by love, over which reason could have no sway, and your flight--the action of a soul crying for reparation or for revenge-fully justifies you. Your cowardly seducer must pay with his life the penalty due to his crime, and he ought never to receive, by marrying you, an unjust reward, for he is not worthy of possessing you after degrading himself by the vilest conduct."
"Everything you say is true. My brother, I hope, will avenge me."
"You are greatly mistaken if you imagine that Steffani will fight your brother; Steffani is a coward who will never expose himself to an honourable death."
As I was speaking, she put her hand in her pocket and drew forth, after a few moments' consideration, a stiletto six inches long, which she placed on the table.
"What is this?" I exclaimed.
"It is a weapon upon which I reckoned until now to use against myself in case I should not succeed in obtaining reparation for the crime I have committed. But you have opened my eyes. Take away, I entreat you, this stiletto, which henceforth is useless to me. I trust in your friendship, and I have an inward certainty that I shall be indebted to you for my honour as well as for my life."
I was struck by the words she had just uttered, and I felt that those words, as well as her looks, had found their way to my heart, besides enlisting my generous sympathy. I took the stiletto, and left her with so much agitation that I had to acknowledge the weakness of my heroism, which I was very near turning into ridicule; yet I had the wonderful strength to perform, at least by halves, the character of a Cato until the seventh day.
I must explain how a certain suspicion of the young lady arose in my mind. That doubt was heavy on my heart, for, if it had proved true, I should have been a dupe, and the idea was humiliating. She had told me that she was a musician; I had immediately sent her a harpsichord, and, yet, although the instrument had been at her disposal for three days, she had not opened it once, for the widow had told me so. It seemed to me that the best way to thank me for my attentive kindness would have been to give me a specimen of her musical talent. Had she deceived me? If so, she would lose my esteem. But, unwilling to form a hasty judgment, I kept on my guard, with a firm determination to make good use of the first opportunity that might present itself to clear up my doubts.
I called upon her the next day after dinner, which was not my usual time, having resolved on creating the opportunity myself. I caught her seated before a toilet-glass, while the widow dressed the most beautiful auburn hair I had ever seen. I tendered my apologies for my sudden appearance at an unusual hour; she excused herself for not having completed her toilet, and the widow went on with her work. It was the first time I had seen the whole of her face, her neck, and half of her arms, which the graces themselves had moulded. I remained in silent contemplation. I praised, quite by chance, the perfume of the pomatum, and the widow took the opportunity of telling her that she had spent in combs, powder, and pomatum the three livres she had received from her. I recollected then that she had told me the first day that she had left C---- with ten paoli.
I blushed for very shame, for I ought to have thought of that.
As soon as the widow had dressed her hair, she left the room to prepare some coffee for us. I took up a ring which had been laid by her on the toilet-table, and I saw that it contained a portrait exactly like her; I was amused at the singular fancy she had had of having her likeness taken in a man's costume, with black hair. "You are mistaken," she said, "it is a portrait of my brother. He is two years older than I, and is an officer in the papal army."
I begged her permission to put the ring on her finger; she consented, and when I tried, out of mere gallantry, to kiss her hand, she drew it back, blushing. I feared she might be offended, and I assured her of my respect.
"Ah, sir!" she answered, "in the situation in which I am placed, I must think of defending myself against my own self much more than against you."
The compliment struck me as so fine, and so complimentary to me, that I thought it better not to take it up, but she could easily read in my eyes that she would never find me ungrateful for whatever feelings she might entertain in my favour. Yet I felt my love taking such proportions that I did not know how to keep it a mystery any longer.
Soon after that, as she was again thanking me for the books-- I had given her, saying that I had guessed her taste exactly, because she did not like novels, she added, "I owe you an apology for not having sung to you yet, knowing that you are fond of music." These words made me breathe freely; without waiting for any answer, she sat down before the instrument and played several pieces with a facility, with a precision, with an expression of which no words could convey any idea. I was in ecstacy. I entreated her to sing; after some little ceremony, she took one of the music books I had given her, and she sang at sight in a manner which fairly ravished me. I begged that she would allow me to kiss her hand, and she did not say yes, but when I took it and pressed my lips on it, she did not oppose any resistance; I had the courage to smother my ardent desires, and the kiss I imprinted on her lovely hand was a mixture of tenderness, respect, and admiration.
I took leave of her, smitten, full of love, and almost determined on declaring my passion. Reserve becomes silliness when we know that our affection is returned by the woman we love, but as yet I was not quite sure.
The disappearance of Steffani was the talk of Venice, but I did not inform the charming countess of that circumstance. It was generally supposed that his mother had refused to pay his debts, and that he had run away to avoid his creditors. It was very possible. But, whether he returned or not, I could not make up my mind to lose the precious treasure I had in my hands. Yet I did not see in what manner, in what quality, I could enjoy that treasure, and I found myself in a regular maze. Sometimes I had an idea of consulting my kind father, but I would soon abandon it with fear, for I had made a trial of his empiric treatment in the Rinaldi affair, and still more in the case of l'Abbadie. His remedies frightened me to that extent that I would rather remain ill than be cured by their means.
One morning I was foolish enough to enquire from the widow whether the lady had asked her who I was. What an egregious blunder! I saw it when the good woman, instead of answering me, said,
"Does she not know who you are?"
"Answer me, and do not ask questions," I said, in order to hide my confusion.
The worthy woman was right; through my stupidity she would now feel curious; the tittle-tattle of the neighbourhood would of course take up the affair and discuss it; and all through my thoughtlessness! It was an unpardonable blunder. One ought never to be more careful than in addressing questions to half-educated persons. During the fortnight that she had passed under my protection, the countess had shewn me no curiosity whatever to know anything about me, but it did not prove that she was not curious on the subject. If I had been wise, I should have told her the very first day who I was, but I made up for my mistake that evening better than anybody else could have done it, and, after having told her all about myself, I entreated her forgiveness for not having done so sooner. Thanking me for my confidence, she confessed how curious she had been to know me better, and she assured me that she would never have been imprudent enough to ask any questions about me from her landlady. Women have a more delicate, a surer tact than men, and her last words were a home-thrust for me.
Our conversation having turned to the extraordinary absence of Steffani, she said that her father must necessarily believe her to be hiding with him somewhere. "He must have found out," she added, "that I was in the habit of conversing with him every night from my window, and he must have heard of my having embarked for Venice on board the Ferrara barge. I feel certain that my father is now in Venice, making secretly every effort to discover me. When he visits this city he always puts up at Boncousin; will you ascertain whether he is there?"
She never pronounced Steffani's name without disgust and hatred, and she said she would bury herself in a convent, far away from her native place, where no one could be acquainted with her shameful history.
I intended to make some enquiries the next day, but it was not necessary for me to do so, for in the evening, at supper-time, M. Barbaro said to us,
"A nobleman, a subject of the Pope, has been recommended to me, and wishes me to assist him with my influence in a rather delicate and intricate matter. One of our citizens has, it appears, carried off his daughter, and has been hiding somewhere with her for the last fortnight, but nobody knows where. The affair ought to be brought before the Council of Ten, but the mother of the ravisher claims to be a relative of mine, and I do not intend to interfere."
I pretended to take no interest in M. Barbaro's words, and early the next morning I went to the young countess to tell her the interesting news. She was still asleep; but, being in a hurry, I sent the widow to say that I wanted to see her only for two minutes in order to communicate something of great importance. She received me, covering herself up to the chin with the bed-clothes.
As soon as I had informed her of all I knew, she entreated me to enlist M. Barbaro as a mediator between herself and her father, assuring me that she would rather die than become the wife of the monster who had dishonoured her. I undertook to do it, and she gave me the promise of marriage used by the deceiver to seduce her, so that it could be shewn to her father.
In order to obtain M. Barbaro's mediation in favour of the young countess, it would have been necessary to tell him that she was under my protection, and I felt it would injure my protegee. I took no determination at first, and most likely one of the reasons for my hesitation was that I saw myself on the point of losing her, which was particularly repugnant to my feelings.
After dinner Count A---- S---- was announced as wishing to see M. Barbaro. He came in with his son, the living portrait of his sister. M. Barbaro took them to his study to talk the matter over, and within an hour they had taken leave. As soon as they had gone, the excellent M. Barbaro asked me, as I had expected, to consult my heavenly spirit, and to ascertain whether he would be right in interfering in favour of Count A--S--. He wrote the question himself, and I gave the following answer with the utmost coolness:
"You ought to interfere, but only to advise the father to forgive his daughter and to give up all idea of compelling her to marry her ravisher, for Steffani has been sentenced to death by the will of God."
The answer seemed wonderful to the three friends, and I was myself surprised at my boldness, but I had a foreboding that Steffani was to meet his death at the hands of somebody; love might have given birth to that presentiment. M. de Bragadin, who believed my oracle infallible, observed that it had never given such a clear answer, and that Steffani was certainly dead. He said to M. de Barbaro,
"You had better invite the count and his son to dinner here to-morrow. You must act slowly and prudently; it would be necessary to know where the daughter is before you endeavour to make the father forgive her."
M. Barbaro very nearly made me drop my serious countenance by telling me that if I would try my oracle I could let them know at once where the girl was. I answered that I would certainly ask my spirit on the morrow, thus gaining time in order to ascertain before hand the disposition of the father and of his son. But I could not help laughing, for I had placed myself under the necessity of sending Steffani to the next world, if the reputation of my oracle was to be maintained.
I spent the evening with the young countess, who entertained no doubt either of her father's indulgence or of the entire confidence she could repose in me.
What delight the charming girl experienced when she heard that I would dine the next day with her father and brother, and that I would tell her every word that would be said about her! But what happiness it was for me to see her convinced that she was right in loving me, and that, without me, she would certainly have been lost in a town where the policy of the government tolerates debauchery as a solitary species of individual freedom. We congratulated each other upon our fortuitous meeting and upon the conformity in our tastes, which we thought truly wonderful. We were greatly pleased that her easy acceptance of my invitation, or my promptness in persuading her to follow and to trust me, could not be ascribed to the mutual attraction of our features, for I was masked, and her hood was then as good as a mask. We entertained no doubt that everything had been arranged by Heaven to get us acquainted, and to fire us both, even unknown to ourselves, with love for each other.
"Confess," I said to her, in a moment of enthusiasm, and as I was covering her hand with kisses, "confess that if you found me to be in love with you you would fear me."
"Alas! my only fear is to lose you."
That confession, the truth of which was made evident by her voice and by her looks, proved the electric spark which ignited the latent fire. Folding her rapidly in my arms, pressing my mouth on her lips, reading in her beautiful eyes neither a proud indignation nor the cold compliance which might have been the result of a fear of losing me, I gave way entirely to the sweet inclination of love, and swimming already in a sea of delights I felt my enjoyment increased a hundredfold when I saw, on the countenance of the beloved creature who shared it, the expression of happiness, of love, of modesty, and of sensibility, which enhances the charm of the greatest triumph.
She had scarcely recovered her composure when she cast her eyes down and sighed deeply. Thinking that I knew the cause of it, I threw myself on my knees before her, and speaking to her words of the warmest affection I begged, I entreated her, to forgive me.
"What offence have I to forgive you for, dear friend? You have not rightly interpreted my thoughts. Your love caused me to think of my happiness, and in that moment a cruel recollection drew that sigh from me. Pray rise from your knees."
Midnight had struck already; I told her that her good fame made it necessary for me to go away; I put my mask on and left the house. I was so surprised, so amazed at having obtained a felicity of which I did not think myself worthy, that my departure must have appeared rather abrupt to her. I could not sleep. I passed one of those disturbed nights during which the imagination of an amorous young man is unceasingly running after the shadows of reality. I had tasted, but not savoured, that happy reality, and all my being was longing for her who alone could make my enjoyment complete. In that nocturnal drama love and imagination were the two principal actors; hope, in the background, performed only a dumb part. People may say what they please on that subject but hope is in fact nothing but a deceitful flatterer accepted by reason only because it is often in need of palliatives. Happy are those men who, to enjoy life to the fullest extent, require neither hope nor foresight.
In the morning, recollecting the sentence of death which I had passed on Steffani, I felt somewhat embarrassed about it. I wished I could have recalled it, as well for the honour of my oracle, which was seriously implicated by it, as for the sake of Steffani himself, whom I did not hate half so much since I was indebted to him for the treasure in my possession.
The count and his son came to dinner. The father was simple, artless, and unceremonious. It was easy to read on his countenance the grief he felt at the unpleasant adventure of his daughter, and his anxiety to settle the affair honourably, but no anger could be traced on his features or in his manners. The son, as handsome as the god of love, had wit and great nobility of manner. His easy, unaffected carriage pleased me, and wishing to win his friendship I shewed him every attention.
After the dessert, M. Barbaro contrived to persuade the count that we were four persons with but one head and one heart, and the worthy nobleman spoke to us without any reserve. He praised his daughter very highly. He assured us that Steffani had never entered his house, and therefore he could not conceive by what spell, speaking to his daughter only at night and from the street under the window, he had succeeded in seducing her to such an extent as to make her leave her home alone, on foot, two days after he had left himself in his post-chaise.
"Then," observed M. Barbaro, "it is impossible to be certain that he actually seduced her, or to prove that she went off with him."
"Very true, sir, but although it cannot be proved, there is no doubt of it, and now that no one knows where Steffani is, he can be nowhere but with her. I only want him to marry her."
"It strikes me that it would be better not to insist upon a compulsory marriage which would seal your daughter's misery, for Steffani is, in every respect, one of the most worthless young men we have amongst our government clerks."
"Were I in your place," said M. de Bragadin, "I would let my daughter's repentance disarm my anger, and I would forgive her."
"Where is she? I am ready to fold her in my arms, but how can I believe in her repentance when it is evident that she is still with him."
"Is it quite certain that in leaving C---- she proceeded to this city?"
"I have it from the master of the barge himself, and she landed within twenty yards of the Roman gate. An individual wearing a mask was waiting for her, joined her at once, and they both disappeared without leaving any trace of their whereabouts."
"Very likely it was Steffani waiting there for her."
"No, for he is short, and the man with the mask was tall. Besides, I have heard that Steffani had left Venice two days before the arrival of my daughter. The man must have been some friend of Steffani, and he has taken her to him."
"But, my dear count, all this is mere supposition."
"There are four persons who have seen the man with the mask, and pretend to know him, only they do not agree. Here is a list of four names, and I will accuse these four persons before the Council of Ten, if Steffani should deny having my daughter in his possession."
The list, which he handed to M. Barbaro, gave not only the names of the four accused persons, but likewise those of their accusers. The last name, which M. Barbaro read, was mine. When I heard it, I shrugged my shoulders in a manner which caused the three friends to laugh heartily.
M. de Bragadin, seeing the surprise of the count at such uncalled-for mirth, said to him,
"This is Casanova my son, and I give you my word of honour that, if your daughter is in his hands, she is perfectly safe, although he may not look exactly the sort of man to whom young girls should be trusted."
The surprise, the amazement, and the perplexity of the count and his son were an amusing picture. The loving father begged me to excuse him, with tears in his eyes, telling me to place myself in his position. My only answer was to embrace him most affectionately.
The man who had recognized me was a noted pimp whom I had thrashed some time before for having deceived me. If I had not been there just in time to take care of the young countess, she would not have escaped him, and he would have ruined her for ever by taking her to some house of ill-fame.
The result of the meeting was that the count agreed to postpone his application to the Council of Ten until Steffani's place of refuge should be discovered.
"I have not seen Steffani for six months, sir," I said to the count, "but I promise you to kill him in a duel as soon as he returns."
"You shall not do it," answered the young count, very coolly, "unless he kills me first."
"Gentlemen," exclaimed M. de Bragadin, "I can assure you that you will neither of you fight a duel with him, for Steffani is dead."
"Dead!" said the count.
"We must not," observed the prudent Barbaro, "take that word in its literal sense, but the wretched man is dead to all honour and self-respect."
After that truly dramatic scene, during which I could guess that the denouement of the play was near at hand, I went to my charming countess, taking care to change my gondola three times--a necessary precaution to baffle spies.
I gave my anxious mistress an exact account of all the conversation. She was very impatient for my coming, and wept tears of joy when I repeated her father's words of forgiveness; but when I told her that nobody knew of Steffani having entered her chamber, she fell on her knees and thanked God. I then repeated her brother's words, imitating his coolness: "You shall not kill him, unless he kills me first." She kissed me tenderly, calling me her guardian angel, her saviour, and weeping in my arms. I promised to bring her brother on the following day, or the day after that at the latest. We had our supper, but we did not talk of Steffani, or of revenge, and after that pleasant meal we devoted two hours to the worship of the god of love.
I left her at midnight, promising to return early in the morning--my reason for not remaining all night with her was that the landlady might, if necessary, swear without scruple that I had never spent a night with the young girl. It proved a very lucky inspiration of mine, for, when I arrived home, I found the three friends waiting impatiently for me in order to impart to me wonderful news which M. de Bragadin had heard at the sitting of the senate.
"Steffani," said M. de Bragadin to me, "is dead, as our angel Paralis revealed it to us; he is dead to the world, for he has become a Capuchin friar. The senate, as a matter of course, has been informed of it. We alone are aware that it is a punishment which God has visited upon him. Let us worship the Author of all things, and the heavenly hierarchy which renders us worthy of knowing what remains a mystery to all men. Now we must achieve our undertaking, and console the poor father. We must enquire from Paralis where the girl is. She cannot now be with Steffani. Of course, God has not condemned her to become a Capuchin nun."
"I need not consult my angel, dearest father, for it is by his express orders that I have been compelled until now to make a mystery of the refuge found by the young countess."
I related the whole story, except what they had no business to know, for, in the opinion of the worthy men, who had paid heavy tribute to Love, all intrigues were fearful crimes. M. Dandolo and M. Barbaro expressed their surprise when they heard that the young girl had been under my protection for a fortnight, but M. de Bragadin said that he was not astonished, that it was according to cabalistic science, and that he knew it.
"We must only," he added, "keep up the mystery of his daughter's place of refuge for the count, until we know for a certainty that he will forgive her, and that he will take her with him to C----, or to any other place where he may wish to live hereafter."
"He cannot refuse to forgive her," I said, "when he finds that the amiable girl would never have left C---- if her seducer had not given her this promise of marriage in his own handwriting. She walked as far as the barge, and she landed at the very moment I was passing the Roman gate. An inspiration from above told me to accost her and to invite her to follow me. She obeyed, as if she was fulfilling the decree of Heaven, I took her to a refuge impossible to discover, and placed her under the care of a God-fearing woman."
My three friends listened to me so attentively that they looked like three statues. I advised them to invite the count to dinner for the day after next, because I needed some time to consult 'Paralis de modo tenendi'. I then told M. Barbaro to let the count know in what sense he was to understand Steffani's death. He undertook to do it, and we retired to rest.
I slept only four or five hours, and, dressing myself quickly, hurried to my beloved mistress. I told the widow not to serve the coffee until we called for it, because we wanted to remain quiet and undisturbed for some hours, having several important letters to write.
I found the lovely countess in bed, but awake, and her eyes beaming with happiness and contentment. For a fortnight I had only seen her sad, melancholy, and thoughtful. Her pleased countenance, which I naturally ascribed to my influence, filled me with joy. We commenced as all happy lovers always do, and we were both unsparing of the mutual proofs of our love, tenderness, and gratitude.
After our delightful amorous sport, I told her the news, but love had so completely taken possession of her pure and sensitive soul, that what had been important was now only an accessory. But the news of her seducer having turned a Capuchin friar filled her with amazement, and, passing very sensible remarks on the extraordinary event, she pitied Steffani. When we can feel pity, we love no longer, but a feeling of pity succeeding love is the characteristic only of a great and generous mind. She was much pleased with me for having informed my three friends of her being under my protection, and she left to my care all the necessary arrangements for obtaining a reconciliation with her father.
Now and then we recollected that the time of our separation was near at hand, our grief was bitter, but we contrived to forget it in the ecstacy of our amorous enjoyment.
"Ah! why can we not belong for ever to each other?" the charming girl would exclaim. "It is not my acquaintance with Steffani, it is your loss which will seal my eternal misery."
But it was necessary to bring our delightful interview to a close, for the hours were flying with fearful rapidity. I left her happy, her eyes wet with tears of intense felicity.
At the dinner-table M. Barbaro told me that he had paid a visit to his relative, Steffani's mother, and that she had not appeared sorry at the decision taken by her son, although he was her only child.
"He had the choice," she said, "between killing himself and turning friar, and he took the wiser course."
The woman spoke like a good Christian, and she professed to be one; but she spoke like an unfeeling mother, and she was truly one, for she was wealthy, and if she had not been cruelly avaricious her son would not have been reduced to the fearful alternative of committing suicide or of becoming a Capuchin friar.
The last and most serious motive which caused the despair of Steffani, who is still alive, remained a mystery for everybody. My Memoirs will raise the veil when no one will care anything about it.
The count and his son were, of course, greatly surprised, and the event made them still more desirous of discovering the young lady. In order to obtain a clue to her place of refuge, the count had resolved on summoning before the Council of Ten all the parties, accused and accusing, whose names he had on his list, with the exception of myself. His determination made it necessary for us to inform him that his daughter was in my hands, and M. de Bragadin undertook to let him know the truth.
We were all invited to supper by the count, and we went to his hostelry, with the exception of M. de Bragadin, who had declined the invitation. I was thus prevented from seeing my divinity that evening, but early the next morning I made up for lost time, and as it had been decided that her father would on that very day be informed of her being under my care, we remained together until noon. We had no hope of contriving another meeting, for I had promised to bring her brother in the afternoon.
The count and his son dined with us, and after dinner M. de Bragadin said,
"I have joyful news for you, count; your beloved daughter has been found!"
What an agreeable surprise for the father and son! M. de Bragadin handed them the promise of marriage written by Steffani, and said,
"This, gentlemen, evidently brought your lovely young lady to the verge of madness when she found that he had gone from C---- without her. She left your house alone on foot, and as she landed in Venice Providence threw her in the way of this young man, who induced her to follow him, and has placed her under the care of an honest woman, whom she has not left since, whom she will leave only to fall in your arms as soon as she is certain of your forgiveness for the folly she has committed."
"Oh! let her have no doubt of my forgiving her," exclaimed the father, in the ecstacy of joy, and turning to me, "Dear sir, I beg of you not to delay the fortunate moment on which the whole happiness of my life depends."
I embraced him warmly, saying that his daughter would be restored to him on the following day, and that I would let his son see her that very afternoon, so as to give him an opportunity of preparing her by degrees for that happy reconciliation. M. Barbaro desired to accompany us, and the young man, approving all my arrangements, embraced me, swearing everlasting friendship and gratitude.
We went out all three together, and a gondola carried us in a few minutes to the place where I was guarding a treasure more precious than the golden apples of the Hesperides. But, alas! I was on the point of losing that treasure, the remembrance of which causes me, even now, a delicious trembling.
I preceded my two companions in order to prepare my lovely young friend for the visit, and when I told her that, according to my arrangements, her father would not see her till on the following day:
"Ah!" she exclaimed with the accent of true happiness, "then we can spend a few more hours together! Go, dearest, go and bring my brother."
I returned with my companions, but how can I paint that truly dramatic situation? Oh! how inferior art must ever be to nature! The fraternal love, the delight beaming upon those two beautiful faces, with a slight shade of confusion on that of the sister, the pure joy shining in the midst of their tender caresses, the most eloquent exclamations followed by a still more eloquent silence, their loving looks which seem like flashes of lightning in the midst of a dew of tears, a thought of politeness which brings blushes on her countenance, when she recollects that she has forgotten her duty towards a nobleman whom she sees for the first time, and finally there was my part, not a speaking one, but yet the most important of all. The whole formed a living picture to which the most skilful painter could not have rendered full justice.
We sat down at last, the young countess between her brother and M. Barbaro, on the sofa, I, opposite to her, on a low foot-stool.
"To whom, dear sister, are we indebted for the happiness of having found you again?"
"To my guardian angel," she answered, giving me her hand, "to this generous man who was waiting for me, as if Heaven had sent him with the special mission of watching over your sister; it is he who has saved me, who has prevented me from falling into the gulf which yawned under my feet, who has rescued me from the shame threatening me, of which I had then no conception; it is to him I am indebted for all, to him who, as you see, kisses my hand now for the first time."
And she pressed her handkerchief to her beautiful eyes to dry her tears, but ours were flowing at the same time.
Such is true virtue, which never loses its nobleness, even when modesty compels it to utter some innocent falsehood. But the charming girl had no idea of being guilty of an untruth. It was a pure, virtuous soul which was then speaking through her lips, and she allowed it to speak. Her virtue seemed to whisper to her that, in spite of her errors, it had never deserted her. A young girl who gives way to a real feeling of love cannot be guilty of a crime, or be exposed to remorse.
Towards the end of our friendly visit, she said that she longed to throw herself at her father's feet, but that she wished to see him only in the evening, so as not to give any opportunity to the gossips of the place, and it was agreed that the meeting, which was to be the last scene of the drama, should take place the next day towards the evening.
We returned to the count's hostelry for supper, and the excellent man, fully persuaded that he was indebted to me for his honour as well as for his daughter's, looked at me with admiration, and spoke to me with gratitude. Yet he was not sorry to have ascertained himself, and before I had said so, that I had been the first man who had spoken to her after landing. Before parting in the evening, M. Barbaro invited them to dinner for the next day.
I went to my charming mistress very early the following morning, and, although there was some danger in protracting our interview, we did not give it a thought, or, if we did, it only caused us to make good use of the short time that we could still devote to love.
After having enjoyed, until our strength was almost expiring, the most delightful, the most intense voluptuousness in which mutual ardour can enfold two young, vigorous, and passionate lovers, the young countess dressed herself, and, kissing her slippers, said she would never part with them as long as she lived. I asked her to give me a lock of her hair, which she did at once. I meant to have it made into a chain like the one woven with the hair of Madame F----, which I still wore round my neck.
Towards dusk, the count and his son, M. Dandolo, M. Barbaro, and myself, proceeded together to the abode of the young countess. The moment she saw her father, she threw herself on her knees before him, but the count, bursting into tears, took her in his arms, covered her with kisses, and breathed over her words of forgiveness, of love and blessing. What a scene for a man of sensibility! An hour later we escorted the family to the inn, and, after wishing them a pleasant journey, I went back with my two friends to M. de Bragadin, to whom I gave a faithful account of what had taken place.
We thought that they had left Venice, but the next morning they called at the place in a peotta with six rowers. The count said that they could not leave the city without seeing us once more; without thanking us again, and me particularly, for all we had done for them. M. de Bragadin, who had not seen the young countess before, was struck by her extraordinary likeness to her brother.
They partook of some refreshments, and embarked in their peotta, which was to carry them, in twenty-four hours, to Ponte di Lago Oscuro, on the River Po, near the frontiers of the papal states. It was only with my eyes that I could express to the lovely girl all the feelings which filled my heart, but she understood the language, and I had no difficulty in interpreting the meaning of her looks.
Never did an introduction occur in better season than that of the count to M. Barbaro. It saved the honour of a respectable family; and it saved me from the unpleasant consequences of an interrogatory in the presence of the Council of Ten, during which I should have been convicted of having taken the young girl with me, and compelled to say what I had done with her.
A few days afterwards we all proceeded to Padua to remain in that city until the end of autumn. I was grieved not to find Doctor Gozzi in Padua; he had been appointed to a benefice in the country, and he was living there with Bettina; she had not been able to remain with the scoundrel who had married her only for the sake of her small dowry, and had treated her very ill.
I did not like the quiet life of Padua, and to avoid dying from ennui I fell in love with a celebrated Venetian courtezan. Her name was Ancilla; sometime after, the well-known dancer, Campioni, married her and took her to London, where she caused the death of a very worthy Englishman. I shall have to mention her again in four years; now I have only to speak of a certain circumstance which brought my love adventure with her to a close after three or four weeks.
Count Medini, a young, thoughtless fellow like myself, and with inclinations of much the same cast, had introduced me to Ancilla. The count was a confirmed gambler and a thorough enemy of fortune. There was a good deal of gambling going on at Ancilla's, whose favourite lover he was, and the fellow had presented me to his mistress only to give her the opportunity of making a dupe of me at the card-table.
And, to tell the truth, I was a dupe at first; not thinking of any foul play, I accepted ill luck without complaining; but one day I caught them cheating. I took a pistol out of my pocket, and, aiming at Medini's breast, I threatened to kill him on the spot unless he refunded at once all the gold they had won from me. Ancilla fainted away, and the count, after refunding the money, challenged me to follow him out and measure swords. I placed my pistols on the table, and we went out. Reaching a convenient spot, we fought by the bright light of the moon, and I was fortunate enough to give him a gash across the shoulder. He could not move his arm, and he had to cry for mercy.
After that meeting, I went to bed and slept quietly, but in the morning I related the whole affair to my father, and he advised me to leave Padua immediately, which I did.
Count Medini remained my enemy through all his life. I shall have occasion to speak of him again when I reach Naples.
The remainder of the year 1746 passed off quietly, without any events of importance. Fortune was now favourable to me and now adverse.
Towards the end of January, 1747, I received a letter from the young countess A---- S----, who had married the Marquis of----. She entreated me not to appear to know her, if by chance I visited the town in which she resided, for she had the happiness of having linked her destiny to that of a man who had won her heart after he had obtained her hand.
I had already heard from her brother that, after their return to C----, her mother had taken her to the city from which her letter was written, and there, in the house of a relative with whom she was residing, she had made the acquaintance of the man who had taken upon himself the charge of her future welfare and happiness. I saw her one year afterwards, and if it had not been for her letter, I should certainly have solicited an introduction to her husband. Yet, peace of mind has greater charms even than love; but, when love is in the way, we do not think so.
For a fortnight I was the lover of a young Venetian girl, very handsome, whom her father, a certain Ramon, exposed to public admiration as a dancer at the theatre. I might have remained longer her captive, if marriage had not forcibly broken my chains. Her protectress, Madame Cecilia Valmarano, found her a very proper husband in the person of a French dancer, called Binet, who had assumed the name of Binetti, and thus his young wife had not to become a French woman; she soon won great fame in more ways than one. She was strangely privileged; time with its heavy hand seemed to have no power over her. She always appeared young, even in the eyes of the best judges of faded, bygone female beauty. Men, as a general rule, do not ask for anything more, and they are right in not racking their brain for the sake of being convinced that they are the dupes of external appearance. The last lover that the wonderful Binetti killed by excess of amorous enjoyment was a certain Mosciuski, a Pole, whom fate brought to Venice seven or eight years ago; she had then reached her sixty-third year!
My life in Venice would have been pleasant and happy, if I could have abstained from punting at basset. The ridotti were only open to noblemen who had to appear without masks, in their patrician robes, and wearing the immense wig which had become indispensable since the beginning of the century. I would play, and I was wrong, for I had neither prudence enough to leave off when fortune was adverse, nor sufficient control over myself to stop when I had won. I was then gambling through a feeling of avarice. I was extravagant by taste, and I always regretted the money I had spent, unless it had been won at the gaming-table, for it was only in that case that the money had, in my opinion, cost me nothing.
At the end of January, finding myself under the necessity of procuring two hundred sequins, Madame Manzoni contrived to obtain for me from another woman the loan of a diamond ring worth five hundred. I made up my mind to go to Treviso, fifteen miles distant from Venice, to pawn the ring at the Mont-de-piete, which there lends money upon valuables at the rate of five per cent. That useful establishment does not exist in Venice, where the Jews have always managed to keep the monopoly in their hands.
I got up early one morning, and walked to the end of the canale regio, intending to engage a gondola to take me as far as Mestra, where I could take post horses, reach Treviso in less than two hours, pledge my diamond ring, and return to Venice the same evening.
As I passed along St. Job's Quay, I saw in a two-oared gondola a country girl beautifully dressed. I stopped to look at her; the gondoliers, supposing that I wanted an opportunity of reaching Mestra at a cheap rate, rowed back to the shore.
Observing the lovely face of the young girl, I do not hesitate, but jump into the gondola, and pay double fare, on condition that no more passengers are taken. An elderly priest was seated near the young girl, he rises to let me take his place, but I politely insist upon his keeping it.
CHAPTER XIX
I Fall in Love with Christine, and Find a Husband Worthy of
Her--Christine's Wedding
"Those gondoliers," said the elderly priest, addressing me in order to begin the conversation, "are very fortunate. They took us up at the Rialto for thirty soldi, on condition that they would be allowed to embark other passengers, and here is one already; they will certainly find more."
"When I am in a gondola, reverend sir, there is no room left for any more passengers."
So saying, I give forty more soldi to the gondoliers, who, highly pleased with my generosity, thank me and call me excellency. The good priest, accepting that title as truly belonging to me, entreats my pardon for not having addressed me as such.
"I am not a Venetian nobleman, reverend sir, and I have no right to the title of Excellenza."
"Ah!" says the young lady, "I am very glad of it."
"Why so, signora?"
"Because when I find myself near a nobleman I am afraid. But I suppose that you are an illustrissimo."
"Not even that, signora; I am only an advocate's clerk."
"So much the better, for I like to be in the company of persons who do not think themselves above me. My father was a farmer, brother of my uncle here, rector of P----, where I was born and bred. As I am an only daughter I inherited my father's property after his death, and I shall likewise be heiress to my mother, who has been ill a long time and cannot live much longer, which causes me a great deal of sorrow; but it is the doctor who says it. Now, to return to my subject, I do not suppose that there is much difference between an advocate's clerk and the daughter of a rich farmer. I only say so for the sake of saying something, for I know very well that, in travelling, one must accept all sorts of companions: is it not so, uncle?"
"Yes, my dear Christine, and as a proof you see that this gentleman has accepted our company without knowing who or what we are."
"But do you think I would have come if I had not been attracted by the beauty of your lovely niece?"
At these words the good people burst out laughing. As I did not think that there was anything very comic in what I had said, I judged that my travelling companions were rather simple, and I was not sorry to find them so.
"Why do you laugh so heartily, beautiful 'demigella'? Is it to shew me your fine teeth? I confess that I have never seen such a splendid set in Venice."
"Oh! it is not for that, sir, although everyone in Venice has paid me the same compliment. I can assure you that in P---- all the girls have teeth as fine as mine. Is it not a fact, uncle?"
"Yes, my dear niece."
"I was laughing, sir, at a thing which I will never tell you."
"Oh! tell me, I entreat you."
"Oh! certainly not, never."
"I will tell you myself," says the curate.
"You will not," she exclaims, knitting her beautiful eyebrows. "If you do I will go away."
"I defy you to do it, my dear. Do you know what she said, sir, when she saw you on the wharf? 'Here is a very handsome young man who is looking at me, and would not be sorry to be with us.' And when she saw that the gondoliers were putting back for you to embark she was delighted."
While the uncle was speaking to me, the indignant niece was slapping him on the shoulder.
"Why are you angry, lovely Christine, at my hearing that you liked my appearance, when I am so glad to let you know how truly charming I think you?"
"You are glad for a moment. Oh! I know the Venetians thoroughly now. They have all told me that they were charmed with me, and not one of those I would have liked ever made a declaration to me."
"What sort of declaration did you want?"
"There's only one sort for me, sir; the declaration leading to a good marriage in church, in the sight of all men. Yet we remained a fortnight in Venice; did we not, uncle?"
"This girl," said the uncle, "is a good match, for she possesses three thousand crowns. She has always said that she would marry only a Venetian, and I have accompanied her to Venice to give her an opportunity of being known. A worthy woman gave us hospitality for a fortnight, and has presented my niece in several houses where she made the acquaintance of marriageable young men, but those who pleased her would not hear of marriage, and those who would have been glad to marry her did not take her fancy."
"But do you imagine, reverend sir, that marriages can be made like omelets? A fortnight in Venice, that is nothing; you ought to live there at least six months. Now, for instance, I think your niece sweetly pretty, and I should consider myself fortunate if the wife whom God intends for me were like her, but, even if she offered me now a dowry of fifty thousand crowns on condition that our wedding takes place immediately, I would refuse her. A prudent young man wants to know the character of a girl before he marries her, for it is neither money nor beauty which can ensure happiness in married life."
"What do you mean by character?" asked Christine; "is it a beautiful hand-writing?"
"No, my dear. I mean the qualities of the mind and the heart. I shall most likely get married sometime, and I have been looking for a wife for the last three years, but I am still looking in vain. I have known several young girls almost as lovely as you are, and all with a good marriage portion, but after an acquaintance of two or three months I found out that they could not make me happy."
"In what were they deficient?"
"Well, I will tell you, because you are not acquainted with them, and there can be no indiscretion on my part. One whom I certainly would have married, for I loved her dearly, was extremely vain. She would have ruined me in fashionable clothes and by her love for luxuries. Fancy! she was in the habit of paying one sequin every month to the hair-dresser, and as much at least for pomatum and perfumes."
"She was a giddy, foolish girl. Now, I spend only ten soldi in one year on wax which I mix with goat's grease, and there I have an excellent pomatum."
"Another, whom I would have married two years ago, laboured under a disease which would have made me unhappy; as soon as I knew of it, I ceased my visits."
"What disease was it?"
"A disease which would have prevented her from being a mother, and, if I get married, I wish to have children."
"All that is in God's hands, but I know that my health is excellent. Is it not, uncle?"
"Another was too devout, and that does not suit me. She was so over-scrupulous that she was in the habit of going to her confessor twice a week, and every time her confession lasted at least one hour. I want my wife to be a good Christian, but not bigoted."
"She must have been a great sinner, or else she was very foolish. I confess only once a month, and get through everything in two minutes. Is it not true, uncle? and if you were to ask me any questions, uncle, I should not know what more to say."
"One young lady thought herself more learned than I, although she would, every minute, utter some absurdity. Another was always low-spirited, and my wife must be cheerful."
"Hark to that, uncle! You and my mother are always chiding me for my cheerfulness."
"Another, whom I did not court long, was always afraid of being alone with me, and if I gave her a kiss she would run and tell her mother."
"How silly she must have been! I have never yet listened to a lover, for we have only rude peasants in P----, but I know very well that there are some things which I would not tell my mother."
"One had a rank breath; another painted her face, and, indeed, almost every young girl is guilty of that fault. I am afraid marriage is out of the question for me, because I want, for instance, my wife to have black eyes, and in our days almost every woman colours them by art; but I cannot be deceived, for I am a good judge."
"Are mine black?"
"You are laughing?"
"I laugh because your eyes certainly appear to be black, but they are not so in reality. Never mind, you are very charming in spite of that."
"Now, that is amusing. You pretend to be a good judge, yet you say that my eyes are dyed black. My eyes, sir, whether beautiful or ugly, are now the same as God made them. Is it not so, uncle?"
"I never had any doubt of it, my dear niece."
"And you do not believe me, sir?"
"No, they are too beautiful for me to believe them natural."
"Oh, dear me! I cannot bear it."
"Excuse me, my lovely damigella, I am afraid I have been too sincere."
After that quarrel we remained silent. The good curate smiled now and then, but his niece found it very hard to keep down her sorrow.
At intervals I stole a look at her face, and could see that she was very near crying. I felt sorry, for she was a charming girl. In her hair, dressed in the fashion of wealthy countrywomen, she had more than one hundred sequins' worth of gold pins and arrows which fastened the plaits of her long locks as dark as ebony. Heavy gold ear-rings, and a long chain, which was wound twenty times round her snowy neck, made a fine contrast to her complexion, on which the lilies and the roses were admirably blended. It was the first time that I had seen a country beauty in such splendid apparel. Six years before, Lucie at Pasean had captivated me, but in a different manner.
Christine did not utter a single word, she was in despair, for her eyes were truly of the greatest beauty, and I was cruel enough to attack them. She evidently hated me, and her anger alone kept back her tears. Yet I would not undeceive her, for I wanted her to bring matters to a climax.
When the gondola had entered the long canal of Marghera, I asked the clergyman whether he had a carriage to go to Treviso, through which place he had to pass to reach P----.
"I intended to walk," said the worthy man, "for my parish is poor and I am the same, but I will try to obtain a place for Christine in some carriage travelling that way."
"You would confer a real kindness on me if you would both accept a seat in my chaise; it holds four persons, and there is plenty of room."
"It is a good fortune which we were far from expecting"
"Not at all, uncle; I will not go with this gentleman."
"Why not, my dear niece?"
"Because I will not."
"Such is the way," I remarked, without looking at her, "that sincerity is generally rewarded."
"Sincerity, sir! nothing of the sort," she exclaimed, angrily, "it is sheer wickedness. There can be no true black eyes now for you in the world, but, as you like them, I am very glad of it."
"You are mistaken, lovely Christine, for I have the means of ascertaining the truth."
"What means?"
"Only to wash the eyes with a little lukewarm rose-water; or if the lady cries, the artificial colour is certain to be washed off."
At those words, the scene changed as if by the wand of a conjuror. The face of the charming girl, which had expressed nothing but indignation, spite and disdain, took an air of contentment and of placidity delightful to witness. She smiled at her uncle who was much pleased with the change in her countenance, for the offer of the carriage had gone to his heart.
"Now you had better cry a little, my dear niece, and 'il signore' will render full justice to your eyes."
Christine cried in reality, but it was immoderate laughter that made her tears flow.
That species of natural originality pleased me greatly, and as we were going up the steps at the landing-place, I offered her my full apologies; she accepted the carriage. I ordered breakfast, and told a 'vetturino' to get a very handsome chaise ready while we had our meal, but the curate said that he must first of all go and say his mass.
"Very well, reverend sir, we will hear it, and you must say it for my intention."
I put a silver ducat in his hand.
"It is what I am in the habit of giving," I observed.
My generosity surprised him so much that he wanted to kiss my hand. We proceeded towards the church, and I offered my arm to the niece who, not knowing whether she ought to accept it or not, said to me,
"Do you suppose that I cannot walk alone?"
"I have no such idea, but if I do not give you my arm, people will think me wanting in politeness."
"Well, I will take it. But now that I have your arm, what will people think?"
"Perhaps that we love each other and that we make a very nice couple."
"And if anyone should inform your mistress that we are in love with each other, or even that you have given your arm to a young girl?"
"I have no mistress, and I shall have none in future, because I could not find a girl as pretty as you in all Venice."
"I am very sorry for you, for we cannot go again to Venice; and even if we could, how could we remain there six months? You said that six months were necessary to know a girl well."
"I would willingly defray all your expenses."
"Indeed? Then say so to my uncle, and he will think it over, for I could not go alone."
"In six months you would know me likewise."
"Oh! I know you very well already."
"Could you accept a man like me?"
"Why not?"
"And will you love me?"
"Yes, very much, when you are my husband."
I looked at the young girl with astonishment. She seemed to me a princess in the disguise of a peasant girl. Her dress, made of 'gros de Tours' and all embroidered in gold, was very handsome, and cost certainly twice as much as the finest dress of a Venetian lady. Her bracelets, matching the neckchain, completed her rich toilet. She had the figure of a nymph, and the new fashion of wearing a mantle not having yet reached her village, I could see the most magnificent bosom, although her dress was fastened up to the neck. The end of the richly-embroidered skirt did not go lower than the ankles, which allowed me to admire the neatest little foot and the lower part of an exquisitely moulded leg. Her firm and easy walk, the natural freedom of all her movements, a charming look which seemed to say, "I am very glad that you think me pretty," everything, in short, caused the ardent fire of amorous desires to circulate through my veins. I could not conceive how such a lovely girl could have spent a fortnight in Venice without finding a man to marry or to deceive her. I was particularly delighted with her simple, artless way of talking, which in the city might have been taken for silliness.
Absorbed in my thoughts, and having resolved in my own mind on rendering brilliant homage to her charms, I waited impatiently for the end of the mass.
After breakfast I had great difficulty in convincing the curate that my seat in the carriage was the last one, but I found it easier to persuade him on our arrival in Treviso to remain for dinner and for supper at a small, unfrequented inn, as I took all the expense upon myself. He accepted very willingly when I added that immediately after supper a carriage would be in readiness to convey him to P----, where he would arrive in an hour after a pleasant journey by moonlight. He had nothing to hurry him on, except his wish to say mass in his own church the next morning.
I ordered a fire and a good dinner, and the idea struck me that the curate himself might pledge the ring for me, and thus give me the opportunity of a short interview with his niece. I proposed it to him, saying that I could not very well go myself, as I did not wish to be known. He undertook the commission at once, expressing his pleasure at doing something to oblige me.
He left us, and I remained alone with Christine. I spent an hour with her without trying to give her even a kiss, although I was dying to do so, but I prepared her heart to burn with the same desires which were already burning in me by those words which so easily inflame the imagination of a young girl.
The curate came back and returned me the ring, saying that it could not be pledged until the day after the morrow, in consequence of the Festival of the Holy Virgin. He had spoken to the cashier, who had stated that if I liked the bank would lend double the sum I had asked.
"My dear sir," I said, "you would greatly oblige me if you would come back here from P---- to pledge the ring yourself. Now that it has been offered once by you, it might look very strange if it were brought by another person. Of course I will pay all your expenses."
"I promise you to come back."
I hoped he would bring his niece with him.
I was seated opposite to Christine during the dinner, and discovered fresh charms in her every minute, but, fearing I might lose her confidence if I tried to obtain some slight favour, I made up my mind not to go to work too quickly, and to contrive that the curate should take her again to Venice. I thought that there only I could manage to bring love into play and to give it the food it requires.
"Reverend sir," I said, "let me advise you to take your niece again to Venice. I undertake to defray all expenses, and to find an honest woman with whom your Christine will be as safe as with her own mother. I want to know her well in order to make her my wife, and if she comes to Venice our marriage is certain."
"Sir, I will bring my niece myself to Venice as soon as you inform me that you have found a worthy woman with whom I can leave her in safety."
While we were talking I kept looking at Christine, and I could see her smile with contentment.
"My dear Christine," I said, "within a week I shall have arranged the affair. In the meantime, I will write to you. I hope that you have no objection to correspond with me."
"My uncle will write for me, for I have never been taught writing."
"What, my dear child! you wish to become the wife of a Venetian, and you cannot write."
"Is it then necessary to know how to write in order to become a wife? I can read well."
"That is not enough, and although a girl can be a wife and a mother without knowing how to trace one letter, it is generally admitted that a young girl ought to be able to write. I wonder you never learned."
"There is no wonder in that, for not one girl in our village can do it. Ask my uncle."
"It is perfectly true, but there is not one who thinks of getting married in Venice, and as you wish for a Venetian husband you must learn."
"Certainly," I said, "and before you come to Venice, for everybody would laugh at you, if you could not write. I see that it makes you sad, my dear, but it cannot be helped."
"I am sad, because I cannot learn writing in a week."
"I undertake," said her uncle, "to teach you in a fortnight, if you will only practice diligently. You will then know enough to be able to improve by your own exertions."
"It is a great undertaking, but I accept it; I promise you to work night and day, and to begin to-morrow."
After dinner, I advised the priest not to leave that evening, to rest during the night, and I observed that, by going away before day-break, he would reach P---- in good time, and feel all the better for it. I made the same proposal to him in the evening, and when he saw that his niece was sleepy, he was easily persuaded to remain. I called for the innkeeper, ordered a carriage for the clergyman, and desired that a fire might be lit for me in the next room where I would sleep, but the good priest said that it was unnecessary, because there were two large beds in our room, that one would be for me and the other for him and his niece.
"We need not undress," he added, "as we mean to leave very early, but you can take off your clothes, sir, because you are not going with us, and you will like to remain in bed to-morrow morning."
"Oh!" remarked Christine, "I must undress myself, otherwise I could not sleep, but I only want a few minutes to get ready in the morning."
I said nothing, but I was amazed. Christine then, lovely and charming enough to wreck the chastity of a Xenocrates, would sleep naked with her uncle! True, he was old, devout, and without any of the ideas which might render such a position dangerous, yet the priest was a man, he had evidently felt like all men, and he ought to have known the danger he was exposing himself to. My carnal-mindedness could not realize such a state of innocence. But it was truly innocent, so much so that he did it openly, and did not suppose that anyone could see anything wrong in it. I saw it all plainly, but I was not accustomed to such things, and felt lost in wonderment. As I advanced in age and in experience, I have seen the same custom established in many countries amongst honest people whose good morals were in no way debased by it, but it was amongst good people, and I do not pretend to belong to that worthy class.
We had had no meat for dinner, and my delicate palate was not over-satisfied. I went down to the kitchen myself, and I told the landlady that I wanted the best that could be procured in Treviso for supper, particularly in wines.
"If you do not mind the expense, sir, trust to me, and I undertake to please you. I will give you some Gatta wine."
"All right, but let us have supper early."
When I returned to our room, I found Christine caressing the cheeks of her old uncle, who was laughing; the good man was seventy-five years old.
"Do you know what is the matter?" he said to me; "my niece is caressing me because she wants me to leave her here until my return. She tells me that you were like brother and sister during the hour you have spent alone together this morning, and I believe it, but she does not consider that she would be a great trouble to you."
"Not at all, quite the reverse, she will afford me great pleasure, for I think her very charming. As to our mutual behaviour, I believe you can trust us both to do our duty."
"I have no doubt of it. Well, I will leave her under your care until the day after to-morrow. I will come back early in the morning so as to attend to your business."
This extraordinary and unexpected arrangement caused the blood to rush to my head with such violence that my nose bled profusely for a quarter of an hour. It did not frighten me, because I was used to such accidents, but the good priest was in a great fright, thinking that it was a serious haemorrhage.
When I had allayed his anxiety, he left us on some business of his own, saying that he would return at night-fall. I remained alone with the charming, artless Christine, and lost no time in thanking her for the confidence she placed in me.
"I can assure you," she said, "that I wish you to have a thorough knowledge of me; you will see that I have none of the faults which have displeased you so much in the young ladies you have known in Venice, and I promise to learn writing immediately."
"You are charming and true; but you must be discreet in P----, and confide to no one that we have entered into an agreement with each other. You must act according to your uncle's instructions, for it is to him that I intend to write to make all arrangements."
"You may rely upon my discretion. I will not say anything even to my mother, until you give me permission to do so."
I passed the afternoon, in denying myself even the slightest liberties with my lovely companion, but falling every minute deeper in love with her. I told her a few love stories which I veiled sufficiently not to shock her modesty. She felt interested, and I could see that, although she did not always understand, she pretended to do so, in order not to appear ignorant.
When her uncle returned, I had arranged everything in my mind to make her my wife, and I resolved on placing her, during her stay in Venice, in the house of the same honest widow with whom I had found a lodging for my beautiful Countess A---- S----.
We had a delicious supper. I had to teach Christine how to eat oysters and truffles, which she then saw for the first time. Gatta wine is like champagne, it causes merriment without intoxicating, but it cannot be kept for more than one year. We went to bed before midnight, and it was broad daylight when I awoke. The curate had left the room so quietly that I had not heard him.
I looked towards the other bed, Christine was asleep. I wished her good morning, she opened her eyes, and leaning on her elbow, she smiled sweetly.
"My uncle has gone. I did not hear him."
"Dearest Christine, you are as lovely as one of God's angels. I have a great longing to give you a kiss."
"If you long for a kiss, my dear friend, come and give me one."
I jump out of my bed, decency makes her hide her face. It was cold, and I was in love. I find myself in her arms by one of those spontaneous movements which sentiment alone can cause, and we belong to each other without having thought of it, she happy and rather confused, I delighted, yet unable to realize the truth of a victory won without any contest.
An hour passed in the midst of happiness, during which we forgot the whole world. Calm followed the stormy gusts of passionate love, and we gazed at each other without speaking.
Christine was the first to break the silence
"What have we done?" she said, softly and lovingly.
"We have become husband and wife."
"What will my uncle say to-morrow?"
"He need not know anything about it until he gives us the nuptial benediction in his own church."
"And when will he do so?"
"As soon as we have completed all the arrangements necessary for a public marriage."
"How long will that be?"
"About a month."
"We cannot be married during Lent."
"I will obtain permission."
"You are not deceiving me?"
"No, for I adore you."
"Then, you no longer want to know me better?"
"No; I know you thoroughly now, and I feel certain that you will make me happy."
"And will you make me happy, too?"
"I hope so."
"Let us get up and go to church. Who could have believed that, to get a husband, it was necessary not to go to Venice, but to come back from that city!"
We got up, and, after partaking of some breakfast, we went to hear mass. The morning passed off quickly, but towards dinner-time I thought that Christine looked different to what she did the day before, and I asked her the reason of that change.
"It must be," she said, "the same reason which causes you to be thoughtful."
"An air of thoughtfulness, my dear, is proper to love when it finds itself in consultation with honour. This affair has become serious, and love is now compelled to think and consider. We want to be married in the church, and we cannot do it before Lent, now that we are in the last days of carnival; yet we cannot wait until Easter, it would be too long. We must therefore obtain a dispensation in order to be married. Have I not reason to be thoughtful?"
Her only answer was to come and kiss me tenderly. I had spoken the truth, yet I had not told her all my reasons for being so pensive. I found myself drawn into an engagement which was not disagreeable to me, but I wished it had not been so very pressing. I could not conceal from myself that repentance was beginning to creep into my amorous and well-disposed mind, and I was grieved at it. I felt certain, however, that the charming girl would never have any cause to reproach me for her misery.
We had the whole evening before us, and as she had told me that she had never gone to a theatre, I resolved on affording her that pleasure. I sent for a Jew from whom I procured everything necessary to disguise her, and we went to the theatre. A man in love enjoys no pleasure but that which he gives to the woman he loves. After the performance was over, I took her to the Casino, and her astonishment made me laugh when she saw for the first time a faro bank. I had not money enough to play myself, but I had more than enough to amuse her and to let her play a reasonable game. I gave her ten sequins, and explained what she had to do. She did not even know the cards, yet in less than an hour she had won one hundred sequins. I made her leave off playing, and we returned to the inn. When we were in our room, I told her to see how much money she had, and when I assured her that all that gold belonged to her, she thought it was a dream.
"Oh! what will my uncle say?" she exclaimed.
We had a light supper, and spent a delightful night, taking good care to part by day-break, so as not to be caught in the same bed by the worthy ecclesiastic. He arrived early and found us sleeping soundly in our respective beds. He woke me, and I gave him the ring which he went to pledge immediately. When he returned two hours later, he saw us dressed and talking quietly near the fire. As soon as he came in, Christine rushed to embrace him, and she shewed him all the gold she had in her possession. What a pleasant surprise for the good old priest! He did not know how to express his wonder! He thanked God for what he called a miracle, and he concluded by saying that we were made to insure each other's happiness.
The time to part had come. I promised to pay them a visit in the first days of Lent, but on condition that on my arrival in P---- I would not find anyone informed of my name or of my concerns. The curate gave me the certificate of birth of his niece and the account of her possessions. As soon as they had gone I took my departure for Venice, full of love for the charming girl, and determined on keeping my engagement with her. I knew how easy it would be for me to convince my three friends that my marriage had been irrevocably written in the great book of fate.
My return caused the greatest joy to the three excellent men, because, not being accustomed to see me three days absent, M. Dandolo and M. Barbaro were afraid of some accident having befallen me; but M. de Bragadin's faith was stronger, and he allayed their fears, saying to them that, with Paralis watching over me, I could not be in any danger.
The very next day I resolved on insuring Christine's happiness without making her my wife. I had thought of marrying her when I loved her better than myself, but after obtaining possession the balance was so much on my side that my self-love proved stronger than my love for Christine. I could not make up my mind to renounce the advantages, the hopes which I thought were attached to my happy independence. Yet I was the slave of sentiment. To abandon the artless, innocent girl seemed to me an awful crime of which I could not be guilty, and the mere idea of it made me shudder. I was aware that she was, perhaps, bearing in her womb a living token of our mutual love, and I shivered at the bare possibility that her confidence in me might be repaid by shame and everlasting misery.
I bethought myself of finding her a husband in every way better than myself; a husband so good that she would not only forgive me for the insult I should thus be guilty of towards her, but also thank me at the end, and like me all the better for my deceit.
To find such a husband could not be very difficult, for Christine was not only blessed with wonderful beauty, and with a well-established reputation for virtue, but she was also the possessor of a fortune amounting to four thousand Venetian ducats.
Shut up in a room with the three worshippers of my oracle, I consulted Paralis upon the affair which I had so much at heart. The answer was:
"Serenus must attend to it."
Serenus was the cabalistic name of M. de Bragadin, and the excellent man immediately expressed himself ready to execute all the orders of Paralis. It was my duty to inform him of those orders.
"You must," I said to him, "obtain from the Holy Father a dispensation for a worthy and virtuous girl, so as to give her the privilege of marrying during Lent in the church of her village; she is a young country girl. Here is her certificate of birth. The husband is not yet known; but it does not matter, Paralis undertakes to find one."
"Trust to me," said my father, "I will write at once to our ambassador in Rome, and I will contrive to have my letter sent by special express. You need not be anxious, leave it all to me, I will make it a business of state, and I must obey Paralis all the more readily that I foresee that the intended husband is one of us four. Indeed, we must prepare ourselves to obey."
I had some trouble in keeping my laughter down, for it was in my power to metamorphose Christine into a grand Venetian lady, the wife of a senator; but that was not my intention. I again consulted the oracle in order to ascertain who would be the husband of the young girl, and the answer was that M. Dandolo was entrusted with the care of finding one, young, handsome, virtuous, and able to serve the Republic, either at home or abroad. M. Dandolo was to consult me before concluding any arrangements. I gave him courage for his task by informing him that the girl had a dowry of four thousand ducats, but I added that his choice was to be made within a fortnight. M. de Bragadin, delighted at not being entrusted with the commission, laughed heartily.
Those arrangements made me feel at peace with myself. I was certain that the husband I wanted would be found, and I only thought of finishing the carnival gaily, and of contriving to find my purse ready for a case of emergency.
Fortune soon rendered me possessor of a thousand sequins. I paid my debts, and the licence for the marriage having arrived from Rome ten days after M. de Bragadin had applied for it, I gave him one hundred ducats, that being the sum it had cost. The dispensation gave Christine the right of being married in any church in Christendom, she would only have to obtain the seal of the episcopal court of the diocese in which the marriage was to take place, and no publication of banns was required. We wanted, therefore, but one thing--a trifling one, namely, the husband. M. Dandolo had already proposed three or four to me, but I had refused them for excellent reasons. At last he offered one who suited me exactly.
I had to take the diamond ring out of pledge, and not wishing to do it myself, I wrote to the priest making an appointment in Treviso. I was not, of course, surprised when I found that he was accompanied by his lovely niece, who, thinking that I had come to complete all arrangements for our marriage, embraced me without ceremony, and I did the same. If the uncle had not been present, I am afraid that those kisses would have caused all my heroism to vanish. I gave the curate the dispensation, and the handsome features of Christine shone with joy. She certainly could not imagine that I had been working so actively for others, and, as I was not yet certain of anything, I did not undeceive her then. I promised to be in P---- within eight or ten days, when we would complete all necessary arrangements. After dinner, I gave the curate the ticket for the ring and the money to take it out of pledge, and we retired to rest. This time, very fortunately, there was but one bed in the room, and I had to take another chamber for myself.
The next morning, I went into Christine's room, and found her in bed. Her uncle had gone out for my diamond ring, and alone with that lovely girl, I found that I had, when necessary, complete control over my passions. Thinking that she was not to be my wife, and that she would belong to another, I considered it my duty to silence my desires. I kissed her, but nothing more.
I spent one hour with her, fighting like Saint Anthony against the carnal desires of my nature. I could see the charming girl full of love and of wonder at my reserve, and I admired her virtue in the natural modesty which prevented her from making the first advances. She got out of bed and dressed herself without shewing any disappointment. She would, of course, have felt mortified if she had had the slightest idea that I despised her, or that I did not value her charms.
Her uncle returned, gave me the ring, and we had dinner, after which he treated me to a wonderful exhibition. Christine had learned how to write, and, to give me a proof of her talent, she wrote very fluently and very prettily in my presence.
We parted, after my promising to come back again within ten days, and I returned to Venice.
On the second Sunday in Lent, M. Dandolo told me with an air of triumph that the fortunate husband had been found, and that there was no doubt of my approval of the new candidate. He named Charles---- whom I knew by sight--very handsome young man, of irreproachable conduct, and about twenty-two years of age. He was clerk to M. Ragionato and god-son of Count Algarotti, a sister of whom had married M. Dandolo's brother.
"Charles," said M. Dandolo to me, "has lost his father and his mother, and I feel satisfied that his godfather will guarantee the dowry brought by his wife. I have spoken to him, and I believe him disposed to marry an honest girl whose dowry would enable him to purchase M. Ragionato's office."
"It seems to promise very well, but I cannot decide until I have seen him."
"I have invited him to dine with us to-morrow."
The young man came, and I found him worthy of all M. Dandolo's praise. We became friends at once; he had some taste for poetry, I read some of my productions to him, and having paid him a visit the following day, he shewed me several pieces of his own composition which were well written. He introduced me to his aunt, in whose house he lived with his sister, and I was much pleased with their friendly welcome. Being alone with him in his room, I asked him what he thought of love.
"I do not care for love," he answered: "but I should like to get married in order to have a house of my own."
When I returned to the palace, I told M. Dandolo that he might open the affair with Count Algarotti, and the count mentioned it to Charles, who said that he could not give any answer, either one way or the other, until he should have seen the young girl, talked with her, and enquired about her reputation. As for Count Algarotti, he was ready to be answerable for his god-son, that is to guarantee four thousand ducats to the wife, provided her dowry was worth that amount. Those were only the preliminaries; the rest belonged to my province.
Dandolo having informed Charles that the matter was entirely in my hands, he called on me and enquired when I would be kind enough to introduce him to the young person. I named the day, adding that it was necessary to devote a whole day to the visit, as she resided at a distance of twenty miles from Venice, that we would dine with her and return the same evening. He promised to be ready for me by day-break. I immediately sent an express to the curate to inform him of the day on which I would call with a friend of mine whom I wished to introduce to his niece.
On the appointed day, Charles was punctual. I took care to let him know along the road that I had made the acquaintance of the young girl and of her uncle as travelling companions from Venice to Mestra about one month before, and that I would have offered myself as a husband, if I had been in a position to guarantee the dowry of four thousand ducats. I did not think it necessary to go any further in my confidences.
We arrived at the good priest's house two hours before mid-day, and soon after our arrival, Christine came in with an air of great ease, expressing all her pleasure at seeing me. She only bowed to Charles, enquiring from me whether he was likewise a clerk.
Charles answered that he was clerk at Ragionato.
She pretended to understand, in order not to appear ignorant.
"I want you to look at my writing," she said to me, "and afterwards we will go and see my mother."
Delighted at the praise bestowed upon her writing by Charles, when he heard that she had learned only one month, she invited us to follow her. Charles asked her why she had waited until the age of nineteen to study writing.
"Well, sir, what does it matter to you? Besides, I must tell you that I am seventeen, and not nineteen years of age."
Charles entreated her to excuse him, smiling at the quickness of her answer.
She was dressed like a simple country girl, yet very neatly, and she wore her handsome gold chains round her neck and on her arms. I told her to take my arm and that of Charles, which she did, casting towards me a look of loving obedience. We went to her mother's house; the good woman was compelled to keep her bed owing to sciatica. As we entered the room, a respectable-looking man, who was seated near the patient, rose at the sight of Charles, and embraced him affectionately. I heard that he was the family physician, and the circumstance pleased me much.
After we had paid our compliments to the good woman, the doctor enquired after Charles's aunt and sister; and alluding to the sister who was suffering from a secret disease, Charles desired to say a few words to him in private; they left the room together. Being alone with the mother and Christine, I praised Charles, his excellent conduct, his high character, his business abilities, and extolled the happiness of the woman who would be his wife. They both confirmed my praises by saying that everything I said of him could be read on his features. I had no time to lose, so I told Christine to be on her guard during dinner, as Charles might possibly be the husband whom God had intended for her.
"For me?"
"Yes, for you. Charles is one of a thousand; you would be much happier with him than you could be with me; the doctor knows him, and you could ascertain from him everything which I cannot find time to tell you now about my friend."
The reader can imagine all I suffered in making this declaration, and my surprise when I saw the young girl calm and perfectly composed! Her composure dried the tears already gathering in my eyes. After a short silence, she asked me whether I was certain that such a handsome young man would have her. That question gave me an insight into Christine's heart and feelings, and quieted all my sorrow, for I saw that I had not known her well. I answered that, beautiful as she was, there was no doubt of her being loved by everybody.
"It will be at dinner, my dear Christine, that my friend will examine and study you; do not fail to shew all the charms and qualities with which God has endowed you, but do not let him suspect our intimacy."
"It is all very strange. Is my uncle informed of this wonderful change?"
"No."
"If your friend should feel pleased with me, when would he marry me?"
"Within ten days. I will take care of everything, and you will see me again in the course of the week."
Charles came back with the doctor, and Christine, leaving her mother's bedside, took a chair opposite to us. She answered very sensibly all the questions addressed to her by Charles, often exciting his mirth by her artlessness, but not shewing any silliness.
Oh! charming simplicity! offspring of wit and of ignorance! thy charm is delightful, and thou alone hast the privilege of saying anything without ever giving offence! But how unpleasant thou art when thou art not natural! and thou art the masterpiece of art when thou art imitated with perfection!
We dined rather late, and I took care not to speak to Christine, not even to look at her, so as not to engross her attention, which she devoted entirely to Charles, and I was delighted to see with what ease and interest she kept up the conversation. After dinner, and as we were taking leave, I heard the following words uttered by Charles, which went to my very heart:
"You are made, lovely Christine, to minister to the happiness of a prince."
And Christine? This was her answer:
"I should esteem myself fortunate, sir, if you should judge me worthy of ministering to yours."
These words excited Charles so much that he embraced me!
Christine was simple, but her artlessness did not come from her mind, only from her heart. The simplicity of mind is nothing but silliness, that of the heart is only ignorance and innocence; it is a quality which subsists even when the cause has ceased to be. This young girl, almost a child of nature, was simple in her manners, but graceful in a thousand trifling ways which cannot be described. She was sincere, because she did not know that to conceal some of our impressions is one of the precepts of propriety, and as her intentions were pure, she was a stranger to that false shame and mock modesty which cause pretended innocence to blush at a word, or at a movement said or made very often without any wicked purpose.
During our journey back to Venice Charles spoke of nothing but of his happiness. He had decidedly fallen in love.
"I will call to-morrow morning upon Count Algarotti," he said to me, "and you may write to the priest to come with all the necessary documents to make the contract of marriage which I long to sign."
His delight and his surprise were intense when I told him that my wedding present to Christine was a dispensation from the Pope for her to be married in Lent.
"Then," he exclaimed, "we must go full speed ahead!"
In the conference which was held the next day between my young substitute, his god-father, and M. Dandolo, it was decided that the parson should be invited to come with his niece. I undertook to carry the message, and leaving Venice two hours before morning I reached P---- early. The priest said he would be ready to start immediately after mass. I then called on Christine, and I treated her to a fatherly and sentimental sermon, every word of which was intended to point out to her the true road to happiness in the new condition which she was on the point of adopting. I told her how she ought to behave towards her husband, towards his aunt and his sister, in order to captivate their esteem and their love. The last part of my discourse was pathetic and rather disparaging to myself, for, as I enforced upon her the necessity of being faithful to her husband, I was necessarily led to entreat her pardon for having seduced her. "When you promised to marry me, after we had both been weak enough to give way to our love, did you intend to deceive me?"
"Certainly not."
"Then you have not deceived me. On the contrary, I owe you some gratitude for having thought that, if our union should prove unhappy, it was better to find another husband for me, and I thank God that you have succeeded so well. Tell me, now, what I can answer to your friend in case he should ask me, during the first night, why I am so different to what a virgin ought to be?"
"It is not likely that Charles, who is full of reserve and propriety, would ask you such a thing, but if he should, tell him positively that you never had a lover, and that you do not suppose yourself to be different to any other girl."
"Will he believe me?"
"He would deserve your contempt, and entail punishment on himself if he did not. But dismiss all anxiety; that will not occur. A sensible man, my dear Christine, when he has been rightly brought up, never ventures upon such a question, because he is not only certain to displease, but also sure that he will never know the truth, for if the truth is likely to injure a woman in the opinion of her husband, she would be very foolish, indeed, to confess it."
"I understand your meaning perfectly, my dear friend; let us, then, embrace each other for the last time."
"No, for we are alone and I am very weak. I adore thee as much as ever."
"Do not cry, dear friend, for, truly speaking, I have no wish for it."
That simple and candid answer changed my disposition suddenly, and, instead of crying, I began to laugh. Christine dressed herself splendidly, and after breakfast we left P----. We reached Venice in four hours. I lodged them at a good inn, and going to the palace, I told M. Dandolo that our people had arrived, that it would be his province to bring them and Charles together on the following day, and to attend to the matter altogether, because the honour of the future husband and wife, the respect due to their parents and to propriety, forbade any further interference on my part.
He understood my reasons, and acted accordingly. He brought Charles to me, I presented both of them to the curate and his niece, and then left them to complete their business.
I heard afterwards from M. Dandolo that they all called upon Count Algarotti, and at the office of a notary, where the contract of marriage was signed, and that, after fixing a day for the wedding, Charles had escorted his intended back to P----.
On his return, Charles paid me a visit. He told me that Christine had won by her beauty and pleasing manners the affection of his aunt, of his sister, and of his god-father, and that they had taken upon themselves all the expense of the wedding.
"We intend to be married," he added, "on such a day at P----, and I trust that you will crown your work of kindness by being present at the ceremony."
I tried to excuse myself, but he insisted with such a feeling of gratitude, and with so much earnestness, that I was compelled to accept. I listened with real pleasure to the account he gave me of the impression produced upon all his family and upon Count Algarotti by the beauty, the artlessness, the rich toilet, and especially by the simple talk of the lovely country girl.
"I am deeply in love with her," Charles said to me, "and I feel that it is to you that I shall be indebted for the happiness I am sure to enjoy with my charming wife. She will soon get rid of her country way of talking in Venice, because here envy and slander will but too easily shew her the absurdity of it."
His enthusiasm and happiness delighted me, and I congratulated myself upon my own work. Yet I felt inwardly some jealousy, and I could not help envying a lot which I might have kept for myself.
M. Daridolo and M. Barbaro having been also invited by Charles, I went with them to P----. We found the dinner-table laid out in the rector's house by the servants of Count Algarotti, who was acting as Charles's father, and having taken upon himself all the expense of the wedding, had sent his cook and his major-domo to P----.
When I saw Christine, the tears filled my eyes, and I had to leave the room. She was dressed as a country girl, but looked as lovely as a nymph. Her husband, her uncle, and Count Algarotti had vainly tried to make her adopt the Venetian costume, but she had very wisely refused.
"As soon as I am your wife," she had said to Charles, "I will dress as you please, but here I will not appear before my young companions in any other costume than the one in which they have always seen me. I shall thus avoid being laughed at, and accused of pride, by the girls among whom I have been brought up."
There was in these words something so noble, so just, and so generous, that Charles thought his sweetheart a supernatural being. He told me that he had enquired, from the woman with whom Christine had spent a fortnight, about the offers of marriage she had refused at that time, and that he had been much surprised, for two of those offers were excellent ones.
"Christine," he added, "was evidently destined by Heaven for my happiness, and to you I am indebted for the precious possession of that treasure."
His gratitude pleased me, and I must render myself the justice of saying that I entertained no thought of abusing it. I felt happy in the happiness I had thus given.
We repaired to the church towards eleven o'clock, and were very much astonished at the difficulty we experienced in getting in. A large number of the nobility of Treviso, curious to ascertain whether it was true that the marriage ceremony of a country girl would be publicly performed during Lent when, by waiting only one month, a dispensation would have been useless, had come to P----. Everyone wondered at the permission having been obtained from the Pope, everyone imagined that there was some extraordinary reason for it, and was in despair because it was impossible to guess that reason. In spite of all feelings of envy, every face beamed with pleasure and satisfaction when the young couple made their appearance, and no one could deny that they deserved that extraordinary distinction, that exception to all established rules.
A certain Countess of Tos,... from Treviso, Christine's god-mother, went up to her after the ceremony, and embraced her most tenderly, complaining that the happy event had not been communicated to her in Treviso. Christine, in her artless way, answered with as much modesty as sweetness, that the countess ought to forgive her if she had failed in her duty towards her, on account of the marriage having been decided on so hastily. She presented her husband, and begged Count Algarotti to atone for her error towards her god-mother by inviting her to join the wedding repast, an invitation which the countess accepted with great pleasure. That behaviour, which is usually the result of a good education and a long experience of society, was in the lovely peasant-girl due only to a candid and well-balanced mind which shone all the more because it was all nature and not art.
As they returned from the church, Charles and Christine knelt down before the young wife's mother, who gave them her blessing with tears of joy.
Dinner was served, and, of course, Christine and her happy spouse took the seats of honour. Mine was the last, and I was very glad of it, but although everything was delicious, I ate very little, and scarcely opened my lips.
Christine was constantly busy, saying pretty things to every one of her guests, and looking at her husband to make sure that he was pleased with her.
Once or twice she addressed his aunt and sister in such a gracious manner that they could not help leaving their places and kissing her tenderly, congratulating Charles upon his good fortune. I was seated not very far from Count Algarotti, and I heard him say several times to Christine's god-mother that he had never felt so delighted in his life.
When four o'clock struck, Charles whispered a few words to his lovely wife, she bowed to her god-mother, and everybody rose from the table. After the usual compliments--and in this case they bore the stamp of sincerity--the bride distributed among all the girls of the village, who were in the adjoining room, packets full of sugar-plums which had been prepared before hand, and she took leave of them, kissing them all without any pride. Count Algarotti invited all the guests to sleep at a house he had in Treviso, and to partake there of the dinner usually given the day after the wedding. The uncle alone excused himself, and the mother could not come, owing to her disease which prevented her from moving. The good woman died three months after Christine's marriage.
Christine therefore left her village to follow her husband, and for the remainder of their lives they lived together in mutual happiness.
Count Algarotti, Christine's god-mother and my two noble friends, went away together. The bride and bridegroom had, of course, a carriage to themselves, and I kept the aunt and the sister of Charles company in another. I could not help envying the happy man somewhat, although in my inmost heart I felt pleased with his happiness.
The sister was not without merit. She was a young widow of twenty-five, and still deserved the homage of men, but I gave the preference to the aunt, who told me that her new niece was a treasure, a jewel which was worthy of everybody's admiration, but that she would not let her go into society until she could speak the Venetian dialect well.
"Her cheerful spirits," she added, "her artless simplicity, her natural wit, are like her beauty, they must be dressed in the Venetian fashion. We are highly pleased with my nephew's choice, and he has incurred everlasting obligations towards you. I hope that for the future you will consider our house as your own."
The invitation was polite, perhaps it was sincere, yet I did not avail myself of it, and they were glad of it. At the end of one year Christine presented her husband with a living token of their mutual love, and that circumstance increased their conjugal felicity.
We all found comfortable quarters in the count's house in Treviso, where, after partaking of some refreshments, the guests retired to rest.
The next morning I was with Count Algarotti and my two friends when Charles came in, handsome, bright, and radiant. While he was answering with much wit some jokes of the count, I kept looking at him with some anxiety, but he came up to me and embraced me warmly. I confess that a kiss never made me happier.
People wonder at the devout scoundrels who call upon their saint when they think themselves in need of heavenly assistance, or who thank him when they imagine that they have obtained some favour from him, but people are wrong, for it is a good and right feeling, which preaches against Atheism.
At the invitation of Charles, his aunt and his sister had gone to pay a morning visit to the young wife, and they returned with her. Happiness never shone on a more lovely face!
M. Algarotti, going towards her, enquired from her affectionately whether she had had a good night. Her only answer was to rush to her husband's arms. It was the most artless, and at the same time the most eloquent, answer she could possible give. Then turning her beautiful eyes towards me, and offering me her hand, she said,
"M. Casanova, I am happy, and I love to be indebted to you for my happiness."
The tears which were flowing from my eyes, as I kissed her hand, told her better than words how truly happy I was myself.
The dinner passed off delightfully. We then left for Mestra and Venice. We escorted the married couple to their house, and returned home to amuse M. Bragadin with the relation of our expedition. This worthy and particularly learned man said a thousand things about the marriage, some of great profundity and others of great absurdity.
I laughed inwardly. I was the only one who had the key to the mystery, and could realize the secret of the comedy.
EPISODE 5 -- MILAN AND MANTUA
CHAPTER XX
Slight Misfortunes Compel Me to Leave Venice--My Adventures
in Milan and Mantua
On Low Sunday Charles paid us a visit with his lovely wife, who seemed totally indifferent to what Christine used to be. Her hair dressed with powder did not please me as well as the raven black of her beautiful locks, and her fashionable town attire did not, in my eyes, suit her as well as her rich country dress. But the countenances of husband and wife bore the stamp of happiness. Charles reproached me in a friendly manner because I had not called once upon them, and, in order to atone for my apparent negligence, I went to see them the next day with M. Dandolo. Charles told me that his wife was idolized by his aunt and his sister who had become her bosom friend; that she was kind, affectionate, unassuming, and of a disposition which enforced affection. I was no less pleased with this favourable state of things than with the facility with which Christine was learning the Venetian dialect.
When M. Dandolo and I called at their house, Charles was not at home; Christine was alone with his two relatives. The most friendly welcome was proffered to us, and in the course of conversation the aunt praised the progress made by Christine in her writing very highly, and asked her to let me see her copy-book. I followed her to the next room, where she told me that she was very happy; that every day she discovered new virtues in her husband. He had told her, without the slightest appearance of suspicion of displeasure, that he knew that we had spent two days together in Treviso, and that he had laughed at the well-meaning fool who had given him that piece of information in the hope of raising a cloud in the heaven of their felicity.
Charles was truly endowed with all the virtues, with all the noble qualities of an honest and distinguished man. Twenty-six years afterwards I happened to require the assistance of his purse, and found him my true friend. I never was a frequent visitor at his house, and he appreciated my delicacy. He died a few months before my last departure from Venice, leaving his widow in easy circumstances, and three well-educated sons, all with good positions, who may, for what I know, be still living with their mother.
In June I went to the fair at Padua, and made the acquaintance of a young man of my own age, who was then studying mathematics under the celebrated Professor Succi. His name was Tognolo, but thinking it did not sound well, he changed it for that of Fabris. He became, in after years, Comte de Fabris, lieutenant-general under Joseph II., and died Governor of Transylvania. This man, who owed his high fortune to his talents, would, perhaps, have lived and died unknown if he had kept his name of Tognolo, a truly vulgar one. He was from Uderzo, a large village of the Venetian Friuli. He had a brother in the Church, a man of parts, and a great gamester, who, having a deep knowledge of the world, had taken the name of Fabris, and the younger brother had to assume it likewise. Soon afterwards he bought an estate with the title of count, became a Venetian nobleman, and his origin as a country bumpkin was forgotten. If he had kept his name of Tognolo it would have injured him, for he could not have pronounced it without reminding his hearers of what is called, by the most contemptible of prejudices, low extraction, and the privileged class, through an absurd error, does not admit the possibility of a peasant having talent or genius. No doubt a time will come when society, more enlightened, and therefore more reasonable, will acknowledge that noble feelings, honour, and heroism can be found in every condition of life as easily as in a class, the blood of which is not always exempt from the taint of a misalliance.
The new count, while he allowed others to forget his origin, was too wise to forget it himself, and in legal documents he always signed his family name as well as the one he had adopted. His brother had offered him two ways to win fortune in the world, leaving him perfectly free in his choice. Both required an expenditure of one thousand sequins, but the abbe had put the amount aside for that purpose. My friend had to choose between the sword of Mars and the bird of Minerva. The abbe knew that he could purchase for his brother a company in the army of his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, or obtain for him a professorship at the University of Padua; for money can do everything. But my friend, who was gifted with noble feelings and good sense, knew that in either profession talents and knowledge were essentials, and before making a choice he was applying himself with great success to the study of mathematics. He ultimately decided upon the military profession, thus imitating Achilles, who preferred the sword to the distaff, and he paid for it with his life like the son of Peleus; though not so young, and not through a wound inflicted by an arrow, but from the plague, which he caught in the unhappy country in which the indolence of Europe allows the Turks to perpetuate that fearful disease.
The distinguished appearance, the noble sentiments, the great knowledge, and the talents of Fabris would have been turned into ridicule in a man called Tognolo, for such is the force of prejudices, particularly of those which have no ground to rest upon, that an ill-sounding name is degrading in this our stupid society. My opinion is that men who have an ill-sounding name, or one which presents an indecent or ridiculous idea, are right in changing it if they intend to win honour, fame, and fortune either in arts or sciences. No one can reasonably deny them that right, provided the name they assume belongs to nobody. The alphabet is general property, and everyone has the right to use it for the creation of a word forming an appellative sound. But he must truly create it. Voltaire, in spite of his genius, would not perhaps have reached posterity under his name of Arouet, especially amongst the French, who always give way so easily to their keen sense of ridicule and equivocation. How could they have imagined that a writer 'a rouet' could be a man of genius? And D'Alembert, would he have attained his high fame, his universal reputation, if he had been satisfied with his name of M. Le Rond, or Mr. Allround? What would have become of Metastasio under his true name of Trapasso? What impression would Melanchthon have made with his name of Schwarzerd? Would he then have dared to raise the voice of a moralist philosopher, of a reformer of the Eucharist, and so many other holy things? Would not M. de Beauharnais have caused some persons to laugh and others to blush if he had kept his name of Beauvit, even if the first founder of his family had been indebted for his fortune to the fine quality expressed by that name?
Would the Bourbeux have made as good a figure on the throne as the Bourbons? I think that King Poniatowski ought to have abdicated the name of Augustus, which he had taken at the time of his accession to the throne, when he abdicated royalty. The Coleoni of Bergamo, however, would find it rather difficult to change their name, because they would be compelled at the same time to change their coat of arms (the two generative glands), and thus to annihilate the glory of their ancestor, the hero Bartholomeo.
Towards the end of autumn my friend Fabris introduced me to a family in the midst of which the mind and the heart could find delicious food. That family resided in the country on the road to Zero. Card-playing, lovemaking, and practical jokes were the order of the day. Some of those jokes were rather severe ones, but the order of the day was never to get angry and to laugh at everything, for one was to take every jest pleasantly or be thought a bore. Bedsteads would at night tumble down under their occupants, ghosts were personated, diuretic pills or sugar-plums were given to young ladies, as well as comfits who produced certain winds rising from the netherlands, and impossible to keep under control. These jokes would sometimes go rather too far, but such was the spirit animating all the members of that circle; they would laugh. I was not less inured than the others to the war of offence and defence, but at last there was such a bitter joke played upon me that it suggested to me another, the fatal consequences of which put a stop to the mania by which we were all possessed.
We were in the habit of walking to a farm which was about half a league distant by the road, but the distance could be reduced by half by going over a deep and miry ditch across which a narrow plank was thrown, and I always insisted upon going that way, in spite of the fright of the ladies who always trembled on the narrow bridge, although I never failed to cross the first, and to offer my hand to help them over. One fine day, I crossed first so as to give them courage, but suddenly, when I reached the middle of the plank, it gave way under me, and there I was in the ditch, up to the chin in stinking mud, and, in spite of my inward rage, obliged, according to the general understanding, to join in the merry laughter of all my companions. But the merriment did not last long, for the joke was too bad, and everyone declared it to be so. Some peasants were called to the rescue, and with much difficulty they dragged me out in the most awful state. An entirely new dress, embroidered with spangles, my silk stockings, my lace, everything, was of course spoiled, but not minding it, I laughed more heartily that anybody else, although I had already made an inward vow to have the most cruel revenge. In order to know the author of that bitter joke I had only to appear calm and indifferent about it. It was evident that the plank had been purposely sawn. I was taken back to the house, a shirt, a coat, a complete costume, were lent me, for I had come that time only for twenty-four hours, and had not brought anything with me. I went to the city the next morning, and towards the evening I returned to the gay company. Fabris, who had been as angry as myself, observed to me that the perpetrator of the joke evidently felt his guilt, because he took good care not to discover himself. But I unveiled the mystery by promising one sequin to a peasant woman if she could find out who had sawn the plank. She contrived to discover the young man who had done the work. I called on him, and the offer of a sequin, together with my threats, compelled him to confess that he had been paid for his work by Signor Demetrio, a Greek, dealer in spices, a good and amiable man of between forty-five and fifty years, on whom I never played any trick, except in the case of a pretty, young servant girl whom he was courting, and whom I had juggled from him.
Satisfied with my discovery, I was racking my brain to invent a good practical joke, but to obtain complete revenge it was necessary that my trick should prove worse than the one he had played upon me. Unfortunately my imagination was at bay. I could not find anything. A funeral put an end to my difficulties.
Armed with my hunting-knife, I went alone to the cemetery a little after midnight, and opening the grave of the dead man who had been buried that very day, I cut off one of the arms near the shoulder, not without some trouble, and after I had re-buried the corpse, I returned to my room with the arm of the defunct. The next day, when supper was over, I left the table and retired to my chamber as if I intended to go to bed, but taking the arm with me I hid myself under Demetrio's bed. A short time after, the Greek comes in, undresses himself, put his light out, and lies down. I give him time to fall nearly asleep; then, placing myself at the foot of the bed, I pull away the clothes little by little until he is half naked. He laughs and calls out,
"Whoever you may be, go away and let me sleep quietly, for I do not believe in ghosts;" he covers himself again and composes himself to sleep.
I wait five or six minutes, and pull again at the bedclothes; but when he tries to draw up the sheet, saying that he does not care for ghosts, I oppose some resistance. He sits up so as to catch the hand which is pulling at the clothes, and I take care that he should get hold of the dead hand. Confident that he has caught the man or the woman who was playing the trick, he pulls it towards him, laughing all the time; I keep tight hold of the arm for a few instants, and then let it go suddenly; the Greek falls back on his pillow without uttering a single word.
The trick was played, I leave the room without any noise, and, reaching my chamber, go to bed.
I was fast asleep, when towards morning I was awoke by persons going about, and not understanding why they should be up so early, I got up. The first person I met--the mistress of the house--told me that I had played an abominable joke.
"I? What have I done?"
"M. Demetrio is dying."
"Have I killed him?"
She went away without answering me. I dressed myself, rather frightened, I confess, but determined upon pleading complete ignorance of everything, and I proceeded to Demetrio's room; and I was confronted with horror-stricken countenances and bitter reproaches. I found all the guests around him. I protested my innocence, but everyone smiled. The archpriest and the beadle, who had just arrived, would not bury the arm which was lying there, and they told me that I had been guilty of a great crime.
"I am astonished, reverend sir," I said to the priest, "at the hasty judgment which is thus passed upon me, when there is no proof to condemn me."
"You have done it," exclaimed all the guests, "you alone are capable of such an abomination; it is just like you. No one but you would have dared to do such a thing!"
"I am compelled," said the archpriest, "to draw up an official report."
"As you please, I have not the slightest objection," I answered, "I have nothing to fear."
And I left the room.
I continued to take it coolly, and at the dinner-table I was informed that M. Demetrio had been bled, that he had recovered the use of his eyes, but not of his tongue or of his limbs. The next day he could speak, and I heard, after I had taken leave of the family, that he was stupid and spasmodic. The poor man remained in that painful state for the rest of his life. I felt deeply grieved, but I had not intended to injure him so badly. I thought that the trick he had played upon me might have cost my life, and I could not help deriving consolation from that idea.
On the same day, the archpriest made up his mind to have the arm buried, and to send a formal denunciation against me to the episcopal chancellorship of Treviso.
Annoyed at the reproaches which I received on all sides, I returned to Venice. A fortnight afterwards I was summoned to appear before the 'magistrato alla blasfemia'. I begged M. Barbaro to enquire the cause of the aforesaid summons, for it was a formidable court. I was surprised at the proceedings being taken against me, as if there had been a certainty of my having desecrated a grave, whilst there could be nothing but suspicion. But I was mistaken, the summons was not relating to that affair. M. Barbaro informed me in the evening that a woman had brought a complaint against me for having violated her daughter. She stated in her complaint that, having decoyed her child to the Zuecca, I had abused her by violence, and she adduced as a proof that her daughter was confined to her bed, owing to the bad treatment she had received from me in my endeavours to ravish her. It was one of those complaints which are often made, in order to give trouble and to cause expense, even against innocent persons. I was innocent of violation, but it was quite true that I had given the girl a sound thrashing. I prepared my defence, and begged M. Barbaro to deliver it to the magistrate's secretary.
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that, on such a day, having met the woman with her daughter, I accosted them and offered to give them some refreshments at a coffee-house near by; that the daughter refused to accept my caresses, and that the mother said to me,--
"My daughter is yet a virgin, and she is quite right not to lose her maidenhood without making a good profit by it."
"If so," I answered, "I will give you ten sequins for her virginity."
"You may judge for yourself," said the mother.
Having assured myself of the fact by the assistance of the sense of feeling, and having ascertained that it might be true, I told the mother to bring the girl in the afternoon to the Zuecca, and that I would give her the ten sequins. My offer was joyfully accepted, the mother brought her daughter to me, she received the money, and leaving us together in the Garden of the Cross, she went away. When I tried to avail myself of the right for which I had paid, the girl, most likely trained to the business by her mother, contrived to prevent me. At first the game amused me, but at last, being tired of it, I told her to have done. She answered quietly that it was not her fault if I was not able to do what I wanted. Vexed and annoyed, I placed her in such a position that she found herself at bay, but, making a violent effort, she managed to change her position and debarred me from making any further attempts.
"Why," I said to her, "did you move?"
"Because I would not have it in that position."
"You would not?"
"No."
Without more ado, I got hold of a broomstick, and gave her a good lesson, in order to get something for the ten sequins which I had been foolish enough to pay in advance. But I have broken none of her limbs, and I took care to apply my blows only on her posteriors, on which spot I have no doubt that all the marks may be seen. In the evening I made her dress herself again, and sent her back in a boat which chanced to pass, and she was landed in safety. The mother received ten sequins, the daughter has kept her hateful maidenhood, and, if I am guilty of anything, it is only of having given a thrashing to an infamous girl, the pupil of a still more infamous mother.
My declaration had no effect. The magistrate was acquainted with the girl, and the mother laughed at having duped me so easily. I was summoned, but did not appear before the court, and a writ was on the point of being issued against my body, when the complaint of the profanation of a grave was filed against me before the same magistrate. It would have been less serious for me if the second affair had been carried before the Council of Ten, because one court might have saved me from the other.
The second crime, which, after all, was only a joke, was high felony in the eyes of the clergy, and a great deal was made of it. I was summoned to appear within twenty-four hours, and it was evident that I would be arrested immediately afterwards. M. de Bragadin, who always gave good advice, told me that the best way to avoid the threatening storm was to run away. The advice was certainly wise, and I lost no time in getting ready.
I have never left Venice with so much regret as I did then, for I had some pleasant intrigues on hand, and I was very lucky at cards. My three friends assured me that, within one year at the furthest, the cases against me would be forgotten, and in Venice, when public opinion has forgotten anything, it can be easily arranged.
I left Venice in the evening and the next day I slept at Verona. Two days afterwards I reached Mantua. I was alone, with plenty of clothes and jewels, without letters of introduction, but with a well-filled purse, enjoying excellent health and my twenty-three years.
In Mantua I ordered an excellent dinner, the very first thing one ought to do at a large hotel, and after dinner I went out for a walk. In the evening, after I had seen the coffee-houses and the places of resort, I went to the theatre, and I was delighted to see Marina appear on the stage as a comic dancer, amid the greatest applause, which she deserved, for she danced beautifully. She was tall, handsome, very well made and very graceful. I immediately resolved on renewing my acquaintance with her, if she happened to be free, and after the opera I engaged a boy to take me to her house. She had just sat down to supper with someone, but the moment she saw me she threw her napkin down and flew to my arms. I returned her kisses, judging by her warmth that her guest was a man of no consequence.
The servant, without waiting for orders, had already laid a plate for me, and Marina invited me to sit down near her. I felt vexed, because the aforesaid individual had not risen to salute me, and before I accepted Marina's invitation I asked her who the gentleman was, begging her to introduce me.
"This gentleman," she said, "is Count Celi, of Rome; he is my lover."
"I congratulate you," I said to her, and turning towards the so-called count, "Sir," I added, "do not be angry at our mutual affection, Marina is my daughter."
"She is a prostitute."
"True," said Marina, "and you can believe the count, for he is my procurer."
At those words, the brute threw his knife at her face, but she avoided it by running away. The scoundrel followed her, but I drew my sword, and said,
"Stop, or you are a dead man."
I immediately asked Marina to order her servant to light me out, but she hastily put a cloak on, and taking my arm she entreated me to take her with me.
"With pleasure," I said.
The count then invited me to meet him alone, on the following day, at the Casino of Pomi, to hear what he had to say.
"Very well, sir, at four in the afternoon," I answered.
I took Marina to my inn, where I lodged her in the room adjoining mine, and we sat down to supper.
Marina, seeing that I was thoughtful, said,
"Are you sorry to have saved me from the rage of that brute?"
"No, I am glad to have done so, but tell me truly who and what he is."
"He is a gambler by profession, and gives himself out as Count Celi. I made his acquaintance here. He courted me, invited me to supper, played after supper, and, having won a large sum from an Englishman whom he had decoyed to his supper by telling him that I would be present, he gave me fifty guineas, saying that he had given me an interest in his bank. As soon as I had become his mistress, he insisted upon my being compliant with all the men he wanted to make his dupes, and at last he took up his quarters at my lodgings. The welcome I gave you very likely vexed him, and you know the rest. Here I am, and here I will remain until my departure for Mantua where I have an engagement as first dancer. My servant will bring me all I need for to-night, and I will give him orders to move all my luggage to-morrow. I will not see that scoundrel any more. I will be only yours, if you are free as in Corfu, and if you love me still."
"Yes, my dear Marina, I do love you, but if you wish to be my mistress, you must be only mine."
"Oh! of course. I have three hundred sequins, and I will give them to you to-morrow if you will take me as your mistress."
"I do not want any money; all I want is yourself. Well, it is all arranged; to-morrow evening we shall feel more comfortable."
"Perhaps you are thinking of a duel for to-morrow? But do not imagine such a thing, dearest. I know that man; he is an arrant coward."
"I must keep my engagement with him."
"I know that, but he will not keep his, and I am very glad of it."
Changing the conversation and speaking of our old acquaintances, she informed me that she had quarreled with her brother Petronio, that her sister was primadonna in Genoa, and that Bellino Therese was still in Naples, where she continued to ruin dukes. She concluded by saying;
"I am the most unhappy of the family."
"How so? You are beautiful, and you have become an excellent dancer. Do not be so prodigal of your favours, and you cannot fail to meet with a man who will take care of your fortune."
"To be sparing of my favours is very difficult; when I love, I am no longer mine, but when I do not love, I cannot be amiable. Well, dearest, I could be very happy with you."
"Dear Marina, I am not wealthy, and my honour would not allow me...."
"Hold your tongue; I understand you."
"Why have you not a lady's maid with you instead of a male servant?"
"You are right. A maid would look more respectable, but my servant is so clever and so faithful!"
"I can guess all his qualities, but he is not a fit servant for you."
The next day after dinner I left Marina getting ready for the theatre, and having put everything of value I possessed in my pocket, I took a carriage and proceeded to the Casino of Pomi. I felt confident of disabling the false count, and sent the carriage away. I was conscious of being guilty of great folly in exposing my life with such an adversary. I might have broken my engagement with him without implicating my honour, but, the fact is that I felt well disposed for a fight, and as I was certainly in the right I thought the prospect of a duel very delightful. A visit to a dancer, a brute professing to be a nobleman, who insults her in my presence, who wants to kill her, who allows her to be carried off in his very teeth, and whose only opposition is to give me an appointment! It seemed to me that if I had failed to come, I should have given him the right to call me a coward.
The count had not yet arrived. I entered the coffee-room to wait for him. I met a good-looking Frenchman there, and I addressed him. Being pleased with his conversation, I told him that I expected the arrival of a man, and that as my honour required that he should find me alone I would feel grateful if he would go away as soon as I saw the man approaching. A short time afterwards I saw my adversary coming along, but with a second. I then told the Frenchman that he would oblige me by remaining, and he accepted as readily as if I had invited him to a party of pleasure. The count came in with his follower, who was sporting a sword at least forty inches long, and had all the look of a cut-throat. I advanced towards the count, and said to him dryly,--
"You told me that you would come alone."
"My friend will not be in the way, as I only want to speak to you."
"If I had known that, I would not have gone out of my way. But do not let us be noisy, and let us go to some place where we can exchange a few words without being seen. Follow me."
I left the coffee-room with the young Frenchman, who, being well acquainted with the place, took me to the most favourable spot, and we waited there for the two other champions, who were walking slowly and talking together. When they were within ten paces I drew my sword and called upon my adversary to get ready. My Frenchman had already taken out his sword, but he kept it under his arm.
"Two to one!" exclaimed Celi.
"Send your friend away, and this gentleman will go likewise; at all events, your friend wears a sword, therefore we are two against two."
"Yes," said the Frenchman, "let us have a four-handed game."
"I do not cross swords with a dancer," said the cutthroat.
He had scarcely uttered those words when my friend, going up to him, told him that a dancer was certainly as good as a blackleg, and gave him a violent bow with the flat of his sword on the face. I followed his example with Celi, who began to beat a retreat, and said that he only wanted to tell me something, and that he would fight afterwards.
"Well, speak."
"You know me and I do not know you. Tell me who you are."
My only answer was to resume laying my sword upon the scoundrel, while the Frenchman was shewing the same dexterity upon the back of his companion, but the two cowards took to their heels, and there was nothing for us to do but to sheathe our weapons. Thus did the duel end in a manner even more amusing than Marina herself had anticipated.
My brave Frenchman was expecting someone at the casino. I left him after inviting him to supper for that evening after the opera. I gave him the name which I had assumed for my journey and the address of my hotel.
I gave Marina a full description of the adventure.
"I will," she said, "amuse everybody at the theatre this evening with the story of your meeting. But that which pleases me most is that, if your second is really a dancer, he can be no other than M. Baletti, who is engaged with me for the Mantua Theatre."
I stored all my valuables in my trunk again, and went to the opera, where I saw Baletti, who recognized me, and pointed me out to all his friends, to whom he was relating the adventure. He joined me after the performance, and accompanied me to the inn. Marina, who had already returned, came to my room as soon as she heard my voice, and I was amused at the surprise of the amiable Frenchman, when he saw the young artist with whom he had engaged to dance the comic parts. Marina, although an excellent dancer, did not like the serious style. Those two handsome adepts of Terpsichore had never met before, and they began an amorous warfare which made me enjoy my supper immensely, because, as he was a fellow artist, Marina assumed towards Baletti a tone well adapted to the circumstances, and very different to her usual manner with other men. She shone with wit and beauty that evening, and was in an excellent temper, for she had been much applauded by the public, the true version of the Celi business being already well known.
The theatre was to be open only for ten more nights, and as Marina wished to leave Milan immediately after the last performance, we decided on travelling together. In the mean time, I invited Baletti (it was an Italian name which he had adopted for the stage) to be our guest during the remainder of our stay in Milan. The friendship between us had a great influence upon all the subsequent events of my life, as the reader will see in these Memoirs. He had great talent as a dancer, but that was the least of his excellent qualities. He was honest, his feelings were noble, he had studied much, and he had received the best education that could be given in those days in France to a nobleman.
On the third day I saw plainly that Marina wished to make a conquest of her colleague, and feeling what great advantage might accrue to her from it I resolved on helping her. She had a post-chaise for two persons, and I easily persuaded her to take Baletti with her, saying that I wished to arrive alone in Mantua for several reasons which I could not confide to her. The fact was that if I had arrived with her, people would have naturally supposed that I was her lover, and I wished to avoid that. Baletti was delighted with the proposal; he insisted upon paying his share of the expenses, but Marina would not hear of it. The reasons alleged by the young man for paying his own expenses were excellent ones, and it was with great difficulty that I prevailed upon him to accept Marina's offer, but I ultimately succeeded. I promised to wait for them on the road, so as to take dinner and supper together, and on the day appointed for our departure I left Milan one hour before them.
Reaching the city of Cremona very early, where we intended to sleep, I took a walk about the streets, and, finding a coffee-house, I went in. I made there the acquaintance of a French officer, and we left the coffee-room together to take a short ramble. A very pretty woman happened to pass in a carriage, and my companion stopped her to say a few words. Their conversation was soon over, and the officer joined me again.
"Who is that lovely lady?" I enquired.
"She is a truly charming woman, and I can tell you an anecdote about her worthy of being transmitted to posterity. You need not suppose that I am going to exaggerate, for the adventure is known to everybody in Cremona. The charming woman whom you have just seen is gifted with wit greater even than her beauty, and here is a specimen of it. A young officer, one amongst many military men who were courting her, when Marshal de Richelieu was commanding in Genoa, boasted of being treated by her with more favour than all the others, and one day, in the very coffee-room where we met, he advised a brother officer not to lose his time in courting her, because he had no chance whatever of obtaining any favour.
"'My dear fellow,' said the other officer, 'I have a much better right to give you that piece of advice; for I have already obtained from her everything which can be granted to a lover.'
"'I am certain that you are telling a lie,' exclaimed the young man, 'and I request you to follow me out.'
"'Most willingly,' said the indiscreet swain, 'but what is the good of ascertaining the truth through a duel and of cutting our throats, when I can make the lady herself certify the fact in your presence.'
"'I bet twenty-five louis that it is all untrue,' said the incredulous officer.
"'I accept your bet. Let us go.'
"The two contending parties proceeded together towards the dwelling of the lady whom you saw just now, who was to name the winner of the twenty-five louis.
"They found her in her dressing-room. 'Well gentlemen,' she said, 'what lucky wind has brought you here together at this hour?
"'It is a bet, madam,' answered the unbelieving officer, 'and you alone can be the umpire in our quarrel. This gentleman has been boasting of having obtained from you everything a woman can grant to the most favoured lover. I have given him the lie in the most impressive manner, and a duel was to ensue, when he offered to have the truth of his boast certified by you. I have bet twenty-five Louis that you would not admit it, and he has taken my bet. Now, madam, you can say which of us two is right.'
"You have lost, sir," she said to him; 'but now I beg both of you to quit my house, and I give you fair warning that if you ever dare to shew your faces here again, you will be sorry for it.'
"The two heedless fellows went away dreadfully mortified. The unbeliever paid the bet, but he was deeply vexed, called the other a coxcomb, and a week afterwards killed him in a duel.
"Since that time the lady goes to the casino, and continues to mix in society, but does not see company at her own house, and lives in perfect accord with her husband."
"How did the husband take it all?"
"Quite well, and like an intelligent, sensible man. He said that, if his wife had acted differently, he would have applied for a divorce, because in that case no one would have entertained a doubt of her being guilty."
"That husband is indeed a sensible fellow. It is certain that, if his wife had given the lie to the indiscreet officer, he would have paid the bet, but he would have stood by what he had said, and everybody would have believed him. By declaring him the winner of the bet she has cut the matter short, and she has avoided a judgment by which she would have been dishonoured. The inconsiderate boaster was guilty of a double mistake for which he paid the penalty of his life, but his adversary was as much wanting in delicacy, for in such matters rightly-minded men do not venture upon betting. If the one who says yes is imprudent, the one who says no is a dupe. I like the lady's presence of mind."
"But what sentence would you pass on her. Guilty or not guilty?"
"Not guilty."
"I am of the same opinion, and it has been the verdict of the public likewise, for she has since been treated even better than before the affair. You will see, if you go to the casino, and I shall be happy to introduce you to her."
I invited the officer to sup with us, and we spent a very pleasant evening. After he had gone, I remarked with pleasure that Marina was capable of observing the rules of propriety. She had taken a bedroom to herself, so as not to hurt the feelings of her respectable fellow-dancer.
When I arrived in Mantua, I put up at St. Mark's hotel. Marina, to whom I had given a notice that my intention was to call on her but seldom, took up her abode in the house assigned to her by the theatrical manager.
In the afternoon of the same day, as I was walking about, I went into a bookseller's shop to ascertain whether there was any new work out. I remained there without perceiving that the night had come, and on being told that the shop was going to be closed, I went out. I had only gone a few yards when I was arrested by a patrol, the officer of which told me that, as I had no lantern and as eight o'clock had struck, his duty was to take me to the guardhouse. It was in vain that I observed that, having arrived only in the afternoon, I could not know that order of the police. I was compelled to follow him.
When we reached the guardhouse, the officer of the patrol introduced me to his captain, a tall, fine-looking young man who received me in the most cheerful manner. I begged him to let me return to my hotel as I needed rest after my journey. He laughed and answered, "No, indeed, I want you to spend a joyous night with me, and in good company." He told the officer to give me back my sword, and, addressing me again, he said, "I only consider you, my dear sir, as my friend and guest."
I could not help being amused at such a novel mode of invitation, and I accepted it. He gave some orders to a German soldier, and soon afterwards the table was laid out for four persons. The two other officers joined us, and we had a very gay supper. When the desert had been served the company was increased by the arrival of two disgusting, dissolute females. A green cloth was spread over the table, and one of the officers began a faro bank. I punted so as not to appear unwilling to join the game, and after losing a few sequins I went out to breathe the fresh air, for we had drunk freely. One of the two females followed me, teased me, and finally contrived, in spite of myself, to make me a present which condemned me to a regimen of six weeks. After that fine exploit, I went in again.
A young and pleasant officer, who had lost some fifteen or twenty sequins, was swearing like a trooper because the banker had pocketed his money and was going. The young officer had a great deal of gold before him on the table, and he contended that the banker ought to have warned him that it would be the last game.
"Sir," I said to him, politely, "you are in the wrong, for faro is the freest of games. Why do you not take the bank yourself?"
"It would be too much trouble, and these gentlemen do not punt high enough for me, but if that sort of thing amuses you, take the bank and I will punt."
"Captain," I said, "will you take a fourth share in my bank?"
"Willingly."
"Gentlemen, I beg you to give notice that I will lay the cards down after six games."
I asked for new packs of cards, and put three hundred sequins on the table. The captain wrote on the back of a card, "Good for a hundred sequins, O'Neilan," and placing it with my gold I began my bank.
The young officer was delighted, and said to me,
"Your bank might be defunct before the end of the sixth game."
I did not answer, and the play went on.
At the beginning of the fifth game, my bank was in the pangs of death; the young officer was in high glee. I rather astonished him by telling him that I was glad to lose, for I thought him a much more agreeable companion when he was winning.
There are some civilities which very likely prove unlucky for those to whom they are addressed, and it turned out so in this case, for my compliment turned his brain. During the fifth game, a run of adverse cards made him lose all he had won, and as he tried to do violence to Dame Fortune in the sixth round, he lost every sequin he had.
"Sir," he said to me, "you have been very lucky, but I hope you will give me my revenge to-morrow."
"It would be with the greatest pleasure, sir, but I never play except when I am under arrest."
I counted my money, and found that I had won two hundred and fifty sequins, besides a debt of fifty sequins due by an officer who played on trust which Captain O'Neilan took on his own account. I completed his share, and at day-break he allowed me to go away.
As soon as I got to my hotel, I went to bed, and when I awoke, I had a visit from Captain Laurent, the officer who had played on trust. Thinking that his object was to pay me what he had lost, I told him that O'Neilan had taken his debt on himself, but he answered than he had only called for the purpose of begging of me a loan of six sequins on his note of hand, by which he would pledge his honour to repay me within one week. I gave him the money, and he begged that the matter, might remain between us.
"I promise it," I said to him, "but do not break your word."
The next day I was ill, and the reader is aware of the nature of my illness. I immediately placed myself under a proper course of diet, however unpleasant it was at my age; but I kept to my system, and it cured me rapidly.
Three or four days afterwards Captain O'Neilan called on me, and when I told him the nature of my sickness he laughed, much to my surprise.
"Then you were all right before that night?" he enquired.
"Yes, my health was excellent."
"I am sorry that you should have lost your health in such an ugly place. I would have warned you if I had thought you had any intentions in that quarter."
"Did you know of the woman having . . . ?"
"Zounds! Did I not? It is only a week since I paid a visit to the very same place myself, and I believe the creature was all right before my visit."
"Then I have to thank you for the present she has bestowed upon me."
"Most likely; but it is only a trifle, and you can easily get cured if you care to take the trouble."
"What! Do you not try to cure yourself?"
"Faith, no. It would be too much trouble to follow a regular diet, and what is the use of curing such a trifling inconvenience when I am certain of getting it again in a fortnight. Ten times in my life I have had that patience, but I got tired of it, and for the last two years I have resigned myself, and now I put up with it."
"I pity you, for a man like you would have great success in love."
"I do not care a fig for love; it requires cares which would bother me much more than the slight inconvenience to which we were alluding, and to which I am used now."
"I am not of your opinion, for the amorous pleasure is insipid when love does not throw a little spice in it. Do you think, for instance, that the ugly wretch I met at the guard-room is worth what I now suffer on her account?"
"Of course not, and that is why I am sorry for you. If I had known, I could have introduced you to something better."
"The very best in that line is not worth my health, and health ought to be sacrificed only for love."
"Oh! you want women worthy of love? There are a few here; stop with us for some time, and when you are cured there is nothing to prevent you from making conquests."
O'Neilan was only twenty-three years old; his father, who was dead, had been a general, and the beautiful Countess Borsati was his sister. He presented me to the Countess Zanardi Nerli, still more lovely than his sister, but I was prudent enough not to burn my incense before either of them, for it seemed to me that everybody could guess the state of my health.
I have never met a young man more addicted to debauchery than O'Neilan. I have often spent the night rambling about with him, and I was amazed at his cynical boldness and impudence. Yet he was noble, generous, brave, and honourable. If in those days young officers were often guilty of so much immorality, of so many vile actions, it was not so much their fault as the fault of the privileges which they enjoyed through custom, indulgence, or party spirit. Here is an example:
One day O'Neilan, having drunk rather freely, rides through the city at full speed. A poor old woman who was crossing the street has no time to avoid him, she falls, and her head is cut open by the horse's feet. O'Neilan places himself under arrest, but the next day he is set at liberty. He had only to plead that it was an accident.
The officer Laurent not having called upon me to redeem his promisory note of six sequins during the week, I told him in the street that I would no longer consider myself bound to keep the affair secret. Instead of excusing himself, he said,
"I do not care!"
The answer was insulting, and I intended to compel him to give me reparation, but the next day O'Neilan told me that Captain Laurent had gone mad and had been locked up in a mad-house. He subsequently recovered his reason, but his conduct was so infamous that he was cashiered.
O'Neilan, who was as brave as Bayard, was killed a few years afterwards at the battle of Prague. A man of his complexion was certain to fall the victim of Mars or of Venus. He might be alive now if he had been endowed only with the courage of the fox, but he had the courage of the lion. It is a virtue in a soldier, but almost a fault in an officer. Those who brave danger with a full knowledge of it are worthy of praise, but those who do not realize it escape only by a miracle, and without any merit attaching itself to them. Yet we must respect those great warriors, for their unconquerable courage is the offspring of a strong soul, of a virtue which places them above ordinary mortals.
Whenever I think of Prince Charles de Ligne I cannot restrain my tears. He was as brave as Achilles, but Achilles was invulnerable. He would be alive now if he had remembered during the fight that he was mortal. Who are they that, having known him, have not shed tears in his memory? He was handsome, kind, polished, learned, a lover of the arts, cheerful, witty in his conversation, a pleasant companion, and a man of perfect equability. Fatal, terrible revolution! A cannon ball took him from his friends, from his family, from the happiness which surrounded him.
The Prince de Waldeck has also paid the penalty of his intrepidity with the loss of one arm. It is said that he consoles himself for that loss with the consciousness that with the remaining one he can yet command an army.
O you who despise life, tell me whether that contempt of life renders you worthy of it?
The opera opened immediately after Easter, and I was present at every performance. I was then entirely cured, and had resumed my usual life. I was pleased to see that Baletti shewed off Marina to the best advantage. I never visited her, but Baletti was in the habit of breakfasting with me almost every morning.
He had often mentioned an old actress who had left the stage for more than twenty years, and pretended to have been my father's friend. One day I took a fancy to call upon her, and he accompanied me to her house.
I saw an old, broken-down crone whose toilet astonished me as much as her person. In spite of her wrinkles, her face was plastered with red and white, and her eyebrows were indebted to India ink for their black appearance. She exposed one-half of her flabby, disgusting bosom, and there could be no doubt as to her false set of teeth. She wore a wig which fitted very badly, and allowed the intrusion of a few gray hairs which had survived the havoc of time. Her shaking hands made mine quiver when she pressed them. She diffused a perfume of amber at a distance of twenty yards, and her affected, mincing manner amused and sickened me at the same time. Her dress might possibly have been the fashion twenty years before. I was looking with dread at the fearful havoc of old age upon a face which, before merciless time had blighted it, had evidently been handsome, but what amazed me was the childish effrontery with which this time-withered specimen of womankind was still waging war with the help of her blasted charms.
Baletti, who feared lest my too visible astonishment should vex her, told her that I was amazed at the fact that the beautiful strawberry which bloomed upon her chest had not been withered by the hand of Time. It was a birth-mark which was really very much like a strawberry. "It is that mark," said the old woman, simpering, "which gave me the name of 'La Fragoletta.'"
Those words made me shudder.
I had before my eyes the fatal phantom which was the cause of my existence. I saw the woman who had thirty years before, seduced my father: if it had not been for her, he would never have thought of leaving his father's house, and would never have engendered me in the womb of a Venetian woman. I have never been of the opinion of the old author who says, 'Nemo vitam vellet si daretur scientibus'.
Seeing how thoughtful I was, she politely enquired my name from Baletti, for he had presented me only as a friend, and without having given her notice of my visit. When he told her that my name was Casanova, she was extremely surprised.
"Yes, madam," I said, "I am the son of Gaetan Casanova, of Parma."
"Heavens and earth! what is this? Ah! my friend, I adored your father! He was jealous without cause, and abandoned me. Had he not done so, you would have been my son! Allow me to embrace you with the feelings of a loving mother."
I expected as much, and, for fear she should fall, I went to her, received her kiss, and abandoned myself to her tender recollections. Still an actress, she pressed her handkerchief to her eyes, pretending to weep, and assuring me that I was not to doubt the truth of what she said.
"Although," she added, "I do not look an old woman yet."
"The only fault of your dear father," she continued, "was a want of gratitude."
I have no doubt that she passed the same sentence upon the son, for, in spite of her kind invitation, I never paid her another visit.
My purse was well filled, and as I did not care for Mantua, I resolved on going to Naples, to see again my dear Therese, Donna Lucrezia, Palo father and son, Don Antonio Casanova, and all my former acquaintances. However, my good genius did not approve of that decision, for I was not allowed to carry it into execution. I should have left Mantua three days later, had I not gone to the opera that night.
I lived like an anchorite during my two months' stay in Mantua, owing to the folly. I committed on the night of my arrival. I played only that time, and then I had been lucky. My slight erotic inconvenience, by compelling me to follow the diet necessary to my cure, most likely saved me from greater misfortunes which, perhaps, I should not have been able to avoid.
CHAPTER XXI
My Journey to Cesena in Search of Treasure--I Take Up My
Quarters in Franzia's House--His Daughter Javotte
The opera was nearly over when I was accosted by a young man who, abruptly, and without any introduction, told me that as a stranger I had been very wrong in spending two months in Mantua without paying a visit to the natural history collection belonging to his father, Don Antonio Capitani, commissary and prebendal president.
"Sir," I answered, "I have been guilty only through ignorance, and if you would be so good as to call for me at my hotel to-morrow morning, before the evening I shall have atoned for my error, and you will no longer have the right to address me the same reproach."
The son of the prebendal commissary called for me, and I found in his father a most eccentric, whimsical sort of man. The curiosities of his collection consisted of his family tree, of books of magic, relics, coins which he believed to be antediluvian, a model of the ark taken from nature at the time when Noah arrived in that extraordinary harbour, Mount Ararat, in Armenia. He load several medals, one of Sesostris, another of Semiramis, and an old knife of a queer shape, covered with rust. Besides all those wonderful treasures, he possessed, but under lock and key, all the paraphernalia of freemasonry.
"Pray, tell me," I said to him, "what relation there is between this collection and natural history? I see nothing here representing the three kingdoms."
"What! You do not see the antediluvian kingdom, that of Sesostris and that of Semiramis? Are not those the three kingdoms?"
When I heard that answer I embraced him with an exclamation of delight, which was sarcastic in its intent, but which he took for admiration, and he at once unfolded all the treasures of his whimsical knowledge respecting his possessions, ending with the rusty blade which he said was the very knife with which Saint Peter cut off the ear of Malek.
"What!" I exclaimed, "you are the possessor of this knife, and you are not as rich as Croesus?"
"How could I be so through the possession of the knife?"
"In two ways. In the first place, you could obtain possession of all the treasures hidden under ground in the States of the Church."
"Yes, that is a natural consequence, because St. Peter has the keys."
"In the second place, you might sell the knife to the Pope, if you happen to possess proof of its authenticity."
"You mean the parchment. Of course I have it; do you think I would have bought one without the other?"
"All right, then. In order to get possession of that knife, the Pope would, I have no doubt, make a cardinal of your son, but you must have the sheath too."
"I have not got it, but it is unnecessary. At all events I can have one made."
"That would not do, you must have the very one in which Saint Peter himself sheathed the knife when God said, 'Mitte gladium tuum in vaginam'. That very sheath does exist, and it is now in the hands of a person who might sell it to you at a reasonable price, or you might sell him your knife, for the sheath without the knife is of no use to him, just as the knife is useless to you without the sheath."
"How much would it cost me?"
"One thousand sequins."
"And how much would that person give me for the knife?"
"One thousand sequins, for one has as much value as the other."
The commissary, greatly astonished, looked at his son, and said, with the voice of a judge on the bench,
"Well, son, would you ever have thought that I would be offered one thousand sequins for this knife?"
He then opened a drawer and took out of it an old piece of paper, which he placed before me. It was written in Hebrew, and a facsimile of the knife was drawn on it. I pretended to be lost in admiration, and advised him very strongly to purchase the sheath.
"It is not necessary for me to buy it, or for your friend to purchase the knife. We can find out and dig up the treasures together."
"Not at all. The rubric says in the most forcible manner that the owner of the blade, 'in vaginam', shall be one. If the Pope were in possession of it he would be able, through a magical operation known to me, to cut off one of the ears of every Christian king who might be thinking of encroaching upon the rights of the Church."
"Wonderful, indeed! But it is very true, for it is said in the Gospel that Saint Peter did cut off the ear of somebody."
"Yes, of a king."
"Oh, no! not of a king."
"Of a king, I tell you. Enquire whether Malek or Melek does not mean king."
"Well! in case I should make up my mind to sell the knife, who would give me the thousand sequins?"
"I would; one half to-morrow, cash down; the balance of five hundred in a letter of exchange payable one month after date."
"Ah! that is like business. Be good enough, to accept a dish of macaroni with us to-morrow, and under a solemn pledge of secrecy we will discuss this important affair."
I accepted and took my leave, firmly resolved on keeping up the joke. I came back on the following day, and the very first thing he told me was that, to his certain knowledge, there was an immense treasure hidden somewhere in the Papal States, and that he would make up his mind to purchase the sheath. This satisfied me that there was no fear of his taking me at my word, so I produced a purse full of gold, saying I was quite ready to complete our bargain for the purchase of the knife.
"The Treasure," he said, "is worth millions; but let us have dinner. You are not going to be served in silver plates and dishes, but in real Raphael mosaic."
"My dear commissary, your magnificence astonishes me; mosaic is, indeed, by far superior to silver plate, although an ignorant fool would only consider it ugly earthen ware."
The compliment delighted him.
After dinner, he spoke as follows:
"A man in very good circumstances, residing in the Papal States, and owner of the country house in which he lives with all his family, is certain that there is a treasure in his cellar. He has written to my son, declaring himself ready to undertake all expenses necessary to possess himself of that treasure, if we could procure a magician powerful enough to unearth it."
The son then took a letter out of his pocket, read me some passages, and begged me to excuse him if, in consequence of his having pledged himself to keep the secret, he could not communicate all the contents of the letter; but I had, unperceived by him, read the word Cesena, the name of the village, and that was enough for me.
"Therefore all that is necessary is to give me the possibility of purchasing the sheath on credit, for I have no ready cash at present. You need not be afraid of endorsing my letters of exchange, and if you should know the magician you might go halves with him."
"The magician is ready; it is I, but unless you give me five hundred sequins cash down we cannot agree."
"I have no money."
"Then sell me the knife."
"No."
"You are wrong, for now that I have seen it I can easily take it from you. But I am honest enough not to wish to play such a trick upon you."
"You could take my knife from me? I should like to be convinced of that, but I do not believe it."
"You do not? Very well, to-morrow the knife will be in my possession, but when it is once in my hands you need not hope to see it again. A spirit which is under my orders will bring it to me at midnight, and the same spirit will tell me where the treasure is buried."
"Let the spirit tell you that, and I shall be convinced."
"Give me a pen, ink and paper."
I asked a question from my oracle, and the answer I had was that the treasure was to be found not far from the Rubicon.
"That is," I said, "a torrent which was once a river."
They consulted a dictionary, and found that the Rubicon flowed through Cesena. They were amazed, and, as I wished them to have full scope for wrong reasoning, I left them.
I had taken a fancy, not to purloin five hundred sequins from those poor fools, but to go and unearth the amount at their expense in the house of another fool, and to laugh at them all into the bargain. I longed to play the part of a magician. With that idea, when I left the house of the ridiculous antiquarian, I proceeded to the public library, where, with the assistance of a dictionary, I wrote the following specimen of facetious erudition:
"The treasure is buried in the earth at a depth of seventeen and a half fathoms, and has been there for six centuries. Its value amounts to two millions of sequins, enclosed in a casket, the same which was taken by Godfrey de Bouillon from Mathilda, Countess of Tuscany, in the year 1081, when he endeavoured to assist Henry IV, against that princess. He buried the box himself in the very spot where it now is, before he went to lay siege to Jerusalem. Gregory VII, who was a great magician, having been informed of the place where it had been hidden, had resolved on getting possession of it himself, but death prevented him from carrying out his intentions. After the death of the Countess Mathilda, in the year 1116, the genius presiding over all hidden treasures appointed seven spirits to guard the box. During a night with a full moon, a learned magician can raise the treasure to the surface of the earth by placing himself in the middle of the magical ring called maximus."
I expected to see the father and son, and they came early in the morning. After some rambling conversation, I gave them what I had composed at the library, namely, the history of the treasure taken from the Countess Mathilda.
I told them that I had made up my mind to recover the treasure, and I promised them the fourth part of it, provided they would purchase the sheath; I concluded by threatening again to possess myself of their knife.
"I cannot decide," said the commissary, "before I have seen the sheath."
"I pledge my word to shew it to you to-morrow," I answered.
We parted company, highly pleased with each other.
In order to manufacture a sheath, such as the wonderful knife required, it was necessary to combine the most whimsical idea with the oddest shape. I recollected very well the form of the blade, and, as I was revolving in my mind the best way to produce something very extravagant but well adapted to the purpose I had in view, I spied in the yard of the hotel an old piece of leather, the remnant of what had been a fine gentleman's boot; it was exactly what I wanted.
I took that old sole, boiled it, and made in it a slit in which I was certain that the knife would go easily. Then I pared it carefully on all sides to prevent the possibility of its former use being found out; I rubbed it with pumice stone, sand, and ochre, and finally I succeeded in imparting to my production such a queer, old-fashioned shape that I could not help laughing in looking at my work.
When I presented it to the commissary, and he had found it an exact fit for the knife, the good man remained astounded. We dined together, and after dinner it was decided that his son should accompany me, and introduce me to the master of the house in which the treasure was buried, that I was to receive a letter of exchange for one thousand Roman crowns, drawn by the son on Bologna, which would be made payable to my name only after I should have found the treasure, and that the knife with the sheath would be delivered into my hands only when I should require it for the great operation; until then the son was to retain possession of it.
Those conditions having been agreed upon, we made an agreement in writing, binding upon all parties, and our departure was fixed for the day after the morrow.
As we left Mantua, the father pronounced a fervent blessing over his son's head, and told me that he was count palatine, shewing me the diploma which he had received from the Pope. I embraced him, giving him his title of count, and pocketed his letter of exchange.
After bidding adieu to Marina, who was then the acknowledged mistress of Count Arcorati, and to Baletti whom I was sure of meeting again in Venice before the end of the year, I went to sup with my friend O'Neilan.
We started early in the morning, travelled through Ferrara and Bologna, and reached Cesena, where we put up at the posting-house. We got up early the next day and walked quietly to the house of George Franzia, a wealthy peasant, who was owner of the treasure. It was only a quarter of a mile from the city, and the good man was agreeably surprised by our arrival. He embraced Capitani, whom he knew already, and leaving me with his family he went out with my companion to talk business.
Observant as usual, I passed the family in review, and fixed my choice upon the eldest daughter. The youngest girl was ugly, and the son looked a regular fool. The mother seemed to be the real master of the household, and there were three or four servants going about the premises.
The eldest daughter was called Genevieve, or Javotte, a very common name among the girls of Cesena. I told her that I thought her eighteen; but she answered, in a tone half serious, half vexed, that I was very much mistaken, for she had only just completed her fourteenth year.
"I am very glad it is so, my pretty child."
These words brought back her smile.
The house was well situated, and there was not another dwelling around it for at least four hundred yards. I was glad to see that I should have comfortable quarters, but I was annoyed by a very unpleasant stink which tainted the air, and which could certainly not be agreeable to the spirits I had to evoke.
"Madame Franzia," said I, to the mistress of the house, "what is the cause of that bad smell?"
"Sir, it arises from the hemp which we are macerating."
I concluded that if the cause were removed, I should get rid of the effect.
"What is that hemp worth, madam?" I enquired.
"About forty crowns."
"Here they are; the hemp belongs to me now, and I must beg your husband to have it removed immediately."
Capitani called me, and I joined him. Franzia shewed me all the respect due to a great magician, although I had not much the appearance of one.
We agreed that he should receive one-fourth of the treasure, Capitani another fourth, and that the remainder should belong to me. We certainly did not shew much respect for the rights of Saint Peter.
I told Franzia that I should require a room with two beds for myself alone, and an ante-room with bathing apparatus. Capitani's room was to be in a different part of the house, and my room was to be provided with three tables, two of them small and one large. I added that he must at once procure me a sewing-girl between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, she was to be a virgin, and it was necessary that she should, as well as every person in the house, keep the secret faithfully, in order that no suspicion of our proceedings should reach the Inquisition, or all would be lost.
"I intend to take up my quarters here to-morrow," I added; "I require two meals every day, and the only wine I can drink is jevese. For my breakfast I drink a peculiar kind of chocolate which I make myself, and which I have brought with me. I promise to pay my own expenses in case we do not succeed. Please remove the hemp to a place sufficiently distant from the house, so that its bad smell may not annoy the spirits to be evoked by me, and let the air be purified by the discharge of gunpowder. Besides, you must send a trusty servant to-morrow to convey our luggage from the hotel here, and keep constantly in the house and at my disposal one hundred new wax candles and three torches."
After I had given those instructions to Franzia, I left him, and went towards Cesena with Capitani, but we had not gone a hundred yards when we heard the good man running after us.
"Sir," he said to me, "be kind enough to take back the forty crowns which you paid to my wife for the hemp."
"No, I will not do anything of the sort, for I do not want you to sustain any loss."
"Take them back, I beg. I can sell the hemp in the course of the day for forty crowns without difficulty."
"In that case I will, for I have confidence in what you say."
Such proceedings on my part impressed the excellent man very favourably, and he entertained the deepest veneration for me, which was increased, when, against Capitani's advice, I resolutely refused one hundred sequins which he wanted to force upon me for my travelling expenses. I threw him into raptures by telling him that on the eve of possessing an immense treasure, it was unnecessary to think of such trifles.
The next morning our luggage was sent for, and we found ourselves comfortably located in the house of the wealthy and simple Franzia.
He gave us a good dinner, but with too many dishes, and I told him to be more economical, and to give only some good fish for our supper, which he did. After supper he told me that, as far as the young maiden was concerned, he thought he could recommend his daughter Javotte, as he had consulted his wife, and had found I could rely upon the girl being a virgin.
"Very good," I said; "now tell me what grounds you have for supposing that there is a treasure in your house?"
"In the first place, the oral tradition transmitted from father to son for the last eight generations; in the second, the heavy sounds which are heard under ground during the night. Besides, the door of the cellar opens and shuts of itself every three or four minutes; which must certainly be the work of the devils seen every night wandering through the country in the shape of pyramidal flames."
"If it is as you say, it is evident that you have a treasure hidden somewhere in your house; it is as certain as the fact that two and two are four. Be very careful not to put a lock to the door of the cellar to prevent its opening and shutting of itself; otherwise you would have an earthquake, which would destroy everything here. Spirits will enjoy perfect freedom, and they break through every obstacle raised against them."
"God be praised for having sent here, forty years ago, a learned man who told my father exactly the same thing! That great magician required only three days more to unearth the treasure when my father heard that the Inquisition had given orders to arrest him, and he lost no time in insuring his escape. Can you tell me how it is that magicians are not more powerful than the Inquisitors?"
"Because the monks have a greater number of devils under their command than we have. But I feel certain that your father had already expended a great deal of money with that learned man."
"About two thousand crowns."
"Oh! more, more."
I told Franzia to follow me, and, in order to accomplish something in the magic line, I dipped a towel in some water, and uttering fearful words which belonged to no human language, I washed the eyes, the temples, and the chest of every person in the family, including Javotte, who might have objected to it if I had not begun with her father, mother, and brother. I made them swear upon my pocket-book that they were not labouring under any impure disease, and I concluded the ceremony by compelling Javotte to swear likewise that she had her maidenhood. As I saw that she was blushing to the very roots of her hair in taking the oath, I was cruel enough to explain to her what it meant; I then asked her to swear again, but she answered that there was no need of it now that she knew what it was. I ordered all the family to kiss me, and finding that Javotte had eaten garlic I forbade the use of it entirely, which order Franzia promised should be complied with.
Genevieve was not a beauty as far as her features were concerned; her complexion was too much sunburnt, and her mouth was too large, but her teeth were splendid, and her under lip projected slightly as if it had been formed to receive kisses. Her bosom was well made and as firm as a rock, but her hair was too light, and her hands too fleshy. The defects, however, had to be overlooked, and altogether she was not an unpleasant morsel. I did not purpose to make her fall in love with me; with a peasant girl that task might have been a long one; all I wanted was to train her to perfect obedience, which, in default of love, has always appeared to me the essential point. True that in such a case one does not enjoy the ecstatic raptures of love, but one finds a compensation in the complete control obtained over the woman.
I gave notice to the father, to Capitani, and to Javotte, that each would, in turn and in the order of their age, take supper with me, and that Javotte would sleep every night in my ante-room, where was to be placed a bath in which I would bathe my guest one half hour before sitting down to supper, and the guest was not to have broken his fast throughout the day.
I prepared a list of all the articles of which I pretended to be in need, and giving it to Franzia I told him to go to Cesena himself the next day, and to purchase everything without bargaining to obtain a lower price. Among other things, I ordered a piece, from twenty to thirty yards long, of white linen, thread, scissors, needles, storax, myrrh, sulphur, olive oil, camphor, one ream of paper, pens and ink, twelve sheets of parchment, brushes, and a branch of olive tree to make a stick of eighteen inches in length.
After I had given all my orders very seriously and without any wish to laugh, I went to bed highly pleased with my personification of a magician, in which I was astonished to find myself so completely successful.
The next morning, as soon as I was dressed, I sent for Capitani, and commanded him to proceed every day to Cesena, to go to the best coffee-house, to learn carefully every piece of news and every rumour, and to report them to me.
Franzia, who had faithfully obeyed my orders, returned before noon from the city with all the articles I had asked for.
"I have not bargained for anything," he said to me, "and the merchants must, I have no doubt, have taken me for a fool, for I have certainly paid one-third more than the things are worth."
"So much the worse for them if they have deceived you, but you would have spoilt everything if you had beaten them down in their price. Now, send me your daughter and let me be alone with her."
As soon as Javotte was in my room, I made her cut the linen in seven pieces, four of five feet long, two of two feet, and one of two feet and a half; the last one was intended to form the hood of the robe I was to wear for the great operation. Then I said to Javotte:
"Sit down near my bed and begin sewing. You will dine here and remain at work until the evening. When your father comes, you must let us be alone, but as soon as he leaves me, come back and go to bed."
She dined in my room, where her mother waited on her without speaking, and gave her nothing to drink except St. Jevese wine. Towards evening her father came, and she left us.
I had the patience to wash the good man while he was in the bath, after which he had supper with me; he ate voraciously, telling me that it was the first time in his life that he had remained twenty-four hours without breaking his fast. Intoxicated with the St. Jevese wine he had drunk, he went to bed and slept soundly until morning, when his wife brought me my chocolate. Javotte was kept sewing as on the day before; she left the room in the evening when Capitani came in, and I treated him in the same manner as Franzia; on the third day, it was Javotte's turn, and that had been the object I had kept in view all the time.
When the hour came, I said to her,
"Go, Javotte, get into the bath and call me when you are ready, for I must purify you as I have purified your father and Capitani."
She obeyed, and within a quarter of an hour she called me. I performed a great many ablutions on every part of her body, making her assume all sorts of positions, for she was perfectly docile, but, as I was afraid of betraying myself, I felt more suffering than enjoyment, and my indiscreet hands, running over every part of her person, and remaining longer and more willingly on a certain spot, the sensitiveness of which is extreme, the poor girl was excited by an ardent fire which was at last quenched by the natural result of that excitement. I made her get out of the bath soon after that, and as I was drying her I was very near forgetting magic to follow the impulse of nature, but, quicker than I, nature relieved itself, and I was thus enabled to reach the end of the scene without anticipating the denouement. I told Javotte to dress herself, and to come back to me as soon as she was ready.
She had been fasting all day, and her toilet did not take a long time. She ate with a ferocious appetite, and the St. Jevese wine, which she drank like water, imparted so much animation to her complexion that it was no longer possible to see how sunburnt she was. Being alone with her after supper, I said to her,
"My dear Javotte, have you been displeased at all I have compelled you to submit to this evening?"
"Not at all; I liked it very much."
"Then I hope that you will have no objection to get in the bath with me to-morrow, and to wash me as I have washed you."
"Most willingly, but shall I know how to do it well?"
"I will teach you, and for the future I wish you to sleep every night in my room, because I must have a complete certainty that on the night of the great operation I shall find you such as you ought to be."
From that time Javotte was at her ease with me, all her restraint disappeared, she would look at me and smile with entire confidence. Nature had operated, and the mind of a young girl soon enlarges its sphere when pleasure is her teacher. She went to bed, and as she knew that she had no longer anything to conceal from me, her modesty was not alarmed when she undressed herself in my presence. It was very warm, any kind of covering is unpleasant in the hot weather, so she stripped to the skin and soon fell asleep. I did the same, but I could not help feeling some regret at having engaged myself not to take advantage of the position before the night of the great incantation. I knew that the operation to unearth the treasure would be a complete failure, but I knew likewise that it would not fail because Javotte's virginity was gone.
At day-break the girl rose and began sewing. As soon as she had finished the robe, I told her to make a crown of parchment with seven long points, on which I painted some fearful figures and hieroglyphs.
In the evening, one hour before supper, I got into the bath, and Javotte joined me as soon as I called her. She performed upon me with great zeal the same ceremonies that I had done for her the day before, and she was as gentle and docile as possible. I spent a delicious hour in that bath, enjoying everything, but respecting the essential point.
My kisses making her happy, and seeing that I had no objection to her caresses, she loaded me with them. I was so pleased at all the amorous enjoyment her senses were evidently experiencing, that I made her easy by telling her that the success of the great magic operation depended upon the amount of pleasure she enjoyed. She then made extraordinary efforts to persuade me that she was happy, and without overstepping the limits where I had made up my mind to stop, we got out of the bath highly pleased with each other.
As we were on the point of going to bed, she said to me,
"Would it injure the success of your operation if we were to sleep together?"
"No, my dear girl; provided you are a virgin on the day of the great incantation, it is all I require."
She threw herself in my arms, and we spent a delightful night, during which I had full opportunity of admiring the strength of her constitution as well as my own restraint, for I had sufficient control over myself not to break through the last obstacle.
I passed a great part of the following night with Franzia and Capitani in order to see with my own eyes the wonderful things which the worthy peasant had mentioned to me. Standing in the yard, I heard distinctly heavy blows struck under the ground at intervals of three or four minutes. It was like the noise which would be made by a heavy pestle falling in a large copper mortar. I took my pistols and placed myself near the self-moving door of the cellar, holding a dark lantern in my hand. I saw the door open slowly, and in about thirty seconds closing with violence. I opened and closed it myself several times, and, unable to discover any hidden physical cause for the phenomenon, I felt satisfied that there was some unknown roguery at work, but I did not care much to find it out.
We went upstairs again, and, placing myself on the balcony, I saw in the yard several shadows moving about. They were evidently caused by the heavy and damp atmosphere, and as to the pyramidal flames which I could see hovering over the fields, it was a phenomenon well known to me. But I allowed my two companions to remain persuaded that they were the spirits keeping watch over the treasure.
That phenomenon is very common throughout southern Italy where the country is often at night illuminated by those meteors which the people believe to be devils, and ignorance has called night spirits, or will-o'-the-wisps.
Dear reader, the next chapter will tell you how my magic undertaking ended, and perhaps you will enjoy a good laugh at my expense, but you need not be afraid of hurting my feelings.
CHAPTER XXII
The Incantation--A Terrible Storm--My Fright--Javotte's
Virginity Is Saved--I Give Up the Undertaking, and Sell the
Sheath to Capitani--I Meet Juliette and Count Alfani, Alias
Count Celi--I Make Up My Mind to Go to Naples--Why I Take a
Different Road
My great operation had to be performed on the following day; otherwise, according to all established rules, I would have had to wait until the next full moon. I had to make the gnomes raise the treasure to the surface of the earth at the very spot on which my incantations would be performed. Of course, I knew well enough that I should not succeed, but I knew likewise that I could easily reconcile Franzia and Capitani to a failure, by inventing some excellent reasons for our want of success. In the mean time I had to play my part of a magician, in which I took a real delight. I kept Javotte at work all day, sewing together, in the shape of a ring, some thirty sheets of paper on which I painted the most wonderful designs. That ring, which I called maximus, had a diameter of three geometric paces. I had manufactured a sort of sceptre or magic wand with the branch of olive brought by Franzia from Cesena. Thus prepared, I told Javotte that, at twelve o'clock at night, when I came out of the magic ring, she was to be ready for everything. The order did not seem repugnant to her; she longed to give me that proof of her obedience, and, on my side, considering myself as her debtor, I was in a hurry to pay my debt and to give her every satisfaction.
The hour having struck, I ordered Franzia and Capitani to stand on the balcony, so as to be ready to come to me if I called for them, and also to prevent anyone in the house seeing my proceedings. I then threw off all profane garments. I clothe myself in the long white robe, the work of a virgin's innocent hands. I allow my long hair to fall loosely. I place the extraordinary crown on my head, the circle maximus on my shoulders, and, seizing the sceptre with one hand, the wonderful knife with the other, I go down into the yard. There I spread my circle on the ground, uttering the most barbarous words, and after going round it three times I jump into the middle.
Squatting down there, I remain a few minutes motionless, then I rise, and I fix my eyes upon a heavy, dark cloud coming from the west, whilst from the same quarter the thunder is rumbling loudly. What a sublime genius I should have appeared in the eyes of my two fools, if, having a short time before taken notice of the sky in that part of the horizon, I had announced to them that my operation would be attended by that phenomenon.
The cloud spreads with fearful rapidity, and soon the sky seems covered with a funeral pall, on which the most vivid flashes of lightning keep blazing every moment.
Such a storm was a very natural occurrence, and I had no reason to be astonished at it, but somehow, fear was beginning to creep into me, and I wished myself in my room. My fright soon increased at the sight of the lightning, and on hearing the claps of thunder which succeeded each other with fearful rapidity and seemed to roar over my very head. I then realized what extraordinary effect fear can have on the mind, for I fancied that, if I was not annihilated by the fires of heaven which were flashing all around me, it was only because they could not enter my magic ring. Thus was I admiring my own deceitful work! That foolish reason prevented me from leaving the circle in spite of the fear which caused me to shudder. If it had not been for that belief, the result of a cowardly fright, I would not have remained one minute where I was, and my hurried flight would no doubt have opened the eyes of my two dupes, who could not have failed to see that, far from being a magician, I was only a poltroon. The violence of the wind, the claps of thunder, the piercing cold, and above all, fear, made me tremble all over like an aspen leaf. My system, which I thought proof against every accident, had vanished: I acknowledged an avenging God who had waited for this opportunity of punishing me at one blow for all my sins, and of annihilating me, in order to put an end to my want of faith. The complete immobility which paralyzed all my limbs seemed to me a proof of the uselessness of my repentance, and that conviction only increased my consternation.
But the roaring of the thunder dies away, the rain begins to fall heavily, danger vanishes, and I feel my courage reviving. Such is man! or at all events, such was I at that moment. It was raining so fast that, if it had continued pouring with the same violence for a quarter of an hour, the country would have been inundated. As soon as the rain had ceased, the wind abated, the clouds were dispersed, and the moon shone in all its splendour, like silver in the pure, blue sky. I take up my magic ring, and telling the two friends to retire to their beds without speaking to me, I hurry to my room. I still felt rather shaken, and, casting my eyes on Javotte, I thought her so pretty that I felt positively frightened. I allowed her to dry me, and after that necessary operation I told her piteously to go to bed. The next morning she told me that, when she saw me come in, shaking all over in spite of the heat, she had herself shuddered with fear.
After eight hours of sound sleep I felt all right, but I had had enough of the comedy, and to my great surprise the sight of Genevieve did not move me in any way. The obedient Javotte had certainly not changed, but I was not the same. I was for the first time in my life reduced to a state of apathy, and in consequence of the superstitious ideas which had crowded in my mind the previous night I imagined that the innocence of that young girl was under the special protection of Heaven, and that if I had dared to rob her of her virginity the most rapid and terrible death would have been my punishment.
At all events, thanks to my youth and my exalted ideas, I fancied that through my self-denying resolutions the father would not be so great a dupe, and the daughter not so unhappy, unless the result should prove as unfortunate for her as it had been for poor Lucy, of Pasean.
The moment that Javotte became in my eyes an object of holy horror, my departure was decided. The resolution was all the more irrevocable because I fancied some old peasant might have witnessed all my tricks in the middle of the magic ring, in which case the most Holy, or, if you like, the most infernal, Inquisition, receiving information from him, might very well have caught me and enhanced my fame by some splendid 'auto-da-fe' in which I had not the slightest wish to be the principal actor. It struck me as so entirely within the limits of probability that I sent at once for Franzia and Capitani, and in the presence of the unpolluted virgin I told them that I had obtained from the seven spirits watching over the treasure all the necessary particulars, but that I had been compelled to enter into an agreement with them to delay the extraction of the treasure placed under their guardianship. I told Franzia that I would hand to him in writing all the information which I had compelled the spirits to give me. I produced, in reality, a few minutes afterwards, a document similar to the one I had concocted at the public library in Mantua, adding that the treasure consisted of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and one hundred thousand pounds of gold dust. I made him take an oath on my pocket-book to wait for me, and not to have faith in any magician unless he gave him an account of the treasure in every way similar to the one which, as a great favor, I was leaving in his hands. I ordered him to burn the crown and the ring, but to keep the other things carefully until my return.
"As for you, Capitani," I said to my companion, "proceed at once to Cesena, and remain at the inn until our luggage has been brought by the man whom Franzia is going to send with it."
Seeing that poor Javotte looked miserable, I went up to her, and, speaking to her very tenderly, I promised to see her again before long. I told her at the same time that, the great operation having been performed successfully, her virginity was no longer necessary, and that she was at liberty to marry as soon as she pleased, or whenever a good opportunity offered itself.
I at once returned to the city, where I found Capitani making his preparations to go to the fair of Lugo, and then to Mantua. He told me, crying like a child, that his father would be in despair when he saw him come back without the knife of Saint Peter.
"You may have it," I said, "with the sheath, if you will let me have the one thousand Roman crowns, the amount of the letter of exchange."
He thought it an excellent bargain, and accepted it joyfully. I gave him back the letter of exchange, and made him sign a paper by which he undertook to return the sheath whenever I brought the same amount, but he is still waiting for it.
I did not know what to do with the wonderful sheath, and I was not in want of money, but I should have considered myself dishonoured if I had given it to him for nothing; besides, I thought it a good joke to levy a contribution upon the ignorant credulity of a count palatine created by the grace of the Pope. In after days, however, I would willingly have refunded his money, but, as fate would have it, we did not see each other for a long time, and when I met him again I was not in a position to return the amount. It is, therefore, only to chance that I was indebted for the sum, and certainly Capitani never dreamed of complaining, for being the possessor of 'gladium cum vagina' he truly believed himself the master of every treasure concealed in the Papal States.
Capitani took leave of me on the following day, and I intended to proceed at once to Naples, but I was again prevented; this is how it happened.
As I returned to the inn after a short walk, mine host handed me the bill of the play announcing four performances of the Didone of Metastasio at the Spada. Seeing no acquaintance of mine among the actors or actresses, I made up my mind to go to the play in the evening, and to start early the next day with post-horses. A remnant of my fear of the Inquisition urged me on, and I could not help fancying that spies were at my heels.
Before entering the house I went into the actresses dressing-room, and the leading lady struck me as rather good-looking. Her name was Narici, and she was from Bologna. I bowed to her, and after the common-place conversation usual in such cases, I asked her whether she was free.
"I am only engaged with the manager," she answered.
"Have you any lover?"
"No."
"I offer myself for the post, if you have no objection."
She smiled jeeringly, and said,
"Will you take four tickets for the four performances?"
I took two sequins out of my purse, taking care to let her see that it was well filled, and when she gave me the four tickets, presented them to the maid who was dressing her and was prettier than the mistress, and so left the room without uttering a single word. She called me back; I pretended not to hear her, and took a ticket for the pit. After the first ballet, finding the whole performance very poor, I was thinking of going away, when, happening to look towards the chief box, I saw to my astonishment that it was tenanted by the Venetian Manzoni and the celebrated Juliette. The reader will doubtless remember the ball she gave at my house in Venice, and the smack with which she saluted my cheek on that occasion.
They had not yet noticed me, and I enquired from the person seated next to me who was that beautiful lady wearing so many diamonds. He told me that she was Madame Querini, from Venice, whom Count Spada, the owner of the theatre, who was sitting near her, had brought with him from Faenza. I was glad to hear that M. Querini had married her at last, but I did not think of renewing the acquaintance, for reasons which my reader cannot have forgotten if he recollects our quarrel when I had to dress her as an abbe. I was on the point of going away when she happened to see me and called me. I went up to her, and, not wishing to be known by anyone, I whispered to her that my name was Farusi. Manzoni informed me that I was speaking to her excellency, Madame Querini. "I know it," I said, "through a letter which I have received from Venice, and I beg to offer my most sincere congratulations to Madame." She heard me and introduced me to Count Spada, creating me a baron on the spot. He invited me most kindly to come to his box, asked me where I came from, where I was going to, etc., and begged the pleasure of my company at supper for the same evening.
Ten years before, he had been Juliette's friend in Vienna, when Maria Theresa, having been informed of the pernicious influence of her beauty, gave her notice to quit the city. She had renewed her acquaintance with him in Venice, and had contrived to make him take her to Bologna on a pleasure trip. M. Manzoni, her old follower, who gave me all this information, accompanied her in order to bear witness of her good conduct before M. Querini. I must say that Manzoni was not a well-chosen chaperon.
In Venice she wanted everybody to believe that Querini had married her secretly, but at a distance of fifty leagues she did not think such a formality necessary, and she had already been presented by the general to all the nobility of Cesena as Madame Querini Papozzes. M. Querini would have been wrong in being jealous of the count, for he was an old acquaintance who would do no harm. Besides, it is admitted amongst certain women that the reigning lover who is jealous of an old acquaintance is nothing but a fool, and ought to be treated as such. Juliette, most likely afraid of my being indiscreet, had lost no time in making the first advances, but, seeing that I had likewise some reason to fear her want of discretion, she felt reassured. From the first moment I treated her politely, and with every consideration due to her position.
I found numerous company at the general's, and some pretty women. Not seeing Juliette, I enquired for her from M. Manzoni, who told me that she was at the faro table, losing her money. I saw her seated next to the banker, who turned pale at the sight of my face. He was no other than the so-called Count Celi. He offered me a card, which I refused politely, but I accepted Juliette's offer to be her partner. She had about fifty sequins, I handed her the same sum, and took a seat near her. After the first round, she asked me if I knew the banker; Celi had heard the question; I answered negatively. A lady on my left told me that the banker was Count Alfani. Half an hour later, Madame Querini went seven and lost, she increased her stake of ten sequins; it was the last deal of the game, and therefore the decisive one. I rose from my chair, and fixed my eyes on the banker's hands. But in spite of that, he cheated before me, and Madame lost.
Just at that moment the general offered her his arm to go to supper; she left the remainder of her gold on the table, and after supper, having played again, she lost every sequin.
I enlivened the supper by my stories and witty jests. I captivated everybody's friendship, and particularly the general's, who, having heard me say that I was going to Naples only to gratify an amorous fancy, entreated me to spend a month with him and to sacrifice my whim. But it was all in vain. My heart was unoccupied; I longed to see Lucrezia and Therese, whose charms after five years I could scarcely recollect. I only consented to remain in Cesena the four days during which the general intended to stay.
The next morning as I was dressing I had a call from the cowardly Alfani-Celi; I received him with a jeering smile, saying that I had expected him.
The hair-dresser being in the room Celi did not answer, but as soon as we were alone he said,
"How could you possibly expect my visit?"
"I will tell you my reason as soon as you have handed me one hundred sequins, and you are going to do so at once.'
"Here are fifty which I brought for you; you cannot demand more from me."
"Thank you, I take them on account, but as I am good-natured I advise you not to shew yourself this evening in Count Spada's drawing-rooms, for you would not be admitted, and it would be owing to me."
"I hope that you will think twice before you are guilty of such an ungenerous act."
"I have made up my mind; but now leave me."
There was a knock at my door, and the self-styled Count Alfani went away without giving me the trouble of repeating my order. My new visitor proved to be the first castrato of the theatre, who brought an invitation to dinner from Narici. The invitation was curious, and I accepted it with a smile. The castrato was named Nicolas Peritti; he pretended to be the grandson of a natural child of Sixtus V.; it might have been so I shall have to mention him again in fifteen years.
When I made my appearance at Narici's house I saw Count Alfani, who certainly did not expect me, and must have taken me for his evil genius. He bowed to me with great politeness, and begged that I would listen to a few words in private.
"Here are fifty sequins more," he said; "but as an honest man you can take them only to give them to Madame Querini. But how can you hand the amount to her without letting her know that you have forced me to refund it? You understand what consequences such a confession might have for me."
"I shall give her the money only when you have left this place; in the mean time I promise to be discreet, but be careful not to assist fortune in my presence, or I must act in a manner that will not be agreeable to you."
"Double the capital of my bank, and we can be partners."
"Your proposal is an insult."
He gave me fifty sequins, and I promised to keep his secret.
There was a numerous attendance in Narici's rooms, especially of young men, who after dinner lost all their money. I did not play, and it was a disappointment for my pretty hostess, who had invited me only because she had judged me as simple as the others. I remained an indifferent witness of the play, and it gave me an opportunity of realizing how wise Mahomet had been in forbidding all games of chance.
In the evening after the opera Count Celi had the faro bank, and I lose two hundred sequins, but I could only accuse ill luck. Madame Querini won. The next day before supper I broke the bank, and after supper, feeling tired and well pleased with what I had won, I returned to the inn.
The following morning, which was the third day, and therefore the last but one of my stay in Cesena, I called at the general's. I heard that his adjutant had thrown the cards in Alfani's face, and that a meeting had been arranged between them for twelve o'clock. I went to the adjutant's room and offered to be his second, assuring him that there would be no blood spilt. He declined my offer with many thanks, and at dinner-time he told me that I had guessed rightly, for Count Alfani had left for Rome.
"In that case," I said to the guests, "I will take the bank tonight."
After dinner, being alone with Madame Querini, I told her all about Alfani, alias Celi, and handed her the fifty sequins of which I was the depositary.
"I suppose," she said, "that by means of this fable you hope to make me accept fifty sequins, but I thank you, I am not in want of money."
"I give you my word that I have compelled the thief to refund this money, together with the fifty sequins of which he had likewise cheated me."
"That may be, but I do not wish to believe you. I beg to inform you that I am not simple enough to allow myself to be duped, and, what is worse, cheated in such a manner."
Philosophy forbids a man to feel repentance for a good deed, but he must certainly have a right to regret such a deed when it is malevolently misconstrued, and turned against him as a reproach.
In the evening, after the performance, which was to be the last, I took the bank according to my promise: I lost a few sequins, but was caressed by everybody, and that is much more pleasant than winning, when we are not labouring under the hard necessity of making money.
Count Spada, who had got quite fond of me, wanted me to accompany him to Brisighetta, but I resisted his entreaties because I had firmly resolved on going to Naples.
The next morning I was awoke by a terrible noise in the passage, almost at the door of my room.
Getting out of my bed, I open my door to ascertain the cause of the uproar. I see a troop of 'sbirri' at the door of a chamber, and in that chamber, sitting up in bed, a fine-looking man who was making himself hoarse by screaming in Latin against that rabble, the plague of Italy, and against the inn-keeper who had been rascally enough to open the door.
I enquire of the inn-keeper what it all means.
"This gentleman," answers the scoundrel, "who, it appears, can only speak Latin, is in bed with a girl, and the 'sbirri' of the bishop have been sent to know whether she is truly his wife; all perfectly regular. If she is his wife, he has only to convince them by shewing a certificate of marriage, but if she is not, of course he must go to prison with her. Yet it need not happen, for I undertake to arrange everything in a friendly manner for a few sequins. I have only to exchange a few words with the chief of the 'sbirri', and they will all go away. If you can speak Latin, you had better go in, and make him listen to reason."
"Who has broken open the door of his room?"
"Nobody; I have opened it myself with the key, as is my duty."
"Yes, the duty of a highway robber, but not of an honest inn-keeper."
Such infamous dealing aroused my indignation, and I made up my mind to interfere. I enter the room, although I had still my nightcap on, and inform the gentleman of the cause of the disturbance. He answers with a laugh that, in the first place, it was impossible to say whether the person who was in bed with him was a woman, for that person had only been seen in the costume of a military officer, and that, in the second place, he did not think that any human being had a right to compel him to say whether his bed-fellow was his wife or his mistress, even supposing that his companion was truly a woman.
"At all events," he added, "I am determined not to give one crown to arrange the affair, and to remain in bed until my door is shut. The moment I am dressed, I will treat you to an amusing denouement of the comedy. I will drive away all those scoundrels at the point of my sword."
I then see in a corner a broad sword, and a Hungarian costume looking like a military uniform. I ask whether he is an officer.
"I have written my name and profession," he answers, "in the hotel book."
Astonished at the absurdity of the inn-keeper, I ask him whether it is so; he confesses it, but adds that the clergy have the right to prevent scandal.
"The insult you have offered to that officer, Mr. Landlord, will cost you very dear."
His only answer is to laugh in my face. Highly enraged at seeing such a scoundrel laugh at me, I take up the officer's quarrel warmly, and asked him to entrust his passport to me for a few minutes.
"I have two," he says; "therefore I can let you have one." And taking the document out of his pocket-book, he hands it to me. The passport was signed by Cardinal Albani. The officer was a captain in a Hungarian regiment belonging to the empress and queen. He was from Rome, on his way to Parma with dispatches from Cardinal Albani Alexander to M. Dutillot, prime minister of the Infante of Parma.
At the same moment, a man burst into the room, speaking very loudly, and asked me to tell the officer that the affair must be settled at once, because he wanted to leave Cesena immediately.
"Who are you?" I asked the man.
He answered that he was the 'vetturino' whom the captain had engaged. I saw that it was a regular put-up thing, and begged the captain to let me attend to the business, assuring him that I would settle it to his honour and advantage.
"Do exactly as you please," he said.
Then turning towards the 'vetturino', I ordered him to bring up the captain's luggage, saying that he would be paid at once. When he had done so, I handed him eight sequins out of my own purse, and made him give me a receipt in the name of the captain, who could only speak German, Hungarian, and Latin. The vetturino went away, and the 'sbirri' followed him in the greatest consternation, except two who remained.
"Captain," I said to the Hungarian, "keep your bed until I return. I am going now to the bishop to give him an account of these proceedings, and make him understand that he owes you some reparation. Besides, General Spada is here, and...."
"I know him," interrupted the captain, "and if I had been aware of his being in Cesena, I would have shot the landlord when he opened my door to those scoundrels."
I hurried over my toilet, and without waiting for my hair to be dressed I proceeded to the bishop's palace, and making a great deal of noise I almost compelled the servants to take me to his room. A lackey who was at the door informed me that his lordship was still in bed.
"Never mind, I cannot wait."
I pushed him aside and entered the room. I related the whole affair to the bishop, exaggerating the uproar, making much of the injustice of such proceedings, and railing at a vexatious police daring to molest travellers and to insult the sacred rights of individuals and nations.
The bishop without answering me referred me to his chancellor, to whom I repeated all I had said to the bishop, but with words calculated to irritate rather than to soften, and certainly not likely to obtain the release of the captain. I even went so far as to threaten, and I said that if I were in the place of the officer I would demand a public reparation. The priest laughed at my threats; it was just what I wanted, and after asking me whether I had taken leave of my senses, the chancellor told me to apply to the captain of the 'sbirri'.
"I shall go to somebody else," I said, "reverend sir, besides the captain of the 'sbirri'."
Delighted at having made matters worse, I left him and proceeded straight to the house of General Spada, but being told that he could not be seen before eight o'clock, I returned to the inn.
The state of excitement in which I was, the ardour with which I had made the affair mine, might have led anyone to suppose that my indignation had been roused only by disgust at seeing an odious persecution perpetrated upon a stranger by an unrestrained, immoral, and vexatious police; but why should I deceive the kind reader, to whom I have promised to tell the truth; I must therefore say that my indignation was real, but my ardour was excited by another feeling of a more personal nature. I fancied that the woman concealed under the bed-clothes was a beauty. I longed to see her face, which shame, most likely, had prevented her from shewing. She had heard me speak, and the good opinion that I had of myself did not leave the shadow of a doubt in my mind that she would prefer me to her captain.
The door of the room being still open, I went in and related to the captain all I had done, assuring him that in the course of the day he would be at liberty to continue his journey at the bishop's expense, for the general would not fail to obtain complete satisfaction for him. He thanked me warmly, gave back the eight ducats I had paid for him, and said that he would not leave the city till the next day.
"From what country," I asked him, "is your travelling companion?"
"From France, and he only speaks his native language."
"Then you speak French?"
"Not one word."
"That is amusing! Then you converse in pantomime?"
"Exactly."
"I pity you, for it is a difficult language."
"Yes, to express the various shades of thought, but in the material part of our intercourse we understand each other quite well."
"May I invite myself to breakfast with you?"
"Ask my friend whether he has any objection."
"Amiable companion of the captain," I said in French, "will you kindly accept me as a third guest at the breakfast-table?"
At these words I saw coming out of the bed-clothes a lovely head, with dishevelled hair, and a blooming, laughing face which, although it was crowned with a man's cap, left no doubt that the captain's friend belonged to that sex without which man would be the most miserable animal on earth.
Delighted with the graceful creature, I told her that I had been happy enough to feel interested in her even before I had seen her, and that now that I had the pleasure of seeing her, I could but renew with greater zeal all my efforts to serve her.
She answered me with the grace and the animation which are the exclusive privilege of her native country, and retorted my argument in the most witty manner; I was already under the charm. My request was granted; I went out to order breakfast, and to give them an opportunity of making themselves comfortable in bed, for they were determined not to get up until the door of their room was closed again.
The waiter came, and I went in with him. I found my lovely Frenchwoman wearing a blue frock-coat, with her hair badly arranged like a man's, but very charming even in that strange costume. I longed to see her up. She ate her breakfast without once interrupting the officer speaking to me, but to whom I was not listening, or listening with very little attention, for I was in a sort of ecstatic trance.
Immediately after breakfast, I called on the general, and related the affair to him, enlarging upon it in such a manner as to pique his martial pride. I told him that, unless he settled the matter himself, the Hungarian captain was determined to send an express to the cardinal immediately. But my eloquence was unnecessary, for the general liked to see priests attend to the business of Heaven, but he could not bear them to meddle in temporal affairs.
"I shall," he said, "immediately put a stop to this ridiculous comedy, and treat it in a very serious manner."
"Go at once to the inn," he said to his aide-de-camp, "invite that officer and his companion to dine with me to-day, and repair afterwards to the bishop's palace. Give him notice that the officer who has been so grossly insulted by his 'sbirri' shall not leave the city before he has received a complete apology, and whatever sum of money he may claim as damages. Tell him that the notice comes from me, and that all the expenses incurred by the officer shall be paid by him."
What pleasure it was for me to listen to these words! In my vanity, I fancied I had almost prompted them to the general. I accompanied the aide-de-camp, and introduced him to the captain who received him with the joy of a soldier meeting a comrade. The adjutant gave him the general's invitation for him and his companion, and asked him to write down what satisfaction he wanted, as well as the amount of damages he claimed. At the sight of the general's adjutant, the 'sbirri' had quickly vanished. I handed to the captain pen, paper and ink, and he wrote his claim in pretty good Latin for a native of Hungary. The excellent fellow absolutely refused to ask for more than thirty sequins, in spite of all I said to make him claim one hundred. He was likewise a great deal too easy as to the satisfaction he demanded, for all he asked was to see the landlord and the 'sbirri' beg his pardon on their knees in the presence of the general's adjutant. He threatened the bishop to send an express to Rome to Cardinal Alexander, unless his demands were complied with within two hours, and to remain in Cesena at the rate of ten sequins a day at the bishop's expense.
The officer left us, and a moment afterwards the landlord came in respectfully, to inform the captain that he was free, but the captain having begged me to tell the scoundrel that he owed him a sound thrashing, he lost no time in gaining the door.
I left my friends alone to get dressed, and to attend to my own toilet, as I dined with them at the general's. An hour afterwards I found them ready in their military costumes. The uniform of the Frenchwoman was of course a fancy one, but very elegant. The moment I saw her, I gave up all idea of Naples, and decided upon accompanying the two friends to Parma. The beauty of the lovely Frenchwoman had already captivated me. The captain was certainly on the threshold of sixty, and, as a matter of course, I thought such a union very badly assorted. I imagined that the affair which I was already concocting in my brain could be arranged amicably.
The adjutant came back with a priest sent by the bishop, who told the captain that he should have the satisfaction as well as the damages he had claimed, but that he must be content with fifteen sequins.
"Thirty or nothing," dryly answered the Hungarian.
They were at last given to him, and thus the matter ended. The victory was due to my exertions, and I had won the friendship of the captain and his lovely companion.
In order to guess, even at first sight, that the friend of the worthy captain was not a man, it was enough to look at the hips. She was too well made as a woman ever to pass for a man, and the women who disguise themselves in male attire, and boast of being like men, are very wrong, for by such a boast they confess themselves deficient in one of the greatest perfections appertaining to woman.
A little before dinner-time we repaired to General Spada's mansion, and the general presented the two officers to all the ladies. Not one of them was deceived in the young officer, but, being already acquainted with the adventure, they were all delighted to dine with the hero of the comedy, and treated the handsome officer exactly as if he had truly been a man, but I am bound to confess that the male guests offered the Frenchwoman homages more worthy of her sex.
Madame Querini alone did not seem pleased, because the lovely stranger monopolized the general attention, and it was a blow to her vanity to see herself neglected. She never spoke to her, except to shew off her French, which she could speak well. The poor captain scarcely opened his lips, for no one cared to speak Latin, and the general had not much to say in German.
An elderly priest, who was one of the guests, tried to justify the conduct of the bishop by assuring us that the inn-keeper and the 'sbirri' had acted only under the orders of the Holy Office.
"That is the reason," he said, "for which no bolts are allowed in the rooms of the hotels, so that strangers may not shut themselves up in their chambers. The Holy Inquisition does not allow a man to sleep with any woman but his wife."
Twenty years later I found all the doors in Spain with a bolt outside, so that travellers were, as if they had been in prison, exposed to the outrageous molestation of nocturnal visits from the police. That disease is so chronic in Spain that it threatens to overthrow the monarchy some day, and I should not be astonished if one fine morning the Grand Inquisitor was to have the king shaved, and to take his place.
CHAPTER XXIII
I Purchase a Handsome Carriage, and Proceed to Parma With
the Old Captain and the Young Frenchwoman--I Pay a Visit to
Javotte, and Present Her With a Beautiful Pair of Gold
Bracelets--My Perplexities Respecting My Lovely Travelling
Companion--A Monologue--Conversation with the Captain--Tete-
a-Tete with Henriette
The conversation was animated, and the young female officer was entertaining everybody, even Madame Querini, although she hardly took the trouble of concealing her spleen.
"It seems strange," she remarked, "that you and the captain should live together without ever speaking to each other."
"Why, madam? We understand one another perfectly, for speech is of very little consequence in the kind of business we do together."
That answer, given with graceful liveliness, made everybody laugh, except Madame Querini-Juliette, who, foolishly assuming the air of a prude, thought that its meaning was too clearly expressed.
"I do not know any kind of business," she said, "that can be transacted without the assistance of the voice or the pen."
"Excuse me, madam, there are some: playing at cards, for instance, is a business of that sort."
"Are you always playing?"
"We do nothing else. We play the game of the Pharaoh (faro), and I hold the bank."
Everybody, understanding the shrewdness of this evasive answer, laughed again, and Juliette herself could not help joining in the general merriment.
"But tell me," said Count Spada, "does the bank receive much?"
"As for the deposits, they are of so little importance, that they are hardly worth mentioning."
No one ventured upon translating that sentence for the benefit of the worthy captain. The conversation continued in the same amusing style, and all the guests were delighted with the graceful wit of the charming officer.
Late in the evening I took leave of the general, and wished him a pleasant journey.
"Adieu," he said, "I wish you a pleasant journey to Naples, and hope you will enjoy yourself there."
"Well, general, I am not going to Naples immediately; I have changed my mind and intend to proceed to Parma, where I wish to see the Infante. I also wish to constitute myself the interpreter of these two officers who know nothing of Italian."
"Ah, young man! opportunity makes a thief, does it not? Well, if I were in your place, I would do the same."
I also bade farewell to Madame Querini, who asked me to write to her from Bologna. I gave her a promise to do so, but without meaning to fulfil it.
I had felt interested in the young Frenchwoman when she was hiding under the bed-clothes: she had taken my fancy the moment she had shewn her features, and still more when I had seen her dressed. She completed her conquest at the dinner-table by the display of a wit which I greatly admired. It is rare in Italy, and seems to belong generally to the daughters of France. I did not think it would be very difficult to win her love, and I resolved on trying. Putting my self-esteem on one side, I fancied I would suit her much better than the old Hungarian, a very pleasant man for his age, but who, after all, carried his sixty years on his face, while my twenty-three were blooming on my countenance. It seemed to me that the captain himself would not raise any great objection, for he seemed one of those men who, treating love as a matter of pure fancy, accept all circumstances easily, and give way good-naturedly to all the freaks of fortune. By becoming the travelling companion of this ill-matched couple, I should probably succeed in my aims. I never dreamed of experiencing a refusal at their hands, my company would certainly be agreeable to them, as they could not exchange a single word by themselves.
With this idea I asked the captain, as we reached our inn, whether he intended to proceed to Parma by the public coach or otherwise.
"As I have no carriage of my own," he answered, "we shall have to take the coach."
"I have a very comfortable carriage, and I offer you the two back seats if you have no objection to my society."
"That is a piece of good fortune. Be kind enough to propose it to Henriette."
"Will you, madam, grant me the favour of accompanying you to Parma?"
"I should be delighted, for we could have some conversation, but take care, sir, your task will not be an easy one, you will often find yourself obliged to translate for both of us."
"I shall do so with great pleasure; I am only sorry that the journey is not longer. We can arrange everything at supper-time; allow me to leave you now as I have some business to settle."
My business was in reference to a carriage, for the one I had boasted of existed only in my imagination. I went to the most fashionable coffee-house, and, as good luck would have it, heard that there was a travelling carriage for sale, which no one would buy because it was too expensive. Two hundred sequins were asked for it, although it had but two seats and a bracket-stool for a third person. It was just what I wanted. I called at the place where it would be seen. I found a very fine English carriage which could not have cost less than two hundred guineas. Its noble proprietor was then at supper, so I sent him my name, requesting him not to dispose of his carriage until the next morning, and I went back to the hotel well pleased with my discovery. At supper I arranged with the captain that we would not leave Cesena till after dinner on the following day, and the conversation was almost entirely a dialogue between Henriette and myself; it was my first talk with a French woman. I thought this young creature more and more charming, yet I could not suppose her to be anything else but an adventuress, and I was astonished at discovering in her those noble and delicate feelings which denote a good education. However, as such an idea would not have suited the views I had about her, I rejected it whenever it presented itself to my mind. Whenever I tried to make her talk about the captain she would change the subject of conversation, or evade my insinuations with a tact and a shrewdness which astonished and delighted me at the same time, for everything she said bore the impress of grace and wit. Yet she did not elude this question:
"At least tell me, madam, whether the captain is your husband or your father."
"Neither one nor the other," she answered, with a smile.
That was enough for me, and in reality what more did I want to know? The worthy captain had fallen asleep. When he awoke I wished them both good night, and retired to my room with a heart full of love and a mind full of projects. I saw that everything had taken a good turn, and I felt certain of success, for I was young, I enjoyed excellent health, I had money and plenty of daring. I liked the affair all the better because it must come to a conclusion in a few days.
Early the next morning I called upon Count Dandini, the owner of the carriage, and as I passed a jeweller's shop I bought a pair of gold bracelets in Venetian filigree, each five yards long and of rare fineness. I intended them as a present for Javotte.
The moment Count Dandini saw me he recognized me. He had seen me in Padua at the house of his father, who was professor of civil law at the time I was a student there. I bought his carriage on condition that he would send it to me in good repair at one o'clock in the afternoon.
Having completed the purchase, I went to my friend, Franzia, and my present of the bracelets made Javotte perfectly happy. There was not one girl in Cesena who could boast of possessing a finer pair, and with that present my conscience felt at ease, for it paid the expense I had occasioned during my stay of ten or twelve days at her father's house four times over. But this was not the most important present I offered the family. I made the father take an oath to wait for me, and never to trust in any pretended magician for the necessary operation to obtain the treasure, even if I did not return or give any news of myself for ten years.
"Because," I said to him, "in consequence of the agreement in which I have entered with the spirits watching the treasure, at the first attempt made by any other person, the casket containing the treasure will sink to twice its present depth, that is to say as deep as thirty-five fathoms, and then I shall have myself ten times more difficulty in raising it to the surface. I cannot state precisely the time of my return, for it depends upon certain combinations which are not under my control, but recollect that the treasure cannot be obtained by anyone but I."
I accompanied my advice with threats of utter ruin to his family if he should ever break his oath. And in this manner I atoned for all I had done, for, far from deceiving the worthy man, I became his benefactor by guarding against the deceit of some cheat who would have cared for his money more than for his daughter. I never saw him again, and most likely he is dead, but knowing the deep impression I left on his mind I am certain that his descendants are even now waiting for me, for the name of Farusi must have remained immortal in that family.
Javotte accompanied me as far as the gate of the city, where I kissed her affectionately, which made me feel that the thunder and lightning had had but a momentary effect upon me; yet I kept control over my senses, and I congratulate myself on doing so to this day. I told her, before bidding her adieu, that, her virginity being no longer necessary for my magic operations, I advised her to get married as soon as possible, if I did not return within three months. She shed a few tears, but promised to follow my advice.
I trust that my readers will approve of the noble manner in which I concluded my magic business. I hardly dare to boast of it, but I think I deserve some praise for my behaviour. Perhaps, I might have ruined poor Franzia with a light heart, had I not possessed a well-filled purse. I do not wish to enquire whether any young man, having intelligence, loving pleasure, and placed in the same position, would not have done the same, but I beg my readers to address that question to themselves.
As for Capitani, to whom I sold the sheath of St. Peter's knife for rather more than it was worth, I confess that I have not yet repented on his account, for Capitani thought he had duped me in accepting it as security for the amount he gave me, and the count, his father, valued it until his death as more precious than the finest diamond in the world. Dying with such a firm belief, he died rich, and I shall die a poor man. Let the reader judge which of the two made the best bargain. But I must return now to my future travelling companions.
As soon as I had reached the inn, I prepared everything for our departure for which I was now longing. Henriette could not open her lips without my discovering some fresh perfection, for her wit delighted me even more than her beauty. It struck me that the old captain was pleased with all the attention I shewed her, and it seemed evident to me that she would not be sorry to exchange her elderly lover for me. I had all the better right to think so, inasmuch as I was perfection from a physical point of view, and I appeared to be wealthy, although I had no servant. I told Henriette that, for the sake of having none, I spent twice as much as a servant would have cost me, that, by my being my own servant, I was certain of being served according to my taste, and I had the satisfaction of having no spy at my heels and no privileged thief to fear. She agreed with everything I said, and it increased my love.
The honest Hungarian insisted upon giving me in advance the amount to be paid for the post-horses at the different stages as far as Parma. We left Cesena after dinner, but not without a contest of politeness respecting the seats. The captain wanted me to occupy the back seat-near Henriette, but the reader will understand how much better the seat opposite to her suited me; therefore I insisted upon taking the bracket-seat, and had the double advantage of shewing my politeness, and of having constantly and without difficulty before my eyes the lovely woman whom I adored.
My happiness would have been too great if there had been no drawback to it. But where can we find roses without thorns? When the charming Frenchwoman uttered some of those witty sayings which proceed so naturally from the lips of her countrywomen, I could not help pitying the sorry face of the poor Hungarian, and, wishing to make him share my mirth, I would undertake to translate in Latin Henriette's sallies; but far from making him merry, I often saw his face bear a look of astonishment, as if what I had said seemed to him rather flat. I had to acknowledge to myself that I could not speak Latin as well as she spoke French, and this was indeed the case. The last thing which we learn in all languages is wit, and wit never shines so well as in jests. I was thirty years of age before I began to laugh in reading Terence, Plautus and Martial.
Something being the matter with the carriage, we stopped at Forli to have it repaired. After a very cheerful supper, I retired to my room to go to bed, thinking of nothing else but the charming woman by whom I was so completely captivated. Along the road, Henriette had struck me as so strange that I would not sleep in the second bed in their room. I was afraid lest she should leave her old comrade to come to my bed and sleep with me, and I did not know how far the worthy captain would have put up with such a joke. I wished, of course, to possess that lovely creature, but I wanted everything to be settled amicably, for I felt some respect for the brave officer.
Henriette had nothing but the military costume in which she stood, not any woman's linen, not even one chemise. For a change she took the captain's shirt. Such a state of things was so new to me that the situation seemed to me a complete enigma.
In Bologna, excited by an excellent supper and by the amorous passion which was every hour burning more fiercely in me, I asked her by what singular adventure she had become the friend of the honest fellow who looked her father rather than her lover.
"If you wish to know," she answered, with a smile, "ask him to relate the whole story himself, only you must request him not to omit any of the particulars."
Of course I applied at once to the captain, and, having first ascertained by signs that the charming Frenchwoman had no objection, the good man spoke to me thus:
"A friend of mine, an officer in the army, having occasion to go to Rome, I solicited a furlough of six months, and accompanied him. I seized with great delight the opportunity of visiting a city, the name of which has a powerful influence on the imagination, owing to the memories of the past attached to it. I did not entertain any doubt that the Latin language was spoken there in good society, at least as generally as in Hungary. But I was indeed greatly mistaken, for nobody can speak it, not even the priests, who only pretend to write it, and it is true that some of them do so with great purity. I was therefore rather uncomfortable during my stay in Rome, and with the exception of my eyes my senses remained perfectly inactive. I had spent a very tedious month in that city, the ancient queen of the world, when Cardinal Albani gave my friend dispatches for Naples. Before leaving Rome, he introduced me to his eminence, and his recommendation had so much influence that the cardinal promised to send me very soon with dispatches for the Duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, assuring me that all my travelling expenses would be defrayed. As I wished to see the harbour called in former times Centum cellae and now Civita-Vecchia, I gave up the remainder of my time to that visit, and I proceeded there with a cicerone who spoke Latin.
"I was loitering about the harbour when I saw, coming out of a tartan, an elderly officer and this young woman dressed as she is now. Her beauty struck me, but I should not have thought any more about it, if the officer had not put up at my inn, and in an apartment over which I had a complete view whenever I opened my window. In the evening I saw the couple taking supper at the same table, but I remarked that the elderly officer never addressed a word to the young one. When the supper was over, the disguised girl left the room, and her companion did not lift his eyes from a letter which he was reading, as it seemed to me, with the deepest attention. Soon afterwards the officer closed the windows, the light was put out, and I suppose my neighbors went to bed. The next morning, being up early as is my habit, I saw the officer go out, and the girl remained alone in the room.
"I sent my cicerone, who was also my servant, to tell the girl in the garb of an officer that I would give her ten sequins for an hour's conversation. He fulfilled my instructions, and on his return he informed me that her answer, given in French, had been to the effect that she would leave for Rome immediately after breakfast, and that, once in that city, I should easily find some opportunity of speaking to her.
"'I can find out from the vetturino,' said my cicerone, 'where they put up in Rome, and I promise you to enquire of him.'
"She left Civita-Vecchia with the elderly officer, and I returned home on the following day.
"Two days afterwards, the cardinal gave me the dispatches, which were addressed to M. Dutillot, the French minister, with a passport and the money necessary for the journey. He told me, with great kindness, that I need not hurry on the road.
"I had almost forgotten the handsome adventuress, when, two days before my departure, my cicerone gave me the information that he had found out where she lived, and that she was with the same officer. I told him to try to see her, and to let her know that my departure was fixed for the day after the morrow. She sent me word by him that, if I would inform her of the hour of my departure, she would meet me outside of the gate, and get into the coach with me to accompany me on my way. I thought the arrangement very ingenious and during the day I sent the cicerone to tell her the hour at which I intended to leave, and where I would wait for her outside of the Porto del Popolo. She came at the appointed time, and we have remained together ever since. As soon as she was seated near me, she made me understand by signs that she wanted to dine with me. You may imagine what difficulty we had in understanding one another, but we guessed somehow the meaning expressed by our pantomime, and I accepted the adventure with delight.
"We dined gaily together, speaking without understanding, but after the dessert we comprehended each other very well. I fancied that I had seen the end of it, and you may imagine how surprised I was when, upon my offering her the ten sequins, she refused most positively to take any money, making me understand that she would rather go with me to Parma, because she had some business in that city, and did not want to return to Rome.
"The proposal was, after all, rather agreeable to me; I consented to her wishes. I only regretted my inability to make her understand that, if she was followed by anyone from Rome, and if that person wanted to take her back, I was not in a position to defend her against violence. I was also sorry that, with our mutual ignorance of the language spoken by each of us, we had no opportunity of conversation, for I should have been greatly pleased to hear her adventures, which, I think, must be interesting. You can, of course, guess that I have no idea of who she can be. I only know that she calls herself Henriette, that she must be a Frenchwoman, that she is as gentle as a turtledove, that she has evidently received a good education, and that she enjoys good health. She is witty and courageous, as we have both seen, I in Rome and you in Cesena at General Spada's table. If she would tell you her history, and allow you to translate it for me in Latin she would indeed please me much, for I am sincerely her friend, and I can assure you that it will grieve me to part from her in Parma. Please to tell her that I intend to give her the thirty sequins I received from the Bishop of Cesena, and that if I were rich I would give her more substantial proofs of my tender affection. Now, sir, I shall feel obliged to you if you will explain it all to her in French."
I asked her whether she would feel offended if I gave her an exact translation. She assured me that, on the contrary, she wished me to speak openly, and I told her literally what the captain had related to me.
With a noble frankness which a slight shade of shame rendered more interesting, Henriette confirmed the truth of her friend's narrative, but she begged me to tell him that she could not grant his wish respecting the adventures of her life.
"Be good enough to inform him," she added, "that the same principle which forbids me to utter a falsehood, does not allow me to tell the truth. As for the thirty sequins which he intends to give me, I will not accept even one of them, and he would deeply grieve me by pressing them upon me. The moment we reach Parma I wish him to allow me to lodge wherever I may please, to make no enquiries whatever about me, and, in case he should happen to meet me, to crown his great kindness to me by not appearing to have ever known me."
As she uttered the last words of this short speech, which she had delivered very seriously and with a mixture of modesty and resolution, she kissed her elderly friend in a manner which indicated esteem and gratitude rather than love. The captain, who did not know why she was kissing him, was deeply grieved when I translated what Henriette had said. He begged me to tell her that, if he was to obey her with an easy conscience, he must know whether she would have everything she required in Parma.
"You can assure him," she answered, "that he need not entertain any anxiety about me."
This conversation had made us all very sad; we remained for a long time thoughtful and silent, until, feeling the situation to be painful, I rose, wishing them good night, and I saw that Henriette's face wore a look of great excitement.
As soon as I found myself alone in my room, deeply moved by conflicting feelings of love, surprise, and uncertainty, I began to give vent to my feelings in a kind of soliloquy, as I always do when I am strongly excited by anything; thinking is not, in those cases, enough for me; I must speak aloud, and I throw so much action, so much animation into these monologues that I forget I am alone. What I knew now of Henriette had upset me altogether.
"Who can she be," I said, speaking to the walls; "this girl who seems to have the most elevated feelings under the veil of the most cynical libertinism? She says that in Parma she wishes to remain perfectly unknown, her own mistress, and I cannot, of course, flatter myself that she will not place me under the same restrictions as the captain to whom she has already abandoned herself. Goodbye to my expectations, to my money, and my illusions! But who is she--what is she? She must have either a lover or a husband in Parma, or she must belong to a respectable family; or, perhaps, thanks to a boundless love for debauchery and to her confidence in her own charms, she intends to set fortune, misery, and degradation at defiance, and to try to enslave some wealthy nobleman! But that would be the plan of a mad woman or of a person reduced to utter despair, and it does not seem to be the case with Henriette. Yet she possesses nothing. True, but she refused, as if she had been provided with all she needed, the kind assistance of a man who has the right to offer it, and from whom, in sooth, she can accept without blushing, since she has not been ashamed to grant him favours with which love had nothing to do. Does she think that it is less shameful for a woman to abandon herself to the desires of a man unknown and unloved than to receive a present from an esteemed friend, and particularly at the eve of finding herself in the street, entirely destitute in the middle of a foreign city, amongst people whose language she cannot even speak? Perhaps she thinks that such conduct will justify the 'faux pas' of which she has been guilty with the captain, and give him to understand that she had abandoned herself to him only for the sake of escaping from the officer with whom she was in Rome. But she ought to be quite certain that the captain does not entertain any other idea; he shews himself so reasonable that it is impossible to suppose that he ever admitted the possibility of having inspired her with a violent passion, because she had seen him once through a window in Civita-Vecchia. She might possibly be right, and feel herself justified in her conduct towards the captain, but it is not the same with me, for with her intelligence she must be aware that I would not have travelled with them if she had been indifferent to me, and she must know that there is but one way in which she can obtain my pardon. She may be endowed with many virtues, but she has not the only one which could prevent me from wishing the reward which every man expects to receive at the hands of the woman he loves. If she wants to assume prudish manners towards me and to make a dupe of me, I am bound in honour to shew her how much she is mistaken."
After this monologue, which had made me still more angry, I made up my mind to have an explanation in the morning before our departure.
"I shall ask her," said I to myself, "to grant me the same favours which she has so easily granted to her old captain, and if I meet with a refusal the best revenge will be to shew her a cold and profound contempt until our arrival in Parma."
I felt sure that she could not refuse me some marks of real or of pretended affection, unless she wished to make a show of a modesty which certainly did not belong to her, and, knowing that her modesty would only be all pretence, I was determined not to be a mere toy in her hands.
As for the captain, I felt certain, from what he had told me, that he would not be angry with me if I risked a declaration, for as a sensible man he could only assume a neutral position.
Satisfied with my wise reasoning, and with my mind fully made up, I fell asleep. My thoughts were too completely absorbed by Henriette for her not to haunt my dreams, but the dream which I had throughout the night was so much like reality that, on awaking, I looked for her in my bed, and my imagination was so deeply struck with the delights of that night that, if my door had not been fastened with a bolt, I should have believed that she had left me during my sleep to resume her place near the worthy Hungarian.
When I was awake I found that the happy dream of the night had turned my love for the lovely creature into a perfect amorous frenzy, and it could not be other wise. Let the reader imagine a poor devil going to bed broken down with fatigue and starvation; he succumbs to sleep, that most imperative of all human wants, but in his dream he finds himself before a table covered with every delicacy; what will then happen? Why, a very natural result. His appetite, much more lively than on the previous day, does not give him a minute's rest he must satisfy it or die of sheer hunger.
I dressed myself, resolved on making sure of the possession of the woman who had inflamed all my senses, even before resuming our journey.
"If I do not succeed," I said to myself, "I will not go one step further."
But, in order not to offend against propriety, and not to deserve the reproaches of an honest man, I felt that it was my duty to have an explanation with the captain in the first place.
I fancy that I hear one of those sensible, calm, passionless readers, who have had the advantage of what is called a youth without storms, or one of those whom old age has forced to become virtuous, exclaim,
"Can anyone attach so much importance to such nonsense?"
Age has calmed my passions down by rendering them powerless, but my heart has not grown old, and my memory has kept all the freshness of youth; and far from considering that sort of thing a mere trifle, my only sorrow, dear reader, arises from the fact that I have not the power to practise, to the day of my death, that which has been the principal affair of my life!
When I was ready I repaired to the chamber occupied by my two travelling companions, and after paying each of them the usual morning compliments I told the officer that I was deeply in love with Henriette, and I asked him whether he would object to my trying to obtain her as my mistress.
"The reason for which she begs you," I added, "to leave her in Parma and not to take any further notice of her, must be that she hopes to meet some lover of hers there. Let me have half an hour's conversation with her, and I flatter myself I can persuade her to sacrifice that lover for me. If she refuses me, I remain here; you will go with her to Parma, where you will leave my carriage at the post, only sending me a receipt, so that I can claim it whenever I please."
"As soon as breakfast is over," said the excellent man, "I shall go and visit the institute, and leave you alone with Henriette. I hope you may succeed, for I should be delighted to see her under your protection when I part with her. Should she persist in her first resolution, I could easily find a 'vetturino' here, and you could keep your carriage. I thank you for your proposal, and it will grieve me to leave you."
Highly pleased at having accomplished half of my task, and at seeing myself near the denouement, I asked the lovely Frenchwoman whether she would like to see the sights of Bologna.
"I should like it very much," she said, "if I had some other clothes; but with such a costume as this I do not care to shew myself about the city."
"Then you do not want to go out?"
"No."
"Can I keep you company?"
"That would be delightful."
The captain went out immediately after breakfast. The moment he had gone I told Henriette that her friend had left us alone purposely, so as to give me the opportunity of a private interview with her.
"Tell me now whether you intended the order which you gave him yesterday to forget you, never to enquire after you; and even not to know you if he happened to meet you, from the time of our arrival in Parma, for me as well as for him."
"It is not an order that I gave him; I have no right to do so, and I could not so far forget myself; it is only a prayer I addressed to him, a service which circumstances have compelled me to claim at his hands, and as he has no right to refuse me, I never entertained any doubt of his granting my command. As far as you are concerned, it is certain that I should have addressed the same prayer to you, if I had thought that you had any views about me. You have given me some marks of your friendship, but you must understand that if, under the circumstances, I am likely to be injured by the kind attentions of the captain, yours would injure me much more. If you have any friendship for me, you would have felt all that."
"As you know that I entertain great friendship for you, you cannot possibly suppose that I would leave you alone, without money, without resources in the middle of a city where you cannot even make yourself understood. Do you think that a man who feels for you the most tender affection can abandon you when he has been fortunate enough to make your acquaintance, when he is aware of the sad position in which you are placed? If you think such a thing possible, you must have a very false idea of friendship, and should such a man grant your request, he would only prove that he is not your friend."
"I am certain that the captain is my friend; yet you have heard him, he will obey me, and forget me."
"I do not know what sort of affection that honest man feels for you, or how far he can rely upon the control he may have over himself, but I know that if he can grant you what you have asked from him, his friendship must be of a nature very different from mine, for I am bound to tell you it is not only impossible for me to afford you willingly the strange gratification of abandoning you in your position, but even that, if I go to Parma, you could not possibly carry out your wishes, because I love you so passionately that you must promise to be mine, or I must remain here. In that case you must go to Parma alone with the captain, for I feel that, if I accompanied you any further, I should soon be the most wretched of men. I could not bear to see you with another lover, with a husband, not even in the midst of your family; in fact, I would fain see you and live with you forever. Let me tell you, lovely Henriette, that if it is possible for a Frenchman to forget, an Italian cannot do it, at least if I judge from my own feelings. I have made up my mind, you must be good enough to decide now, and to tell me whether I am to accompany you or to remain here. Answer yes or no; if I remain here it is all over. I shall leave for Naples to-morrow, and I know I shall be cured in time of the mad passion I feel for you, but if you tell me that I can accompany you to Parma, you must promise me that your heart will forever belong to me alone. I must be the only one to possess you, but I am ready to accept as a condition, if you like, that you shall not crown my happiness until you have judged me worthy of it by my attentions and by my loving care. Now, be kind enough to decide before the return of the too happy captain. He knows all, for I have told him what I feel."
"And what did he answer?"
"That he would be happy to see you under my protection. But what is the meaning of that smile playing on your lips?"
"Pray, allow me to laugh, for I have never in my life realized the idea of a furious declaration of love. Do you understand what it is to say to a woman in a declaration which ought to be passionate, but at the same time tender and gentle, the following terrible words:
"'Madam, make your choice, either one or the other, and decide instanter!' Ha! ha! ha!"
"Yes, I understand perfectly. It is neither gentle, nor gallant, nor pathetic, but it is passionate. Remember that this is a serious matter, and that I have never yet found myself so much pressed by time. Can you, on your side, realize the painful position of a man, who, being deeply in love, finds himself compelled to take a decision which may perhaps decide issues of life and death? Be good enough to remark that, in spite of the passion raging in me, I do not fail in the respect I owe you; that the resolution I intend to take, if you should persist in your original decision, is not a threat, but an effort worthy of a hero, which ought to call for your esteem. I beg of you to consider that we cannot afford to lose time. The word choose must not sound harshly in your ears, since it leaves my fate as well as yours entirely in your hands. To feel certain of my love, do you want to see me kneeling before you like a simpleton, crying and entreating you to take pity on me? No, madam, that would certainly displease you, and it would not help me. I am conscious of being worthy of your love, I therefore ask for that feeling and not for pity. Leave me, if I displease you, but let me go away; for if you are humane enough to wish that I should forget you, allow me to go far away from you so as to make my sorrow less immense. Should I follow you to Parma, I would not answer for myself, for I might give way to my despair. Consider everything well, I beseech you; you would indeed be guilty of great cruelty, were you to answer now: 'Come to Parma, although I must beg of you not to see me in that city.' Confess that you cannot, in all fairness, give me such an answer; am I not right?"
"Certainly, if you truly love me."
"Good God! if I love you? Oh, yes! believe me, my love is immense, sincere! Now, decide my fate."
"What! always the same song?"
"Yes."
"But are you aware that you look very angry?"
"No, for it is not so. I am only in a state of uncontrollable excitement, in one of the decisive hours of my life, a prey to the most fearful anxiety. I ought to curse my whimsical destiny and the 'sbirri' of Cesena (may God curse them, too!), for, without them, I should never have known you."
"Are you, then, so very sorry to have made my acquaintance?"
"Have I not some reason to be so?"
"No, for I have not given you my decision yet."
"Now I breathe more freely, for I am sure you will tell me to accompany you to Parma."
"Yes, come to Parma."
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Memoires of Casanova, by
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
*** | {
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In this latest post, AJC Governing Council member, Karen Truscott, outlines the B.C. teachers' story to remind us that a union´s success depends on the collective will and effort of its members.
Click here to read Karen's blog and to view video testimonies of your AJC colleagues. The page also contains posts on topics of interest to you and links to our Twitter feed and Facebook posts. | {
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Q: Express, mongoose display MongoDB values into a div Just starting with mongoDB and mongoose, I have a database called "Twitter" with a collection called userPost.
I have my server.js with the connection to the database and the server setup. And the pages.js file in the router folder, which routes every page.
I want the db data to be displayed into a div called "Test".
router.get('/', function(req, res) {
res.render('index.ejs', {
});
});
This is my homepage route code, I know after the { I should put something like id_of_div:database_value.
But I'm having some problem in doing that so a helpfull hand would be appreciated. Thanks!
I've created a model schema:
let mongoose = require('mongoose');
var Schema = mongoose.Schema;
var postSchema = new Schema({
username: {
type: String,
required: true
},
content: {
type: String,
required: true
},
});
let userPost = module.exports = mongoose.model('userPost', postSchema);
But I don't know how to proceed.
<div id="posts">
</div>
This is my div in the index.ejs file under a form.
A: All you need to do is import your module Schema in your router module and render it.
Your Routes and app module files will look something like this below
***userRoutes.js***
var express = require('express');
var userPostModel = require('./userPostModel');
const userRouter = express.Router();
function router() {
userRouter.route('/').get((req, res, next) => {
userPostModel.find({})
.then(function (userDetails) {
res.render('index', {
userDetails
});
}, function (err) {
next(err);
});
next();
});
return userRouter;
}
module.exports = router;
Following is the sample app.js file
***app.js***
var express = require('express');
var userRoutes = require('./userRoutes');
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
const app = express();
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use('/user', userRoutes());
app.set('views', './src/views');
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
app.listen(3000, function() {
console.log("Listening to port");
})
Following is the way you could use it in html file
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<div>
<h1><%userDetails.username%></h1>
</div>
</body>
</html>
| {
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Q: Qgis python to apply polygon Symbology I have polygon featureclass. which is shown in map as
I want to "outline xpattern" symbology
I am not able to do it programmatically by python.
Few of my attempts are:
Attempt1:
layer = QgsProject.instance().mapLayersByName("New_Shapefile")[0] # replace "polygon_layer_name" with the actual name of your polygon layer
symbol = QgsFillSymbol.createSimple({'outline_style': 'no', 'outline_width': '0.26', 'outline_color': '0,0,0,255', 'pattern': '20'})
renderer = QgsSingleSymbolRenderer(symbol)
layer.setRenderer(renderer)
layer.triggerRepaint()
Attempt 2:
layer = QgsProject.instance().mapLayersByName("polygon_layer_name")[0] # replace "polygon_layer_name" with the actual name of your polygon layer
fill_symbol = QgsFillSymbol.createSimple({'color': '247,247,247,255'})
layer_1 = QgsFillSymbolLayer(fill_symbol)
layer_2 = QgsFillSymbolLayer(fill_symbol)
layer_3 = QgsFillSymbolLayer(fill_symbol)
symbol = QgsFillSymbol([layer_1, layer_2, layer_3])
renderer = QgsSingleSymbolRenderer(symbol)
layer.setRenderer(renderer)
layer.triggerRepaint()
A: You were close, you just needed QgsMarkerLineSymbolLayer for the outline points.
layer = QgsProject.instance().mapLayersByName("polygon_layer_name")[0] # replace "polygon_layer_name" with the actual name of your polygon layer
red = QColor(255,0,0)
green = QColor(0,255,0)
whiteish = QColor(247,247,247)
fill = QgsSimpleFillSymbolLayer()
fill.setColor(whiteish)
marker_r = QgsMarkerLineSymbolLayer(interval=9)
marker_r.setColor(red)
marker_r.setOffsetAlongLine(4.5)
marker_g = QgsMarkerLineSymbolLayer(interval=9)
marker_g.setColor(green)
fill_symbol = QgsFillSymbol([fill, marker_r, marker_g])
renderer = QgsSingleSymbolRenderer(fill_symbol)
layer.setRenderer(renderer)
layer.triggerRepaint()
UPDATE: you can also use the predefined style like this:
layer = QgsProject.instance().mapLayersByName("polygon_layer_name")[0] # replace "polygon_layer_name" with the actual name of your polygon layer
symbol = QgsStyle.defaultStyle().symbol("outline xpattern")
layer.renderer().setSymbol(symbol)
layer.triggerRepaint()
| {
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Q: "I've known her for two years" v "I knew her for two years" I would like to know precisely how to describe the length of actions throughout time.
I also would like to know the situation with "Be" sentences.
Is it always this way: "I am hungry for two hours" - incorrect.
"I've been hungry for two hours" - correct.
You can either say "I worked here for two years" or "I have worked here for two years". So, my question now is would be both variants correct, considering that you still have the job in this moment?
And the same question with the verb "know". Are the both variants "I've known her for two years" and "I knew her for two years" correct, considering that you are still in touch whith the person?
A: I've worked here for two years usually means "I've worked here for two years and I still do". Occasionally it might simply express express the continued relevance of the past to the present, e.g. "I've worked here for two years - but I've just been fired". Without the expression of time, it could similarly express the relevance of a past event: "Have you ever worked here before?" / "I've worked here before, about a decade ago. I'd be grateful if you'd consider giving me a job here again now."
I worked here for two years usually means "I worked here for two years, at some time in the past, and I no longer do". Depending on context, it could also describe a situation where the speaker still works there today - e.g. (1) "I worked here for two years before Bob left - and I've worked here for five more years since then"; or (2) "I worked here for two years in the 1990s, then I left - and now I'm back again".
I've known her for two years means "I've known her for two years, and I still do".
I knew her for two years usually means "I knew her for two years, at some point in the past, and I no longer know her". Depending on context, it could also describe a situation where you still know her - e.g. "I knew her for two years before she got married (and I've known her for a further three years since then)".
Similarly, I've been hungry for two hours usually expresses continued hunger, while I was hungry for two hours describes the duration of past hunger.
I am hungry for two hours would only make sense if you were describing a regular event or consequence, e.g. "I am hungry for two hours every day between 4 and 6 pm!" or "If I skip lunch I find that I am hungry in the afternoons".
| {
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} | 4,333 |
Q: Шахматы, ходы коня Условия задачи:
Имеется шахматная доска, нам даны координаты коня (от 1 до 8) Нам нужно найти все координаты после 2 ходов конем.
Пример:
Ввод:
5
7
Вывод:
3 3
5 3
7 3
2 4
4 4
6 4
8 4
1 5
5 5
2 6
4 6
6 6
8 6
1 7
3 7
5 7
7 7
2 8
4 8
6 8
8 8
Вот мой код, но он почему то выводит два лишних варианта, не могу разобраться почему
idi=int(input())
idj=int(input())
moves=[[1,2],[1,-2],[-1,2],[-1,-2],
[2,1],[2,-1],[-2,1],[-2,-1]]
a=[]
q=0
for di,dj in moves:
for ci,cj in moves:
i=idi+di+ci
j=idj+dj+cj
if 0<i<=8 and 0<j<=8 and [i,j] not in a:
a.append([i,j])
q+=1
for i in range(len(a)):
print(*a[i])
print(q)
A: Вроде у вас всё с кодом хорошо.
В любом случае, если бы, например, вам сказали просчитать ходы вплоть до четвёртого хода, вы бы использовали 4 вложенных цикла?
Я бы использовал рекурсию.
У меня переменная depth отвечает как раз за то, насколько глубоко нужно просчитать ходы.
Есть функция GetNextMoves. Она на вход принимает координаты коня, а возвращает лист возможных позиций коня спустя ход.
Также есть рекурсивная функция CalculateMoves, которая как раз "ходит" по древу всех вариантов.
В итоге всё записывается в лист globalArr. Однако в нём будут повторяющиеся позиции. Его следует почистить от повторений.
moves=[[1,2],[1,-2],[-1,2],[-1,-2], [2,1],[2,-1],[-2,1],[-2,-1]]
globalArr = []
def CalculateMoves(depth, i, j):
arr = GetNextMoves(i, j)
if depth > 1:
for move in arr:
CalculateMoves(depth - 1, move[0], move[1])
else:
globalArr.extend(arr)
#на этом шаге наверное стоит почистить от повторений лист globalArr
def GetNextMoves(i, j):
arr = []
for dx, dy in moves:
x = i + dx
y = j + dy
if 0 < x < 9 and 0 < y < 9 and [x, y] not in arr:
arr.append([x, y])
return arr
i = int(input())
j = int(input())
CalculateMoves(7, i, j) # глубина хода конём. в вашем случае 2, а не 7
print(globalArr)
A: Не вижу лишних вариантов. У меня те же 21 вариант получается вашим кодом. И если напечатать доску с вариантами всё выглядит нормально:
print(' ',end=' ')
for j in range(1,9):
print(j, end=' ')
print()
for i in range(1,9):
print(i,end=' ')
for j in range(1,9):
if [i,j] in a:
c = 'K'
else:
c = '~'
if i == idi and j == idj:
c = '#'
print(c, end=' ')
print()
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 ~ ~ ~ ~ K ~ K ~
2 ~ ~ ~ K ~ K ~ K
3 ~ ~ K ~ ~ ~ K ~
4 ~ ~ ~ K ~ K ~ K
5 ~ ~ K ~ K ~ # ~
6 ~ ~ ~ K ~ K ~ K
7 ~ ~ K ~ ~ ~ K ~
8 ~ ~ ~ K ~ K ~ K
P.S. Отсортировать как в примере можно вот так:
print('\n'.join(['{} {}'.format(x,y) for x,y in sorted(a, key=lambda x: (x[1],x[0]))]))
Вывод:
3 3
5 3
7 3
2 4
4 4
6 4
8 4
1 5
5 5
2 6
4 6
6 6
8 6
1 7
3 7
5 7
7 7
2 8
4 8
6 8
8 8
Но там скорее всего сортировка такая, потому что само решение было немного другое - перебирались все клетки доски и делалась проверка, дойдёт ли туда конь в два хода, т.е. в обратную сторону логика шла.
| {
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} | 4,622 |
{"url":"http:\/\/hub.hku.hk\/handle\/10722\/175531","text":"##### Supplementary\n\u2022 Appears in Collections:\n\n#### Article:\u00a0The linear complexity of whiteman's generalized cyclotomic sequences of period p {m+1}q n+1\n\nTitle The linear complexity of whiteman's generalized cyclotomic sequences of period p {m+1}q n+1 Hu, LYue, QWang, M Generalized Cyclotomic NumberLinear Complexity 2012 I E E E. The Journal's web site is located at http:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/xpl\/RecentIssue.jsp?puNumber=18 IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 2012, v. 58 n. 8, p. 5534-5543\u00a0How to Cite? In this paper, we mainly get three results. First, let p, q be distinct primes with \\gcd ((p-1)p,(q-1)q)=\\gcd (p-1,q-1)=e ; we give a method to compute the linear complexity of Whiteman's generalized cyclotomic sequences of period p^{m+1}q n+1. Second, if e=4, we compute the exact linear complexity of Whiteman's generalized cyclotomic sequences. Third, if p \\equiv q \\equiv 5\u223c({\\rm mod}\u223c8), \\gcd (p-1, q-1)=4, and we fix a common primitive root g of both p and q, then 2\\in H-{0}=(g), which is a subgroup of the multiplicative group Z-{pq} \\ast, if and only if Whiteman's generalized cyclotomic numbers of order 4 depend on the decomposition pq=a^{2}+4b 2 with 4\\vert b. \u00a9 1963-2012 IEEE. http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10722\/175531 0018-94482015 Impact Factor:\u00a01.7372015 SCImago Journal Rankings:\u00a01.433 WOS:000306518600036 References in Scopus\n\nDC FieldValueLanguage\ndc.contributor.authorHu, Len_US\ndc.contributor.authorYue, Qen_US\ndc.contributor.authorWang, Men_US\ndc.date.accessioned2012-11-26T08:59:05Z-\ndc.date.available2012-11-26T08:59:05Z-\ndc.date.issued2012en_US\ndc.identifier.citationIEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 2012, v. 58 n. 8, p. 5534-5543en_US\ndc.identifier.issn0018-9448en_US\ndc.identifier.urihttp:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10722\/175531-\ndc.description.abstractIn this paper, we mainly get three results. First, let p, q be distinct primes with \\gcd ((p-1)p,(q-1)q)=\\gcd (p-1,q-1)=e ; we give a method to compute the linear complexity of Whiteman's generalized cyclotomic sequences of period p^{m+1}q n+1. Second, if e=4, we compute the exact linear complexity of Whiteman's generalized cyclotomic sequences. Third, if p \\equiv q \\equiv 5\u223c({\\rm mod}\u223c8), \\gcd (p-1, q-1)=4, and we fix a common primitive root g of both p and q, then 2\\in H-{0}=(g), which is a subgroup of the multiplicative group Z-{pq} \\ast, if and only if Whiteman's generalized cyclotomic numbers of order 4 depend on the decomposition pq=a^{2}+4b 2 with 4\\vert b. \u00a9 1963-2012 IEEE.en_US\ndc.languageengen_US\ndc.publisherI E E E. The Journal's web site is located at http:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/xpl\/RecentIssue.jsp?puNumber=18en_US\ndc.relation.ispartofIEEE Transactions on Information Theoryen_US\ndc.rightsCreative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License-\ndc.subjectGeneralized Cyclotomic Numberen_US\ndc.subjectLinear Complexityen_US\ndc.titleThe linear complexity of whiteman's generalized cyclotomic sequences of period p {m+1}q n+1en_US\ndc.typeArticleen_US\ndc.identifier.emailWang, M: magwang@hku.hken_US\ndc.identifier.authorityWang, M=rp00967en_US\ndc.description.naturepublished_or_final_versionen_US\ndc.identifier.doi10.1109\/TIT.2012.2196254en_US\ndc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-84863936920en_US\ndc.identifier.hkuros203256-\ndc.relation.referenceshttp:\/\/www.scopus.com\/mlt\/select.url?eid=2-s2.0-84863936920&selection=ref&src=s&origin=recordpageen_US\ndc.identifier.volume58en_US\ndc.identifier.issue8en_US\ndc.identifier.spage5534en_US\ndc.identifier.epage5543en_US\ndc.identifier.isiWOS:000306518600036-\ndc.publisher.placeUnited Statesen_US\ndc.identifier.scopusauthoridHu, L=54949492300en_US\ndc.identifier.scopusauthoridYue, Q=7005528517en_US\ndc.identifier.scopusauthoridWang, M=8723779700en_US","date":"2016-10-21 21:17:16","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": false, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.850601315498352, \"perplexity\": 3632.138952297917}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.3, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2016-44\/segments\/1476988718303.21\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00513-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
Olivios Karaolides is a versatile composer and a musicologist. He has a Licence in Music and Musicology from the Sorbonne University and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
He is currently in Nice, France, where he lives and works as a piano teacher on the Cote d'Azur and Monaco. At the same time, he is in the studio recording his new piano compositions that are expected on digital stores and streaming services within 2022.
In September 2016 he founded the brand OliviosK Productions, which aims to present to the public an inspiring choice of original works. Productions includes: The Greek staging of Every Brilliant Thing (Greece, 2017 - 2018 / London, 2018), Paramythou 'the storyteller' (2019). He also collaborates with European operas arranging symphonic works for chamber music (Hannover, 2018-2022).
Orchestral work includes: 'The abduction of Europe by Zeus' performed by the Sydney contemporary orchestra (Sydney, 2015). Musical Theatre includes: Carlotta, a telenovela Musical (New York, 2011) and Pamela! The Musical (London, 2012). Theatre includes: Socrates and his Clouds (London, 2013), L'histoire de Perd Noël (Paris, 2014-2016) and Moi, Myself & Ich (Paris, 2015) . Festival includes: Logos international literary festival (Platres, 2013), '7th Zebra poetry film festival' (Berlin, 2014), 'Poetry in dialogue' (Nicosia, 2014), '26th Festival de Cinema' (Girona, 2014) and 'International Biennale of contemporary cinema and video' (Mexico, 2014) with the videopoem Unexpectedly.
His instrumental piece La Trahison won the Award of Excellence and Montréal won the Award of Merit at the Global Music Awards. Both pieces were presented at the 22nd Fringe Festival of Montréal, Canada and then at the music performance Enarxis (Nicosia, 2012). He also won the first prize at the 20th Cyprus Folk Composition Contest organized by the 'Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation' with the song To Spiti mou (in Greek: Το Σπίτι μου, meaning My Home).
He was selected to represent his home country, Cyprus, in a series of performances for the European Union Military Band organized by the National Taptoe Breda (The Netherlands, 2004). He also participated as a music leader in the workshop Music has no boundaries organized by the Youth in Action Program of the European Commission (Brussels, 2008).
Olivios is a composer of an internationally influenced character whose love for a wide range of different styles and genres, including classical music, instrumental music and musical theatre, is apparent in his compositions. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 1,731 |
package com.dawailelo;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
public class CallUs extends Activity{
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
Intent callIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_CALL);
callIntent.setData(Uri.parse("tel:07599119365"));
startActivity(callIntent);
this.finish();
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 6,647 |
Meet Marquardt Petersen, an ICPCN Global Champion for children with life limiting conditions. Marquardt is a talented 19-year-old trumpeter who hails from 20km outside of Flensburg in Germany. Marquardt has been playing the trumpet since he was just 8 years old.
Just a quick glance through Marquardt's impressive biography leaves one in no doubt that this young man has excelled in his musical career and is going far. He has won numerous awards and prizes for his performances in Germany with his biggest performance to date taking place in Hamburg in 2012 where he gave a live performance of the German National Anthem in front of more than 13,000 spectators and millions of television viewers worldwide at the handball finals for the DHB (German Handball Federation) Cup.
In January of 2014 Marquardt was appointed as an ambassador for the Bundesverband Kinderhospiz eV in Kisdorf. All proceeds of the download of one of the songs he plays, "Trag 'ein Licht durch alle Welt", a sensitive song that describes the terminal care of a child (song and lyrics: Doris Müller) will be donated to children's hospices and outpatient children's hospice services.
Watch Marquardt playing the song which benefits the Children's Hospice Foundation in Germany.
You can learn more about Marquardt and his achievements from his website. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 3,128 |
{"url":"http:\/\/mathematica.stackexchange.com\/questions?page=86&sort=faq","text":"# All Questions\n\n260 views\n\n### Replace values of a list containing words and numbers\n\nI'm trying to import some data in a .txt file which contains numbers and words. I import a list which consists of four rows of measured data acquired with an oscilloscope, but the acquisition program ...\n132 views\n\n### How can define a set of nested parameters\n\nI would like to know how I to define a function with a nested set of parameters (or whatever you would like to call it). For example, how would I get the following function ...\n457 views\n\n### How to Solve or LinearSolve $A = I$ matrix equation?\n\nI'd like to solve this equation for $A = B$ where $B = I$, which represents 3 systems of 3 linear equations, for $a, b, c, d, e, f$, without writing LinearSolve 3 ...\n151 views\n\n### How to collect q[t] from the following integration\n\nAs shown in the following program, the q[t] in a can be collected from the integration by defining the integration of ...\n263 views\n\n### Calculating the Mean of a Truncated Multinormal Distribution\n\nFirst, I'm a little disappointed that Mathematica balks at: Mean[TruncatedDistribution[{{0, Infinity}},MultinormalDistribution[{0}, {{1}}]]] Second, is the ...\n223 views\n\n### Symbolically associate vectors and their norms\n\nI am wondering how to handle the following situation: I do have vectors of known dimension that I would like to handle symbolically. I suppose I can do something like ...\n94 views\n\n### How to automatically load package in Player Pro by making backup files of init.m? [closed]\n\nI dont know whether I am asking the right question or not but I am curious to know whether we can automatically load the package in ...\n172 views\n\nI have made a package BeginPackage[\"top`\"] t[x_]:=MessageDialog[\"This is top\"] t1[x_]:=MessageDialog[\"This is top1\"] EndPackage[] and used the code of this ...\n215 views\n\n### How can Time be made to go backwards?\n\nI would like to make a countdown timer, but cannot find a reliable method to make the DateList[] function reverse. The not so robust code for the Digital Clock with the display of seconds follows: ...\n164 views\n\n### Backward compatibility issues while DumpSaving Interpolation polynomials\n\nI have bkwrd compatibility issues when I save my NDSolve result (which is an interpolating polynomia) using DumpSave from Mathematica 8 on Windows 7 and then try ...\n314 views\n\n### Compatibility of Mathematica Notebooks written on Mac with Windows\n\nI wrote a notebook on Mac OS 10.7.4 and run it on Windows XP at work. On my Mac I use a full version of Mathematia 8.0.1.0, whereas on the Windows-system only a trial version (Version 8.0.4.0.). ...\n1k views\n\n### How to write values of function to file?\n\nFor example, say I wanted to plot Sin(x) like this: Plot[Sin[x],{x,0,2 Pi}] But instead of plotting to a graph, I want to now tabulate the values of Sin[x] to a ...\n348 views\n\n### Exporting Animations under Duration constraints to view on an iPad\n\nI would like to show some eye-movements datas as animation on an iPad. That is to see the gazes as they occured as a function of time. Ideally We would only see the Graphics objects, not the ...\n184 views\n\n### NIntegrate is resetting my variables and not giving me a result?\n\nI am trying to check if mass conservation holds by integrating the area under a curve but to no avail. ...\n313 views\n\n### Locators and Table within a Manipulate are not behaving\n\nI am putting together a Manipulate on vector addition for my intro physics class and everything works well except when I include a Graphics that has a Table within. The code is below. There are three ...\n101 views\n\n### is there an equivalent of \u201cshow\u201d steps? [duplicate]\n\nPossible Duplicate: Get a \u201cstep by step\u201d evaluation in Mathematica In wolfram alpha, when preforming for complicated integrals there's a 'show steps' option that explains how ...\n34 views\n\n### How to show two functions on one plot [on hold]\n\nI am new user of Mathematica. I have G = 2 x + 5 and H = 5 x + 7. I changed x from 1 to 10 ...\n60 views\n\n### Integral over geometric region [duplicate]\n\nI'd like to calculate this integral $$\\int_E y\\ dydz$$ where $E = \\{ (x,y,z) \\in R^3 : z^2+6 < y^2 < 5z \\}$ By hand i've got $\\frac{1}{12}$ but i'm not sure, and i'd like to verify this ...\n95 views\n\n### Why does Evaluate fail? [closed]\n\nIf i use this code: ...\n102 views\n\n### How to solve this nonlinear 2 by 2 equations?\n\nI have a equation (x^2 + q1^2 - y^2)\/2*(x + q1 - y) + (1 - 2*a)*q + 2*F = 2*(1 - a)*c[q] in q(variable) with parameters q1,a,F and function c(in variable q also, and I define it outside Solve so I can ...\n32 views\n\n### Grabbing columns from a matrix [duplicate]\n\nIf I have a matrix - exampleMatrix = {{A1,B1,C1},{A2,B2,C2},{A3,B3,C3}}; And I want to create a matrix like - ...\n151 views\n\n### Solving One Equation with Two Variables\n\nI am trying to solve an equation with two variables. It is the last step in the process of using the method of undetermined coefficients to solve a nonhomogeneous differential equation. The equation ...\n71 views\n\n### Using Wolfram Language without Raspberry Pi [duplicate]\n\nWhat are the different ways I can start using Wolfram Language even though I dont want to use Raspberry Pi? Are there any convenient ways? I actually have a raspberry pi but I am trying to find ...\n38 views\n\n### Abstract algebra: define constants in a finite field\n\nHow can I to define a constant in $Z_{2}$? For example, I want to create a constant b that inherits the properties of an element from $Z_{2}$. For example ...\n151 views\n\n### Make a scatter plot from two columns of matrix\n\nI have imported my text-type data as a matrix. I want to make a scatter plot (ListPlot) using one column as x-axis and other columns as y-axis. Is there a ...\n46 views\n\n### PDE combined with ODE 1D\n\nI try to solve the following system of PDE coupled with ODE: $$\\theta_t - a\\theta_{xx} + b\\kappa_a(\\theta^4-\\varphi)=0,$$ $$-\\alpha\\varphi_{xx} + \\kappa_a(\\varphi - \\theta^4) = 0,$$ -a\\theta_x + ...\n117 views\n\n### Plot3D Not Showing plot\n\nI have a function that I'm trying to visualize and for some reason the plot only shows a small snippet of the graph of the function. The function, d, and relevant ...\n135 views\n\n### 3D plot of a solid of revolution\n\nI'm trying to rotate the area between the graphs of $y=3$ and $y=x^2$ around $y=1$. I'm not attempting to just find the area as that would just be ...\n71 views\n\n### ListDensityPlot with discrete bins [duplicate]\n\nWe consider a table of the form data = Flatten[Table[{i,j,f[i,j]},{i,1,ni},{j,1,nj}],1] The function f[i_,j_] has been made ...\n77 views\n\n### NDSolve producing an overdetermined system\n\nI am trying to build the initial model for an electro-mechanical system that I will be running in a for-loop for various inputs and parameters. Currently, the code is as follows: ...\n168 views\n\n### Fraction of fibers that have failed\n\nI have the following to set into mathematica. Assume a stress(sigma) applied on a specimen which has a number of fibers within it. All fibers that have a strength less than the applied stress should ...\n98 views\n\n### How do I upload a graph as an adjacency list and find the betweenness centrality?\n\nI have an undirected simple graph in a .txt file formatted as an adjacency list like this: 100 200 200 300 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 ... Every number is a node ...\n46 views\n\n### problem solving a simple integral equation\n\nI'm looking for a function q(x) so that integral( q(t) , t , x, x+2*pi\/3) == a*sin(x)+b Could anyone help me on this one? Thx in advance\n83 views\n\n### Vector-calculus [duplicate]\n\nI have a table of 200 elements, elements are '0', '1', '2'. I have participate them into groups for 20 elements each one. Then I have calculate how many '0', '1', '2' are in each part. And then in ...\n52 views\n\n### Derivative of generating function (Example from documentation)\n\nIn the documentation for GeneratingFunction, the following example is given under Examples -> Properties & Relations -> Derivative: ...\n110 views\n\n### How to partition three years of data into daily samples\n\nI'm trying to find mean of temperature data list. The temperature data list has 3 hours steps which means I have 365*8=2920 temperature measurements per year. My data are temperatures of 13 years. ...\n35 views\n\n### How to make 3 parameters selection and then execute, and not with each selection?\n\nManipulate[{u*v}, Row[{Control[{u, 0, 1}], Control[{v, 0, 1}]}], ControlType -> VerticalSlider, ControlPlacement -> Up] Q1.- How to select the operation ...\n111 views\n\n### Determinant of a square matrix with univariate polynomial entries is not a polynom? [closed]\n\nI have a 15x15 Matrix with all polynomial entries. I want to calculate the determinant of the matrix. To my understanding the determinant should be a (albeit high order) polynom, too. And the paper, I ...\n79 views\n\n### Import LaTeX from Wikipedia to Mathematica [duplicate]\n\nHere is one a problem I land on from time to time. Sometimes while researching, I want to pull a formula presented in a Wikipedia page and import it into Mathematica. I've heard that Wikipedia uses ...\n52 views\n\n### Problem with Label in a Do loop, \u201cnolabel\u201d [closed]\n\nCan someone tell me why this code doesn't work and how to fix it ? Thanks. ...\n153 views\n\n### Plot not working\n\nI am trying to generate a plot for S2[w]. My code is below ...\n139 views\n\n### How to label the coordinates of the plotted graph?\n\nHow can I label the coordinates of the plotted graph? I want to label the coordinate of $(-1,-1)$. ...\n117 views\n\n### Mapping the imaginary axis of the complex (s) plane\n\nIn this problem is very difficult to analyze the roots s. Firstly I thought that the problem is in precision, but I am not sure. The criterion which I want to obtain is that one of these roots has a ...\n106 views\n\n### how to store output of a function in a table for future use [closed]\n\nI am new to Mathematica and if this is a simple query - please excuse me for the same. I am trying to solve a equation which is a function of two variables. From the solution, I need to store the ...\n95 views\n\n### Why do InputFields not respond in Manipulate utilizing FindGeometricTransform?\n\nIn the following code changing the InputField does not result in observing changes in a result from FindGeometricTransform, but ...\n168 views\n\n### NMinimize to optimize function Module\n\nI am using Nminimize for simulation based optimization. I define the objective function (simulation with a variable \"a\") as a module to be used in the minimization. ...\n98 views\n\n### Setting plot size within vector; dynamic slider (two part question)\n\nI have a question about the size of a plot in mathematica. I'm working on some differential equations (a simplified model of heat transfer in a building). I've programmed it so that you can set ...\n122 views\n\n### Symbolic Constrained Optimization\n\nI have a question regarding evaluating constrained optimization problems in symbolic terms. I would like to perform How can I implement the method of Lagrange multipliers to find constrained extrema? ...\n99 views\n\n### trouble with Dynamic range in SetterBar\n\nIt appears that I can set the range to a Dynamic variable in a Manipulate control, but not in a ...\n70 views\n\n### Why does initialization slow down manipulate in this case?\n\nI'm trying to manipulate a plot of function with some parameters. The function is a long expression, so I tried to put it inside the Initialization options of ...\n\n15 30 50 per page","date":"2014-07-13 08:17:05","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.869667649269104, \"perplexity\": 1282.5711151353062}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 20, \"end_threshold\": 5, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2014-23\/segments\/1404776437493.50\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20140707234037-00051-ip-10-180-212-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
text list of places
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 376 |
{"url":"https:\/\/socratic.org\/questions\/how-do-you-find-the-domain-of-f-g-given-f-x-3x-4-and-g-x-5-4-x","text":"# How do you find the domain of f+g given f(x)=3x + 4 and g(x) = 5\/(4-x)?\n\nJun 15, 2016\n\nThe domain of the sum of two functions is the intersection of their domains.\n\n#### Explanation:\n\nFirst of all, let us find the domain of $f \\left(x\\right)$ and $g \\left(x\\right)$ independently:\n\n\u2022 $f \\left(x\\right)$ is a polynomial function, so its domain is $\\mathbb{R}$.\n\u2022 $g \\left(x\\right)$ is a fractional function, so its domain is $\\mathbb{R}$ excepting those points where the denominator vanishes:\n\n$4 - x = 0 \\rightarrow x = 4$\n\nSo the domain of $g \\left(x\\right)$ is $\\mathbb{R} - \\left\\{4\\right\\}$.\n\nNow, the domain of\n\n$\\left(f + g\\right) \\left(x\\right) = 3 x + 4 + \\frac{5}{4 - x}$\n\nconsists of those points where both $f \\left(x\\right)$ and $g \\left(x\\right)$ exist, this is the intersection of both domains. Since both domains are $\\mathbb{R}$ except the second one, which excludes the value $x = 4$, the domain of the sum is:\n\n$\\text{Dom} \\left(f + g\\right) \\left(x\\right) = \\mathbb{R} - \\left\\{4\\right\\}$","date":"2020-04-03 10:33:21","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 15, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.9316893815994263, \"perplexity\": 237.8398418716174}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2020-16\/segments\/1585370510846.12\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20200403092656-20200403122656-00155.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
BIHAN invited applications for recruitment to the post of Program Executive, Accountant, Steno, Date Entry Operator and other posts. The candidates eligible for the post can apply through prescribed format on or before 05 October 2017. Initially, BIHAN has invited application for these Posts till 17 August 2017 and now it has been extended to 05 October 2017.
For Educational Qualification, How to Apply, Age Limit and other information, Candidates can visit the official site www.bihan.gov.in.
How to Apply: The completely filled application can be sent to the concerned office on or before 05 October 2017. Candidates can visit the official site www.bihan.gov.in for details of the application process. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 3,485 |
package com.clarkt.fragment;
import java.math.BigDecimal;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import com.BeeFramework.example.R;
import com.clarkt.component.CartListViewCell;
import com.clarkt.pojo.Cart;
import com.clarkt.pojo.CartGoods;
import com.clarkt.pojo.Img;
import com.clarkt.widget.CartListView;
import com.external.maxwin.view.XListView.IXListViewListener;
import android.content.Context;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.app.Fragment;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Gravity;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.TextView;
public class OrderFragment extends Fragment {
private static final String TAG = "OrderFragment";
private View mainView = null;
private Context mContext = null;
public OrderFragment(Context context){
this.mContext = context;
}
@Override
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
Log.d(TAG,"on create view");
mainView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.clarkt_fragment_order,null);
return mainView;
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 9,591 |
You are here: Home / Chinese Anime / Daomu Biji: Qinling Shen Shu / The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree Donghua Updates
Daomu Biji: Qinling Shen Shu / The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree Donghua Updates
Hey guys, we're now entering the spring 2021 lineup for Chinese animation, and The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree is one of the donghua that we highly anticipate this season. The series was first announced during the Tencent Video Animation 2020 Conference where they unveiled their Chinese anime lineup for 2021. The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree or Daomu Biji: Qinling Shen Shu was among those titles along with several popular donghua from Tencent and new adaptation.
The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree Release Date
Donghua Adaptation
Animation Studio & Production Committee
In the latest announcement by Tencent, the series is scheduled to premiere on April 4, 2021. The announcement was accompanied by a new trailer for the upcoming donghua as shown below. Simply known by other names such as The Lost Tomb anime, Daomu Biji anime, we are all craving to watch this donghua on Tencent and other streaming service providers such as the fansubbers izfanmade, AnixLife, and Kurina Official.
The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree is inspired by a novel titled The Grave Robber's Chronicles by author Xu Lei and it sounds like what its title suggests. The novel also inspired a Chinese TV series with the title The Lost Tomb in 2015.
The novel series is among the most famous historical sci-fi in China since 2007 with over 20 million copies sold. The story follows the grave-robbing adventures of Wu Xie, a young man hailing from a family that had been tomb-raiders for centuries. It has been among the driving force in the popularity of grave-robbing stories with supernatural themes in China in recent years.
The novel also inspired a manhua in 2011 which was drawn by Dongdong and Yuelu. However, its serialization ended prematurely after an argument with the manhua artist and the author of The Lost Tomb.
50 years ago, a group of Changsha grave robbers dug out manuscripts of the location of treasures from Warring states, but an encounter with an undead rendered almost the whole group dead. In the present, the young grandchild of the sole survivor, Wu Xie, discovers a secret within his grandfather's notes. Together with his third uncle, Wu Sanxing, and a few other experienced tomb robbers, to search for the treasure.
But what no one expected to find the intriguing mysteries that accompanied their tomb-robbing adventure – just who was the owner of that tomb? Will they be able to find the real coffin? And just where will these puzzles lead the group? Embarking on eight-volume's worth of adventures, as Wu Xie slowly unravels millennium-old mysteries, he sees the deterioration of his naive world as he discovers the people around him are not what they seem and that he could trust no one in this tomb robbing world of deceit and lies. [Source: Wikipedia]
The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree donghua adaptation was announced by Tencent last August 8, 2020. Also known as The Grave Robbers: Qinling Sacred Tree, the donghua will touch various themes like action and supernatural on top of the grave-robbing plot.
The Lost Tomb Qinling Sacred Tree
The upcoming donghua is animated by Qiyuan Yinghua (known for another grave-robbing donghua titled Qin Xia) and produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures, and Tencent Animation & Comics.
Below is the first trailer that we had for The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree from Tencent.
Now, we just need to wait for a few more weeks before its release on April 4. While we are patiently waiting for it, we can also check for updates from its official Weibo page here: The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree or bookmark its official page on Tencent, so we can watch the donghua upon its release date there. If you wish to read the novel, you may also check it at Novel Updates.
Alright, if you're excited about The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree premiere, please let us know your thoughts about it and if you'll be watching it. Drop your thoughts in the comment section below and don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates about your favorite donghua.
Code name: Yu Alexius is an ambiguous entity who loves to talk about anime and Chinese animation in general. An insatiable soul from the Pearl of the Orient, a frustrated writer and a Houtarou Oreki wanna-be. He is a piece of a lunatic and everything crazy.
Filed Under: Chinese Anime, Donghua Tagged With: Daomu Biji Anime, Daomu Biji: Qinling Shen Shu, The Lost Tomb: Qinling Sacred Tree March 16, 2021 by Yu Alexius Leave a Comment | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 7,226 |
Jammeh ist ein gambischer Familienname.
Namensträger
Abdou Jammeh (* 1986), gambischer Fußballspieler
Alasan Jammeh, gambischer Diplomat
Ansumana Jammeh († 2020), gambischer Diplomat und Unternehmer
Bakary Jammeh, gambischer Ökonom
Benedict Jammeh (1957–2018), gambischer Lehrer, Polizist, Richter, Beamter und Generaldirektor des Nachrichtendienstes
Binta Jammeh-Sidibe (* 1950er), gambische Frauenrechtsaktivistin
Ebrima Jammeh (* 1972), gambischer Politiker
Ebrima A. T. Jammeh (* 1985), gambischer Seyfo
Famara R. I. Jammeh, gambischer Politiker
Fatou Jammeh-Touray, gambische Politikerin
Jatta Selung Jammeh († 1928), gambischer Seyfo
Jerreba J. Jammeh, gambischer Politiker
Kebba T. Jammeh (1935–2000), gambischer Seyfo und Politiker
Lamin Kebba Jammeh (* 1963), gambischer Politiker
Lamin Queen Jammeh, gambischer Politiker
Ousman Jammeh (* 1953), gambischer Politiker
Sankung Jammeh, gambischer Politiker
Tamba Jammeh (1890–1987), gambischer Seyfo und Politiker
Yahya Jammeh (* 1965), Staatspräsident Gambias von 1996 bis 2017
Zineb Jammeh (* 1977), Ehefrau des ehemaligen Staatspräsidenten Yahya Jammeh
Einzelnachweise
Familienname
Afrikanischer Personenname
Kultur (Gambia) | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 6,922 |
{"url":"https:\/\/forum.azimuthproject.org\/plugin\/ViewComment\/16504","text":"There's a good function going the other way, \\$$f^{\\ast}: PY \\rightarrow PX\\$$, the **preimage** function, defined by\n\n$$f^{\\ast}(S \\in PY) = \\\\{x \\in X: f(x) \\in S\\\\} .$$\n\nClaim: this is right adjoint to the image function \\$$f_{\\ast}: PX \\rightarrow PY\\$$.\n\nProof: \\$$f_{\\ast}(S) \\subseteq T\\$$ means that \\$$S\\$$ maps into \\$$T\\$$, which means that \\$$S\\$$ is included in the preimage of \\$$T\\$$, i.e., \\$$S \\subseteq f^{\\ast}(T)\\$$.","date":"2019-10-15 11:10:34","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 2, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.9708235859870911, \"perplexity\": 3518.351036101432}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2019-43\/segments\/1570986658566.9\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20191015104838-20191015132338-00210.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
title: Telerik.Web.UI.RadTimePicker
page_title: Telerik.Web.UI.RadTimePicker
description: Telerik.Web.UI.RadTimePicker
---
# Telerik.Web.UI.RadTimePicker
A Telerik.Web.UI.RadDateInput control in time only mode with an integrated
Telerik.Web.UI.RadTimeView control to let users enter a time directly in the
input area or select it from the popup time view control. The values of the
two controls are synchronized to allow further change of the chosen time.
## Inheritance Hierarchy
* System.Object
* System.Web.UI.Control
* System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebControl
* Telerik.Web.UI.RadWebControl
* Telerik.Web.UI.RadDatePicker
* Telerik.Web.UI.RadDateTimePicker
* Telerik.Web.UI.RadTimePicker
## Properties
### Calendar `RadCalendar`
### DatePopupButton `CalendarPopupButton`
### SharedCalendarID `RadCalendar`
### AutoPostBack `Boolean`
Gets or sets a value indicating whether a postback to the server automatically occurs when the user interacts with the control.
#### Remarks
Setting this property to true will make RadTimePicker postback to the server
on time selection through the TimeView or the DateInput components.
### AutoPostBackControl `Boolean`
Gets or sets a value indicating whether a postback to the server automatically
occurs when the user changes the list selection.
#### Remarks
Set this to Both, TimeView or Calendar if the server needs to capture the
selection changed event.This property is effective only for RadDateTimePicker; for RadTimePicker use the AutoPostBack property.
### UseTimeSpanForBinding `Boolean`
Gets or set if TimeSpan object should be used for returning value of DbSelectedDate.
Set to True if you want DbSelectedDate to return TimeSpan object.
Set to False(the default value) if you want the DbSelectedDate to return DateTime object.
### DbSelectedDate `Object`
Gets or sets the date content of RadTimePicker in a database friendly way.
#### Remarks
This property behaves similar to SelectedDate property or to SelectedTime property,
depending on UseTimeSpanForBinding is se to true or false.
Setting a null value will internally revert the SelectedDate to the null value, i.e. the input value will be empty.
### SelectedTime `Nullable`1`
Gets or sets the time of the date in the selected date of RadTimePicker using TimeSpan object.
Use values between 00:00:00 and 23:59:59 to specify the time of the day
If you set SelectedTime to 'null' then the SelectedDate will also become 'null'.
### Skin `String`
Gets or sets the skin name for the control user interface.
#### Remarks
If this property is not set, the control will render using the skin named "Default".
If EnableEmbeddedSkins is set to false, the control will not render skin.
### ImagesPath `String`
Gets or sets default path for the grid images when EnableEmbeddedSkins is set to false.
### EnableEmbeddedSkins `String`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render links to the embedded skins or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedSkins is set to false you will have to register the needed CSS files by hand.
### EnableEmbeddedScripts `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render script references to the embedded scripts or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedScripts is set to false you will have to register the needed Scripts files by hand.
### EnableEmbeddedBaseStylesheet `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render the link to the embedded base stylesheet of the control or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedBaseStylesheet is set to false you will have to register the needed control base CSS file by hand.
### RegisterWithScriptManager `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to register with the ScriptManager control on the page.
#### Remarks
If RegisterWithScriptManager is set to false the control can be rendered on the page using Web Services or normal callback requests/page methods.
### ValidationDate `String`
This property is used by the RadDateTimeInput's internals only. It is subject to
change in the future versions. Please do not use.
### TimeView `RadTimeView`
Gets the RadTimeView instance of the datetimepicker control.
### TimePopupButton `TimePopupButton`
Gets the TimePopupButton instance of the RadDateTimeView
control.
#### Remarks
You can use the object to customize the popup button's appearance and
behavior.
### AutoPostBack `Boolean`
Gets or sets a value indicating whether a postback to the server
automatically occurs when the user interacts with the control.
#### Remarks
Setting this property to true will make RadDateTimePicker postback to the server
on date selection through the Calendar and Time popups or the DateInput
components.
### Culture `CultureInfo`
Gets or sets the culture used by RadDateTimePicker to format the date and time
value.
### AutoPostBackControl `Boolean`
Gets or sets a value indicating whether a postback to the server automatically
occurs when the user changes the list selection.
#### Remarks
Set this to Both, TimeView or Calendar if the server needs to capture the
selection changed event.This property is effective only for RadDateTimePicker; for RadTimePicker use the AutoPostBack property.
### SharedTimeViewID `RadTimeView`
Gets or sets the ID of the timeview that will be used for picking time. This
property allows you to configure several datetimepickers to use a single RadTimeView
instance.
#### Remarks
RadDateTimePicker will look for the RadTimeView instance in a way similar to how
ASP.NET validators work. It will not go beyond the current naming container which
means that you will not be able to configure a timeview that is inside a control in
another naming container. You can still share a timeview, but you will have to pass
a direct object reference via the SharedTimeView
property.
### SharedTimeView `RadTimeView`
Gets or sets the reference to the timeview that will be used for picking time.
This property allows you to configure several datetimepickers to use a single RadTimeView
instance.
#### Remarks
This property is not accessible from the VS.NET designer and you will have to
set it from the code-behind. It should be used when the shared timeview instance is
in another naming container or is created dynamically at runtime.
### LocalizationPath `DatePickerStrings`
Gets or sets a value indicating where RadDatePicker will look for its .resx localization file.
By default this file should be in the App_GlobalResources folder. However, if you cannot put
the resource file in the default location or .resx files compilation is disabled for some reason
(e.g. in a DotNetNuke environment), this property should be set to the location of the resource file.
#### Remarks
If specified, the LocalizationPath
property will allow you to load the grid localization file from any location in the
web application.
### Skin `String`
Gets or sets the skin name for the control user interface.
#### Remarks
If this property is not set, the control will render using the skin named "Default".
If EnableEmbeddedSkins is set to false, the control will not render skin.
### ImagesPath `String`
Gets or sets default path for the grid images when EnableEmbeddedSkins is set to false.
### EnableEmbeddedSkins `String`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render links to the embedded skins or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedSkins is set to false you will have to register the needed CSS files by hand.
### EnableEmbeddedScripts `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render script references to the embedded scripts or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedScripts is set to false you will have to register the needed Scripts files by hand.
### EnableEmbeddedBaseStylesheet `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render the link to the embedded base stylesheet of the control or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedBaseStylesheet is set to false you will have to register the needed control base CSS file by hand.
### RegisterWithScriptManager `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to register with the ScriptManager control on the page.
#### Remarks
If RegisterWithScriptManager is set to false the control can be rendered on the page using Web Services or normal callback requests/page methods.
### Calendar `RadCalendar`
Gets the RadCalendar instance of the datepicker control.
### DateInput `RadDateInput`
Gets the RadDateInput instance of the datepicker control.
### DatePopupButton `CalendarPopupButton`
Gets the DatePopupButton instance of the datepicker control.
You can use the object to customize the popup button's appearance and behavior.
### AutoPostBack `Boolean`
Gets or sets a value indicating whether a postback to the server automatically occurs when the user interacts with the control.
#### Remarks
Setting this property to true will make RadDatePicker postback to the server
on date selection through the Calendar or the DateInput components.
### Enabled `Boolean`
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the Web server control is enabled.
### TabIndex `Int16`
Gets or sets the tab index of the Web server control.
### HiddenInputTitleAttibute `String`
Gets or sets the title attribute for the hidden field.
### WrapperTableSummary `String`
Gets or sets summary attribute for the table which wraps the RadDatePicker controls.
#### Remarks
Setting this property to empty string will force Telerik RadDatePicker to not render summary tag.
### WrapperTableCaption `String`
Gets or sets the caption for the table which wraps the RadDatePicker controls.
#### Remarks
Setting this property to empty string will force Telerik RadDatePicker to not render caption tag.
### PopupDirection `DatePickerPopupDirection`
Gets or sets the direction in which the popup Calendar is displayed,
with relation to the DatePicker control.
### EnableScreenBoundaryDetection `Boolean`
Gets or sets whether the screen boundaries should be taken into consideration
when the Calendar or TimeView are displayed.
### ZIndex `Int32`
Gets or sets the z-index style of the control's popups
### EnableShadows `Boolean`
Gets or sets whether popup shadows will appear.
### SelectedDate `Nullable`1`
Gets or sets the date content of RadDatePicker.
### SkipMinMaxDateValidationOnServer `Boolean`
Gets or sets if the server-side min/max date validation.
### ValidationDate `String`
This property is used by the RadDateInput's internals only. It is subject to
change in the future versions. Please do not use.
### InvalidTextBoxValue `String`
Gets the invalid date string in the control's textbox
### DbSelectedDate `Nullable`1`
Gets or sets the date content of RadDatePicker in a database friendly way.
#### Remarks
This property behaves exactly like the SelectedDate property. The only difference
is that it will not throw an exception if the new value is null or DBNull. Setting a
null value will internally revert the SelectedDate to the null value, i.e. the input value will be empty.
### IsEmpty `Boolean`
Used to determine if RadDatePicker is empty.
### EnableTyping `Boolean`
Enables or disables typing in the date input box.
### ShowPopupOnFocus `Boolean`
Gets or sets whether the popup control (Calendar or TimeView) is displayed when the DateInput textbox is focused.
### MinDate `DateTime`
Gets or sets the minimal range date for selection.
Selecting a date earlier than that will not be allowed.
#### Remarks
This property has a default value of 1/1/1980
### MaxDate `DateTime`
Gets or sets the latest valid date for selection.
Selecting a date later than that will not be allowed.
#### Remarks
This property has a default value of 12/31/2099
### Culture `CultureInfo`
Gets or sets the culture used by RadDatePicker to format the date.
### SharedCalendarID `RadCalendar`
Gets or sets the ID of the calendar that will be used for picking dates. This
property allows you to configure several datepickers to use a single RadCalendar
instance.
#### Remarks
RadDatePicker will look for the RadCalendar instance in a way similar to how
ASP.NET validators work. It will not go beyond the current naming container which
means that you will not be able to configure a calendar that is inside a control in
another naming container. You can still share a calendar, but you will have to pass
a direct object reference via the SharedCalendar
property.
### SharedCalendar `RadCalendar`
Gets or sets the reference to the calendar that will be used for picking dates.
This property allows you to configure several datepickers to use a single RadCalendar
instance.
#### Remarks
This property is not accessible from the VS.NET designer and you will have to
set it from the code-behind. It should be used when the shared calendar instance is
in another naming container or is created dynamically at runtime.
### FocusedDate `DateTime`
Gets or sets the date that the
Calendar uses for
focusing itself whenever the
RadDateInput component of
the RadDatePicker is
empty.
### RenderMode `RenderMode`
Sets the render mode of the RadDatePicker and its child controls
### Width `Unit`
Gets or sets the width of the datepicker in pixels.
### ShowAnimation `CalendarAnimationSettings`
Gets the settings associated with showing the its popup controls.
### HideAnimation `CalendarAnimationSettings`
Gets the settings associated with hiding the its popup controls.
### EnableAriaSupport `Boolean`
When set to true enables support for WAI-ARIA
### ClientEvents `DatePickerClientEvents`
Gets or sets an instance of
DatePickerClientEvents
class which defines the JavaScript functions (client-side event handlers) that are
invoked when specific client-side events are raised.
### Overlay `Boolean`
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the picker will create an overlay element to ensure popups are over a flash element or Java applet.
### RegisterWithScriptManager `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to register with the ScriptManager control on the page.
#### Remarks
If RegisterWithScriptManager is set to false the control can be rendered on the page using Web Services or normal callback requests/page methods.
### Skin `String`
Gets or sets the skin name for the control user interface.
#### Remarks
If this property is not set, the control will render using the skin named "Default".
If EnableEmbeddedSkins is set to false, the control will not render skin.
### IsSkinSet `String`
For internal use.
### EnableEmbeddedScripts `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render script references to the embedded scripts or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedScripts is set to false you will have to register the needed Scripts files by hand.
### EnableEmbeddedSkins `String`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render links to the embedded skins or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedSkins is set to false you will have to register the needed CSS files by hand.
### EnableEmbeddedBaseStylesheet `Boolean`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render the link to the embedded base stylesheet of the control or not.
#### Remarks
If EnableEmbeddedBaseStylesheet is set to false you will have to register the needed control base CSS file by hand.
### RuntimeSkin `String`
Gets the real skin name for the control user interface. If Skin is not set, returns
"Default", otherwise returns Skin.
### EnableAjaxSkinRendering `String`
Gets or sets the value, indicating whether to render the skin CSS files during Ajax requests
#### Remarks
If EnableAjaxSkinRendering is set to false you will have to register the needed control base CSS file by hand when adding/showing the control with Ajax.
### ClientStateFieldID `String`
### RenderMode `RenderMode`
Specifies the rendering mode of the control. Setting the mode to Lightweight will yield
HTML 5/CSS 3 html and css.
#### Remarks
Lightweight rendering mode might change the outlook of the component in some older browsers
that don't support CSS3/HTML5.
### ResolvedRenderMode `RenderMode`
Returns resolved RenderMode should the original value was Auto
### CssClassFormatString `String`
The CssClass property will now be used instead of the former Skin
and will be modified in AddAttributesToRender()
### ClientIDMode `ClientIDMode`
This property is overridden in order to support controls which implement INamingContainer.
The default value is changed to "AutoID".
### ScriptManager `ScriptManager`
### RadScriptManager `ScriptManager`
## Methods
### ConfigureCalendar
Override this method to provide any last minute configuration changes. Make sure you call the base implementation.
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### ConfigureDateInput
Override this method to provide any last minute configuration changes. Make sure you call the base implementation.
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### ConfigureDateInput
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### Focus
Sets input focus to a control.
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### Clear
Clears the selected date of the RadDatePicker control and displays a blank date.
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### System.Web.UI.IPostBackDataHandler.LoadPostData
#### Returns
`System.Boolean`
### AddAttributesToRender
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### OnPreRender
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### ControlPreRender
Code moved into this method from OnPreRender to make sure it executed when the framework skips OnPreRender() for some reason
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### RegisterScriptControl
Registers the control with the ScriptManager
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### RegisterCssReferences
Registers the CSS references
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### LoadClientState
Loads the client state data
#### Parameters
#### clientState `System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary{System.String,System.Object}`
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### SaveClientState
Saves the client state data
#### Returns
`System.String`
### RenderClientStateField
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### RenderBeginTag
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### RenderEndTag
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### Render
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### RenderScriptsNoScriptManager
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### RenderDescriptorsNoScriptManager
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### RenderContents
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### ApplyConditionalRendering
Use this from RenderContents of the inheritor
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### DescribeComponent
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### DescribeProperty
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### DescribeIDReferenceProperty
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### DescribeEvent
#### Returns
`System.Void`
### GetEmbeddedSkinNames
Returns the names of all embedded skins. Used by Telerik.Web.Examples.
#### Returns
`System.Collections.Generic.List`1`
### LoadPostData
Executed when post data is loaded from the request
#### Parameters
#### postDataKey `System.String`
#### postCollection `System.Collections.Specialized.NameValueCollection`
#### Returns
`System.Boolean`
### RaisePostDataChangedEvent
Executed when post data changes should invoke a changed event
#### Returns
`System.Void`
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 4,694 |
Rona Noise Range
Tail of the Bank
Achnacarry House
Arrochar ROC Post
RAF Machrihanish
Scottish Outdoor Education Centres
Dounans Centre
Dounans Centre is one of a number of Scottish Outdoor Education Centres (SOEC), and is located just to the northeast of Aberfoyle, in the Trossachs.
The centres were built built during the period from 1939 to 1940, and as a result were used to house evacuees from the cities during World War II. In addition to large numbers of Scottish children, the centres had substantial groups from the continent � notably from the Netherlands. At Dounans there is a plaque from these Dutch evacuees to thank the people of Scotland for the kindness shown to them over the war years. centre can be seen in aerial photographs of the area, taken by the RAF during 1948.
Refurbishment of Dounans took place between 1986 and 1987, when the old open dormitory buildings, which used to accommodate 48 children and their teachers, were split into units of 12, each being provided with its own entrance, showers, and toilets.
SOEC has operational centres at Belmont (Meigle, Perthshire), Broomlee (West Linton, Edinburgh), Loaningdale (Biggar, Lanarkshire), with a non-operational site at Glengonnar (Abington, South Lanarkshire, on the banks of the Clyde), pending development.
SOEC Brochure
Dounans map
Categories: Feature
Page last modified on Friday, 24 July 2009, at 00:50 | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 1,149 |
Q: Spring Web Flow request mappings I am adding Spring Web Flow 2 to a very large existing web application that does not currently use Spring MVC or Web Flow. My task is to have the Web Flow triggered by going to mySite.com/flows, and I am having difficulties. My approach was to set up the DispatcherServlet with mapping of /flows/* and map Web Flow to /flows. Here is my web.xml where the DispatcherServlet is configured:
<servlet>
<servlet-name>flow</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet</servlet-class>
<init-param>
<param-name>contextConfigLocation</param-name>
<param-value>/WEB-INF/spring/flowContext.xml</param-value>
</init-param>
<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>flow</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/flows/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
I have tried several methods to get the Web Flow to map to /flows. My first try was to use a flow-registry with base-path setting:
<webflow:flow-registry id="flowRegistry" flow-builder-services="flowBuilderServices" base-path="/WEB-INF/app/flows">
<webflow:flow-location-pattern value="**/*-flow.xml" />
</webflow:flow-registry>
My understanding is that this will take the folder structure inside of the /WEB-INF/app/flows to create the request mapping. My first test was to add my flow, booking-flow.xml inside a subfolder called booking (/WEB-INF/app/flows/booking). And, great! - it worked as expected. I was able to access the flow from mySite.com/flows/booking. OK, but I don't want /booking in the URL, so I moved the booking-flow.xml out of the booking folder, and straight into WEB-INF/app/flows and expected that to work for me, but it did not - I don't think the flow mapped at all.
Does anyone know how I can map a flow to the root of the DispatcherServlet mapping, or is there a better way to approach this? I don't want the DispatcherServlet to handle any requests outside of /flows in my application. Is it just me, or is there very little documentation available on Spring Web Flow?
Thanks!
A: You can use SimpleUrlHandlerMapping this way to map your flow to mySite.com/flows
<bean class="org.springframework.web.servlet.handler.SimpleUrlHandlerMapping">
<property name="mappings" value="flows=flowController" />
</bean>
<bean id="flowController" class="org.springframework.webflow.mvc.servlet.FlowController">
<property name="flowExecutor" ref="flowExecutor" />
</bean>
<webflow:flow-executor id="flowExecutor" flow-registry="flowRegistry">
</webflow:flow-executor>
<webflow:flow-registry id="flowRegistry" flow-builder-services="flowBuilderServices" base-path="/WEB-INF/app/flows">
<webflow:flow-location path="booking-flow.xml" id="flows"/>
</webflow:flow-registry>
A: Another way could be like this
<!-- Registry of executable flows -->
<flow:flow-registry flow-builder-services="flowBuilderServices"
id="flowRegistry" base-path="/WEB-INF/flows/">
<flow:flow-location id="hello" path="hello-flow.xml" />
<flow:flow-location path="start-flow.xml" id="main" />
</flow:flow-registry>
invoke flows using the id's like hello.htm or hello.html depending upon the url mapping.first view state in the respective file will be loaded.
A: As per your current file structure setup you can either do
<webflow:flow-registry id="flowRegistry" flow-builder-services="flowBuilderServices" base-path="/WEB-INF/app/flows">
<webflow:flow-location path="booking-flow.xml" id="flows"/>
</webflow:flow-registry>
i.e you give id explicitly in which case URL applicable would be - mySite.com/flows
OR
you can remove flows from base context -
<webflow:flow-registry id="flowRegistry" flow-builder-services="flowBuilderServices" base-path="/WEB-INF/app">
<webflow:flow-location-pattern value="**/*-flow.xml" />
</webflow:flow-registry>
and out your file in /WEB-INF/app/flows/booking-flow.xml. This will automatically generate id corresponding to path between base path and your file name - which will be flows and again URL applicable will be mySite.com/flows
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 4,371 |
PCGamesN
Strategy Gamer
Network-N
AMD accused of delaying Ryzen 9 3950X due to "unsatisfactory clock speeds"
AMD may have delayed its Ryzen 9 3950X due to "unsatisfactory clock speeds," sources close to the matter claim. The company confirmed the delay to its highest clocked, 16-core CPU late last week, reportedly due to "focusing on meeting the strong demand" for Ryzen 3000 chips already in the market, but there may be more to this tale than meets the eye.
Announced back at E3 2019 to make a big splash on stage, the 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 3950X was initially set to sit at the very tippy top of the client desktop Ryzen lineup from September. Built upon the 7nm process from TSMC and utilising the Zen 2 architecture, this processor is intended to stick it to Intel's high-end chips, and offer a slightly pared back alternative to the HEDT Threadripper CPUs expected on the same process and architecture later this year.
But following a delay last week from AMD, it is no longer expected until November – alongside Threadripper. AMD's press release implies this delay is due to "strong demand" for Ryzen 3000 chips – which we don't doubt is a contributing factor – but sources close to the matter speaking with DigiTimes (paywall, via SeekingAlpha) reportedly claim it's also due to unsatisfactory clock speeds from the full stack of CCX chips required by this monster processor.
Each Ryzen 3000 processor comes in discrete chips. One cIOD from GlobalFoundries' 12nm fab for the I/O, and one or two CCXs from TSMC's 7nm fab. The Ryzen 9 3950X, with a total core count of 16, requires twin CCXs in complete working order – and capable of reaching 4.7GHz max boost clock.
AMD confirmed it was binning every CCX heading to its top chip earlier in the year to reach the speeds necessary for its most core- and speed-happy chip. If the rumours are true, this could be where the issue stems for Ryzen 9 3950X production: TSMC isn't pumping out enough full CCXs capable of hitting the required speeds.
Almost all of the Ryzen and Radeon stack will soon be on the 7nm process from TSMC, which has led to questions of supply, especially in the face of extended lead times from the pure-play fab.
AMD's chips are also some of the best performing around, most of all when it comes to bang for your buck, and the heady demand from consumers means the red team has to produce swathes of chips every month to keep stock in check.
There's also the question of max boost clocks that the company has been dealing with ever since Ryzen 3000's July 7 launch. While soon to be sorted across the board with AGESA updates, AMD may have been reticent to launch its fastest chip while the debate raged on regarding achievable boost clocks.
High demand, along with binning chips for the absolute limits of performance, could be causing a headache for AMD and its Ryzen 9 production. However, these are unsubstantiated rumours, and we're only privy to the official word from AMD – that it is focusing on Ryzen 3000 production. So take the word of these sources with a heavy dose of sodium.
Get involved in the conversation by heading over to our Facebook and Instagram pages. To stay up to date with the latest PC gaming guides, news, and reviews, follow PCGamesN on Twitter and Steam News Hub.
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Jacob Ridley Hardware Editor
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 7,341 |
Home/Business/Indian Govt wants 2 years Loan moratorium
Indian Govt wants 2 years Loan moratorium
Admin September 6, 2020 Business 3 Views
NEW DELHI : The moratorium for repayment of loans can be extended by up to two years, according to a 6 August circular by the Reserve Bank of India, solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
"We are in the process of identifying the distressed sectors to vary benefits according to the impact of the hit they have taken," Mehta said, representing the Centre.
The central government also apprised the bench that it has filed an affidavit stating that the National Disaster Management Authority has taken cognizance of the issues and sent its 'Views and Recommendations' to RBI.
The affidavit also states that "ex post facto change in the terms and conditions of the offer of moratorium favouring those who availed of it over those who made the extra effort of repaying as per schedule would be grossly inequitable and patently unfair for those who did not avail of the benefits of moratorium initially or gave it up subsequently."
The loans include all kinds of retail products, such as vehicle, home, personal loans, agricultural, and crop loans. The central bank clarified that credit card dues will also be eligible for the moratorium.
During moratorium the customer does not have to pay EMIs and no penal interest is charged. It is not a concession, but a deferment of payment to provide some relief to borrowers facing liquidity issues.
On 26 August, the apex court had lashed out at the Centre for not filing an affidavit in time with respect to its powers to waive interest entirely, or the interest accrued during the moratorium. The Centre had to clarify its position under DMA.
Representatives of the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and banks should hold a meeting to come up with a proper solution, Mehta told the court. "Senior advocate Harish Salve has also spoken to associations of bankers and most issues have been resolved," Mehta said.
The bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said: "We are hearing this for the past three dates of hearing. The country is going through a problem. We will hear this issue tomorrow at 10:30 am."
The court will take up a bunch of petitions on Wednesday demanding waiver of interest, or waiver of interest on interest on the suspended EMIs during the moratorium period.
On 22 May, RBI had extended the moratorium on term loans till 31 August following the lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus. Banks and other financial institutions are permitted to provide a moratorium of three months for all term loan instalments that were due between 1 March and 31 May, according to the 27 March RBI circular.
Petitioner Gajendra Sharma had challenged the accrual of interest and argued that no interest should be charged during the moratorium because people were facing "extreme hardships" and payment of additional interest on top of regular EMIs would add to their woes.
Stay Implementation of Farm Laws or We Will: CJI Bobde to…
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
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Q: Can we use static type variables in web application, which will be used by many users at the same time? private static List<string> _Process;
public List<string> Process
{
get { return _Process; }
set { _Process = value; }
}
private static string _IDsCombination;
public string IDsCombination
{
get { return _IDsCombination; }
set { _IDsCombination = value; }
}
private static int _QCID;
public int QCID
{
get { return _QCID; }
set { _QCID = value; }
}
As above, i have created some static variables, does they share the same memory for all the users.
A: Short answer: most likely yes.
Long answer:
Static members are shared across the application domain.
If you are running your website in just one web application, on a single server, then yes. This is common for small web applications.
However, if you are running on multiple servers/web applications (say in a web farm), then they are not shared between those (just like inProc session is not shared). If you are running in this kind of environment, then you need to look at other solutions like saving it in a database or a cache server.
Also, if you plan to do this, you should make accesses thread safe. See: Multithreading (MSDN). In this particular example, you might want to use a ReaderWriterLock or a Mutex
A: Yes
Because Codes run on the server and it's share between All Users
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 9,808 |
If you're not participating in this week's test of the ICD-10 coding change, you'll get a second chance soon.
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it would add a second week of acknowledgement testing for physicians and others who submit Medicare claims. It also provided more details about end-to-end testing with Medicare.
The announcement came in the form of an article revision(cms.gov) on the Medicare Learning Network (MLN). According to the revision, CMS plans to offer a second week of acknowledgement testing in early May 2014.
• Accurate RAs are produced.
CMS will select more than 500 volunteer submitters for the project, choosing a broad cross-section of providers, suppliers, and other submitters and claims types. CMS will provide information on volunteering later this month and disseminate additional details about the test in a separate MLN Matters article. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 7,422 |
\section{Introduction}
Magnetosphere is a region surrounding a magnetized body, where
magnetic effects dominate the motion of electrically charged
particles. Astrophysical black holes are electrically neutral and do
not support their own magnetic field, nevertheless, they can be
endowed by a magnetosphere when
embedded in an external magnetic field that is generated by distant
currents. Unlike planetary magnetospheres, black holes bring new
quality by influencing the structure of electromagnetic fields directly
by their strong gravity \citep{bbr84,p08}.
Near a rotating black hole, shearing motions are very intense, and
capable of bending and folding magnetic lines frozen into plasma.
This process is known to create conditions suitable for magnetic
reconnection \citep{ka08}. But here we conceive a different setting:
a magnetically dominated region, where large-scale magnetic
fields get distorted by purely gravitational effects caused by
proximity of the black hole. As a result of such an interaction,
a complicated structure arises of narrow magnetic layers and
associated neutral points \citep{kk09}. Reconnection can then
occur when some amount of plasma is brought in the region,
e.g.\ by the vacuum breakdown and the resulting production
of electron-positron pairs.
Recently, \citet{l11} investigated the role of motion of a Schwarzschild
black hole through an ordered magnetic field. The linear velocity
component leads to conditions permitting
the energy extraction by an induced electrical field in the
direction parallel to the magnetic lines. The released energy
is eventually emitted in the form of an electromagnetic
signal. However, the motion of a magnetized non-rotating
black hole does not seem to produce magnetic neutral points.
The formation of such a magnetic topology is an important aspect
in the context of magnetic reconnection, which typically
takes place where topologically distinct regions approach each other
and the magnetic field lines change their connectivity \citep[e.g.,][]{pf00}.
Various processes can lead to the magnetic topology exhibiting
null points, in particular, these can emerge by complex motions
of the plasma. In this respect the black hole rotation
brings a new situation, as magnetic field lines become twisted in a
highly curved spacetime of a rotating black hole, approximately
where the ergosphere forms. This is caused by
gravito-magnetic interaction of general relativity \citep{i85}. Here, we
examine the resulting structure of the magnetic field, namely, the
emergence of critical points in a local frame of a physical observer,
resembling the occurrence of X-points, which were studied, e.g.\
recently in the context of special-relativistic reconnection \citep{ko11}.
In the previous paper \citep{kk09}, we considered a special case
of a uniform magnetic field in perpendicular orientation with respect
to the black hole spin axis, and we demonstrated that magnetic
null points can indeed form near a rotating (Kerr) black hole.
Here, we identify precise location of the null points and we plot
their radial position as a function of spin. The null point emerges, typically,
for $a\gtrsim 0.2$ and it moves gradually away from the horizon until
it crosses the boundary of the ergosphere from an almost extremely rotating
black hole. Furthermore, in this paper the embedded magnetic field is allowed a
general orientation, i.e., it can be inclined in an arbitrary angle with respect
to the rotation axis. Therefore, axial symmetry is broken between the
gravitational and electromagnetic fields, and this has to result in a truly
three-dimensional structure of magnetic field lines along with
gravito-magnetically induced electric field
\citep[see][for a recent review]{rieger11}. In fact it was not obvious whether
the magnetic nulls exist in the oblique case or whether their occurrence is an
artifact of special (perpendicular) orientation of the magnetic field.
The adopted approach allows us to identify the gravitational effects operating in
a magnetically dominated system, where a super-equipartition magnetic field
governs the motion of plasma. We indeed find the null points also in a
fully three-dimensional case of an inclined magnetic field.
\section{Aligned and oblique magnetic fields near black hole horizon}
Astrophysical black holes do not support their own intrinsic
magnetic field; this has to be generated by external currents and
brought down to horizon by accretion. An active role of accretion
on transporting large-scale magnetic fields toward horizon has been
recognized \citep{bl07,rl08}. A black hole can also
enter a pre-existing magnetic flux tube, and then one asks if the
process of magnetic reconnection is influenced by strong gravitational
field near horizon. And does the black hole rotation play a significant
role in the scenario of this kind?
As we wish to discuss magnetic fields inclined with respect to
the spin axis, and we also want to include the fast
translatory motion, the following picture appears to be appropriate:
Kerr black hole traversing a ``magnetic filament'', described as an
extended
(largely one-dimensional) flux tube. Such an idea can be motivated
observationally, by highly ordered and elongated arcs (of
about $100\mu$G) that are seen in Galactic Center,
within a few parsecs from Sagittarius
A* compact radio source \citep[Sgr~A*;][]{ym84}. They are thought to represent
large-scale magnetic flux tubes that are illuminated by
synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons \citep{ln04,m06,f10}.
Given a limited resolution that can be achieved with current
imaging techniques, the magnetic filaments cannot be traced down to the
characteristic size of the black hole.\footnote{Gravitational radius
$r_{\rm{g}}=GM/c^2\approx1.48\times10^{13}\,M_8$~cm, where the central
black hole mass is expressed in terms of $M_8{\equiv}M/(10^8M_{\odot})$.
The velocity of the Keplerian orbital motion of a particle
is then $v_{_{\rm{}K}}\approx2.1\times10^{10}
(r/r_{\rm{}g})^{-1/2}{\rm{cm\;s}}^{-1}$. The corresponding orbital
period is $T_{_{\rm{}K}}\approx3.1\times10^3(r/r_{\rm{}g})^{3/2}M_8$~s.
Hereafter, we use a dimensionless form of geometrized units,
where all quantities are scaled with the black hole mass;
$M$ does not appear in the equations explicitly.} Therefore,
the actual mapping of the magnetic structures near black holes
is not directly possible (this may change with new interferometrical
techniques in near future). The role of magnetic structures in accelerating the
particles is suggestive, especially because they could help us
to understand the origin of particle acceleration and the resulting
signatures in the electromagnetic signal.
Naturally, in astrophysically
realistic solutions the role of non-ideal plasma will need be included. Currently,
neither of the frequently discussed limits (i.e., vacuum vs.\ force-free
approximations) are able to account for both the plasma currents
as well as the accelerating electric fields. This task will require
resistive MHD, which is, however, beyond the scope of this brief
paper.
\begin{figure}[tbh!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.32\textwidth]{fig1a.eps
\hfill
\includegraphics[width=0.32\textwidth]{fig1b.eps
\hfill
\includegraphics[scale=0.32, clip, trim= 50mm 5mm 50mm 15mmh]{fig1c.eps
\caption{Asymptotically uniform magnetic field aligned with
rotation axis of the black hole in vacuum. Tetrad components
are plotted with respect to frame of free-falling observers in stereometric
projection. Left: magnetic lines near a non-rotating black hole appear to
be perfectly homogeneous (in these suitably defined coordinates).
Middle: magnetic field aligned with the rotation axis of an maximally
rotating ($a=1$) Kerr black hole, when they are expelled out of
the horizon. Right: electric lines corresponding to
the magnetic field shown in the middle panel. A toroidal component is
induced by the gravito-magnetic action of the rotating black hole
\citep[see][for more details]{k11}.}
\label{fig1}
\end{figure}
\subsection{The effect of black hole rotation and translatory motion}
Starting from \citet{kl75} and \citet{bd76}, the organised
electromagnetic test fields surrounding
black holes have been discussed and their astrophysical consequences
considered in various papers. The case of oblique
geometry, however, has been explored only partially \citep{bj80}.
This is caused especially by the fact that the off-equatorial fields
are lacking any symmetry, and so are more difficult to visualise.
Also, qualitatively new effects on the field
structure were not expected.
Nevertheless, in \citet{kk09} we were
able to demonstrate that the asymptotically perpendicular field
lines develop a magnetic neutral point in the equatorial plane.
This is interesting because such structures of the magnetic field
are relevant for processes of electromagnetic acceleration.
The magnetic null point emerges in a local
physical frame, and could trigger reconnection.
However, the asymptotically perpendicular field is a rather
exceptional case. Therefore, here we investigate near-horizon
magnetic structures in more detail, also for a general
orientation of the magnetic field.
The main objective of this discussion is to track the location of
magnetic null points and to explore a complex three-dimensional
configuration inside the ergosphere. We consider the form of magnetic
lines together with the induced electric lines for different
values of the model parameters: the inclination angle of the asymptotic
magnetic field $\theta_{\rm{}o}$ ($=\arctan(B_{\perp}/B_{\parallel}$),
the black hole spin $a$ ($a^2\leq M$), and the boost velocity $\beta$
($\beta^2\equiv v_x^2+v_y^2+v_z^2<1$). We observe the layers of
alternating magnetic orientation to occur also in the general case, i.e.,
when the black hole rotates and moves with respect to an oblique
magnetic field. However, the three-dimensional structure of the field
lines is very complicated as they become highly entangled around the
null point.
\begin{figure}[tbh!]
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.36, clip,trim=30mm 5mm 65mm 5mm]{fig2a.eps
\hfill
\includegraphics[scale=0.36, clip,trim=30mm 5mm 65mm 5mm]{fig2b.eps
\hfill
\includegraphics[scale=0.36, clip,trim=30mm 5mm 65mm 5mm]{fig2c.eps
\caption{The effect of black hole motion on magnetic lines from the previous
figure. The case of extreme spin, $a=1$, with a gradually growing velocity of the
translatory boost along $x$-direction: $v_x=0.1$ (left), $v_x=0.3$ (middle),
and $v_x=0.7$ (right).}
\label{fig2}
\end{figure}
We specify the gravitational field by Kerr metric \citep{mtw73}.
Our starting form of the
electromagnetic field is a stationary solution of Maxwell's test-field
electro-vacuum equations in the given curved spacetime.\footnote{These are
astrophysically acceptable approximations which reflect the fact that
black holes can only acquire a negligibly small electric charge, while
cosmic electromagnetic fields are not strong enough to influence the
spacetime metric significantly.} The electromagnetic four-potential $\bm{A}$
can be then written as superposition of two contributions:
$\bm{A}=B_{\parallel}\,\bm{a}_{\parallel}+B_{\perp}\,\bm{a}_{\perp}$,
where $B_{\parallel}$ and $B_{\perp}$ define the magnitudes of the two
parts.
The aligned field has two non-vanishing components of the normalized
electromagnetic four-potential,
\begin{eqnarray}
a_{t\parallel} &=& B_{\parallel}a\Big[r\Sigma^{-1}\left(1+\mu^2\right) -1\Big], \label{mf1}\\
a_{\phi\parallel} &=& B_{\parallel}\Big[{\textstyle\frac{1}{2}}\big(r^2+a^2\big)
-a^2r\Sigma^{-1}\big(1+\mu^2\big)\Big] \sigma^2 \label{mf2},
\end{eqnarray}
where we use Boyer-Lindquist $t$, $r$, $\theta$, and $\phi$
dimension-less spheroidal coordinates ($\mu=\cos\theta$, $\sigma=\sin\theta$).
Eqs.\ (\ref{mf1})--(\ref{mf2}) represent an asymptotically homogeneous
magnetic field \citep{w74}.
On the other hand, the perpendicular to axis component of the field is
given by \citep{bj80}
\begin{eqnarray}
a_{t\perp} &=& B_{\perp}a\Sigma^{-1}\Psi\sigma\mu, \label{mf3} \\
a_{r\perp} &=& -B_{\perp}(r-1)\sigma\mu\sin\psi, \\
a_{\theta\perp} &=& -B_{\perp}\Big[\big(r\sigma^2+\mu^2\big) a\cos\psi
+ \Big(r^2\mu^2+\big(a^2-r\big)(\mu^2-\sigma^2)\Big) \sin\psi\Big], \\
a_{\phi\perp} &=& -B_{\perp}\Big[\Delta\cos\psi+\big(r^2+a^2\big)
\Sigma^{-1}\Psi\Big] \sigma\mu, \label{mf4}
\end{eqnarray}
with $\Sigma(r,\mu)$ and $\Delta(r)$ being the Kerr metric functions,
$\psi\equiv\phi+a\delta^{-1}\ln\left[\left(r-r_+\right)/\left(r-r_-\right)\right]$,
$\Psi=r\cos\psi-a\sin\psi$, $\delta=r_+-r_-$, and $r_{\pm}=1\pm\sqrt{1-a^2}$.
Knowing the complete set of four-potential components the magnetic field structure
is fully determined: $F_{\mu\nu}\equiv A_{[\mu,\nu]}$.
\begin{figure}[tbh!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.49\textwidth]{fig3a.eps
\hfill
\includegraphics[width=0.49\textwidth]{fig3b.eps
\caption{Perpendicular magnetic field in the equatorial plane
$(x,y)\equiv(r\cos\phi,r\sin\phi)$, i.e., viewed along the rotation
axis of an extreme ($a=1$) black hole. While the field is steady and
uniform far from the black hole, its structure becomes highly
entangled near horizon. Left panel: the neighborhood of the
magnetic null point, which reveals itself clearly in the upper part of
the plot. The black circular section in the bottom left corner denotes
the horizon, $r=r_+(a)$. Right panel: the layered
structure of the magnetic field close above the horizon is revealed
by using the radial coordinate $\xi(r)\leq0.6$ (i.e., $r_+< r\leq2.5GM/c^2$;
$r=r_+$ collapses to the center of the plot). The magnetic
null is now exhibited in the lower part of the plot.
The colour scale indicates the magnetic intensity (in arbitrary
units), ranging from vanishingly small values (red) across the moderate
(yellow) to the maximum (white).}
\label{fig3}
\end{figure}
Equations (\ref{mf3})--(\ref{mf4}) describe the field lacking the axial
symmetry. Such a situation cannot be strictly stationary, however,
the alignment time-scale is very long, and so we can neglect the
associated energy losses here \citep{kl03}. The field line structure
depends also on the motion of observers determining the field
components. In order to construct and discuss our plots,
we employ a free-falling physical frame, evaluate the
electromagnetic tensor with respect to the local frame, and use
these components to draw the field lines.
\begin{figure}[tbh!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.37\textwidth]{fig4a.eps
\hfill
\includegraphics[width=0.25\textwidth]{fig4b.eps
\hfill
\includegraphics[width=0.36\textwidth]{fig4c.eps
\caption{Left panel: magnetic field asymptotically perpendicular to the
rotation axis ($z$) of an $a=1$ black hole, centered on the origin.
Clearly seen is the effect of dragging by rotation of the black hole.
Middle: side-view projection of the equatorial ($z=0$) plane in which
magnetic field lines (blue) reside, while the induced electric lines (red) are
rising out of the plane. Outside the equatorial plane, also the magnetic field
acquires some non-zero vertical component allowing the particle acceleration.
Right: a three-dimensional detail around the equatorial plane reveals a
magnetic null point. Again, the electric lines are shown to pass through
the null point in the vertical direction.}
\label{fig4}
\end{figure}
In absence of perpendicular
component ($B_{\perp}=0$), the field is relatively uncomplicated
(see figure \ref{fig1}). Although the frame-dragging acts also on the
aligned field lines, their shape can be integrated to find the
surfaces of constant magnetic flux in a closed (analytical) form.
Previously, the aligned fields were explored especially in context
of magnetic field expulsion from a maximally rotating black hole
\citep[and how this is changed when a conducting medium surrounds
the black hole; cf.][]{km07}. In our notation, the example in Fig.\ \ref{fig1}
refers to zero velocity of the translatory boost, i.e.\ $\beta=0$.
Once we include a nonzero boost velocity,
the structure of the aligned field becomes more complicated
(figure \ref{fig2}). This is mainly due to an interplay
between the boost of the black hole and its rotation acting jointly
on the (originally) aligned field. As $\beta$ increases, the magnetic
lines are progressively puffed out of horizon and wound around it
(see \citeauthor{k11} \citeyear{k11}, for more examples and details).
\subsection{Neutral points of the magnetic field}
Let us now explore the case of magnetic field with a non-vanishing
component inclined with respect to rotation axis ($B_{\perp}\neq0$).
In fact, \citet{kk09} explored a strictly perpendicular case.
Confining the magnetic lines in the equatorial plane
$\theta=\pi/2$, the nested structure of magnetic layers
emerges. These are essential for the magnetic
reconnection.
Near-horizon structure of magnetic lines is visualized in
figure~\ref{fig3} by using the Line-Integral-Convolution
(LIC) method in Matlab. This technique allows us to identify
clearly the location of neutral points. It turns out to be
particularly useful here with the general orientation of
the asymptotic field direction, as the global solution for the field
lines is too cumbersome. Further,
by introducing $\xi(r;a)\equiv1-r_+(a)/r$ as a new radial coordinate,
the horizon surface $r=r_+$ collapses into the center and the
layered structure of magnetic sheets is seen in more detail.
\begin{figure}[tbh!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.75\textwidth]{fig5.eps
\caption{Position in the equatorial plane of the magnetic null point
corresponding to a magnetic field asymptotically perpendicular with respect to
rotation axis. Fast translatory motion and fast rotation are both important
for the emergence of null points.
Several curves are shown as a function of the black hole spin $a$
for different velocity $v_y$ (i.e., in the direction along $y$-axis),
which is set in the direction perpendicular with respect to the rotation axis,
as well as perpendicularly to the asymptotic uniform magnetic field.}
\label{fig5}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[tbh!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.49\textwidth]{fig6a.eps
\hfill
\includegraphics[width=0.435\textwidth]{fig6b.eps
\caption{Position of the magnetic null points which emerge in the equatorial plane
as the spin and the drift velocity are gradually increased. Different markers indicate the
magnitude of translation velocity as specified in the inset (only $v_y$ component of the velocity
in the equatorial plane is assumed to be non-zero). Left panel: Given the velocity, null points form
separate traces of a gradually increasing spin $a$: outer endpoints correspond
to the extreme spin $a=1$; the spin decreases monotonically along each track as one
approaches the horizon (denoted by the black circle). Right panel: The same as on the left side,
but now plotted with respect to the rescaled polar radial coordinate $\xi$. This helps us to resolve
more clearly the narrow region just above the horizon (in the origin of the graph). The outer
circle indicates the equatorial radius of the ergosphere of the extreme spin black hole.}
\label{fig6}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[tbh!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{fig7a
\hfill
\includegraphics[width=0.53\textwidth]{fig7b
\caption{Structure of the oblique magnetic field near the null point (depicted by the red marker).
The null point occurs near above the horizon. Here we consider the extremal black hole
with a rapid drift velocity ($v_x=v_y=0.7$, $v_z=0$) and the background of an inclined
magnetic field ($B_{x}>0$, $B_{x}=B_{z}$). Two different views of the same system are
shown.}
\label{fig7}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[tbh!]
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.85,clip]{fig8
\caption{The position of null points in a general case, plotted with respect to the mutual
orientation of the black hole's drift velocity and the asymptotic magnetic field. The velocity
components are
indicated in the inset; from top to the bottom, the first three cases are for the oblique field
($B_{x}>0$, $B_{x}=B_{z}$), while the remaining two examples show the aligned field
($B_{z}>0$, $B_{x}=0$) for comparison. In the latter case the tracks of null points form
pairs that are positioned symmetrically with respect to the equatorial ($z=0$) plane.
The outer end of each track corresponds to the extreme spin, $a=1$. The spin decreases
monotonically along each series of points towards the horizon. The rescaled radial coordinate
has been employed, so the horizon corresponds to a single point in the origin of coordinates
(depicted by the red dot).}
\label{fig8}
\end{figure}
A fully three-dimensional structure of magnetic lines
develops outside the equatorial plane. In figure~\ref{fig4}
we observe a superposition of two essential effects. Firstly,
the X-type structure of the magnetic null point persists also
outside the equatorial plane. Secondly,
however, the magnetic lines acquire a growing vertical
component $B_z$ $(=B_\parallel)$, whereas the
electric field passes through the magnetic null point and
crosses the equatorial plane vertically. Such a structure
suggests that particles can be accelerated by the non-vanishing
electric field, and they can stream away from the neutral point.
It is interesting to investigate the location of magnetic null points as a function of
the black hole spin $a$ and velocity $v$ of the translatory motion. This question is
especially relevant in the context of the electromagnetic acceleration mechanisms of
particles in the vicinity of rapidly rotating black holes (position of the magnetic null
point recedes from the horizon as the spin $a$ increases). We would like to identify the site of
magnetic reconnection and ask whether it is located outside the ergosphere or
inside it, depending on the black hole spin. The result is
shown in figure~\ref{fig5}, where we plot the radial distance of the magnetic null points
as a function of spin for different values of the linear (boost) velocity $v_y>0$ ($v_x=v_z=0$).
Orientation of the velocity is set perpendicular to the asymptotic field, $B_{x}>0$,
$B_{z}=0$. This special configuration of a magnetic field (mutually orthogonal with respect
to the drift velocity and the rotation axis) provides suitable conditions for the emergence
of the null points. In the case of extreme spin we observe the occurrence
of null points for velocity as low as $v_y\approx0.45$. On the other hand,
rapid motion $v_y=0.999$ allows the null point formation also for a rather low spin
about $a\approx0.2$. Both $a$ and $v$ parameters are essential to ensure the
existence of null points, and they both help to drag the point farther out from the
horizon. A combination of extreme spin $a\rightarrow M$ and fast
motion $v_y=0.999$ brings the magnetic null to $r=2.203$ ($GM/c^2$). Increasing the
velocity beyond this value does not move the neutral point any farther. On the
other hand, for small values of spin and/or small velocity the null point does not
show up at all.
Figure~\ref{fig6} completes information about the null point location in the
equatorial plane. Magnetic field is again specified to be asymptotically perpendicular
to the rotation axis ($B_{x}>0$, $B_{z}=0$) and the black hole moves transversely
with respect to both the magnetic field and the rotation axis ($v_y>0$, $v_x=v_z=0$).
The view of the equatorial plane in polar coordinates allows us to demonstrate how
the magnetic null points move gradually away from the horizon as the spin increases, while
they are dragged around the hole by its frame-dragging effect. For high velocity
and large spin the null points emerge just outside the ergosphere boundary,
whereas for lower values they are generally confined within the ergosphere.
We also observe that the distance of null points in oblique configurations
of the system is generally smaller compared to the perpendicular case shown
here, so we conclude that fig.\ \ref{fig6} shows the farthest location to which the
magnetic null point can recede from the black hole horizon.
To conclude the discussion of the position of magnetic null points,
in figure~\ref{fig7} we explore a general case when the spin of the black
hole, the direction of its translatory motion, and the asymptotic magnetic field point all
in different arbitrary directions. This case corresponds to the oblique system which lacks
any special symmetry. Despite that, it is interesting to note that the magnetic null
points again exist near the horizon (albeit out of the equatorial plane). Also in the
oblique case, by raising the spin $a$ we locate the magnetic null
points getting gradually farther away from the horizon (see figure~\ref{fig8}).
The null points can be traced in analogy with those discussed previously
in the equatorial case (fig.\ \ref{fig6}), however, now the shape of the resulting
tracks is more distorted and the null points positions are more difficult to find.
Because locating the null points of the oblique field does not seem to be possible
directly from the analytical form of the field components, we have searched the
relevant region numerically.
Finally, it may be worth reminding the reader that the exact location of magnetic
nulls depends on the choice of frame with respect to which we formulate the problem. We considered
a well-motivated physical frame and we checked that the null points occur also, e.g.,
in the frame of freely orbiting (Keplerian) observers, so the effect is relevant for the
behaviour of accreted matter.
\section{Discussion and Conclusions}
Rotation is an interesting attribute of cosmic black
holes \citep{rn03}. In principle, black holes can be spun up close
to extreme $a=1$ \citep{sb11}.
In stellar-mass black holes the spin is thought
to be chiefly natal \citep{ms06}, whereas supermassive black holes
in galactic cores can adjust their angular momentum by accretion, and the
outcome of evolution depends largely on the dominant mode of accretion,
during their entire life-time \citep{fb11}. In both cases, the spin is an
important characteristic, potentially allowing the efficient acceleration
of matter. We showed that it can be also relevant directly for the onset
of magnetic reconnection.
We discussed the structure of electromagnetic test-fields
and the layered pattern of current sheets
that can be induced by the gravito-magnetic action.
Neutral points of the magnetic field
suggest that magnetic reconnection
can occur. In the case of extreme rotation, $a=1$, the
magnetic null points can occur just outside the ergosphere.
We found that the null points exist also in a general
(oblique) case which lacks any special symmetry between the direction
of the magnetic field, velocity of the linear boost of the black hole,
and the orientation of the spin axis. The proposed scenario can be
astrophysically relevant in circumstances when the black
hole rotates and moves simultaneously across a magnetic flux tube.
The origin of the magnetic flux tube is thought to be in currents
flowing in the medium far from the
black hole. We considered the limit of a magnetically dominated
system in which the organised magnetic field dictates the
motion to plasma; the opposite limit of a black hole moving through
a force-free plasma has been investigated by other authors
\citep[recently,][]{pg10}.
In this paper we considered an idealised situation, starting
from an electro-vacuum solution, assuming fast motion and rotation
of the black hole, and embedding it in an asymptotically uniform
magnetic field. Future simulations should clarify, whether
the astrophysically realistic effects of the moving
black hole on the surrounding electromagnetic structure in its
immediate neighborhood will be similar to those envisaged here.
Despite the field-line structure in this paper being induced
purely by the action of frame-dragging, the exact choice of the
projection tetrad is not very essential for the existence of
magnetic layers. The choice of the physical frame
does affect the presence and the exact location of
the magnetic neutral point, and the associated electric field
which accelerates charged particles away from the
neutral point. Although the exact location of the neutral point
varies with the model parameters, it always occurs very close to
the black hole, where the frame-dragging is efficient. Therefore,
the point of particle acceleration has to be close
to horizon as well.
We note that all essential
ingredients needed for the aforementioned mechanism to operate
are met in standard circumstances that are believed to occur in
various cosmic objects. Namely, large scale magnetic fields
are frequently observed.
Furthermore, binary black holes are expected to exist in some
nuclei of galaxies, where they are gravitational bound to each
other and perform the orbital motion, while gradually inspiralling
inwards; shortly before the merger, the motion speeds up
significantly. Analytical models for this phase are not possible --
in general the spacetime structure has to be solved numerically,
nevertheless, the magnetic structure of the organised
field may arise quite generically in the close vicinity of such
fast-moving black holes that are embedded within an external
magnetic field \citep{mp10}. Magnetic filaments exist in
our galactic center and they suggest that the approximation of an
asymptotically uniform organised magnetic field is worth
investigating in this context.
\ack
We thank the Czech Science Foundation grant (No.\ 205/09/H033) and the Czech-US
Cooperation Program (ME09036) for a continued support. We thank our referees
for constructive comments.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 9,973 |
Темир-мост () — станция в Мугалжарском районе Актюбинской области Казахстана. Входит в состав Енбекского сельского округа. Код КАТО — 154841880.
Население
В 1999 году население станции составляло 375 человек (172 мужчины и 203 женщины). По данным переписи 2009 года, в населённом пункте проживало 277 человек (131 мужчина и 146 женщин).
Примечания
Населённые пункты Мугалжарского района | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 4,949 |
\section{Introduction} \label{sec:intro}
Kepler space telescope discovered a great number of tightly packed
terrestrial planet pairs, which are involved in or near mean motion
resonances (MMRs) \citep{Lissauer2011a, Ford2012, Rowe2014,
Gozdziewski2016, Berger2018}. From a viewpoint of statistics, for
Kepler planetary candidates, there are two peaks at the distribution
of period ratio of two adjacent terrestrial planets near 1.5 and
2.0, respectively \citep{Lissauer2011b, Fabrycky2014, Gillon2017,
Charal2018}. Figure \ref{fig:pratio} shows the distribution of
period ratios of adjacent terrestrial planet pairs whose masses are
confirmed (Herein we refer to the terrestrial planet with a mass
$M_p < 10~M_\oplus$), where 87 terrestrial planet pairs are
included. Most of them locate close to central star. The entire
distribution of period ratios illustrates that the planet pairs have
a pileup around 5:3, 3:2, 2:1, 5:2 and 3:1 MMRs. Combined with
abundant observations, the near-resonant terrestrial planet pairs,
accompanied by one or more gas-giants, are also discovered in a
couple of planetary systems, e.g., Kepler-48, Kepler-68 and
Kepler-154 \citep{Marcy2014, Uehara2016, Mills2019}. Thus, this
leads to the crucial questions: what scenario may produce the
configuration of terrestrial planet pairs near MMRs, and how the
formation of such configuration can be affected if there exists an
additional gas-giant exterior to the terrestrial planet pair?
Several scenarios, such as in situ formation \citep{Chiang2013},
inside-out formation \citep{Chatterjee2013}, pebble-accretion
\citep{Liu2018,Liu2019}, or late orbital instability after disk
depletion \citep{Izi2017, Ogihara2018, Lam2019} have been suggested
to explain the formation of hot super-Earth in or near MMR
configuration. However, \citet{Ogihara2015} claimed close-in
super-Earths cannot be formed in situ, unless their migration speed
is suppressed in the entire disk inside 1 AU. The widely-accepted
theory indicates that the short-period planets are formed at large
distance far away from their host stars and migrate to currently
observed orbits through angular momentum exchange with
protoplanetary disk \citep{Lin1986, Ward1997, Raymond2018}. A large
majority of planets in compacted systems are super-Earths that can
be easily trapped into MMRs through Type I migration
\citep{Cresswell2006}. In addition, previous studies proposed an
alternative scenario to shed light on the formation of near-resonant
systems via Type I migration \citep{Wang2012, Wang2014, Wang2017}.
As a matter of fact, most of the confirmed planet pairs are not
trapped in exact MMRs. The stellar magnetic field, inviscid disks or
turbulence in protoplanetary disk triggered by magneto-rotational
instability stochastic can reproduce the distribution of period
ratio bearing resemblance to nowadays observations of the planet
pair \citep{Rein2012, Paardek2013, Liu2017, McNally2019, Liu2019}.
Other mechanism suggests that planet-planet scattering and final
mergers of several core/planets in the cavity tend to disrupt the
MMRs established during the migration \citep{Terquem2007}.
Furthermore, for those systems that tidal dissipation is
unexpectedly efficient, weak dissipation damps the eccentricities of
planets, thereby driving the near-resonant pairs move out of
resonance \citep{Lithwick2012, Lee2013}. In summary, the above
scenarios give some explanations on the formation of system with
terrestrial planets.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth,height=6cm]{probability.eps}
\caption{Distribution of period ratio of two adjacent super-Earths
in exoplanetary systems. \label{fig:pratio}}
\end{figure}
\begin{table*}
\caption{Orbital Parameters of the Kepler-68 Planetary System.}
\centering \label{tab:k68}
\begin{tabular}{cccccc}
\hline
Planet& Mass & Semi-major axis & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Eccentricity} & Orbital Period \\
\cline{4-5}
& ($\rm M_{\oplus}$) & ($\rm AU$) & (1) &(2) &$ (\rm day$)\\
\hline
b & $5.98^{+1.70}_{-1.70}$ & $0.0617^{+0.00056}_{-0.00056}$ & 0.0 & $0.02^{+0.13}_{-0.02}$ & $5.399^{+0.000004}_{-0.000004}$ \\
\specialrule{0em}{3.0pt}{3.0pt}
c & $2.18^{+0.011}_{-0.011}$ & $0.09059^{+0.00082}_{-0.00082}$ & 0.0 & $0.42^{+0.41}_{-0.1}$ & $9.605^{+0.000072}_{-0.000072}$ \\
\specialrule{0em}{3.0pt}{3.0pt}
d & $308.5^{+11.124}_{-11.124}$ & $1.4^{+0.03}_{-0.03}$ & $0.18^{+0.05}_{-0.05}$ & - & $580^{+15}_{-15}$ \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\begin{tablenotes}
\footnotesize
\item[]{Note: The parameters are adopted from https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/index.html, \citet{Gilliland2013}, \citet{Mills2019}, \citet{VanEylen2015}. }
\end{tablenotes}
\end{table*}
So far, a large number of systems, which host giant planets involved
in MMRs, have been extensively investigated \citep{Lee2002,
Robertson2012, Lee2013, Marti2013, Wittenmyer2016, Marti2016,
Bae2019}. Figure \ref{fig:pratio} contains nine systems with the
co-existence of terrestrial planets and gas-giant (with a mass above
0.1 $M_J$). The planetary embryos can be accelerated to collide and
merge into terrestrial cores, further to produce super-Earth size,
close-in terrestrial planets under the circumstance of an additional
gas-giant in the system \citep{Zhou2005, Raymond2006, Mandell2007,
Hands2016, Sun2017}. For instance, \citet{Hands2016} suggested the
outer planet, which can undergo exponential growth up into a giant
planet, tends to push interior super-Earths into more tightly
first-order resonant orbits. \citet{Sun2017} revealed that MMRs
configuration can occur between gas-giants and terrestrial planets.
\citet{Granados2018} showed that an undetected outer giant planet
may have an effect on the stability and resultant configuration of
tightly packed inner planets by secular resonance. Therefore, we
believe that the existence of giant planet, in fact, does play a
significant role in sculpting final configuration of the system.
The objective of the present work is to study the influence of a
faraway gas-giant on the configuration formation of terrestrial
planets especially for the planet pair in or near MMRs. Here we take
Kepler-68 system as a template, which consists of two inner
terrestrial planets involved in near MMRs and a distant giant
companion \citep{Gilliland2013, Stassun2017}. Kepler-68 is a
solar-mass ($\sim{1.08}~M_{\sun}$) star with effective temperature
$\sim$ 5793 K \citep{Gilliland2013, Stassun2017}. Two transiting
Earth-sized planets were discovered around the star at a distance of
0.0617 and 0.09059 AU, respectively. The period ratio of the inner
planet pair is roughly 1.779, which is between 1.5 and 2.0. An
additional Jupiter-mass planet, which locates exterior to two
terrestrial planets at 1.4 AU, was detected by radial velocity
\citep{Gilliland2013, Marcy2014} (see Table 1). Consequently, this
enables us to improve the understanding of formation of
near-resonant terrestrial planets.
One of the most noteworthy is the eccentricities of Kepler-68 b and
c. They were constrained to be zero by modelling
\citep{Gilliland2013, Mills2019}, while \citet{VanEylen2015} pointed
out that the eccentricity of Kepler-68 c could amount up to 0.42
based on high-quality Kepler transit observations, which can remain
steady for $10^8$ years in the simulation.
The formation scenario of late orbital instability may be one of
possible mechanism to explain the formation of the inner
configuration of two terrestrial planets \citep{Izi2017,
Ogihara2018, Lam2019}. After the late orbital instability, the
typical orbital separation between planets is about $20~R_H$, which
is comparable to the current orbital separation between $Pb$ and $Pc$ in
the Kepler-68 system. In addition, as the period ratio of $Pb$ and $Pc$
is 1.78, which is out of the exact 5:3 resonance by more than 5\%,
this system can be regarded as a non-resonant system. The late
orbital instability can explain the formation of non-resonant
systems. Furthermore, the eccentricity of $Pc$ can be excited to some
extent during the late orbital instability. In consideration of the
existence of giant planet in the outer region, here we aim to figure
out the configuration formation of the inner planet pair, and
further investigate the excitation of eccentricity of the middle
planet under the influence of a giant planet lying outside in
Kepler-68 system. In this work, the inner planet pair can be trapped
in 5:3 or 7:4 MMRs if the giant planet moves around the central star
in an eccentric orbit, which is similar to the observed orbits,
deviating from the exact 2:1 or 3:2 MMRs. Moreover, we find that if
the giant planet is more massive than 5 $M_J$, the eccentricity of
the middle planet can be excited to approximately 0.2.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section \ref{sec:models}, we
present the gas disk model and Type I migration scenario adopted in
our simulations. In Section \ref{sec:results}, we show the numerical
simulation results with respect to the Kepler-68 system. We
summarize major conclusions in Section \ref{sec:summary}.
\section{Models} \label{sec:models}
\subsection{Disk models} \label{subsec:disk model}
To explore the configuration formation of Kepler-68 system, we make
an assumption that planets are formed in the protoplanetary disks.
Here we take empirical Minimum-Mass Solar Nebular (MMSN) model
\citep{Hayashi1981} as the gas disk model. Thus the density at a
stellar distance $a$ can be described as follows
\begin{equation} \label{equ:sigma}
\Sigma_{\rm g}=\Sigma_0(\frac{a}{1 \rm
AU})^{-k}\exp(-\frac{t}{t_n}),
\end{equation}
where $\Sigma_0=1700 \rm \ g \ cm^{-2}$ is the initial density of
the gas disk. The disk model can be shallower and the surface
density can be larger or smaller than the classical model
\citep{Bitsch2015, Suzuki2016}. In this paper, we mainly forced on
the influence of the giant planet on the final configuration of the
inner terrestrial planets. Considering that Kepler-68 is a
solar-mass star, we regard as MMSN the power-law index of the gas
disk density $k=3/2$. $t_n$ is the disk depletion timescale, which
is observed to be approximately few million years
\citep{Haisch2011}. In this work, we assume $t_n=10^6$ yr. In the
simulation, an inner hole of the gas disk occurs around the central
star due to the star magnetic field, thus the gas disk is roughly
truncated at the corotation radius of star about nine stellar radii
\citep{Koenigl1991}. The stellar radius would be 2-3 times larger
before the protostar becomes a main sequence object. The radius of
central star for Kepler-68 system is approximately 1.24 $R_\odot$
\citep{Batalha2013}, consequently the inner boundary of the gas disk
is at roughly 0.1-0.15 AU. With the evolution of central star, the
truncation radius will decrease. It is possible that the truncation
radius is smaller than 0.1-0.15 AU in the planet formation stage
\citep{Bouvier2014}. Under such estimation, we set the inner edge of
the gas cavity to be 0.1 AU.
\subsection{Type I migration and eccentricity damping} \label{subsec:type1}
For a planet embedded in a protoplanetary disk, the exchange of
angular momentum between planet and gaseous disk will trigger
orbital migration of planets. If the mass of the planet is not
larger than $30~M_\oplus$, the variation of angular momentum on
planets will give rise to type I migration \citep{Tanaka2002,
2000MNRAS.315..823P}, the timescale of Type I migration on planet
with a mass $m$ is given by
\begin{equation}\label{equ:migI}
\begin{aligned}
\tau_{\rm migI}=&\frac{a}{|\dot{a}|}=\frac{1}{f_1}\tau_{\rm linear} \\
=&\frac{1}{f_1(2.7+1.1\beta)}\left(\frac{M_{\ast}}{m}\right)\left(\frac{M_{\ast}}{\Sigma_g a^2}\right)\left(\frac{h}{a}\right)^2\\
&\times
\left[\frac{1+(\frac{er}{1.3h})^5}{1-(\frac{er}{1.1h})^4}\right]\Omega^{-1}
\ yr,
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
where $\tau_{\rm linear}$ is the linear analysis result and $f_1$ is
a reduction factor of migration speed. In our simulations, we
suppose $f_1$ ranging from 0.1 to 1. $\beta$ is the coefficient and
$\beta = -\mathrm{d} {ln \Sigma_g} / \mathrm{d} ln a$. $M_*$ is the
mass of central star and $\Omega=\sqrt{GM_{\ast}/r^3}$ presents
Keplerian angular velocity. $h$, $r$, $a$, $e$ and $m$ are scale
height of disk, distance between planet and star, semi-major axis,
eccentricity and mass of planet, respectively. Considering the disk
model we used, the timescale of Type II migration is much longer
than that of Type I migration \citep{Duffell2014, Durmann2015}, the
movement of giant planet could be negligible \citep{Baruteau2014}.
Here we ignore Type II migration of Planet d.
In addition, planet-disk interaction results in damping of orbital
eccentricity over a timescale of \citep{Cresswell2006}
\begin{equation} \label{equ:edamp}
\begin{aligned}
\tau_{\rm e}=&\left(\frac{e}{\dot{e}}\right)_{\rm edamp} \\
=&\frac{Q_e}{0.78}\left(\frac{M_{\ast}}{m}\right)\left(\frac{M_{\ast}}{a^2\Sigma_g}\right)\left(\frac{h}{r}\right)^4\Omega^{-1}\left[1+\frac{1}{4}\left(e\frac{r}{h}\right)^3\right]
\ yr,
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
where $Q_{\rm e}$ is a normalization factor and here we adopt
$Q_{\rm e}=0.1$. Other symbols are the same as in Equation
\ref{equ:migI}. Orbital migration and eccentricity damping, induced
by the gas disk, will diminish when the planet enters into the inner
hole.
\section{Numerical simulation results} \label{sec:results}
To explore the configuration formation of Kepler-68 planetary
system, we assume two terrestrial planets are originally born far
away from their nominal locations, and then undergo type I migration
caused by the gas disk, along with a settled outermost gas-giant.
Therefore, the acceleration of the terrestrial planet with $m_i$ is
expressed as
\begin{eqnarray} \label{equ:acc}
\frac{d}{dt}\textbf{V}_i =
-\frac{G(M_*+m_i
)}{{r_i}^2}\left(\frac{\textbf{r}_i}{r_i}\right) +\sum _{j\neq i}^N
Gm_j \left[\frac{(\textbf{r}_j-\textbf{r}_i
)}{|\textbf{r}_j-\textbf{r}_i|^3}- \frac{\textbf{r}_j}{r_j^3}\right]
\nonumber\\
+\textbf{F}_{\rm damp}+\textbf{F}_{\rm
migI},~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\label{eqf}
\end{eqnarray}
where
\begin{eqnarray}
\begin{array}{lll}
\textbf{F}_{\rm damp} = -2\frac{\displaystyle (\textbf{V}_i \cdot
\textbf{r}_i)\textbf{r}_i}{\displaystyle r_i^2\tau_{\rm e}},
\\
\cr\noalign{\vskip 0.5 mm} \textbf{F}_{\rm
migI}=-\frac{\displaystyle \textbf{V}_i}{\displaystyle 2\tau_{\rm
migI}}. \label{dm}
\end{array}
\end{eqnarray}
For the gas-giant, we only consider the gravitational interaction
with other planets and the central star. To simulate the orbital
evolution of each planet, we have modified N-body integrator of
MERCURY6 \citep{Chambers1999}. In our simulations, the time step for
each integration is set to be less than 1/50 of orbital period of
the innermost planet and the integration accuracy is $10^{-15}$. The
argument of pericenter, longitude of ascending node and mean anomaly
(hereafter the three angles) of planets are randomly generated
between 0\degr and 360\degr. The eccentricities are initially
assumed to be zero and all planets are supposed to be co-planar.
In this work, we have performed 1610 runs in total, with an
integration timescale ranging from 0.25-2 Myrs, depending on the
system stability and planetary migration rate. It is possible that
there are more than two terrestrial planets in the systems. In this
paper, we mainly focused on studying the influence on the
configuration between the confirmed planets. Considering other
possible existed terrestrial planets is not massive enough to
influence the final configuration of planet b and c, we only assume
that there are two terrestrial planets in the system. \S
\ref{subsec:migration} shows the results of the the systems composed
of only two terrestrial planets for Group 1, whereas in \S
\ref{subsec:perturbation}, we investigate the formation of the inner
terrestrial planets affected by the giant planet for Group 2. For
all runs, we label the innermost planet as $P_b$ and the middle
planet as $P_c$, where the subscripts $b$ and $c$ denote each of
them, respectively, while $P_d$ represents the outermost companion
in the system.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=18cm,height=14cm]{2p.eps}
\caption{Orbital evolution of G1-1 and G1-2. Solid lines represent
the run with $f_1=0.1$ (G1-1), whereas the dashed lines for
$f_1=0.3$ (G1-2). The initial locations of $P_b$ and $P_c$ are at
0.5 and 1 AU, respectively. Panel (a), (b), (c) and (d) show the
evolution of orbital period, eccentricity, period ratio, and
resonant angle, respectively. In Panel (a), the dashed and
dash-dotted lines (in gray), respectively, illustrate the currently
observed orbital period of Kepler-68 b and Kepler-68 c. Red and blue
lines of two upper Panels, respectively, display the orbital period
and eccentricity against the time over 2 Myrs for two planets. $P_b$
and $P_c$ are trapped in 2:1 MMR for $f_1=0.1$, while captured in
3:2 MMR for $f_1=0.3$. Panel (d) provides the time variation of the
resonant angles $\theta_1=\lambda_1-2\lambda_2+{\varpi}_1$ of 2:1
MMR and $\theta^{'}_{1}=2\lambda_1-3\lambda_2+{\varpi}_1$ of 3:2
MMR, which librate slightly about $0\degr$ when they enter into each
MMR. \label{fig:2pmig}}
\end{figure*}
\subsection{Group 1: Terrestrial planets migrate without giant planet} \label{subsec:migration}
In this Section, we carry out a series of simulations using a wide
variety of initial positions of $P_b$ and $P_c$, to examine
configuration formation for the terrestrial planet pair without the
presence of the giant planet in the Kepler-68 system. The
contribution of disk to planets is described as in Equation
(\ref{equ:migI}) and (\ref{equ:edamp}). We let $f_1=0.1, 0.3, 0.5,
0.8$ and $1$, respectively. Considering the currently observed
semi-major axis of $P_d$ and the inner edge of gaseous disk.
According to \citet{Kokubo98}, after oligarchic growth, the orbital
separations between planets are wider than 5 Hill radius, and the
typical orbital separation is about 10 Hill radius. Based on
\citet{Zhou2007}, the stable time for the planets with few
earth-mass is larger than $10^5$ years when the separation between
then is larger than 5 Hill radius. And according to the estimation
of \citet{Ford2001}, planetary system would maintain stable if their
relative orbital separation is larger than 3.5 Hill radius.
Therefore, in this work, we set the initial location of $P_b$
ranging from 0.2 to 1.2 AU, whereas that of $P_c$ spans from 0.3 to
1.3 AU with an equally-spaced separation of 0.1 AU which makes the
initial separation between two terrestrial planets larger than 3.5
Hill radius. Then we have performed 66 simulations for each $f_1$ by
means of the initials of $P_b$ and $P_c$. Thus we entirely implement
330 runs.
\begin{table*}
\small \centering \caption{Parameters adopted in our simulations for
G1 and G2.}
\begin{tabular*}{18cm}{@{\extracolsep{\fill}}cccccccccccc}
\hline \hline
Case No.& $p_{b0}$&$p_{c0}$ &$f_1$&$p_{bf}$&$p_{cf}$&$e_{bf}$&$e_{cf}$&Giant Planet&$p_{d0}$&$e_{d0}$&$m_d$\\
&(day)& (day) &&(day)&(day)&&&&(day)& &$(M_J)$\\
\hline
G1-1&124&352&0.1&5.453&10.91&0.047&0.013&N&-&-&-\\
G1-2&124&352&0.3&6.844&10.27&0.019&0.055&N&-&-&-\\
G2-1&124&352&0.1&5.448&10.9&0.053&0.012&Y&580&0.0&0.97\\
G2-2&124&352&0.3&6.844&10.27&0.019&0.055&Y&580&0.0&0.97\\
G2-3&312&261&0.8&6.844&10.27&0.055&0.019&Y&580&0.0&0.97\\
G2-4&124&352&0.3&6.17&10.28&0.0165&0.053&Y&580&0.18&0.97\\
G2-5&33&60&0.1&6.111&10.69&0.033$\pm$ 0.0046&0.0138$\pm$ 0.013&Y&129&0.03&10.0\\
\hline \hline \label{allcase}
\end{tabular*}
\begin{tablenotes}
\footnotesize
\item[]Note: $p_{b0}$ and $p_{c0}$, respectively, represent the initial orbital period of $P_b$ and $P_c$, while $p_{bf}$ and $p_{cf}$ stand for each of the final period. $e_{bf}$ and $e_{cf}$ denote each of the final eccentricity. $p_{d0}$, $e_{d0}$, and $m_d$ represent the initial orbital period, eccentricity, and mass of $P_d$.
\end{tablenotes}
\end{table*}
From the numerical outcomes, we find that the initial position of
planets and their mutual separation actually have no remarkable
influence on the final configuration of the planetary system.
However, the speed of type I migration plays a key role in affecting
the final configuration of the planet pair. For $0.3 \leq f_1 \leq
1$, Kepler-68 b and c prefer to be captured into 3:2 MMR, whereas
for $f_1=0.1$, planets with lower migration speed are trapped into
2:1 MMR rather than 3:2 MMR. These results are consistent with those
of \citet{Wang2012}. The typical evolution for the cases is shown
in Figure \ref{fig:2pmig} for $f_1=0.1$ and $f_1=0.3$, respectively.
The major initial conditions and the final results are shown in G1-1
and G1-2 of Table \ref{allcase}. Planet b and c are assumed to start
migrating from 0.5 and 1 AU for two cases, respectively. Solid lines
illustrate the results of $f_1=0.1$, while the dashed blue and red
lines display those outcomes of $f_1=0.3$. The gray lines indicate
the nominal locations of two terrestrial planets in the system. As
shown in Figure \ref{fig:2pmig}, without a remarkable reduction in
the speed of migration, the terrestrial planets are quickly locked
into 3:2 MMR at about 0.03 Myr, while for a lower migration speed,
the planets are trapped into 2:1 MMR at about 1.2 Myr. The final
eccentricity of planet c is a bit higher than planet b in G1-2, as
compared with that of G1-1.
As planet b is more massive than planet c, $P_b$ always migrates
faster than $P_c$ according to the timescale of type I migration
given in Equation (\ref{equ:migI}) before they arrive at the inner
edge of gas disk. Once $P_b$ reaches the inner boundary of gas disk,
the planet will halt migrating because of the absence of gas. When
$P_c$ approaches $P_b$, the two terrestrial planets will be captured
into resonance and the planet pair will migrate in the same pattern
until $P_c$ stops migration near the inner edge of gas disk. Based
on our estimation, the inner boundary of the gas disk locates at
about 0.1 AU, which is very close to the observed orbit of $P_c$.
Thus, through type I migration from outside, $P_c$ can be formed
near its nominal location. If the inner
boundary of gas disk locates closer than 0.1 AU \citep{Bouvier2014},
the final location of $P_c$ may change as the inner disk edge
moves much closer to the star. Therefore, the location of disk edge
suggests that terrestrial planets may have been born at the early stage
of the central star that the truncation radius is around 0.1 AU according to our estimation.
In our simulations, we find that 80\% of planet pairs are trapped in
3:2 MMRs, whereas 20\% of planet pairs are involved in 2:1 MMRs at
the end of runs. The simulations indicate that the planet pairs are
entirely trapped into first-order MMRs concerning with a wide
variety of initial region and speed of type I migration. The
resultant orbital periods of $P_c$ is approximately 10 days, while
that of $P_b$ is observed to be either 5.45 or 6.84 days, depending
on what kinds of MMRs they enter into. If
there are additional terrestrial planets migrating toward the
proximity of the inner two terrestrial planets, the final
configuration of inner planet pair is similar to the results as shown
in Group 1, but it will increase possibility of planet pair involved in
more compact configuration. For the systems that are composed of three terrestrial planets, the planet pairs have more opportunity to be in 3:2 MMR
\citep{Wang2014, Wang2017} in the migration scenario. Therefore, here our primary goal is to investigate how the configuration of inner planet pair is affected by a distant gas-giant in the system for only two terrestrial planets formed.
Here we choose G1-1 and G1-2 as two typical models to examine the
situation of formation of inner planet pair affected by the
outermost giant planet. Using similar initial parameters of G1-1 and
G1-2, we then carry out 100 simulations for each $f_1$. The
simulations reveal that the planet pairs are entirely trapped into
2:1 MMR for $f_1=0.1$, whereas they are associated with 3:2 MMR for
$f_1=0.3$. These results agree with those of G1-1 and G1-2.
According to equation (2), the timescale of type I migration is
proportional to $(mr)^{-1}$. The masses of inner terrestrial planets
in the system is 5.98 and 2.18 $M_\oplus$. Based on these initial
settings, the speed of type I migration of the innermost planet in
higher than the second terrestrial planet initially. The innermost
planet migrate to the inner edge first and then the second one catch
up with the innermost planet around the disk edge. Therefore, the
relative speed between two terrestrial planets is not so high
leading to the capture of 2:1 and 3:2 MMRs rather than 4:3 MMR
\citep{Mustill2011, Ogihara2013}.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=18cm,height=14cm]{3p.eps}
\caption{Same as in Figure \ref{fig:2pmig}, orbital evolution of
G2-1 and G2-2. A giant planet d (by green line) initially orbit at
1.4 AU with $e_d=0$. Panel (b) exhibits that the eccentricity of
Kepler-68 c is excited by the giant planet at the early stage of
migration but damped rapidly due to the disk. The giant planet can
speed up the migration of two inner terrestrial planets. Panel (d)
shows the resonant angles $\theta_1=\lambda_1-2\lambda_2+{\varpi}_1$
of 2:1 MMR and $\theta^{'}_{1}=2\lambda_1-3\lambda_2+{\varpi}_1$ of
3:2 MMR fluctuate slightly about $0\degr$ when two inner terrestrial
planets are captured into each MMR. \label{fig:3pmig}}
\end{figure*}
\subsection{Group 2: Terrestrial planets migrate with perturbation of giant planet} \label{subsec:perturbation}
In Kepler-68 system, \citet{Gilliland2013} showed that the
additional giant planet locates at about 1.4 AU, which is far away
from the nominal regime of terrestrial planets. In such
circumstance, the formation of inner terrestrial planets $P_b$ and
$P_c$ would be influenced due to the existence of the gas-giant.
Some study suggests that the giant planets can be formed in the
system earlier than the terrestrial planets \citep{Lykawka2013}.
Thus, in Group 2, we assume the giant planet $P_d$ first occurred
in the outer region compared with the two inner companions, and we
will extensively investigate the migration of the inner planets
induced by the perturbation of giant planet in the system. To
further clarify this issue, here we perform more simulations of
three subgroups based on the orbital period and eccentricity of
$P_d$. In the following, we will present the detailed exploration.
Subgroup 1: $P_d$ initially locates on circular orbit at 1.4 AU.
Same as in Group 1, 330 runs are performed using various initial
locations of two terrestrial planets, and other 200 cases are run
for planet b and c at 0.5 and 1 AU, respectively, for $f_1=0.1$ and
$f_1=0.3$, respectively.
Subgroup 2: $P_d$ originally moves on an eccentric orbit of
$e_d=0.18$ at 1.4 AU, whereas $P_b$ and $P_c$ reside at 0.5 and 1.0
AU, respectively, at the beginning of simulations. Here we adopt
$f_1=0.1$ and $f_1=0.3$. And we run 200 simulations.
Subgroup 3: $P_b$ and $P_c$ locate at 0.2 and 0.3 AU initially. We
adopt $f_1=0.1$ and $f_1=0.3$, respectively. To explore the
formation of two terrestrial planets influenced by the gas-giant on
circular orbits, we perform 150 runs with a family of combined
parameter of $m_d$ of 1, 5, and 10 $M_J$, $a_d$ ranging from 0.4 to
0.8 AU. As a comparison, we then carry out 200 additional runs in
the case that $P_d$ moves on eccentric orbits at 0.5 AU for
$e_d=0.03$ and $e_d=0.1$, respectively.
\subsubsection{Subgroup 1: Giant planet on circular orbit formed at its nominal location}
First of all, we consider similar cases as in \S
\ref{subsec:migration}, but with an additional giant planet $P_d$
lying beyond $P_b$ and $P_c$ on a circular orbit. The initial mass
and semi-major axis of $P_d$ in the simulations are the observed
values as given in Table \ref{tab:k68}.
Among 330 cases, 24\% of unstable systems in the results are
induced by the small separation which is near the boundary of
$3.5~R_H$. In this section, we mainly discuss the results of 250
stable cases.
Figure \ref{fig:3pmig} shows the dynamical evolution of two typical
stable cases. To compare with the results in Group 1, we adopt the
same initial parameters of G2-1 and G2-2 as those of G1-1 and G1-2.
However, to better understand how the configuration of two
terrestrial planets is affected, in the simulations we add the
perturbation arising from the giant planet with a circular orbit.
Panel (b) of Figure \ref{fig:3pmig} exhibits the eccentricity of
$P_c$ is excited to about 0.1 at the very beginning . However, as
the planet interacts with the gas disk, the excited eccentricity can
go down to near zero very quickly. In the meantime, the semi-major
axis of planets decreases due to angular momentum conservation.
Clearly, it is easy to note that the migration speed of $P_c$ in
G2-1 and G2-2 is faster than that in Group 1. Panel (d) shows the
resonant angles $\theta_1=\lambda_1-2\lambda_2+{\varpi}_1$ of 2:1
MMR and $\theta^{'}_{1}=2\lambda_1-3\lambda_2+{\varpi}_1$ of 3:2
MMR librate slightly about $0\degr$ when two inner terrestrial
planets are captured into each MMR. Although there exists a giant
planet, the configuration of the terrestrial planet pair is not
changed for this group.
When planets move inward, the eccentricities of $P_b$ and $P_c$ can
be excited for several times as they approach to the gas-giant. In
the evolution, terrestrial planets have opportunities to exchange
their orbits. The excitation always happens at the earlier evolution
of simulations, the gas disk still remains dense enough to damp the
eccentricity. Thus, the system can retain stable after the orbital
exchange. Here we come to conclusion that the systems like Kepler-68
might have undergone orbital exchange. According to the estimation
of isolation mass, the mass of solid core is proportional to
$a^{3/4}$ \citep{Ida2004}. In Kepler-68 system, $P_b$ is more
massive than $P_c$. They may exchange their orbits once. Figure
\ref{fig:exchange} shows the evolution of a typical case that $P_b$
and $P_c$ locate at 0.9 and 0.8 AU, respectively. The starting
conditions are denoted by G2-3 in Table \ref{allcase}. They migrate
with $f_1=0.8$. $P_d$, moving on circular orbit, originally resides
at 1.4 AU. The eccentricity of $P_b$ and $P_c$ can be frequently
excited to about 0.1 and decline to near zero within a shorter
timescale because of the disk. Orbital exchange occurs at about a
few hundred years. The subsequent evolution of two terrestrial
planets bears a resemblance to that of G2-1 and G2-2. Consequently,
the inner planet pair is trapped into 3:2 MMR, which coincides with
that of G2-2. Although the orbital exchange happened in case G2-3,
there is only one case in this group, the possibility is about
0.4\%. Additionally, the initial orbital
separation of $P_b$ and $P_c$ is $\sim$ 6 $R_H$. As the growth is
faster for the inner planet, it is likely that the inner planet
starts inward migration before the outer planet completes the
growth. The orbital separation between two terrestrial planets tends
to be larger. Considering the initial conditions and the possibility
in this case, such orbital exchange may hardly occur, except for some particular conditions.
With a giant planet on circular orbit at its nominal location, if
terrestrial planet moves so close to $P_d$, the separation between
them satisfies $\Delta \leq 0.2 \rm ~AU$, then the system becomes
unstable. If the terrestrial planet is close to $P_d$ and suffer
fast migration, orbital exchange can take place between two inner
planets. Although the gas-giant can speed up migration rate of two
terrestrial planets, it has no direct influence on resultant
configuration of inner planet pair. Furthermore, we conduct 200 runs
to examine this using similar parameters like those of G2-1 and
G2-2, along with the variable three angles of planets. We find that
the outcomes are consistent with those of G2-1 and G2-2.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=18cm,height=7cm]{exchange.eps}
\caption{The evolution of G2-3. Panel (a) and (b) show the evolution
of orbital periods and eccentricities, respectively. The zoomed
window in Panel (a) displays that the two planets exchange their
orbits at a very early stage with respect to the excitation of
eccentricity in Panel (b). Note that the inner terrestrial pair can
be trapped into 3:2 MMR in the evolution. \label{fig:exchange}}
\end{figure*}
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=18cm,height=14cm]{5v3mmr.eps}
\caption{Orbital evolution of G2-4. The label of each panel and
colored lines are the same as in Figure \ref{fig:2pmig}. A giant
planet marked by green line locates at 1.4 AU with an initial
eccentricity 0.18. Two inner terrestrial planets can be captured
into 5:3 MMR at about 0.18 Myr. The resonant angle
$\theta_1=3\lambda_1-5\lambda_2+2{\varpi}_1$ for 5:3 MMR librates
about $180\degr$ with a tiny amplitude as shown in Panel (d).
\label{fig:5v3mmr}}
\end{figure*}
\subsubsection{Subgroup 2: Giant planet on eccentric orbit formed at its nominal location}
As shown in Table \ref{tab:k68}, $P_d$ is reported to be on
eccentric orbit with $e_d=0.18\pm 0.05$.It is possible that $P_d$
has already got its nominal eccentricity before the formation
process of the inner terrestrial planets. Here we further study the
configuration formation of inner terrestrial pair due to the
perturbation of a giant planet on eccentric orbit. Here $P_d$ is
assumed to be 1.4 AU with an initial eccentricity $e_d=0.18$ . The
locations and eccentricities of $P_b$ and $P_c$, and $f_1$ are
chosen as those of G1-1 and G1-2. Thus we carry out 100 cases for
$f_1=0.1$ and $f_1=0.3$, respectively.
The results show that $\sim$ 83\% and $\sim$ 82\% of the systems are
unstable for $f_1=0.1$ and $f_1=0.3$, respectively. Here we are
particularly interested in those of stable cases involved in MMRs.
For $f_1=0.1$, there are 4\% and 1\% of the systems hosting two
terrestrial planets locked in 2:1 and 3:1 MMR, respectively. By
contrast, 4\%, 10\% and 4\% separately harbor the inner planet pair
in 2:1, 3:2 and 5:3 MMRs for $f_1=0.3$.
Figure \ref{fig:5v3mmr} illustrates the evolution of a typical run
with two terrestrial planets in 5:3 MMR at the end of simulation.
The initial conditions and final locations are displayed as
{\color{blue}{\textbf{G2-4}}} in Table \ref{allcase}. Here the
eccentricity $e_c$ of the middle planet is able to be excited up to
0.4 while $e_b$ still remains a low value. In the simulations, both
of $P_c$ and $P_d$ sustain eccentric orbits that may give rise to
multiple orbit-crossing between them, thereby stirring $e_c$
repetitively. From Panel (b) in Figure \ref{fig:5v3mmr}, we can see
that $e_c$ can be pumped up to above 0.3 within several thousand
years. Subsequently, the migration speed of $P_c$ increases all the
time as a result of the damping of eccentricity induced by the gas
disk, hence $P_c$ arrives at the inner edge of gas disk in advance.
However, we should emphasize that the inner planet pair can depart
from 2:1 or 3:2 MMRs as $P_c$ speeds up. As can be seen by Panel (d)
, $P_c$ and $P_b$ are tuned into 5:3 MMR, where the resonance angle
$\theta_1=3\lambda_1-5\lambda_2+2{\varpi}_1$ librates about
$180\degr$ for 1 Myr. This reminds us a very close configuration
compared to the observed Kepler-68 system as reported in Table
\ref{tab:k68}.
With a giant planet on eccentric orbit at its nominal location, a
similar configuration can be produced through our formation
scenario. If terrestrial planet formed at the outer region, which is
quite close to the nominal location of giant planet, the eccentric
orbit of giant planet will have influence on the nearby terrestrial
planet impulsively leading to speeding up of the adjacent planet. In
summary, we conclude that the inner terrestrial planet pair can be
trapped into second-order MMR, which differs from the simulation
results without a giant planet in the outer region.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=18cm,height=14cm]{7v4mmr.eps}
\caption{Same as in Figure \ref{fig:2pmig}, orbital evolution of
G2-1 and G2-2. The initial locations of $P_b$, $P_c$ and $P_d$ are
0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 AU, respectively. Here $e_d$ is 0.03. Note that
$P_b$ and $P_c$ are temporarily trapped into 2:1 MMR at about 0.035
Myr, subsequently they have been involved in 7:4 MMR since 0.077 Myr
along with a resonant angle
$\theta_1=4\lambda_1-7\lambda_2+3{\varpi}_1$ tuning libration into
circulation. \label{fig:gf03}}
\end{figure*}
\subsubsection{Subgroup 3: Giant planet on eccentric orbit with different masses and semi-major axes}
As aforementioned, the existence of $P_d$ can affect the final
configuration of the inner pair. Here we primarily aim to study the
circumstance for two terrestrial planets when $P_d$ has a diverse
mass and initial location.
First, we investigate dynamical evolution of the systems that harbor
$P_d$ on a circular orbit. In our simulations, we consider the
initial parameters of the giant planet with a combined parameter of
mass ($m_d=$ 1, 5, and 10 $M_J$), semi-major axes ($a_d=$ 0.4, 0.5,
0.6, 0.7, and 0.8 AU), and the speed of type I migration ($f_1=$ 0.1
and 0.3), then we perform 150 runs to explore how these parameters
play a part in the evolution of the planets. The results reveal that
the inner pair can be captured into 2:1 MMR for $f_1=0.1$ and 3:2
MMR for $f_1=0.3$, which is similar to those in Group 1.
Second, for $P_d$ on eccentric orbit at 0.5 AU, $P_b$ and $P_c$
occupying the orbits at $a_b=0.2$ and $a_c=0.3$ AU, respectively, we
carry out 200 simulations with respect to $e_d=0.03$ and $e_d=0.1$
for $f_1=0.1$. As mentioned above, the inner planet pair is involved
in 2:1 MMR for $f_1=0.1$ in the case of without a gas-giant or with
a giant planet on circular orbit. As a comparison, there is less
than 15\% of the runs trapped in 2:1 MMR for terrestrial planets.
Moreover, approximately 50\% of them turns to other MMRs.
For $e_d=0.03$, we conduct 100 simulations. From the results, we
find that 31\% of the runs occupy two terrestrial planets involved
in 3:2 MMR, whereas 12\%, 5\%, 2\% and 1\% harbor inner pairs in
5:3, 7:4, 7:5 and 8:5 MMRs, respectively. For $e_d=0.1$, 12\% hosts
the pairs in 3:2 MMR, whereas 24\% and 14\% are captured in 4:3 and
7:5 MMRs.
Figure \ref{fig:gf03} shows the dynamical evolution for a typical
case, which corresponds to two terrestrial planets in 7:4 MMR at the
end of the simulation. The initial conditions and final locations
are given in Table \ref{allcase}. As can be seen Figure
\ref{fig:gf03}, two migrating planets are temporarily trapped into
2:1 MMR at about 0.035 Myr, induced by a massive gas-giant of 10
$M_J$ at 0.5 AU. However, the terrestrial planets simply remain at
2:1 MMR for a very short time. $P_b$ and $P_c$ will escape from 2:1
to 7:4 MMR because of strong perturbation from the giant planet,
providing the evidence of formation of Kepler-68 system. In the
subsequent evolution, the eccentricity of $P_b$ could be stirred
dramatically up to about 0.12 when two planets enter into MMR.
For the simulations in relation to a more massive giant planet, we
find that the resultant configuration of the inner pair cannot be
altered when the gas-giant revolves around the host star in a
circular trajectory or move on an eccentric orbit of $e_d\leq 0.02$.
However, in the case of the giant planet orbiting its central star
with $e_d>0.02$, the eccentricity of inner terrestrial especially
the one closer to the giant planet will be excited to higher than
0.1 at least once. In some cases, the eccentricity of $P_c$ can be
excited to be about 0.4 for several times. Due to the eccentricity
damping caused by the gas disk, the orbital migration will be
speeded up. Meanwhile, the resonance web is dense for compact
planetary systems \citep{2015MNRAS.446.1998N}. Thus, inner
terrestrial planet pair have chance to captured into high order
MMRs.These outcomes favor formation scenario for two inner planets
due to a distant gas-giant with an eccentric orbit.
\subsection{Group 3: Secular Resonance} \label{sec:secular}
The gas disk inside the orbit of giant planet might have been
seriously depleted by planetary or stellar accretion
\citep{Nagasawa2005} when terrestrial planets migrate to the region
near its observed orbit. Then gaps are created around orbits of
planets \citep{Goldreich1980, Takeuchi1996}. The configuration of
inner planet pair will be reshaped by secular perturbation stemming
from the outermost companion and the gas disk exterior to planets.
The gravity of disk with an inner boundary at $d$ ($d > a_d$)
contributes to the planet $i$ is given by the formula
\citep{Nagasawa2003}
\begin{equation} \label{equ:sr}
{\bf f}_{i,disk}=8 \pi G \Sigma_g\left(r_i\right)\frac{\bf r_i}{r_i}
\displaystyle\sum_{n=0}\left[B_n
\left(\frac{r_i}{d}\right)^{2n+1/2}\right],
\end{equation}
where
\begin{equation}
B_n \equiv \left[\frac{(2n)!}{2^{2n}\left(n!\right)^2}\right]^2
\frac{n}{\left(4n+1\right)}.
\end{equation}
$\Sigma_g(r)$ refers to the same as in Equation (\ref{equ:sigma}).
Here we set $d=2 ~\rm AU$. As a consequence, the eccentricity
damping and type I migration caused by the gas disk on the planets
disappear. The dissipation of disk can trigger secular perturbation
between planets, thereby leading to angular momentum exchange and
modifying their eccentricities \citep{Nagasawa2003}. The secular
resonances occur only when the mass of outer disk is comparable to
that of the giant planet \citep{Nagasawa2005}. The region of secular
resonance gradually moves inward as gas density decreases. And we
adopt an initial surface density of disk by Equation
(\ref{equ:sigma}) with a disk depletion timescale $t_n = 10^6$ yr.
According to the analysis of secular resonance
\citep{Heppenheimer1980} and the disk model in this work, the
location of secular resonance decreases from 0.8 AU to 0.02 AU which
sweeps through the region of the terrestrial planets in the system.
Figure \ref{fig:sr} shows the eccentricities of the inner planet
pair (each colored by red and blue line) of Kepler-68 system evolve
over a timescale of 1 Myr, resulting from secular resonance by the
giant planet with a variable mass. Here $P_b$ and $P_c$ are
initially assumed to locate on circular orbits, and their masses and
semi-major axes are listed in Table \ref{tab:k68}. Additionally,
$e_d$ corresponds to the observed value 0.18. The solid, dashed and
dash-dotted lines represent the eccentricity evolution of $P_b$ and
$P_c$ induced by the giant planet of a mass of 1, 5 and 10 $~ M_J $,
respectively. As can be seen from Figure \ref{fig:sr}, we can see
that the amplitude of eccentricity excitation of two terrestrial
planets increases as the mass of gas-giant goes up. To be more
specific, for $m_d=1~ M_J$, the simulations indicate that both of
eccentricities are not well excited below 0.05. However, the
eccentricities can be pumped up to 0.15 for $m_d=5~ M_J$, while they
reach about 0.30 for $m_d=10~ M_J$.
As reported in Table \ref{tab:k68}, the eccentricity of $P_c$ is not
well confirmed. One of the orbital fittings indicates that $e_b$ and
$e_c$ both are nearly zero \citep{Gilliland2013, Mills2019}, whereas
an alternative orbital solution from observations show that $e_c$ is
approximately 0.42 \citep{VanEylen2015}. According to our outcomes,
$e_c$ can be stirred up to above 0.2 only if $m_d$ is more massive
than 5 $M_J$. In such cases, $e_b$ and $e_c$ can be further excited
in the evolution. On the other hand, as $P_b$ moves much closer to
the host star than $P_c$, thus the tidal effect by the central star
plays a vital part in $P_b$, thereby resulting in the damping of
eccentricity within $2.7\times 10^5~Q'$ years, which seems to be
much longer than the timescale of secular resonance as shown in
Figure \ref{fig:sr} \citep{Mardling2014, Zhou2008}. Here we suppose
the density of terrestrial planet is about $3\rm \ g \ cm^{-3}$,
where $Q'$ is the tidal dissipation factor. Hence we can estimate
the timescale of eccentricity damping of $P_c$ by tidal effect is
approximately $6.6\times 10^6~Q'$ years, implying that the
eccentricity of $P_c$ is difficult to be damped.
On the other hand, we note that the eccentricity of $P_c$ is
possibly excited to be above 0.2 when $m_d$ is larger than 5 $M_J$.
In contrast, $P_c$ will stay at circular orbit with a less massive
giant planet.
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth,height=6cm]{sr.eps}
\caption{Eccentricity evolution of Kepler-68 b and Kepler-68 c
(colored by red, blue) under secular resonance of the giant planet
and disk. The solid, dashed and dash-dotted lines each represent the
eccentricity evolution of the inner planet pair induced by a giant
planet with a mass of 1, 5 and 10 $ M_J$, respectively.
\label{fig:sr}}
\end{figure}
\section{Discussion and Conclusion} \label{sec:summary}
In this work, we primarily conduct thousands of numerical
simulations to explore the configuration formation for two inner
terrestrial planets near MMRs as a result of the perturbation of the
outermost gas-giant for the Kepler-68 system. Here we summarize the
major outcomes and conclude that,
\begin{enumerate}
\item
For the system only harboring two terrestrial planets, they are
inclined to be trapped into 2:1 or 3:2 MMRs, which depends on the
speed of type I migration. When $0.3\leq f_1 \leq 1$, the inner
planet pair prefers to be captured into 3:2 MMR, whereas with a low
speed of orbital migration $f_1 \leq 0.1$, the two terrestrial
planets are more likely to be associated with 2:1 MMR. The results
obtained here are consistent with those reported in our earlier work
\citep{Wang2014}.
\item
For the system composed of two terrestrial planets and an outermost
giant planet, we note that the inner planet pair can eventually
reach similar configuration in the secular evolution like those for
the two-planet system, when the giant planet orbits the central star
in a circular trajectory. As a comparison, for the three-planet
system that one giant planet moves on eccentric orbit, we find that
the terrestrial planets can be involved in 5:3 MMRs, being
indicative of a close match with the currently observed orbits for
Kepler-68. Further study shows that the inner pair would be captured
in 7:4 or 8:5 MMRs if there is a more massive gas-giant at closer
orbit in the system.
\item
In view of the depletion of gas disk, the secular resonance may
sweep up the nominal locations of inner terrestrial planets. Hence,
the eccentricities of inner planets can be excited up to 0.2 with a
massive giant planet of $m_d\geq 5~M_J$. Otherwise, the terrestrial
planets retain to be circular orbits for a lower mass of the
outermost companion.
\end{enumerate}
Allowing for above-mentioned formation scenario, there are several
critical factors that may have influence on resultant configuration
of two terrestrial planets in the planetary system. First, the speed
of orbital migration can play a significant role in shaping the
final orbits of inner planet pair. With a faster orbital migration,
the planet pair prefers to habitat in a more compact configuration
\citep{Hands2016}. Second, the mass ratio, which is related to the
speed of orbital migration, can further affect the near-resonant
configuration for two terrestrial planets. To better understand this
circumstance, here we perform 2000 additional simulations to
investigate the systems by altering their initial masses in the
range of 1 to 10 $M_\oplus$ and the three angles. Figure
\ref{fig:mmr01} shows final configurations for two terrestrial
planets in MMRs. In our simulations, we assume the planets
originally locate at 0.2 and 0.3 AU, respectively. For $m_{\rm
b}/m_{\rm c}<1$, we observe that the two planets are inclined to be
involved in 3:2 MMR. Based on the estimation of isolation mass
\citep{Ida2004}, the mass of solid core corresponds to the
semi-major axis where they are formed with $m\propto a^{3/4}$.
Accordingly, the mass of terrestrial planet grows up as its
semi-major axis rises. If the system can maintain steady, the planet
pair probably tends to be trapped in 3:2 MMR, e.g., K2-19 and
Kepler-59 system \citep{Petigura2020, Saad2020}. Otherwise, they are
probably captured in 2:1 MMR. Third, the planet pair can be further
trapped in high-order MMRs owing to the presence of a massive giant
planet with an eccentric orbit. Additionally, the results are also
related to the profile of the gas disks. With higher gas density,
the speed of type I migration is higher. Planet pair is tend to be
captured into 3:2 MMR rather than 2:1 MMR \citep{Mustill2011,
Ogihara2013}. With flatter gas disk, planets are more easier to be
in 3:2 MMR \citep{Wang2017}.
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth,height=6cm]{mmr.eps}
\caption{Final configuration related to MMRs for two planets with a
mass ranging from 1 to 10 $M_\oplus$. Filled dots in red or blue
represent the systems involved in 3:2 and 2:1 MMRs for $f_1=0.1$,
respectively, while green dots stand for those of transition.
Circles indicate those of 2:1 MMR for $f_1=0.3$. \label{fig:mmr01}}
\end{figure}
Moreover, we propose a likely scenario for configuration formation
of the Kepler-68 system. As the eccentricity of $P_c$ and the mass
of $P_d$ are not well determined
\citep{Gilliland2013,VanEylen2015,Mills2019}, we infer that $P_c$
cannot be stirred up to a moderate value unless there is a massive
giant companion in the system. Future observations should be
addressed to further decode the origin of Kepler-68. The innermost
planet in this system is very close to the central star, the tidal
effect arising from the central star is a main reason leading to the
deviation from exact 5:3 MMR \citep{Lee2013}. Another possible
scenario is the eccentricity damping effect induced by the depletion
of the gas disk (Wang et al. in preparation).
Last but not least, our scenario can also be applied to formation of
those systems that closely resemble Kepler-68, e.g., Kepler-65,
Kepler-154 and Kepler-167 \citep{Kipping2016, Berger2018,
Mills2019}. For instance, Kepler-65 harbors three inner terrestrial
planets and a distant giant planet with an orbital period 258.8 day
and an eccentricity 0.28, where two planet pairs among them are near
2.7 and 1.4, respectively \citep{Chaplin2013}. According to our
formation scenario, we may infer that the eccentricities of three
terrestrial planets can be stirred up to about 0.1 by the giant
companion. During the subsequent migration, the outer planet pair
could be trapped into 7:5 MMR, whereas the inner planet pair may be
captured into 5:2 MMR as the outermost giant planet perturbs.
Furthermore, as the innermost planet orbits close to the central
star, its eccentricity may gradually decline by tidal effect from
the host star over secular timescale as well as the decrease of
semi-major axis, thereby producing the final period ratio between
the inner pair above 2.5. In conclusion, our model can throw light
on the formation of the planetary systems that harbor several
terrestrial planets near MMRs inside and one giant planet outside as
observed by Kepler mission.
\section*{Acknowledgements}
We thank the anonymous referee for constructive comments
and suggestions to improve the manuscript. This work is
financially supported by the B-type Strategic Priority Program of
the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB41000000), the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11773081,
11573073,11633009), CAS Interdisciplinary Innovation Team,
Foundation of Minor Planets of the Purple Mountain Observatory and
Youth Innovation Promotion Association.
\section*{Data availability}
The data underlying this article will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding author.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} | 4,115 |
/******************************************************************************
*
* Module Name: exmutex - ASL Mutex Acquire/Release functions
*
*****************************************************************************/
/******************************************************************************
*
* 1. Copyright Notice
*
* Some or all of this work - Copyright (c) 1999 - 2014, Intel Corp.
* All rights reserved.
*
* 2. License
*
* 2.1. This is your license from Intel Corp. under its intellectual property
* rights. You may have additional license terms from the party that provided
* you this software, covering your right to use that party's intellectual
* property rights.
*
* 2.2. Intel grants, free of charge, to any person ("Licensee") obtaining a
* copy of the source code appearing in this file ("Covered Code") an
* irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license under Intel's copyrights in the
* base code distributed originally by Intel ("Original Intel Code") to copy,
* make derivatives, distribute, use and display any portion of the Covered
* Code in any form, with the right to sublicense such rights; and
*
* 2.3. Intel grants Licensee a non-exclusive and non-transferable patent
* license (with the right to sublicense), under only those claims of Intel
* patents that are infringed by the Original Intel Code, to make, use, sell,
* offer to sell, and import the Covered Code and derivative works thereof
* solely to the minimum extent necessary to exercise the above copyright
* license, and in no event shall the patent license extend to any additions
* to or modifications of the Original Intel Code. No other license or right
* is granted directly or by implication, estoppel or otherwise;
*
* The above copyright and patent license is granted only if the following
* conditions are met:
*
* 3. Conditions
*
* 3.1. Redistribution of Source with Rights to Further Distribute Source.
* Redistribution of source code of any substantial portion of the Covered
* Code or modification with rights to further distribute source must include
* the above Copyright Notice, the above License, this list of Conditions,
* and the following Disclaimer and Export Compliance provision. In addition,
* Licensee must cause all Covered Code to which Licensee contributes to
* contain a file documenting the changes Licensee made to create that Covered
* Code and the date of any change. Licensee must include in that file the
* documentation of any changes made by any predecessor Licensee. Licensee
* must include a prominent statement that the modification is derived,
* directly or indirectly, from Original Intel Code.
*
* 3.2. Redistribution of Source with no Rights to Further Distribute Source.
* Redistribution of source code of any substantial portion of the Covered
* Code or modification without rights to further distribute source must
* include the following Disclaimer and Export Compliance provision in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with distribution. In
* addition, Licensee may not authorize further sublicense of source of any
* portion of the Covered Code, and must include terms to the effect that the
* license from Licensee to its licensee is limited to the intellectual
* property embodied in the software Licensee provides to its licensee, and
* not to intellectual property embodied in modifications its licensee may
* make.
*
* 3.3. Redistribution of Executable. Redistribution in executable form of any
* substantial portion of the Covered Code or modification must reproduce the
* above Copyright Notice, and the following Disclaimer and Export Compliance
* provision in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
* distribution.
*
* 3.4. Intel retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Original
* Intel Code.
*
* 3.5. Neither the name Intel nor any other trademark owned or controlled by
* Intel shall be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or
* other dealings in products derived from or relating to the Covered Code
* without prior written authorization from Intel.
*
* 4. Disclaimer and Export Compliance
*
* 4.1. INTEL MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND REGARDING ANY SOFTWARE PROVIDED
* HERE. ANY SOFTWARE ORIGINATING FROM INTEL OR DERIVED FROM INTEL SOFTWARE
* IS PROVIDED "AS IS," AND INTEL WILL NOT PROVIDE ANY SUPPORT, ASSISTANCE,
* INSTALLATION, TRAINING OR OTHER SERVICES. INTEL WILL NOT PROVIDE ANY
* UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS OR EXTENSIONS. INTEL SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY
* IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A
* PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
*
* 4.2. IN NO EVENT SHALL INTEL HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO LICENSEE, ITS LICENSEES
* OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY, FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, LOSS OF USE OR
* COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, OR FOR ANY INDIRECT,
* SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT, UNDER ANY
* CAUSE OF ACTION OR THEORY OF LIABILITY, AND IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER INTEL
* HAS ADVANCE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THESE LIMITATIONS
* SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF THE ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY
* LIMITED REMEDY.
*
* 4.3. Licensee shall not export, either directly or indirectly, any of this
* software or system incorporating such software without first obtaining any
* required license or other approval from the U. S. Department of Commerce or
* any other agency or department of the United States Government. In the
* event Licensee exports any such software from the United States or
* re-exports any such software from a foreign destination, Licensee shall
* ensure that the distribution and export/re-export of the software is in
* compliance with all laws, regulations, orders, or other restrictions of the
* U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Licensee agrees that neither it nor
* any of its subsidiaries will export/re-export any technical data, process,
* software, or service, directly or indirectly, to any country for which the
* United States government or any agency thereof requires an export license,
* other governmental approval, or letter of assurance, without first obtaining
* such license, approval or letter.
*
*****************************************************************************/
#include "acpi.h"
#include "accommon.h"
#include "acinterp.h"
#include "acevents.h"
#define _COMPONENT ACPI_EXECUTER
ACPI_MODULE_NAME ("exmutex")
/* Local prototypes */
static void
AcpiExLinkMutex (
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ObjDesc,
ACPI_THREAD_STATE *Thread);
/*******************************************************************************
*
* FUNCTION: AcpiExUnlinkMutex
*
* PARAMETERS: ObjDesc - The mutex to be unlinked
*
* RETURN: None
*
* DESCRIPTION: Remove a mutex from the "AcquiredMutex" list
*
******************************************************************************/
void
AcpiExUnlinkMutex (
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ObjDesc)
{
ACPI_THREAD_STATE *Thread = ObjDesc->Mutex.OwnerThread;
if (!Thread)
{
return;
}
/* Doubly linked list */
if (ObjDesc->Mutex.Next)
{
(ObjDesc->Mutex.Next)->Mutex.Prev = ObjDesc->Mutex.Prev;
}
if (ObjDesc->Mutex.Prev)
{
(ObjDesc->Mutex.Prev)->Mutex.Next = ObjDesc->Mutex.Next;
/*
* Migrate the previous sync level associated with this mutex to
* the previous mutex on the list so that it may be preserved.
* This handles the case where several mutexes have been acquired
* at the same level, but are not released in opposite order.
*/
(ObjDesc->Mutex.Prev)->Mutex.OriginalSyncLevel =
ObjDesc->Mutex.OriginalSyncLevel;
}
else
{
Thread->AcquiredMutexList = ObjDesc->Mutex.Next;
}
}
/*******************************************************************************
*
* FUNCTION: AcpiExLinkMutex
*
* PARAMETERS: ObjDesc - The mutex to be linked
* Thread - Current executing thread object
*
* RETURN: None
*
* DESCRIPTION: Add a mutex to the "AcquiredMutex" list for this walk
*
******************************************************************************/
static void
AcpiExLinkMutex (
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ObjDesc,
ACPI_THREAD_STATE *Thread)
{
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ListHead;
ListHead = Thread->AcquiredMutexList;
/* This object will be the first object in the list */
ObjDesc->Mutex.Prev = NULL;
ObjDesc->Mutex.Next = ListHead;
/* Update old first object to point back to this object */
if (ListHead)
{
ListHead->Mutex.Prev = ObjDesc;
}
/* Update list head */
Thread->AcquiredMutexList = ObjDesc;
}
/*******************************************************************************
*
* FUNCTION: AcpiExAcquireMutexObject
*
* PARAMETERS: Timeout - Timeout in milliseconds
* ObjDesc - Mutex object
* ThreadId - Current thread state
*
* RETURN: Status
*
* DESCRIPTION: Acquire an AML mutex, low-level interface. Provides a common
* path that supports multiple acquires by the same thread.
*
* MUTEX: Interpreter must be locked
*
* NOTE: This interface is called from three places:
* 1) From AcpiExAcquireMutex, via an AML Acquire() operator
* 2) From AcpiExAcquireGlobalLock when an AML Field access requires the
* global lock
* 3) From the external interface, AcpiAcquireGlobalLock
*
******************************************************************************/
ACPI_STATUS
AcpiExAcquireMutexObject (
UINT16 Timeout,
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ObjDesc,
ACPI_THREAD_ID ThreadId)
{
ACPI_STATUS Status;
ACPI_FUNCTION_TRACE_PTR (ExAcquireMutexObject, ObjDesc);
if (!ObjDesc)
{
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_BAD_PARAMETER);
}
/* Support for multiple acquires by the owning thread */
if (ObjDesc->Mutex.ThreadId == ThreadId)
{
/*
* The mutex is already owned by this thread, just increment the
* acquisition depth
*/
ObjDesc->Mutex.AcquisitionDepth++;
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_OK);
}
/* Acquire the mutex, wait if necessary. Special case for Global Lock */
if (ObjDesc == AcpiGbl_GlobalLockMutex)
{
Status = AcpiEvAcquireGlobalLock (Timeout);
}
else
{
Status = AcpiExSystemWaitMutex (ObjDesc->Mutex.OsMutex,
Timeout);
}
if (ACPI_FAILURE (Status))
{
/* Includes failure from a timeout on TimeDesc */
return_ACPI_STATUS (Status);
}
/* Acquired the mutex: update mutex object */
ObjDesc->Mutex.ThreadId = ThreadId;
ObjDesc->Mutex.AcquisitionDepth = 1;
ObjDesc->Mutex.OriginalSyncLevel = 0;
ObjDesc->Mutex.OwnerThread = NULL; /* Used only for AML Acquire() */
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_OK);
}
/*******************************************************************************
*
* FUNCTION: AcpiExAcquireMutex
*
* PARAMETERS: TimeDesc - Timeout integer
* ObjDesc - Mutex object
* WalkState - Current method execution state
*
* RETURN: Status
*
* DESCRIPTION: Acquire an AML mutex
*
******************************************************************************/
ACPI_STATUS
AcpiExAcquireMutex (
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *TimeDesc,
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ObjDesc,
ACPI_WALK_STATE *WalkState)
{
ACPI_STATUS Status;
ACPI_FUNCTION_TRACE_PTR (ExAcquireMutex, ObjDesc);
if (!ObjDesc)
{
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_BAD_PARAMETER);
}
/* Must have a valid thread state struct */
if (!WalkState->Thread)
{
ACPI_ERROR ((AE_INFO,
"Cannot acquire Mutex [%4.4s], null thread info",
AcpiUtGetNodeName (ObjDesc->Mutex.Node)));
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_AML_INTERNAL);
}
/*
* Current sync level must be less than or equal to the sync level of the
* mutex. This mechanism provides some deadlock prevention
*/
if (WalkState->Thread->CurrentSyncLevel > ObjDesc->Mutex.SyncLevel)
{
ACPI_ERROR ((AE_INFO,
"Cannot acquire Mutex [%4.4s], current SyncLevel is too large (%u)",
AcpiUtGetNodeName (ObjDesc->Mutex.Node),
WalkState->Thread->CurrentSyncLevel));
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_AML_MUTEX_ORDER);
}
Status = AcpiExAcquireMutexObject ((UINT16) TimeDesc->Integer.Value,
ObjDesc, WalkState->Thread->ThreadId);
if (ACPI_SUCCESS (Status) && ObjDesc->Mutex.AcquisitionDepth == 1)
{
/* Save Thread object, original/current sync levels */
ObjDesc->Mutex.OwnerThread = WalkState->Thread;
ObjDesc->Mutex.OriginalSyncLevel = WalkState->Thread->CurrentSyncLevel;
WalkState->Thread->CurrentSyncLevel = ObjDesc->Mutex.SyncLevel;
/* Link the mutex to the current thread for force-unlock at method exit */
AcpiExLinkMutex (ObjDesc, WalkState->Thread);
}
return_ACPI_STATUS (Status);
}
/*******************************************************************************
*
* FUNCTION: AcpiExReleaseMutexObject
*
* PARAMETERS: ObjDesc - The object descriptor for this op
*
* RETURN: Status
*
* DESCRIPTION: Release a previously acquired Mutex, low level interface.
* Provides a common path that supports multiple releases (after
* previous multiple acquires) by the same thread.
*
* MUTEX: Interpreter must be locked
*
* NOTE: This interface is called from three places:
* 1) From AcpiExReleaseMutex, via an AML Acquire() operator
* 2) From AcpiExReleaseGlobalLock when an AML Field access requires the
* global lock
* 3) From the external interface, AcpiReleaseGlobalLock
*
******************************************************************************/
ACPI_STATUS
AcpiExReleaseMutexObject (
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ObjDesc)
{
ACPI_STATUS Status = AE_OK;
ACPI_FUNCTION_TRACE (ExReleaseMutexObject);
if (ObjDesc->Mutex.AcquisitionDepth == 0)
{
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_NOT_ACQUIRED);
}
/* Match multiple Acquires with multiple Releases */
ObjDesc->Mutex.AcquisitionDepth--;
if (ObjDesc->Mutex.AcquisitionDepth != 0)
{
/* Just decrement the depth and return */
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_OK);
}
if (ObjDesc->Mutex.OwnerThread)
{
/* Unlink the mutex from the owner's list */
AcpiExUnlinkMutex (ObjDesc);
ObjDesc->Mutex.OwnerThread = NULL;
}
/* Release the mutex, special case for Global Lock */
if (ObjDesc == AcpiGbl_GlobalLockMutex)
{
Status = AcpiEvReleaseGlobalLock ();
}
else
{
AcpiOsReleaseMutex (ObjDesc->Mutex.OsMutex);
}
/* Clear mutex info */
ObjDesc->Mutex.ThreadId = 0;
return_ACPI_STATUS (Status);
}
/*******************************************************************************
*
* FUNCTION: AcpiExReleaseMutex
*
* PARAMETERS: ObjDesc - The object descriptor for this op
* WalkState - Current method execution state
*
* RETURN: Status
*
* DESCRIPTION: Release a previously acquired Mutex.
*
******************************************************************************/
ACPI_STATUS
AcpiExReleaseMutex (
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ObjDesc,
ACPI_WALK_STATE *WalkState)
{
ACPI_STATUS Status = AE_OK;
UINT8 PreviousSyncLevel;
ACPI_THREAD_STATE *OwnerThread;
ACPI_FUNCTION_TRACE (ExReleaseMutex);
if (!ObjDesc)
{
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_BAD_PARAMETER);
}
OwnerThread = ObjDesc->Mutex.OwnerThread;
/* The mutex must have been previously acquired in order to release it */
if (!OwnerThread)
{
ACPI_ERROR ((AE_INFO,
"Cannot release Mutex [%4.4s], not acquired",
AcpiUtGetNodeName (ObjDesc->Mutex.Node)));
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_AML_MUTEX_NOT_ACQUIRED);
}
/* Must have a valid thread ID */
if (!WalkState->Thread)
{
ACPI_ERROR ((AE_INFO,
"Cannot release Mutex [%4.4s], null thread info",
AcpiUtGetNodeName (ObjDesc->Mutex.Node)));
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_AML_INTERNAL);
}
/*
* The Mutex is owned, but this thread must be the owner.
* Special case for Global Lock, any thread can release
*/
if ((OwnerThread->ThreadId != WalkState->Thread->ThreadId) &&
(ObjDesc != AcpiGbl_GlobalLockMutex))
{
ACPI_ERROR ((AE_INFO,
"Thread %u cannot release Mutex [%4.4s] acquired by thread %u",
(UINT32) WalkState->Thread->ThreadId,
AcpiUtGetNodeName (ObjDesc->Mutex.Node),
(UINT32) OwnerThread->ThreadId));
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_AML_NOT_OWNER);
}
/*
* The sync level of the mutex must be equal to the current sync level. In
* other words, the current level means that at least one mutex at that
* level is currently being held. Attempting to release a mutex of a
* different level can only mean that the mutex ordering rule is being
* violated. This behavior is clarified in ACPI 4.0 specification.
*/
if (ObjDesc->Mutex.SyncLevel != OwnerThread->CurrentSyncLevel)
{
ACPI_ERROR ((AE_INFO,
"Cannot release Mutex [%4.4s], SyncLevel mismatch: mutex %u current %u",
AcpiUtGetNodeName (ObjDesc->Mutex.Node),
ObjDesc->Mutex.SyncLevel, WalkState->Thread->CurrentSyncLevel));
return_ACPI_STATUS (AE_AML_MUTEX_ORDER);
}
/*
* Get the previous SyncLevel from the head of the acquired mutex list.
* This handles the case where several mutexes at the same level have been
* acquired, but are not released in reverse order.
*/
PreviousSyncLevel =
OwnerThread->AcquiredMutexList->Mutex.OriginalSyncLevel;
Status = AcpiExReleaseMutexObject (ObjDesc);
if (ACPI_FAILURE (Status))
{
return_ACPI_STATUS (Status);
}
if (ObjDesc->Mutex.AcquisitionDepth == 0)
{
/* Restore the previous SyncLevel */
OwnerThread->CurrentSyncLevel = PreviousSyncLevel;
}
return_ACPI_STATUS (Status);
}
/*******************************************************************************
*
* FUNCTION: AcpiExReleaseAllMutexes
*
* PARAMETERS: Thread - Current executing thread object
*
* RETURN: Status
*
* DESCRIPTION: Release all mutexes held by this thread
*
* NOTE: This function is called as the thread is exiting the interpreter.
* Mutexes are not released when an individual control method is exited, but
* only when the parent thread actually exits the interpreter. This allows one
* method to acquire a mutex, and a different method to release it, as long as
* this is performed underneath a single parent control method.
*
******************************************************************************/
void
AcpiExReleaseAllMutexes (
ACPI_THREAD_STATE *Thread)
{
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *Next = Thread->AcquiredMutexList;
ACPI_OPERAND_OBJECT *ObjDesc;
ACPI_FUNCTION_NAME (ExReleaseAllMutexes);
/* Traverse the list of owned mutexes, releasing each one */
while (Next)
{
ObjDesc = Next;
Next = ObjDesc->Mutex.Next;
ObjDesc->Mutex.Prev = NULL;
ObjDesc->Mutex.Next = NULL;
ObjDesc->Mutex.AcquisitionDepth = 0;
ACPI_DEBUG_PRINT ((ACPI_DB_EXEC,
"Force-releasing held mutex: %p\n", ObjDesc));
/* Release the mutex, special case for Global Lock */
if (ObjDesc == AcpiGbl_GlobalLockMutex)
{
/* Ignore errors */
(void) AcpiEvReleaseGlobalLock ();
}
else
{
AcpiOsReleaseMutex (ObjDesc->Mutex.OsMutex);
}
/* Mark mutex unowned */
ObjDesc->Mutex.OwnerThread = NULL;
ObjDesc->Mutex.ThreadId = 0;
/* Update Thread SyncLevel (Last mutex is the important one) */
Thread->CurrentSyncLevel = ObjDesc->Mutex.OriginalSyncLevel;
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 5,140 |
Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
[Illustration: Jokai Mor]
_SPECIAL AUTHORISED EDITION_
IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA
_AND OTHER STORIES_
BY MAURICE JOKAI
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL HUNGARIAN
_WITH THE AUTHOR'S SPECIAL PERMISSION_
BY LOUIS FELBERMANN
AUTHOR OF "HUNGARY AND ITS PEOPLE" ETC.
[Illustration]
LONDON
FREDERICK WARNE & CO.
AND NEW YORK
[_All rights reserved_]
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 9
IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA 17
TAMERLAN THE TARTAR 57
VALDIVIA 111
BIZEBAN 141
THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST 151
DEDICATED TO
HUNGARY'S GREATEST WRITER
MAURICE JOKAI
BY LOUIS FELBERMANN
"From him I took it; to him I give it"
EASTERN PROVERB
_London 1894_
INTRODUCTION
The entire Hungarian nation--king and people--have recently been
celebrating the jubilee of Hungary's greatest writer, Maurice Jokai,
whose pen, during half a century of literary activity, has given no less
than 250 volumes to the world. Admired and beloved by his patriotic
fellow-countrymen, Jokai has displayed that kind of genius which
fascinates the learned and unlearned alike, the old and the young. He
enchants the children of Hungary by his fairy-tales, and as they grow up
into men and women he implants within them a passion for their native
land and a knowledge of its splendid history such as only his poetic and
dramatic pen could engrave upon their memory. His versatility of
talent--for, besides being the Hungarian poet-laureate, he is a
novelist, playwright, historian, and orator--enables the Hungarians to
see in him their Heine, their Byron, their Walter Scott, and their
Victor Hugo.
Jokai began his career at a period when Hungary aspired to political
freedom, and his powerful pen, in combination with that of his familiar
friend, Alexander Petofi, Hungary's greatest lyric poet, was mainly
instrumental in rousing the nation to arms. In 1849, when the Hungarian
nation had sustained a cruel defeat, it was Jokai who cheered the
flagging spirits of the Magyars, and by the potency and skill of his
extraordinary pen influenced that reconciliation between Sovereign and
people which was ultimately accomplished by Hungary's greatest
statesman, Francis Deak.
The Hungarian language is one of the richest of Turanian tongues, and
particularly lends itself to the didactic and romantic styles. So far
back as the beginning of the thirteenth century we find traces of
Hungarian literature, and, if it had been permitted to develop, Hungary
might now have possessed a literature second to none in the modern
world. But in consequence of political struggles the Hungarian language
and literature had to give way, at times, either to the Latin or German
races, so much so that as late as 1849 all scientific subjects had to be
taught either in German or in Latin. It was then that a few patriotic
Magyars took the matter acutely to heart, and strove to restore the
language and literature of their country, with the happy result that
Hungary now, in proportion to its population, comes immediately after
Germany in the number of its universities, colleges, and scientific
institutions, where all subjects are taught in the _Hungarian language
only_.
Maurice Jokai is not only one of those who restored Hungarian
literature, but is the creator of a particular style of romance, which
stamps his works as unique, and has caused them to be eagerly read, and
translated into almost every modern language. It is no wonder,
therefore, that the Hungarians, who are a cultured race, should delight
in showing all honour and respect to the veteran author, who has given
to the world over a hundred splendid works on all subjects, comprising
250 volumes.
Jokai is descended from a middle-class family, a fact which he is always
proud to own, and has no ambition to rise in higher spheres of society,
although the greatest people in the land, including the Empress-Queen
herself, favour him with their personal friendship.
He is a tall, fine-looking man, and carries himself well. He generally
dresses in a black-braided costume, which is the favourite national
Hungarian uniform of those patriots who belong to the forty-eight
period, which marks such an epoch in the history of Hungary. In his
younger days his beard was dark and silky, but now he is quite grey. He
occupies a modest house, and leads a very simple life.
To give the full history of such a great writer as Maurice Jokai, the
titles of whose works fill nine pages of the British Museum catalogue,
would be a task of considerable research, and would itself extend to
volumes. I therefore only propose to touch upon a few of the salient
points of his career.
Jokai was born on February 19, 1825, at Komarom, which city, by-the-by,
is known as the "Virgin Fortress of Hungary."
He received his education partly in his native town and at Pozsony, the
ancient capital of Hungary, Papa and Kecskemet; and in 1846 he passed an
examination as an advocate, though he did not follow the profession
afterwards.
In the same year he took up his abode at Budapest, where in the
following year he assumed the editorship of a paper called _Eletkepek_
(Pictures of Life).
In 1848 he played an important part in the revolution, both in inciting
the people by his literary writings and as a soldier. In 1849 he married
Rose Laborfalvi, the famous actress. In the same year he followed the
National Hungarian Government, which removed its seat to Debreczen, and
became the editor of the _Esti Lapok_ (Evening News). From that time
activity characterised his literary and general career.
In the political movements of 1861 he was to the front both as member of
parliament and as newspaper editor. In 1860 he was elected member of the
Kisfaludy Society, and in 1861 he became a member of the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences, of which institute he is now a member of the
executive committee. He is also the president of the Petofi Society.
His first novel was "A Hetkoeznapok" (Days of the Week), which appeared
in 1846, and since then hardly a year elapsed without the issue of
several volumes from his pen.
Amongst his novels the most celebrated are:
"Egy Magyar Nabob" (The Hungarian Nabob).
"Karpathy Zoltan."
"A Koszivu Ember Fiai" (The Sons of the Stonehearted Man).
"Szerelem Bolondjai" (Love's Puppet).
"Nevtelen Var" (The Nameless Fortress).
"Erdely Aranykora" (The Golden Period of Transylvania).
"Balvanyosvar" (Idol Fortunes).
"Fekete Gyemantok" (Black Diamonds).
"A Joevo Szazad Regenye" (The Romance of the Future Century).
"Az Uj Foeldesur" (The New Landlord).
"Nincsen Oerdoeg" (There is no Devil).
"Az Arany Ember" (The Gold Man).
"A Szep Mikhal" (Pretty Michael).
Of his recent novels the most famous is the one published in 1892, in
which Monk Gregory is the hero.
The short stories that we are presenting in this volume belong to his
earliest writings.
Jokai's novels--in which his own strong personality everywhere reveals
itself--are characterised by great imaginative power and by a light,
humorous style which fascinates the reader. It may be said, without much
exaggeration, that in point of wit and humour few living writers can
compare with him. His subjects are principally drawn from history; but
many of his works are remarkable for their vivid descriptions of
Hungarian life, both past and present. In one word it might justly be
said that in reading Jokai's novels one reads the history of Europe, and
in reading Jokai's history one reads a novel drawn from actual life.
As a poet he occupies a unique position, and stands altogether alone:
for his lyrics, ballads, and heroic verse are even sung by the
schoolchildren throughout Hungary. As a dramatist his fame is extensive;
and his "Koenyves Kalman" (Koloman, King of Hungary, surnamed the Book
King), "Dozsa Gyoergy, The Martyr of Szigetvar," "Az Arany Ember" (The
Golden Man), and "Fekete Gyemantok" (Black Diamonds), have been
incessantly performed with the greatest success.
As a politician he has made a considerable mark, and no one who has had
the privilege of hearing him deliver an oration will forget the music
and sonority of his fine voice. What is less generally known is that he
is an enthusiastic botanical student and an admirable painter.
These are a few outlines of the life of Hungary's greatest writer, and
in the interest of literature let it be hoped that his life may be long
spared, and that his remaining years may be spent in the utmost
happiness. Such is the fervent wish of all his admirers, who are drawn,
not only from this country, but from all civilised peoples, nations, and
languages.
LOUIS FELBERMANN
(_Author of "Hungary and its People"_).
IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA
In the time of the Czar Peter III. a secret society existed at St.
Petersburg which bore the title of "The Nameless." Its members used to
assemble in the house of a Russian nobleman, Jelagin by name, who alone
knew the personality of each visitor, they being, for the most part,
unknown to one another. Distinguished men, princes, ladies of the Court,
officers of the Guard, Cossack soldiers, young commercial men,
musicians, street-singers, actors and actresses, scientific men,
clergymen and statesmen, used to meet here. Beauty and talent were alone
qualifications for entry into the Society, the members of which were
selected by Jelagin. Everyone addressed the other as "thee" and "thou,"
and they only made use of Christian names such as Anne, Alexandra,
Katharine, Olga, Peter, Alexis, and Ivan. And for what purpose did they
assemble here? To amuse themselves at their ease. Those who, by the
prejudices of caste and rank, were utterly severed, and who occupied the
mutual position of master and slave, tore the chains of their barriers
asunder, and all met here. It is quite possible that he with whom the
grenadier-private is now playing chess is the very same General who
might order him a hundred lashes to-morrow, should he take a step on
parade without his command! And now he contends with him to make a queen
out of a pawn!
It is also probable that the pretty woman who is singing sportive French
songs to the accompaniment of the instrument she strikes with her left
hand, is one of the Court ladies of the Czarina, who, as a rule, throws
half-roubles out of her carriage to the street-musicians! Perhaps she is
a Princess? possibly the wife of the Lord Chamberlain? or even higher in
grade than this? Russian society, both high and low, flower and root,
met in Jelagin's castle, and while there enjoyed equality in the widest
sense of the word. Strange phenomenon! That this should take place in
Russia, where so much is thought of aristocratic rank, official garb,
and exterior pomp; where an inferior is bound to dismount from his horse
upon meeting a superior, where sub-officers take off their coats in
token of salute when they meet those of higher rank, and where generals
kiss the priests' hands and the highest aristocrats fall on their faces
before the Czar! Here they sing and dance and joke together, make fun of
the Government, and tell anecdotes of the High Priests, utterly
fearless, and dispensing with salutations!
Can this be done for love of novelty? The existence of this secret
society was repeatedly divulged to the police, and these cannot be
reproached for not having taken the necessary steps to denounce it; but
proceedings, once begun, usually evaporated into thin air, and led to no
results. The investigating officer either never discovered suspicious
facts, or, if he did, matters were adjourned. Those who were arrested in
connection with the affair were in some way set at liberty in peace and
quietness; every document relating to the matter was either burnt or
vanished, and whole sealed cases of writings were turned into plain
white paper. When an influential officer took energetically in hand the
prosecution of "The Nameless," he was generally sent to a foreign
country on an important mission, from which he did not return for a
considerable period. "The Nameless Society" must have had very powerful
protectors. At the conclusion of one of these free and easy
entertainments, a young Cossack hetman remained behind the crowd of
departing guests, and when quite alone with the host he said to him:
"Jelagin, did you see the pretty woman with whom I danced the mazurka
to-night?"
"Yes, I saw her. Are you smitten with her, as others have been?"
"That woman I must make my wife."
Jelagin gave the Cossack a blow on the shoulder and looked into his
eyes.
"That you will not do! You will not take her as your wife, friend
Jemeljan."
"I shall marry her--I have resolved to do so."
"You will not marry her, for she will not go to you."
"If she does not come I will carry her off against her will."
"You can't marry her, because she has a husband."
"If she has a husband I will carry her off in company with him!"
"You can't carry her off, for she lives in a palace--she is guarded by
many soldiers, and accompanied in her carriage by many outriders."
"I will take her away with her palace, her soldiers, and her carriage. I
swear it by St. Gregory!"
Jelagin laughed mockingly.
"Good Jemeljan, go home and sleep out your love--that pretty woman is
the Czarina!"
The hetman became pale for a moment, his breath stopped; but the next
instant, with sparkling eyes, he said to Jelagin:
"In spite of this, what I have said I have said."
Jelagin showed the door to his guest. But, improbable as it may seem,
Jemeljan was really not intoxicated, unless it were with the eyes of the
pretty woman.
A few years elapsed. The Society of "The Nameless" was dissolved, or
changed into one of another form. Katharine had her husband, the Czar,
killed, and wore the crown herself. Many people said she had him killed,
others took her part. It was urged that she knew what was going to
happen, but could not prevent it--that she was compelled to act as she
did, and to affect, after a great struggle with her generous heart,
complete ignorance of poison being administered to her husband. It was
said that she had acted rightly, and that the Czar's fate was a just
one, for he was a wicked man; and finally, it was asserted that the
whole statement was untrue, and that no one had killed Czar Peter, who
died from intense inflammation of the stomach. He drank too much brandy.
The immortal Voltaire is responsible for this last assertion. Whatever
may have happened, Czar Peter was buried, and the Czarina Katharine now
saw that her late husband belonged to those dead who do not sleep
quietly. They rise--rise from their graves--stretch out their hands from
their shrouds, and touch with them those who have forgotten them. They
turn over in their last resting-place, and the whole earth seems to
tremble under the feet of those who walk above them!
Amongst the numerous contradictory stories told, one, difficult to
believe, but which the people gladly credited, and which caused much
bloodshed before it was wiped out of their memory, was this--that Czar
Peter died neither by his own hand, nor by the hands of others, but that
he still lived. It was said that a common soldier, with pock-marked face
resembling the Czar, was shown in his stead to the public on the
death-couch at St. Petersburg, and that the Czar himself had escaped
from prison in soldier's clothes, and would return to retake his throne,
to vanquish his wife, and behead his enemies! Five Czar pretenders rose
one after the other in the wastes of the Russian domains. One followed
the other with the motto, "Revenge on the faithless!" The usurpers
conquered sometimes a northern, sometimes a southern province,
collected forces, captured towns, drove out all officials, and put new
ones in their places, so that it was necessary to send forces against
them. If one was subjugated and driven away into the ice deserts, or
captured and hung on the next tree, another Czar Peter would rise up in
his place and cause rebellion, alarming the Court circle whilst they
were enjoying themselves; and so things went on continually and
continually. The murdered husband remained unburied, for to-day he might
be put in the earth and to-morrow he would rise again one hundred miles
off, and exclaim, "I still live!" He might be killed there, but would
pop out his head again from the earth, saying, "Still I live." He had a
hundred lives! When five of these Peter pretenders went the way of the
real Czar a sixth rose, and this one was the most dreaded and most
daring of all, whose name will perpetually be inscribed in the
chronicles of the Russian people as a dreadful example to all who will
not be taught wisdom, and his name is Jemeljan Pugasceff! He was born as
an ordinary Cossack in the Don province, and took part in the Prussian
campaign, at first as a paid soldier of Prussia, later as an adherent of
the Czar. At the bombardment of <DW12> he had become a Cossack hetman.
His extraordinary physical strength, his natural common sense and
inventive power, had distinguished him even at this time, but the peace
which was concluded barred before him the gate of progress. He was sent
with many discharged officers back to the Don. Let them go again and
look after their field labours! Pugasceff's head, however, was full of
other ideas than that of again commencing cheese-making, from which
occupation he had been called ten years before. He hated the Czarina,
and adored her! He hated the proud woman who had no right to tread upon
the neck of the Russians, and he adored the beautiful woman who
possessed the right to tread upon every Russian's heart! He became
possessed with the mad idea that he would tear down that woman from her
throne, and take her afterwards into his arms. He had his plans prepared
for this. He went along the Volga, where the Roskolniks live--they who
oppose the Russian religion, and who were the adherents of the
persecuted fanatics whose fathers and grandfathers had been continually
extirpated by means of hanging, either on trees or scaffolds, and this
only for the sole reason that they crossed themselves downwards, and not
upwards, as they do in Moscow!
The Roskolniks were always ready to plot if they had any pretence and
could get a leader. Pugasceff wanted to commence his scheme with these,
but he was soon betrayed, and fell into the hands of the police and was
carried into a Kasan prison and put into chains. He might thus go on
dreaming! Pugasceff dreamt one night that he burst the iron chains from
his legs, cut through the wall of the prison, jumped down from the
enclosure, swam through the surrounding trench whose depth was filled
with sharp spikes, and that he made his way towards the uninhabited
plains of the Ural Sorodok, without a crust of bread or a decent stitch
of clothing! The Jakics Cossacks are the only inhabitants of the plains
of Uralszk--the most dreaded tribe in Russia--living in one of those
border countries only painted in outline on the map, and a people with
whom no other on the plains form acquaintanceship. They change locality
from year to year. One winter a Cossack band will pay a visit to the
land of the Kirghese, and burn down their wooden huts; next year a
Kirgizian band will render the same service to the Cossacks! Fighting is
pleasanter work in the winter. In the summer everyone lives under the
sky, and there are no houses to be destroyed! This people belong to the
Roskolnik sect. Just a little while previously they had amused
themselves by slaughtering the Russian Commissioner-General Traubenberg,
with his suite, who came there to regulate how far they might be allowed
to fish in the river Jaik, and with this act they thought they had
clearly proved that the Government had nothing to do with their pike!
Pugasceff had just taken refuge amongst them at the time when they were
dividing the arms of the Russian soldiers, and were scheming as to what
they should further do. One lovely autumn night the escaped convict,
after a great deal of wandering in the miserable valley of Jeremina
Kuriza, situated in the wildest part of the Ural Mountains, and in its
yet more miserable town, Jaiczkoi, knocked at the door of the first
Cossack habitation he saw and said that he was a refugee. He was
received with an open heart, and got plenty of kind words and a little
bread. The house-owner was himself poor; the Kirgizians had driven away
his sheep. One of his sons, a priest of the Roskolnik persuasion, had
been carried away from him into a lead-mine; the second had been taken
to serve as a soldier, and had died; the third was hung because he had
been involved in a revolt. Old Kocsenikoff remained at home without sons
or family. Pugasceff listened to the grievances of his host, and said:
"These can be remedied."
"Who can raise for me my dead sons?" said the old man bitterly.
"The one who rose himself in order to kill."
"Who can that be?"
"The Czar."
"The murdered Czar?" asked the old soldier, with astonishment.
"He has been killed six times, and yet he lives. On my way here,
whenever I met with people, they all asked me, 'Is it true that the Czar
is not dead yet, and that he has escaped from prison?' I replied to
them, 'It is true. He has found his way here, and ere long he will make
his appearance before you.'"
"You say this, but how can the Czar get here?"
"He is already here."
"Where is he?"
"I am he!"
"Very well--very well," replied the old Roskolnik. "I understand what
you want with me. I shall be on the spot if you wish it. All is the
same to me as long as I have anyone to lead me. But who will believe
that you are the Czar? Hundreds and hundreds have seen him face to face.
Everybody knows that the visage of the Czar was dreadfully pockmarked,
whilst yours is smooth."
"We can remedy that. Has not someone lately died of black-pox in this
district?"
"Every day this happens. Two days ago my last labourer died."
"Well, I shall lay in his bed, and I shall rise from it like Czar
Peter."
He did what he said. He lay in the infected bed. Two days later he got
the black-pox, and six weeks afterwards he rose with the same wan face
as one had seen on the unfortunate Czar.
Kocsenikoff saw that a man who could play so recklessly with his life
did not come here to idle away his time. This is a country where out of
ten men nine have stored away some revenge of their own for a future
time. Amongst the first ten people to whom Kocsenikoff communicated his
scheme, he found nine who were ready to assist in the daring
undertaking, even at the cost of their lives; but the tenth was a
traitor. He disclosed the desperate plot to Colonel Simonoff, the
commander of Jaiczkoi, and the commander immediately arrested
Kocsenikoff; but Pugasceff escaped on the horse which had been sent out
with the Cossack who came to arrest him, and he even carried off the
Cossack himself! He jumped into the saddle, patted and spurred the
horse, and made his way into the forest.
History records for the benefit of future generations the name of the
Cossack whom Pugasceff carried away with his horse: Csika was the name
of this timid individual! This happened on September 15. Two days
afterwards Pugasceff came back from the forest to the outskirts of the
town Jaiczkoi. Then he had his horse, a scarlet fur-trimmed jacket, and
three hundred brave horsemen. As he approached the town he had trumpets
blown, and demanded that Colonel Simonoff should surrender and should
come and kiss the hand of his rightful master, Czar Peter III.! Simonoff
came with 5000 horsemen and 800 Russian regular troops against the
rebels, and Pugasceff was in one moment surrounded. At this instant he
took a loosely sealed letter from his breast and read out his
proclamation in a ringing voice to the opposing troops, in which he
appealed to the faithful Cossacks of Peter III. to help him to regain
his throne and to aid him to drive away usurpers, threatening with death
those traitors who should oppose his command. On hearing this the
Cossack troops appeared startled, and the exclamation went from mouth to
mouth, "The Czar lives! This is the Czar!" The officers tried to quiet
the soldiers, but in vain. They commenced to fight amongst themselves,
and the uproar lasted till late at night, with the result that it was
not Simonoff who captured Pugasceff, but the latter who captured eleven
of his officers; and when he retreated from the field his three hundred
men had increased to eight hundred. It was a matter of great difficulty
to the Colonel to lead back the rest into the town. Pugasceff set up
his camp outside in the garden of a Russian nobleman, and on his trees
he hung up the eleven officers. His opponent was so much alarmed that he
did not dare to attack him, but lay wait for him in the trenches, at the
mouth of the cannon. Our daring friend was not quite such a lunatic as
to go and meet him. He required greater success, more decisive battles,
and more guns. He started against the small towns which the Government
had built along the Jaik. The Roskolniks received the pseudo-Czar with
wild enthusiasm. They believed that he had risen from the dead to
humiliate the power of the Moscow priests, and that he intended to
adopt, instead of the Court religion, that which had been persecuted. On
the third day 1500 men accompanied him to battle. The stronghold of
Ileczka was the first halting-place he made. It is situated about
seventy versts from Jaiczkoi. He was welcomed with open gates and with
acclamation, and the guard of the place went over to his side. Here he
found guns and powder, and with these he was able to continue his
campaign. Next followed the stronghold of Kazizna. This did not
surrender of its own accord, but commenced heroically to defend itself,
and Pugasceff was compelled to bombard it. In the heat of the siege the
rebel Cossacks shouted out to those in the fort, and they actually
turned their guns upon their own patrols. All who opposed them were
strung up, and the Colonel was taken a prisoner to Pugasceff, who showed
no mercy to anyone who wore his hair long, which was the fashion at the
time amongst the Russian officers, and for this reason the pseudo-Czar
hung every officer who fell into his hands. Now, provided with guns, he
made his way towards the fort of Nisnaja Osfernaja, which he also
captured after a short attack. Those whom he did not kill joined him.
Now he led 4000 men, and therefore he could dare attack the stronghold
of Talitseva, which was defended by two heroes, Bilof and Jelagin. The
Russian authorities took up a firm position in face of the fanatical
rebels, and they would have repulsed Pugasceff, if the hay stores in the
fort had not been burnt down. This fire gave assistance to the rebels.
Bilof and Jelagin were driven out of the fort-gates, and were forced out
into the plains, where they were slaughtered. When the pseudo-Czar
captured the fort of Nisnaja Osfernaja, a marvellously beautiful woman
came to him in the market-place and threw herself at his feet. "Mercy,
my master!" The woman was very lovely, and was quite in the power of the
conqueror. Her tears and excitement made her still more enchanting.
"For whom do you want pardon?"
"For my husband, who is wounded in fighting against you."
"What is the name of your husband?"
"Captain Chalof, who commanded this fort."
A noble-hearted hero no doubt would have set at liberty both husband and
wife, let them be happy, and love one another. A base man would have
hung the husband and kept the wife. Pugasceff killed them both! He knew
very well that there were still many living who remembered that Czar
Peter III. was not a man who found pleasure in women's love, and he
remained true to his adopted character even in its worst extremes.
The rebels appeared to have wings. After the capture of Talicseva
followed that of Csernojecsinszkaja, where the commander took flight on
the approach of the rebel leader, and entrusted the defence of the fort
to Captain Nilsajeff, who surrendered without firing a shot. Pugasceff,
without saying "Thank you," had him hanged. He did not believe in
officers who went over to the enemy. He only kept the common soldiers,
and he had their hair cut short, so that in the event of their escaping
he should know them again! Next morning the last stronghold in the
country, Precsisztenszka, situated in the vicinity of the capital,
Orenburg, surrendered to the rebels, and in the evening the mock Czar
stood before the walls of Orenburg with thirty cannon and a
well-equipped army! All this happened in fifteen days.
Since the moment when he carried off the Cossack who had been sent to
capture him, and met Kocsenikoff, he had occupied six forts, entirely
annihilated a regiment, and created another, with which he now besieged
the capital of the province.
The towns of the Russian Empire are divided by great distances, and
before things were decided at St. Petersburg, Marquis Pugasceff might
almost have occupied half the country. It was Katharine herself who
nicknamed Pugasceff Marquis, and she laughed very heartily and often in
the Court circles about her extraordinary husband, who was preparing to
reconquer his wife, the Czarina. The nuptial bed awaited him--it was the
scaffold!
On the news of Pugasceff's approach, Reinsburg, the Governor of
Orenburg, sent, under the command of Colonel Bilof, a portion of his
troops to attack the rebel. Bilof started on the chase, but he shared
the fate of many lion-hunters. The pursued animal ate him up, and of his
entire force not one man returned to Orenburg. Instead of this,
Pugasceff's forces appeared before its gates.
Reinsburg did not wish to await the bombardment, and he sent his most
trusted regiment, under the command of Major Naumoff, to attack the
rebels. The mock-Czar allowed it to approach the <DW72>s of the mountains
outside Orenburg, and there, with masked guns, he opened such a
disastrous fire upon them that the Russians were compelled to retire to
their fort utterly demoralised. Pugasceff then descended into the plains
and pitched his camp before the town. The two opponents both began with
the idea of tiring each other out by waiting. Pugasceff was encamped on
the snow-fields. The plains of Russia are no longer green in October,
and instead of tents he had huts made of branches of oak. The one force
was attacked by frost--the other by starvation. Finally starvation
proved the more powerful. Naumoff sallied from the fort, and turned his
attention towards occupying those heights whence his forces had been
fired upon a short time previously. He succeeded in making an onslaught
with his infantry upon the rebel lines, but Pugasceff, all of a sudden,
changed his plan of battle, and attacked with his Cossacks the cavalry
of his opponent, who took to flight. The victory fell from the grasp of
Naumoff, and he was compelled to fly with his cannon, breaking his way,
sword in hand, through the lines of the Cossacks. Then Pugasceff
attacked in his turn. He had forty-eight guns, with which he commenced a
fierce bombardment of the walls, which continued until November 9th,
when he ordered his troops to storm the town. The onslaught did not
succeed, for the Russians bravely defended themselves. Pugasceff,
therefore, had to make up his mind to starve out his opponents. The
broad plains and valleys were white with snow, the forests sparkled with
icicles, as though made of silver, and during the long nights the cold
reflection of the moon alone brightened the desolate wastes where the
audacious dream of a daring man kept awake the spirits of his men. The
dream was this: That he should be the husband of the Czarina of All the
Russias.
* * * * *
Katharine II. was passionately fond of playing tarok, and she
particularly liked that variety of the game which was later on named,
after a celebrated Russian general, "Paskevics," and required four
players. In addition to the Czarina, Princess Daskoff, Prince Orloff,
and General Karr sat at her table. The latter was a distinguished
leader of troops--_in petto_--and as a tarok-player without equal. He
rose from the table _semper victor_! No one ever saw him pay, and for
this reason he was a particular favourite with the Czarina. She said if
she could only once succeed in winning a rouble from Karr she would have
a ring welded to it and wear it suspended from her neck. It is very
likely that the mistakes of his opponents aided General Karr's continual
success. The two noble ladies were too much occupied with Orloff's fine
eyes to be able to fix their attention wholly upon the game, whilst
Orloff was so lucky in love that it would have been the greatest
injustice on earth if he had been equally successful at play. Once,
whilst shuffling the cards, some one casually remarked that it was a
scandalous shame that an escaped Cossack like Pugasceff should be in a
position to conquer a fourth of Russia in Europe, to disgrace the
Russian troops time after time, to condemn the finest Russian officers
to a degrading death, and now even to bombard Orenburg like a real
potentate.
"I know the dandy, I know him very well," said Karr. "During the life of
His Majesty I used to play cards with him at Oranienbaum. He is a stupid
youngster. Whenever I called _carreau_, he used to give _coeur_."
"It appears that he plays even worse now," said the Czarina; "now he
throws _pique_ after _coeur_!"
It was the fashion at this time at the Russian Court to throw in every
now and then a French word, and _coeur_ in French means heart, and
_piquer_ means to sting and prick.
"Yes, because our commanders have been inactive. Were I only there!"
"Won't you have the kindness to go there?" asked Orloff mockingly.
"If Her Majesty commands me, I am ready."
"Ah! this tarok-party would suffer a too great loss in you," said
Katharine, jokingly.
"Well, your Majesty might have hunting-parties at Peterhof," he said,
consolingly, to the Czarina.
This was a pleasant suggestion to Katharine, for at Peterhof she had
spent her brightest days, and there she had made the acquaintance of
Orloff. With a smile full of grace, she nodded to General Karr.
"I don't mind, then; but in two weeks you must be back."
"Ah! what is two weeks?" returned Karr; "if your Majesty commands it, I
will seat myself this very hour upon a sledge, and in three days and
nights I shall be in Bugulminszka. On the fourth day I shall arrange my
cards, and on the fifth I shall send word to this dandy that I am the
challenger. On the sixth day I shall give '_Volat_'[1] to the rascal,
and the seventh and eighth days I shall have him as _Pagato ultimo_,[2]
bound in chains, and bring him to your Majesty's feet!"
[Footnote 1: "_Volat_" is an expression used in tarok to denote that no
tricks have been made by an opponent.]
[Footnote 2: This is another term in the game, when the player announces
beforehand that he will make the last trick with the Ace of Trumps.]
The Czarina burst out laughing at the funny technical expressions used
by the General, and entrusted Orloff to provide the celebrated
_Pagato_-catching General with every necessity. The matter was taken
seriously, and Orloff promulgated the imperial _ukase_, according to
which Karr was entrusted with the control of the South Russian troops,
and at the same time he announced to him what forces he would have at
his command. At Bugulminszka was General Freymann with 20,000 infantry,
2000 cavalry, and thirty-two guns, and he would be reinforced by Colonel
Csernicseff, the Governor of Szinbirszk, who had at his command 15,000
horsemen, and twelve guns; while on his way he would meet Colonel
Naumann with two detachments of the Body Guard. He was in particular to
attach the latter to him, for they were the very flower of the army.
Karr left that night. His chief tactics in campaigning consisted in
speediness, but it seems that he studied this point badly, for his great
predecessors, Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great, Hannibal, &c.,
also travelled quickly, but in company with an army, whilst Karr thought
it quite sufficient if he went alone. He judged it impossible to travel
faster than he did, sleighing merrily along to Bugulminszka; but it was
possible. A Cossack horseman who started the same time as he did from
St. Petersburg, arrived thirty-six hours before him, informed Pugasceff
of the coming of General Karr, and acquainted him as to the position of
his troops. Pugasceff despatched about 2000 Cossacks to fall upon the
rear of the General, and prevent his junction with the Body Guard.
Karr did not consult any one at Bugulminszka. He pushed aside his
colleague Freymann in order to be left alone to settle the affair. He
said it was not a question of fighting but of chasing. He must be caught
alive--this wild animal. Csernicseff was already on the way with 1200
horsemen and twelve guns, as he had received instructions from Karr to
cross the river Szakmara and prevent Pugasceff from retreating, while he
himself should, with the pick of the regiment, attack him in front and
thus catch him between two fires. Csernicseff thought he had to do with
clever superiors, and as an ordinary divisional leader he did not dare
to think his General to be so ignorant as to allow him to be attacked by
the magnificent force of his opponent, nor did he think that Pugasceff
would possess such want of tactics as, whilst he saw before him a strong
force, to turn with all his troops to annihilate a small detachment.
Both these things happened. Pugasceff quietly allowed his opponents to
cross over the frozen river. Then he rushed upon them from both sides.
He had the ice broken in their rear, and thus destroyed the entire
force, capturing twelve guns. Csernicseff himself, with thirty-five
officers, was taken prisoner, and Pugasceff had them all hanged on the
trees along the roadway. Then, drunk with victory, he moved with his
entire forces against Karr. He, too, was approaching hurriedly, and,
thirty-six miles from Bugulminszka, the two forces met in a Cossack
village. General Karr was quite astonished to find, instead of an
imagined mob, a disciplined army divided into proper detachments, and
provided with guns. Freymann advised him, as he had sent away the
trusted squadron of Csernicseff, not to commence operations now with the
cavalry, to take the village as the basis of his operations, and to use
his infantry against the rebels. A series of surprises then befell Karr.
He saw the despised rowdy crowd approaching with drawn sabres, he saw
the coolness with which they came on in the face of the fiercest
musketry fire. He saw the headlong desperation with which they rushed
upon his secure position. He recognised that he had found here heroes,
instead of thieves. But what annoyed him most was that this rabble knew
so well how to handle their cannon; for in St. Petersburg, out of
precaution, Cossacks are not enlisted in the artillery, in order that no
one should teach them how to serve guns. And here this ignorant people
handled the guns, stolen but yesterday, as though accustomed to them all
their lifetime, and their shells had already set fire to villages in
many different places. The General ordered his entire line to advance
with a rush, while with the reserve he sharply attacked the enemy in
flank, totally defeating them. His cavalry started with drawn swords
towards the fire-spurting space. Amongst the 1500 horsemen there were
only 300 Cossacks, and in the heat of battle these deserted to the
enemy. Immediately General Karr saw this, he became so alarmed that he
set his soldiers the example of flight. All discipline at an end, they
abandoned their comrades in front, and escaped as best they could.
Pugasceff's Cossacks pursued the Russians for a distance of thirty
miles, but did not succeed in overtaking the General. Fear lent him
wings. Arrived at Bugulminszka, he learnt that Csernicseff's horsemen
had been destroyed, that the Body Guard in his own rear had been taken
prisoners, and that twenty-one guns had fallen into the hands of the
rebels. Upon hearing this bad news he was seized with such a bad attack
of the _grippe_ that they wrapped him up in pillows and sent him home by
sledge to St. Petersburg, where the four-handed card-party awaited him,
and that very night he had the misfortune to lose his XXI.[3]; upon
which the Czarina made the _bon mot_ that Karr allowed himself twice to
lose his XXI. (referring to twenty-one guns), which _bon mot_ caused
great merriment at the Russian Court.
[Footnote 3: The card next to the highest in tarok.]
After this victory, Pugasceff's star (if a demon may be said to possess
one) attained its meridian. Perhaps it might have risen yet higher had
he remained faithful to his gigantic missions, and had he not forgotten
the two passions which had led him on with such astonishing
rapidity--the one being to make the Czarina his wife, the other, to
crush the Russian aristocracy. Which of these two ideas was the boldest?
He was only separated from their realisation by a transparent film.
After Karr's defeat he had an open road to Moscow, where his appearance
was awaited by 100,000 serfs burning to shake off the yoke of the
aristocracy, and form a new Russian empire. Forty million helots awaited
their liberator in the rebel leader. Then, of a sudden, he cast away
from him the common sense he had possessed until now--for the sake of a
pair of beautiful eyes!
After the victory of Bugulminszka a large number of _envoyes_ from the
leaders of the Baskirs appeared before him, and brought him, together
with their allegiance, a pretty girl to be his wife.
The name of the maiden was Ulijanka, and she stole the heart of
Pugasceff from the Czarina. At that time the adventurer believed so
fully in his star that he did not behave with his usual severity.
Ulijanka became his favourite, and the adventurous chief appointed
Salavatke, her father, to be the ruling Prince of Baskirk. Then he
commenced to surround himself with Counts and Princes. Out of the booty
of plundered castles he clothed himself in magnificent Court costumes,
and loaded his companions with decorations taken from the heroic Russian
officers. He nominated them Generals, Colonels, Counts, and Princes. The
Cossack, Csika, his first soldier, was appointed _Generalissimus_, and
to him he entrusted half his army. He also issued roubles with his
portrait under the name of Czar Peter III., and sent out a circular note
with the words, "_Redevivus et ultor_." As he had no silver mines, he
struck the roubles out of copper, of which there was plenty about. This
good example was also followed by the Russians, who issued roubles to
the amount of millions and millions, and made payments with them
generously. Pugasceff now turned the romance of the insurrection into
the parody of a reign. Instead of advancing against the unprotected
cities of the Russian Empire, he attacked the defended strongholds, and,
in the place of pursuing the fairy picture of his dreams which had led
him thus far, he laid himself down in the mud by the side of a common
woman!
Generalissimus Csika was instructed to occupy the fort Ufa, with the
troops who were entrusted to his care. The time was January, 1774, and
it was so terribly cold that nothing like it had been recorded in
Russian chronicles. The trees of the forest split with a noise as though
a battle were proceeding, and the wild fowl fell to the ground along the
roads.
To carry on a siege under such circumstances was impossible. The
hardened earth would not permit the digging of trenches, and it was
impossible to camp on the frozen ground.
The two rebel chiefs occupied the neighbouring towns, and so cut off all
supplies from the neighbouring forests. In Orenburg they had already
eaten up the horses belonging to the garrison, and a certain Kicskoff,
the commissary, invented the idea of boiling the skins of the
slaughtered animals, cutting them into small slices and mixing them with
paste, which food was distributed amongst the soldiers, and gave rise to
the breaking out of a scorbutic disease in the fort which rendered half
the garrison incapable of work. On January the 13th, Colonel
Vallenstierna tried to break his way through the rebel lines with 2500
men, but he returned with hardly seventy. The remainder, about 2000 men,
remained on the field. At any rate, they no longer asked for food! A few
hundred hussars, however, cut their way through and carried to St.
Petersburg the news of what Czar Peter III. (who had now risen for the
seventh time from his grave) was doing! The Czarina commenced to get
tired of her adorer's conquests, so she called together her faithful
generals, and asked which of them thought it possible to undertake a
campaign in the depth of the Russian winter into the interior of the
Russian snow deserts. This did not mean playing at war, nor a triumphal
procession. It meant a battle with a furious people who, in forty years'
time, would trample upon the most powerful European troops. There were
four who replied that in Russia everything was possible which ought to
be done. The names of these four gentlemen were: Prince Galiczin,
General Bibikoff, Colonel Larionoff, and Michelson, a Swedish officer.
Their number, however, was soon reduced to two at the very commencement.
Larionoff returned home after the first battle of Bozal, where the
rebels proved victorious, whilst Bibikoff died from the hardships of the
winter campaign.
Galiczin and Michelson alone remained. The Swede had already gained fame
in the Turkish campaign from his swift and daring deeds, and when he
started from the Fort of Bozal against the rebels his sole troops
consisted of 400 hussars and 600 infantry, with four guns. With this
small force he started to the relief of the Fort of Ufa. Quickly as he
proceeded, Csika's spies were quicker still, and the rebel leader was
informed of the approach of the small body of the enemy. As he expected
that they only intended to reinforce the garrison of Ufa, he merely sent
against them 3000 men, with nine guns, to occupy the mountain passes
through which they would march on their way to Ufa. But Michelson did
not go to Ufa as was expected. He seated his men on sledges, and flew
along the plains to Csika's splendid camp. So unexpected, so daring, so
little to be credited was this move of his, that when he fell on Csika's
vanguard at one o'clock one morning nobody opposed him. The alarmed
rebels hurried headlong to the camp, and left two guns in the hands of
Michelson. The Swedish hero knew well enough that the 3000 men of the
enemy who occupied the mountain pass would at once appear in answer to
the sound of the guns, and that he would thus be caught between two
fires; so he hastily directed his men to entrench themselves beneath
their sledges in the road, and left two hundred infantry with two guns
to defend them, whilst with the remaining troops he made his way towards
the town of Csernakuka, whither Csika's troops had fled. Michelson saw
that he had no time to lose. He placed himself at the head of his
hussars, sounded the charge, and attacked the bulk of his opponents. For
this they were not prepared. The bold attack caused confusion amongst
them, and in a few moments the centre of the camp was cut through, and
the first battery captured. He then immediately turned his attention to
the two wings of the camp. After this, flight became general, and
Csika's troops were dispersed like a cloud of mosquitos, leaving behind
them forty-eight cannon and eight small guns. The victor now returned
with his small body of troops to the sledges they had left behind, and
he then entirely surrounded the 3000 rebels. Those who were not
slaughtered were captured. The victorious hero sent word to the
commander of the Ufa garrison that the road was clear, and that the
cannon taken from his opponents should be drawn thither. A hundred and
twenty versts from Ufa he reached the flying Csika. The Generalissimus
then had only forty-two officers, whilst his privates had disappeared in
every direction of the wind. Michelson got hold of them all, and if he
did not hang them it was only because on the six days' desert march not
a single tree was to be found. In the meantime, Prince Galiczin, whose
troops consisted of 6000 men, went in pursuit of Pugasceff. On this
miserable route he did not encounter the mock Czar until the beginning
of March. Pugasceff waited for his opponent in the forest of Taticseva.
This so-called stronghold had only wooden walls, a kind of ancient
fencing. It was good enough to protect the sheep from the pillaging
Baskirs, but it was not suitable for war. The genius of the rebel leader
did not desert him, and he was well able to look after himself. Round
the fences he dug trenches, where he piled up the snow, on which he
poured water. This, after being frozen, turned almost into stone, and
was, at the same time, so slippery that no one could climb over it. Here
he awaited Galiczin with a portion of his troops, while the remainder
occupied Orenburg. The Russian general approached the hiding-place of
the mock Czar cautiously. The thick fog was of service to him, and the
two opponents only perceived one another when they were standing at
firing distance. A furious hand-to-hand fight ensued. The best of the
rebel troops were there. Pugasceff was always in the front and where the
danger was greatest, but finally the Russians climbed the ice-bulwarks,
captured his guns, and drove him out of the forest. This victory cost
the life of 1000 heroic Russians, but it was a complete one! Pugasceff
abandoned the field with 4000 men and seven guns; but what was a greater
loss still than his army and his guns, was that of the superstitious
glamour which had surrounded him until now. The belief in his
incapability of defeat, that was lost too! The revengeful Czar who had
but yesterday commenced his campaign, now had to fly to the desert,
which promised him no refuge. It was only then that the real horrors of
the campaign commenced. It was a war such as can be imagined in Russia
only, where in the thousands and thousands of square miles of borderless
desert scantily distributed hordes wander about, all hating Russian
supremacy, and all born gun in hand. Pugasceff took refuge amongst these
people. Once again he turned on Galiczin at Kargozki. He was again
defeated, and lost his last gun. His sweetheart, Ulijanka, was also
taken captive--that is, if she did not betray him! From here he escaped
precipitately with his cavalry across the river Mjaes.
Here Siberia commences, and here Russia has no longer villages, but only
military settlements which are divided from each other by a day's march,
across plains and the ancient forests, along the ranges of the Ural
Mountains--the so-called factories.
The Woszkrezenszki factory, situated one day's walk into the desert, is
divided by uncut forests from the Szimszki factory, in both of which
cinnamon and tin paints are made, and here are to be seen the powder
factory of Usiska and the bomb factory of Szatkin, where the exiled
Russian convicts work. At the meeting of the rivers are the small towns
of Stepnaja, Troiczka Uszt, Magitnaja, Petroluskaja, Kojelga, guarded by
native Cossacks, whilst others are garrisoned by disgraced battalions.
Hither came Pugasceff with the remnants of his army. Galiczin pursued
him for some time, but finally came to the conclusion that in this
uninhabited country, where the solitary road is only indicated by
snow-covered trenches, he could not, with his regular troops, reach an
opponent whose tactics were to run away, as far and as fast as possible.
Pugasceff rallied to him all the tribes along the Ural district, who
deserted their homesteads and followed him.
The winter suddenly disappeared, and those mild, short April days
commenced which one can only realise in Siberia, when at night the water
freezes, while in the daytime the melting snow covers the expanse of
waste, every mountain stream becomes a torrent, and the traveller finds
in the place of every brook a vast sea. The runaway might still proceed
by sledge, but the pursuer would only find before him fathomless
morasses. Only one leader had the courage to pursue Pugasceff even into
this land--this was Michelson. Just as the Siberian wolf who has tasted
the blood of the wild boar does not swerve from the track, but pursues
him even amongst reeds and morasses, so the daring leader chased his
opponent from plain to plain. He never had more than 1000 men, cavalry,
artillery, and gunners all told. Every one had to carry provisions for
two weeks, and 100 cartridges. The cavalry had guns as well as sabres,
so that they might also fight on foot, and the artillery were supplied
with axes, so that, if necessary, they might serve as carpenters, and
all prepared to swim should the necessity arise. With this small force
Michelson followed Pugasceff amid the horde of insurrectionary tribes,
surrounded on every side by people upon whose mercy he could not count,
whose language he did not understand, and whose motto was death. Yet he
went amongst them in cold blood, as the sailor braves the terrors of the
ocean. On the 7th of May he was attacked by the father of the pretty
Ulijanka, near the Szimszki factory, with 2000 Baskirs, who were about
to join Pugasceff. Michelson dispersed them, captured their guns, and
discovered from the Baskir captives that Beloborodoff, one of the dukes
created by Pugasceff, was approaching with a large force of renegade
Russian soldiers. Michelson caught up with them near the Jeresen stream,
and drove them into the Szatkin factory. Riding all by himself, so close
to them that his voice could be heard, he commenced by admonishing them
to rejoin the standard of the Czarina. He was fired at more than 2000
times from the windows of the factory, but when they saw that he was
invulnerable they suddenly threw open the gates and joined his forces.
From them he discovered the whereabouts of the mock Czar, who had at the
time once more recovered himself, had captured three strongholds,
Magitnaja, Stepnaja, and Petroluskaja, and was just then besieging
Troiczka. This place he took before the arrival of Michelson, who found
in lieu of a stronghold nothing but ruins, dead bodies, and Russian
officers hanging from the trees. Pugasceff heard of the approach of his
opponent, and, with savage cunning, laid a snare to capture the daring
pursuer. He dressed his soldiers in the uniforms of the dead Russian
soldiers, and sent messengers to Michelson in the name of Colonel Colon
that he should join him beyond Varlamora. Michelson only perceived the
trick when his vanguard was attacked and two of his guns captured.
Although surrounded, he immediately fell upon the flower of Pugasceff's
guard, and cut his way through just where the enemy was strongest. The
net was torn asunder. It was not strong enough. Pugasceff fled before
Michelson, and, with a few hundred followers, escaped into the interior
of Siberia, near the lake of Arga. All of a sudden Michelson found
Szalavatka at his rear with Baskir troops who had already captured the
Szatkin factory, and put to the sword men, women, and children.
Michelson turned back suddenly, and found the Baskir camp strongly
intrenched near the river Aj. The enemy had destroyed the bridges over
the river, and confidently awaited the Imperial troops. At daybreak
Michelson ordered up forty horsemen and placed a rifleman behind the
saddle of each, telling them to swim the river and defend themselves
until the remainder of the troops joined them. His commands were carried
out to the letter amidst the most furious firing of the enemy, and the
Russians gained the other side of the river without a bridge, drawing
with them their cannon bound to trees. The Baskirs were dispersed and
fled, but whilst Michelson was pursuing them with his cavalry he
received news that his artillery was attacked by a fresh force, and he
had to return to their aid. Pugasceff himself, who again was the
aggressor, stood with a regular army on the plains. The battle lasted
till late at night in the forest. Finally the rebels retreated, and
Michelson discovered that his opponents meant to take by surprise the
Fort of Ufa. He speedily cut his way through the forest, and when
Pugasceff thought himself a day's distance from his opponent, he found
him face to face outside the Fort of Ufa. Michelson proved again
victorious, but by this time his soldiers had not a decent piece of
clothing left, nor a wearable shoe, and each man had not more than two
charges. He therefore had to retreat to Ufa for fresh ammunition. It
appears that Michelson was just such a dreaded opponent to Pugasceff as
the man not born of a woman was to Macbeth. Immediately he disappeared
from the horizon, he arose anew, and at each encounter with the
pretender beat him right and left. When Michelson drove him away from
Ufa, Pugasceff totally defeated the Russian leaders approaching from
other directions, London, Melgunoff, Duve, and Jacubovics were swept
away before him, and he burnt before their very eyes the town of Birszk.
With drawn sword he occupied the stronghold of Ossa, where he acquired
guns, and, advancing with lightning rapidity, he stood before Kazan,
which is one of the most noted towns of the province; it is the seat of
an Archbishop, and there is kept the crown which the Russian Czars use
at their coronation. This crown was required by the mock Czar. If he
could get hold of it, and the Archbishop of Kazan would place it on his
head, who could deny that he was the anointed Czar? Generals Brand and
Banner had but 1500 musketry for the defence of Kazan, but the citizens
of the town took also to the guns to defend themselves from within their
ancient walls. The day before the bombardment, General Potemkin,
accompanied by General Larionoff, arrived at Kazan. The Imperialists had
as many generals and colonels in their camp as Pugasceff had corporals
who had deserted their colours, yet the horde led by the rebel stormed
the stronghold of the generals. Pugasceff was the first to scale the
wall, standard in hand, upon which the generals took refuge in the
citadel. Larionoff fled, and on his flight to Nijni Novgorod did not
once look back.
Pugasceff captured the town of Kazan, and gave it up to pillage. The
Archbishop of Kazan received him before the cathedral, bestowed upon him
gold to the value of half-a-million roubles, and promised that he would
place the crown on his head immediately he procured it; it being in the
citadel. Pugasceff set fire to the town in all directions, as he wanted
to effect the surrender of the citadel garrison by that means. Just at
this moment Michelson was on his way. The heroic General hardly allowed
his troops time for rest, but again started in pursuit of Pugasceff. No
news of him was heard, his footsteps alone could be traced. At Burnova
he was attacked by a gang of rebels, whom he dispersed, but they were
not the troops of Pugasceff. At Brajevana he came upon a detachment, but
this also was not the one he was looking for. He then turned towards the
Fort of Ossa, where he found a group of Baskir horsemen, whom he
dispersed, capturing many others, from whom he learnt that Pugasceff had
crossed the river Kuma; and he knew that he would find the rebel at
Kazan. He hastened after him, meeting right and left with camps and
troops belonging to his adventurous opponent. He found no boats on the
river Kuma, so he swam it. Two other rivers lay in his way, but neither
of these prevented his progress, and when he arrived at Arksz he heard
firing in the direction of Kazan. Allowing but one hour's repose to his
troops, he marched through the night, and at daybreak the thick dark
smoke on the horizon told him that Kazan was in flames. Pugasceff's
patrols communicated to their leader that Michelson was again at hand.
The mock Czar cursed upon hearing the news. Was it a devil who was again
at his heels, when he believed him 300 miles off? He decided that this
must not be known to the garrison, who had been forced into the citadel.
He collected from his troops those whom he could spare, and stationed
them in the town of Taziczin, seven miles from Kazan, to prevent the
advance of the dreaded enemy. Just as he was proclaiming himself Czar
Peter III. in the market-place of Taziczin, a miserable-looking woman
rushed in, and fell at his feet, embracing him, and covering him with
kisses. This woman was Pugasceff's wife, who thought her husband lost
long ago. They had been married very young, and Pugasceff himself
believed her no longer living, but the poor woman recognised him by his
voice. Pugasceff did not lose his presence of mind, but, gently lifting
the woman up, he said to his officers:--"Look after this woman; her
husband was a great friend of mine and I owe him much." But every one
knew that the sham-Czar was no other than the husband of Marianka, and
no doubt the appearance of the peasant woman told on the spirits of the
insurgent troops. The most bitter and decisive battle of the
insurrection awaited them. The night divided the two armies, and it was
only in the morning that Michelson could force his way into the town,
whence he sent word to the people of Kazan to come to his assistance.
Pugasceff again attacked him with embittered fury, and as he could not
dislodge him he withdrew the remainder of his troops from Kazan and
encamped on the plain. The third day of the battle, fortune turned to
the side of Pugasceff. They fought for four hours, and Michelson was
already surrounded, when the hero put himself at the head of his small
army and made a desperate rush upon Pugasceff.
The insurrectionary forces were broken asunder. They left 3000 men on
the battlefield, and 5000 captives fell into the hands of the victors.
Kazan was free, but the Russian empire was not so yet.
Pugasceff, trodden a hundred times to the ground, rose once more. After
his defeat at Kazan, he fled, not towards the interior of Siberia, but
straight towards the heart of the Russian empire--towards Moscow. Out of
his army which was split asunder at Kazan he formed 100 battalions, and
with a small number of these, crossed the Volga. Immediately he appeared
on the opposite banks of the river, the entire province was enkindled:
the peasantry rose in revolt against the aristocracy. Within a district
of 100 miles every castle was destroyed, and one town after the other
opened its gates to the mock Czar. The further he advanced the more his
army increased and the faster his insurrectionary red flag travelled
towards the gates of Moscow. On their way the rebels occupied forts,
pillaged and destroyed the towns, and the troops which were sent against
them were captured. Before the Fort of Zariczin an Imperial force
challenged their advance. In the ensuing battle, every Russian officer
fell, and the entire force was captured. Again Pugasceff had 25,000 men
and a large number of guns, and his road would have been clear to Moscow
if the ubiquitous Michelson had not been at his back! This wonderful
hero did not dread his opponents, however numerous, and like the panther
which drives before him the herd of buffaloes, so he drove with his
small body Pugasceff's tremendous army. The rebel felt that this man had
a magic power over him, and that he was in league with fate. Finally, he
found a convenient place outside Sarepta, and here he awaited his
opponent. It is a height which a steep mountain footpath divides, and
this path is intersected by another. Pugasceff placed a portion of his
best troops on the ascending path, whilst to the riff-raff he entrusted
his two wings. If Michelson had caught the bull by the horns with his
ordinary tactics, he ought to have cut through the little footpath
leading to the steep road, and if he had succeeded then, the troops
which were at the point of intersection would have fallen between two
fires, from which they could not have escaped. But Michelson changed his
system of attack. Whilst the bombardment was going on, he, together with
Colonel Melin, rushed upon the wings of the opposing forces. Pugasceff
saw himself fall into the pit he had dug for others. The rebel army,
terror-struck, rushed towards his camp. The forces that flew to his
rescue fell at the mouth of his guns, and he had to cut his way through
his own troops in order to escape from the trap. This was his last
battle! He escaped with sixty men, crossed the Volga, and hid amongst
the bushes of an uninhabited plain.
The Russian troops surrounded the plain, whence Pugasceff and his men
could not escape. And yet he still dreamt of future glory! Amidst the
great desert his old ambition came back to him--he pictured the golden
dome of the Kremlin, and the conquered Czarina. And with these dreams he
suffered the tortures of hunger. For days and days he had no nourishment
but horse-flesh roasted on the reeds, which was made palatable by
meadow-grass in place of salt. One night, as he was sitting over the
fire and roasting his meagre dinner on a wooden spit, one of the three
Cossacks who formed his body-guard said to him, "You have played your
comedy long enough, Pugasceff!" The adventurer sprang up from his place.
"Slave, I am your Czar!" and whilst saying this he slew the speaker. The
two others made a rush at him, struck him to the ground, bound him, tied
him to a horse, and thus took him to Ural Sorodok and delivered him to
General Szuvarof. It was the very same Ural Sorodok whence he had
started upon his bold undertaking. From here he was taken to Moscow. The
sentence passed upon him was that he should be cut up alive into small
pieces. The Czarina confirmed the sentence, though her beautiful eyes
had had great share of responsibility for the sinner's fate. The hangman
was more merciful. It was not specified in the sentence where he should
commence the work of slaughter, so he began at once with the head, and
for this oversight he was sent to Siberia! Katharine about this time
changed her favourite. Instead of Orloff, Potemkin, a fine fellow, was
chosen.
TAMERLAN THE TARTAR
CHAPTER I
All around, as far as eye could range, not a palm, nor a plant, nor a
blade of grass was to be seen. From one end of the horizon to the other,
nothing on which the rising sun could cast a shadow! There was only a
small hillock in the centre of this desert, and against this a man was
resting, spreading out his hands upon the square stone which stood upon
it. He had either just risen from sleep or from the recital of prayer,
and, kneeling, he greeted the rising sun. His dress was similar to that
of an Eastern mendicant, for he was covered with a long woollen cloak,
and one could see through his wide-hanging sleeves the wounds on his
arms which had been scorched by the sun. He was short, and lame with a
crippled foot, and, although his hair and beard were already white, his
face, which was ruddy and youthful, belied his age, for on his forehead
no wrinkles were to be seen, and his eyes were bright and sparkling. The
expression of his face was as grave and gentle as that of a philosopher
or a pilgrim.
To the eastern horizon of the desert, along the stony plain of Szivasz,
a red pyramid arrested the sun's rays, and appeared through the morning
mists like a red shadow, whilst westward, a long black streak of cloud
seemed to hover, which the morning breeze was powerless to agitate and
the light of dawn could not kindle into colour. Throughout the whole
extent of the plains not a human voice was to be heard, but in the
melancholy quietude some continuous and dismal sounds attracted the ear,
proceeding apparently from the interior of the earth. Far and wide as
the waste extended were these heartrending and distressing noises to be
heard. It seemed as though the earth were sobbing, or as though one
could recognise the sighs and groans ascending from lost souls in
purgatory, numbed into faint echoes in their transit from the depths
below. Or even as though the air were filled with the loud screams of
evil spirits, coming and going one knew not whence or whither. On the
face of the lonely wanderer no expression of fear was visible. He did
not shrink shudderingly from the phantom of the plain, nor from the
desolate picture spread before him. If he could pass the night alone
amidst these ghostly surroundings, was it likely that he would be afraid
in the sunlight?
He knelt once again upon the hillock, touching the stone with his
forehead, speaking in low murmurs as though into the sand:
"Oh! Wisdom beyond all wisdoms! grant to me to acquire thy knowledge
that I may wander throughout the world, and accomplish what Thou hast
left unfinished."
Whilst saying this he rose, and, with dignified mien, gazed around the
expanse of plain. These plains were the blessed soil of Iran. But
yesterday it was the fourth paradise of Asia, while to-day it is a
desert.
The little hillock was the sepulchre of Abu Mozlim who killed half a
million of people in his fierce and continuous fights.
The philosopher, wanderer, and mendicant who rested upon it was Timur
(the man of the iron sword), nicknamed also Timur Lenk (the lame), who
in the language of flatterers was called Gurgan (the high and mighty
lord), Szabil Kiran (the master of all time), or Djeihangir (the
conqueror of the world)--one of the greatest of all conquerors. On his
head rested the crowns of twenty-seven countries, and from the Indus to
the Volga twenty-seven nationalities groaned under his yoke.
It was he himself, the dreaded Tamerlan. The red pyramid to the east was
a pyramid of skulls, which had been piled up from the heads of 90,000
soldiers captured during the war, whilst the immovable cloud towards the
west was the smoke rising from Szivasz, which only two days ago was
inhabited by 100,000 people and to-day held as many graves!
The hollow murmuring from the centre of the earth was caused by the
cries of 4000 Armenians, whom the victorious conqueror had caused to be
buried alive in one vast timber-lined grave, so that their screams could
be heard for some time. It was their moans which came from beneath the
earth, whilst the <DW36> rested on his club, made from the horn of the
buffalo, and gazed with a satisfied air around the desert wastes which,
yesterday a paradise, had been battered down by his horses' hoofs into a
dismal plain. What he saw and heard was delight to his heart. The air of
the desert mourned, and the earth moaned in concert.
CHAPTER II
Timur's camp was always full of learned men, poets, and lute singers.
When he devastated a country or uprooted a town, there was never a
living soul left behind his track--not the sound of a child's cry, the
bark of a dog, or the crow of a cock--everything was destroyed!
But he spared learned men and poets. On the day of destruction his camp
was a place of refuge to them, and they were guarded by his soldiers in
order that no evil might befall them; and when he moved onwards he
carried with him not only the treasures of the dead--silver, gold, and
jewels, but also those of the living--art and science. His camp was
swarming with astronomers, magicians, singers, poets, painters,
gymnasts, engineers, doctors, conjurers, monkey-trainers, and such like.
Timur caused them to be elegantly dressed and well fed, and paid them
handsomely. He carried them about everywhere with him, in order that
they might amuse all but himself. Why should he trouble his head with
astronomy when he knew no star so sparkling as himself? Why should he
learn history, when he was the one to make it; or listen to verses which
were sung in praise of love, when he distributed captive maidens to his
soldiers as a portion of their pay? If he had scientific men in his camp
it was in order that they should exert their power over his people. Let
them hear the poet's stories, and the recital of heroic deeds, and let
the chroniclers write on their parchment what he dictated. Let comedians
amuse the crowd, so long as it was acknowledged that all the amusement
was owing to him.
It was 830 in the Hedjir year, and the countries of two great conquerors
adjoined one another. One was Timur, another was Bajazet, whose surname
was Djildirim (the lightning). This latter name is also inscribed in
letters of blood in the chronicles of other unfortunate nations, and a
people who yet cannot fail to remember his name are still called
Magyars. Bajazet was the victorious hero of Nicapol. Where two
sword-blades touch there is sure to be fighting, and how could two
conquerors of the world find room close to one another? Bajazet
conquered three provinces which were in vassalage to Timur, and drove
away the Khans of Taherten, Szarnchan and Aidin. The last he took
captive, together with his wife. Timur, with whom the Khan of Aidin was
a favourite, sent envoys to the Sultan, asking him to restore their
provinces to his _proteges_, and to set the Khan of Aidin and his wife
at liberty. The Sultan was inclined to slay these envoys, but was
dissuaded from doing so by his advisers, who said, "Timur, the son of
the desert, never causes the envoys sent by his opponents to be killed."
However, he ordered them to be scourged through the streets with
camel-hide whips, and thrust them into prison, whilst to Timur he sent
word that if he dared to say another word on behalf of the Khan of Aidin
he would send him back to him cut into two pieces.
Timur kept silent and prepared for war, and he inspired and humoured his
troops by the aid of his dervishes, poets, and acrobats.
One day Shacheddin, Timur's historian, interrupted him whilst plunged in
thought, "Master of the world, deign to be gracious! A magician wishes
to appear before you."
"For what purpose? If he wants money he can have it without seeing me."
"He does not want money; he only asks to be received into your favour."
"If he does not gain that, then, he will have stolen my time, and time
is life; therefore, he will have deprived me of life, and will have to
be considered a regicide!"
Such thoughts as those were frequent utterances from Timur's lips, and
it is a fact that he often had people killed for a mere trifle, and
spared their lives as a sort of good joke.
Shacheddin did not relinquish his request, and a few minutes afterwards
Timur's guards hastened to bring the magician before their master. It
was a mark of respect that all should enter hurriedly into the presence
of this mighty man, and that they should throw themselves upon their
faces on the ground. To walk slowly was considered a mark of haughty
conduct by him.
The magician was attired in grey robes, and on his head he wore a tall,
silk cap. His beard was painted yellow, and his eyebrows blue, whilst on
his face were inscribed Tallic words in green and red.
"Magician," said Timur, with mocking condescension, "where have you
learnt your art? Amongst the idiots of Almanzor, or in the company of
Chinese clowns? Do you understand how to charm people back to this
country from another, or _vice versa_? Say, do you understand that?"
"I understand that," answered the magician, bowing down to the ground.
"If, indeed, you understand that, then command that in one moment my
beloved servant, the Khan of Aidin, shall stand before me; and, if you
cannot do this, perhaps you will manage to transplant yourself at least
a thousand miles from me, for my hands can reach even to that extent,
and may possibly cause your death!"
"It shall be as you command," said the magician. "Will you please to
order your slaves to bring a vat of water before me?"
"Shacheddin has tried that," said Timur, with cold irony. "Bring water
to the magician!"
A vat filled with water was placed before the magician, and he jumped
into it, still wearing his clothes.
Timur gazed upon him with doubting condescension, thinking to himself at
the same time what kind of death he should bestow upon this deceitful
mortal. All at once the water was divided and in place of the magician a
fine, tall young man, with hanging locks, stood before him.
It was the Khan of Aidin himself!
Timur rose hastily from his seat, and flew to him as a lioness who
discovers her lost cubs. He embraced the young fellow and carried him in
his arms to a panther skin, where he told him to be seated before him.
"How did you get here?"
"As an acrobat," replied the Khan of Aidin, with a smile. "I escaped
disguised as a rope-dancer from your enemy's country!"
CHAPTER III
A Prince as an acrobat! Could there be a greater humiliation? Could
there be anything in existence calling for more bitter revenge?
"Which way did you come, and what towns did you touch?" asked Timur of
the Khan, who was seated at his feet.
"From Smyrna I escaped as a running footman. The people praised my
running to such an extent that I felt compelled to prove how far I could
go by running away altogether! In Aleppo I was a monkey-trainer! In
Bagdad I turned somersaults! In Damascus I climbed by a rope to the
Tower of Minarch! At Angora I put sharp swords into my throat; whilst in
Szivasz I swallowed burning coals before the son of the Sultan!"
Timur Lenk counted on his fingers the names of the towns as the Khan of
Aidin recapitulated them; Smyrna, Aleppo, Damascus, Bagdad, Angora,
Szivasz--not one stone of them should remain! And the people who had
been so amused by the acrobatic performances of a prince should bitterly
deplore this! Little time should be given them to lament!
"And your children?" asked Timur of his _protege_.
The Khan gave a sigh.
"They are kissing the whips of Bajazet's slaves."
"They shall not do so long!"
Timur called Shacheddin before him, and had another letter written to
the Sultan, taking care that every time his name was mentioned it should
appear in a line with his in quite as large-sized letters, and not in
different ink; whilst, in accordance with his usual custom, he signed
his name at the top, not the bottom, of the page. The contents of the
missive were not couched in angry terms, though they were written in a
haughty manner.
"Do you not know that the greater portion of Asia is submissive to my
sword and my laws? Do you not know that my army reaches from one sea to
another, and that the world's rulers stand humbly at my doors imploring
to be heard! What is your boast to me? A victory over the Christians?
You have been victorious over them because the swords of the
prophet--blessed be Allah!--were in your hands. But who will defend you
against me? Your only protector is the Koran, whose commands I obey as
you do. Be wise! Do not despise your opponent because he was once
insignificant. When the locust grows up, and its wings become red, it
attacks the very birds who wished to consume it before!"
Timur's envoys carried the message to Bajazet as quickly as Arab horses
could gallop. In it he once more demanded that the captured towns of the
Khan of Aidin should be restored to him in peace and quietness, and that
his wife and children should be set at liberty, and he suggested that
the joint armies of the Sultan and himself should afterwards start
together and branch off in different directions, one east, the other
west--one to destroy the Pagans, the other the Christians. Timur's
messengers returned to his camp with Bajazet's reply, also as swiftly as
Arab horses could gallop. Hardly had he opened the letter when Timur's
face became flushed with anger. Bajazet's name was written in a
different line to his, and was at least an inch larger, whilst Timur's
name was similar in size to the rest of the lettering, and was in black
ink! The name of the Sultan was in historic characters ornamented with
gold. Nor were the contents of the letter couched in mild form. Timur
saw here no flattering terms. He was not styled Gurgan, or Djeihangir,
but "the Spoiler of Countries," "the Thief of the Desert," "the Worm,"
"the Crippled Man," &c.; and he had to read how his fame was disparaged,
his guns ridiculed, his requests mocked at, and his threats ignored.
"What I have conquered belongs to me, quite as much as does my own
country. Those whom I have captured are my slaves. If you want them,
come for them! Come, and bring with you your million soldiers with their
miserable arrows, who will be quickly scattered by my heroes as chaff
before the wind! Come, and find me face to face! Come! If not, may you
be thrice separated from your wife!"
CHAPTER IV
"May you be thrice separated from your wife if you do not appear before
me!" Every Eastern chronicler notes these words with shuddering horror!
Ibu Shimah, Arabshah, Sherefeddin, and the Persian Khandemir all record
them with the greatest loathing, and Christian historians, such as
Phranzas and Chalcondylas, admit that a greater curse could not befall a
Mussulman! "May you be thrice separated from your wife!"
He who loves, nay adores, and respects his faithful wife, the mother of
his children, who is to him a queen of the world as well as the queen of
his heart, and he who knows that in accordance with the Alkoran it is
easy to be separated from a wife, but should remarriage be desired, she
must live with another man first, and only when he has thrust her aside
can she again marry her first husband--he it is who will understand
what a frightful curse is this to a Mussulman!
"May you be thrice separated from your wife!"
It is a greater insult than to slap the face; it is far worse than to
break in two your opponent's sword! Nay, it is even more than to have
the graves of one's ancestors uprooted, and is a deadly offence to all
Mussulmans. And when this Mussulman is a Monarch! and this Monarch,
Timur!
Timur Lenk did not appear to be furious. He did not howl with rage. He
stood up, speechless, and held the letter towards heaven as though he
would say, "Here is this letter; read it!" His sons and generals and the
vassal princes were horrified to see him as he stood there in his camp,
apparently speaking, though none could hear him nor understand him, save
those who are unseen, for his lips remained closed. He folded the letter
slowly and placed it in his breast in order that he might carry it there
until he could revenge himself for the insult. After this, anger was no
longer visible on his countenance. He did not put the envoys in chains,
though Bajazet had so treated those sent by him; he did not have their
noses and ears cut off. On the contrary, he gave them presents of golden
caps and richly embroidered coats, and had them mounted on horseback and
escorted through his camp, in order that they might count his standards
and number his troops. He had the fighting elephants brought before
them; he let them know that his cavalry wore armour beneath their
uniforms, in order that they might go back to their master and tell him
that Timur was quite prepared and would soon meet him, or should he
decide to come himself, that he would await him. The Sultan was not to
hurry! He would do well to prepare himself in a befitting manner to meet
his enemy! Meantime Timur would bombard the Fort of Szivasz, the
Sultan's most important stronghold!
Timur Lenk looked down from the Taurus Mountains into the Valley of
Anadot. A new Paradise stretched before his feet. He saw hundreds and
hundreds of places amidst the green meadows, and as far as eye could
reach his troops were to be seen; and before him, in the mouth of the
valley, lay Szivasz, surrounded on either side by massive citadels and
canals, quite unapproachable, owing to morasses. There was but one route
by which the gates could be reached, and this was defended by triple
walls and high watch-towers.
* * * * *
The woeful news was brought to Bajazet that Timur had started his
expedition against him. He had received tidings of this beforehand, and
therefore had time to prepare himself. Szivasz had 100,000 inhabitants,
amongst whom were 20,000 military. The Sultan reinforced them by sending
10,000 Armenians, the pick of his regiments, who were commanded by his
second son, Ertogrul. The fort, which was called the "Unconquerable,"
was provided with ammunition for one year. One year's ammunition! Within
that space of time barley was being reaped in its courtyard after its
capture by Timur!
* * * * *
Timur's followers were divided into a camp of twenty-seven sections.
Tartars and Persians formed the cavalry; Manchou miners made the
subterranean ways, whilst the supple Hindoos scaled the walls. These men
were all veritable magicians! They climbed the enemy's ramparts like
snakes, they were quite nude, with ropes round their shoulders, and they
carried sharp iron prongs in their hands, and in their teeth yataghans.
They clung partly to the bricks, partly to the smooth surface of the
walls, and resting on the shoulders of their comrades beneath them, they
reached the summit. Whilst this living ladder, man on man, made its way
up the giddy heights and attained the foot of the citadel, those beneath
were being continuously dragged up after them. Had they swerved or
fallen they would have been dashed to pieces. Those who first reached
the citadel, crept slowly, like so many panthers, to the unsuspecting
guards, and stretched themselves along the ground as their backs were
turned, then threw the ropes suddenly over their necks and pulled them
down to the earth. Thus they died without making a sound. When one or
two thousand Hindoos had reached the citadel, they flew down to the
watch-towers, strangled the guard, and cut the chains of the bridges.
Then Timur's iron men, with swords in both hands, made a rush to
slaughter the whole population. They had been frequently successful in
these cunning attacks upon the walled towns. Strong forts which had been
prepared to resist an attack of a year's duration had often fallen
suddenly in one night into the hands of the conqueror.
This fate awaited Szivasz! The gates and trenches had been well seen to
by spies, but yet Timur was ignorant of one fact--viz., that the
Sultan's son, Ertogrul (called the "nightbird," as he only slept in
daytime), guarded the walls at night, like an owl.
Timur and his men waited before the gates with drawn swords until
midnight, and, indeed, until daybreak, to receive the expected signal
for the onslaught to be made. The Polar Star and the Morning Star
appeared in the skies, yet no sound was to be heard in the fort. When it
was daylight, Timur caused twenty-four huge machines, used for flinging
blocks of stone, to be brought into operation. With the bullets which
were returned in answer, came back to him the heads of his own soldiers!
From early in the morning till late at night the heads of his bravest
men were thrown at him! Timur saw them coming in tens and twenties from
the heights above him! They had been all selected athletes and clever
mechanics who had completed their studies at Delhi, and had silently
slidden down on ropes from the precipitous rocks of Georgia to surprise
and slaughter the enemy. Until late at night these gory balls fell at
Timur's feet. He could have added to the large collection he already
possessed, but these were cherished heads, belonging to his own men!
Ertogrul had indeed lashed the lion!
Suddenly Timur put into work 8000 miners! The wall of the fort was only
to be got at on one side, and under this he made a subterranean way,
walled it with timber, and filled it up with sulphur and resin, which he
caused to be ignited. After the seventeen days' bombardment, the
watchmen of Szivasz perceived a suffocating smell in the air, which
seemed to settle heavily down upon them, and took away their courage.
The earth beneath them became burning hot, the grass in the woods around
the citadels dried up, and the walls could be heard to split and crack
from top to basement. The heat became unbearable, the iron railings
assumed a fiery red hue, whilst the grain stored away in the citadel was
burnt as black as soot, and the wine-casks exploded. This was on the
seventeenth day. On the eighteenth the walls of the citadel, together
with the iron gates, fell down all together into a veritably burning
hell! Then could be heard the Tartar cry of enthusiasm "Sueruen!"
Thus were forced open the gates of the Ottoman Empire, and the enemy
slaughtered the whole population of the town. Not a man, woman or child
was spared on the day of the capture of Szivasz.
The lives of four thousand Armenians were alone preserved. Timur was
merciful enough to promise Ertogrul that he would spare their lives, and
that he would not kill the young prince himself until he should himself
desire it, and he kept his word. He caused the four thousand soldiers to
be buried alive in a huge vault, whilst Ertogrul was handed over to his
slaves in order that he might be paraded about the camp with a crown on
his head and golden circlets about him, and thus shown to the people as
some curious monster. Three days later the Sultan's son himself prayed
to be killed, and Timur acceded to his request.
On the very day that this happened, Timur absented himself from the camp
and went to the grave of Abu Mozlim the Cruel, on the burying-ground
where he could yet hear the curses and cries of despair which came from
those whom he had caused to be buried alive. He gazed with admiration on
the wilderness which his people had created, and passed a whole night
there.
At daybreak his leaders came to him, bringing the copper gates of
Szivasz, on which he rested his feet. These gates he caused to be
afterwards sent to Samarcand, the capital of his empire, where were
stored all the gates of those towns which he had captured or destroyed,
making a terrible museum. They were placed at the base of an enormously
high jasper monument raised to the god of the Delhi Brahmins, and were
put along the roadway in order that every follower of the faithful might
tread upon the emblems of Christianity with which they were adorned.
After the gates of Szivasz had been placed at Timur's feet, the
venerated Tumanaga, the mother of his children, and Csolpan (the Morning
Star), his youngest favourite, came before him. They always accompanied
the conqueror to his battles, and whilst he bombarded forts, these
revered women went in pilgrimage to the graves of the prophets, and
caused mosques to be built and gardens planted upon them. When Timur
proved victorious they proceeded to reward the prophets by throwing gold
and pearls upon their graves! After these followed the learned men.
Shacheddin, the historian, then pulled out his parchment, and read aloud
his record of an event which he had described, in order that it might be
handed down to posterity in the following terms:
"In the year 830 of the Hedjir--the day after the death of the Prophet
Omar--at the mere glance of the never-to-be-opposed Djeihangir, the
world-renowned conqueror, the impregnable walls of Szivasz, built up by
the Alaeddin to an enormous height, fell to the ground. A hundred
thousand armed men who defended this fort fell down on their faces, and
surrendered at the word of the mighty Szabil Kiran. The gracious Gurgan,
who has ever been merciful, gave his gracious pardon to those who were
left alive, and forbade that their blood should be shed. May honour and
glory attend his footsteps!"
Timur Lenk praised this description, and, after bestowing gifts upon the
chronicler, shouldered his club and proceeded to further shatter the
gates of the town. The desert plain continued to wail and groan after
this, and who knows when it ceased to do so?
CHAPTER V
I wonder at what hour commence the reveries of a heart which has not yet
been opened fully into the light of life? What are the dreams which
woman's soul creates whilst she remains yet between childhood and
womanhood, whilst she is yet half a slave, half a queen, partly a
careless being, partly an angel of light!
On the day of the birth of Maria, the daughter of Eleazar, the King of
Bulgaria, the horoscope which was cast for her by the soothsayers
foretold that this woman would be the cause of a great monarch's death.
King Eleazar naturally thought that this mighty monarch must mean
himself, and on the day of her christening he left her in the convent
where the ceremony had been performed, fully intending that she should
never leave the place.
Just about this time the Osman Emperors commenced to overrun Europe, and
Eleazar was vanquished by them, and, in order to save himself from
slavery, he offered his daughter as wife to the notorious enemy, in
accordance with a custom then prevalent. At this time the Sultans had
their own lawful wives, and it happened that Maria became the last
Sultana upon the Ottoman throne. Those who followed her were merely
favourites, and sat on footstools at the steps of the throne.
Maria was just sixteen when she exchanged the walls of the nunnery for
those of the Seraglio.
One is as closely guarded as the other.
In this abode of innocent virgins she was taught that the world is
divided into three parts. The portion above is Paradise, which is
inhabited by angels; that below is Hades, where the devils abide; and
between these comes the earth, where dwell women, and heartless beings,
alien to animals, and nothing more! The inhabitants of the upper and
lower worlds are continually fighting one against the other, and it is
the duty of the women who live on earth to pray incessantly and to
glorify and honour the angels.
The Sultan sent his chariot to fetch Maria away, and she only descended
from this at the door of the Emerald Room of the palace, where she was
greeted by three hundred maidens.
She now learnt to know that there was such a thing as a man in the
world, and that he was the Sultan Bajazet! She believed in the existence
of one man alone. The others she thought were all _Dzsins_
(Christians)--that is to say, good and evil spirits, who continually
fight against one another. She imagined Bajazet to be the chief of the
good _Dzsins_, whom he led into battle against the bad.
Maria was just sixteen, and she did not know that there was more than
one man in the world, and that was her husband, the Emperor Bajazet,
whom she loved, revered, and adored, and for whom she forgot everything,
even all that she had been taught by the sainted, marble-faced sisters
in the convent, concerning the paradise which is lit up by the rays of
the stars.
She was happy, and she made others happy. Both in the Seraglio and in
the convent she saw none but women's faces. The only difference was that
_here_ were glitter and pomp, and nothing but cheerfulness and
merriment, whilst _there_ all was coldness and severe simplicity. _Here_
she had a variety of enjoyments, whilst _there_ she had to renounce all
pleasure. _Here_ her idol was a living man with a smiling countenance,
who heaped love and flattery upon her, whilst _there_ it was an unhappy
Saviour who wore a crown of thorns, and whose pale face looked down upon
her from the cross.
Bajazet reposed in the society of Maria after his victories, and it
gratified him to recount to her how many of his opponents he had slain
in one day, whilst she caressed his snowy beard, and kissed his wrinkled
forehead, being glad to know that there were so many _Dzsins_ the less
in the world.
Little did she know that those very _Dzsins_ were of her own creed, and
that they were having their last desperate fight for existence with him.
The Odalisc (women of the harem) sang of the Sultan's glories in
something like the following strain, in which Maria delighted: "The
unbelievers disappear as a flock before a hailstorm, and as tow in the
flames. They are burned in their own cities!" Maria applauded this
singing, little knowing that amongst the _Dzsins_ fell her own brothers!
"Should you kill the King of the _Dzsins_ bring me his eyes," she said
one day to the Sultan.
Bajazet was a tender husband and a cunning inventor of tales. The next
day he made her a present of two diamonds as large as a man's eyes, and
he said they had come from the forehead of the King of the _Dzsins_.
The eyes of other spirits were made, said Bajazet, of opals, emeralds,
and rubies, and he, after each of his victories, heaped these precious
stones upon her, and pearls, which he made her believe were the teeth of
fallen _Dzsins_, were so heavy as to weigh down her bodice!
"When will you start again on a fresh campaign? And what will you bring
me back? I have myself plaited your whip and I have embroidered the
saddle which your horse is to wear when it carries you into battle."
* * * * *
Bajazet was at this time just starting on an expedition against the
Greek Emperor, whose empire was then limited to the extent of the walls
of Constantinople, which were being bombarded by his adversary.
CHAPTER VI
One morning the Sultan was awakened by what seemed to him to be the
voice of a nightingale, and, looking up, he saw Maria near him kneeling
down, with bent head and arms crossed. The Sultan gazed long upon the
childish figure. He could not understand what she was doing.
Finally he interrupted her. "Morning Star, what are you doing?"
The girl started. "I am praying!"
Bajazet had never seen anything like this before.
"To whom do you pray?" he questioned her, with astonishment.
"To God!"
The Sultan shook his head, for amongst Mussulmans it is not customary
for women to pray.
"And why are you praying?"
"That God may be with you when you start for battle, and that He may
grant you victory!"
The Sultan was overcome with joy at the idea that Maria should pray to
her own God when her husband started for battle--a battle which was to
cause the destruction of her God's own altars. This idea was sweeter to
him than the thought of the blood to be shed.
"Pray for me. Pray fervently, with all the orthodox prayers to which you
are accustomed. I do not understand them, but your prophets will know
how they can persuade the ruler of good and evil to act differently to
what he had intended, perhaps, a million years before. Tell me about
your prayers. I find delight in them. I do not believe in them, but you
do, and that is pleasurable to me. And I swear to you by the name of my
own prophet Allah, and in the name of your God, that when I return from
the battle, concerning which you pray, you shall have whatever your
heart desires. In the meantime think of some desire which is as yet
unfulfilled--a desire which is yet hardly existent--which may be only a
fancy--waken it into life, demand it, and I will fulfil it!"
* * * * *
Soon afterwards he left to bombard Byzantium.
The Sultan was right in his belief that the world's history does not
depend on the tears of women. It was decided a million years ago that
this rotten country was to fall to pieces, but no one man was empowered
to hasten the destruction before the allotted day and year. Just when
the siege was completed the frightful news reached Bajazet that the
avenging Timur had accepted his challenge. Impregnable Szivasz had
fallen, and his greatest hero, his son, had been killed by the enemy!
Bajazet at once suspended the bombardment of Byzantium. He had neither
time nor desire to attack the Christian Churches when an enemy, mightier
than himself, approached. Byzantium, therefore, had for a short time to
be spared the fate of having its name changed to Stamboul, just as, 450
years later, it was spared from being rechanged to Byzantium, though the
change was already looming in the distance.
Bajazet was quite certain that he would take Byzantium. It was a dream
from which he could not free himself until it was fulfilled. Every one
was against the war. The soothsayers prophesied evil to come. His
leaders warned him not to commence the bombardment until he had finished
with Tamerlan. But he would not be dissuaded. The soothsayer who
advised him to start against Timur before proceeding to Byzantium was
dismissed from his presence.
When Timur approached towards Szivasz the Sultan's advisers again
implored him.
"Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
When he was tired of hearing this he had a few of them killed, but the
warning did not die with them. Though his advisers could no longer speak
to him, a sad and moaning song was heard amongst the soldiers, the
refrain of which was, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
The Sultan had to listen to this nightly from his tent, and when he
forbade it to be sung in his camp, it was passed on to the shepherds in
the Izmid mountains. In the silent night, and in the far distance, the
wailing of the shepherds' horn was heard from the Pontus as far as the
Sultan's tent, "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your son be lost!"
Bajazet had the shepherds driven into the mountains, or killed, in order
that he could no longer hear the cursed song! But he heard afterwards
what he little wanted to believe, that both Szivasz and his hero had
fallen, and had been destroyed by the hands of his enemy. Bajazet
strewed ashes on his head! This was his own fault.
He no longer attacked the gates of Byzantium. He left the subways in the
midst of their construction, crossed the Pontus with his army, collected
his generals and all his war-utensils, and was ready to start on his big
and revengeful expedition. As he anchored near the Izmid mountain, a
shepherd was seen close by, resting on his crook. Bajazid exclaimed to
him: "Now blow with your horn that song to me: 'Do not let Szivasz fall,
or your son be lost!'" The shepherd obeyed his commands and blew the sad
and melancholy sounds, which were re-echoed in the mountains. They found
an echo in the heart of the Sultan, who cried out, with grief and
despair, that he had let his bravest son die; and from that moment the
trumpeters were ordered to constantly play the melancholy song during
the expedition to Szivasz.
CHAPTER VII
Timur Lenk did not hasten. He had time to look through the towns in
which the Khan of Aidin had been made to turn somersaults. He also had a
little account to settle with the Sultan of Egypt. It was a short and
gory one. He only took with him the metal gates of the towns--the others
he left behind amongst the ruins. He did not leave one stone upon
another, but he piled up the heads of the inhabitants in heaps.
This was his style of architecture!
When Damascus was burnt down, the tops of the burning cypresses and
cedars and the smoking resin perfumed the plain with their odour ten
miles around. Of the holy town, only one minaret was left standing. It
was that of the altar of the Ommiads, which was covered with lead, and
the metal from it streamed down into the street. The top being of wood,
remained standing. It was this tower which the Khan of Aidin had
ascended by means of ropes, and, according to the Turkish saying, when
the day of resurrection comes, it will be here that the Lord will
descend and give judgment as to life and death.
Whilst Bajazet was collecting his lightning forces, Tamerlan had time to
destroy the three Iron provinces, and as many regiments, together with
the Egyptian Mameluks. The heroic Syrians could not bar his way, and he
made them fly like a cloud of mosquitos or a flock of swallows. Kings
disappeared before him. The only one who escaped--and that by mere
chance--was _Ferndzs_. In token of homage he sent gifts to the great
Shah, nine, in number, of every kind, according to the religious system
of counting in vogue with the Tartars: nine horses, nine camels, nine
female slaves, and eight men slaves. Timur understood by this that it
was intended to represent the sender himself as a ninth fraction, and
for this reason he showed him mercy. Drunk with victory, thirsting for
revenge, and loaded with treasure, Timur left Syria to meet his
mightiest opponent, to whom he had now given time for preparation; and
in the 804th year of the Hedjir, on a bright summer's day, he crossed
the Araxes river!
Bajazet, the "lightning," dreamt a waking dream of revenge as he sat by
Maria's side, and caused his forces to be collected together to await
his opponent's arrival on to the battlefield which was to decide the
fate of the world. Under such a roof of sweet delight no one could talk
of battles. Here even the Sultan did not deplore his lost son; Maria did
not even know that he was the father of sons--men like himself, but
minus grey beards! The Sultana found in her returned husband a return of
all her happiness, and at this joyful moment she remembered the promise
he had made to her before his departure, "Whatever your desire may be,
it shall be fulfilled." And when her husband asked of her "What do you
desire?" she replied:
"Oh! my dear Djildirim, when will you next start against the _Dzsins_?"
"This year, perhaps this very month."
"Oh! how I should like to see a living _Dzsin_."
"That is impossible. A _Dzsin_ is not a doll, my darling. Do you not
know, from the tales your women tell you daily, that if you tread upon a
talisman you will force a spirit to appear who will be always at your
bidding, but who will rend you asunder if you do not keep him
continually employed?"
But she was so delighted with this new idea that she would not allow
herself to forget it for a moment.
Next day she said to Bajazet, "Bring me a _Dzsin_, and be here to order
him about for me!"
"It is impossible. _Dzsins_ do not tolerate the presence of another man
near a woman."
"What idiots the _Dzsins_ must be!"
The third day she said to Bajazet: "My lightning, my love, I have a
desire which I want you to fulfil."
"It is already fulfilled, if you really desire it."
"What I wish is this, that when you next start against the _Dzsins_ you
will take me with you."
Oh! tempting heart of woman!
"My morning star, my darling, what would you do in the midst of battle?
It is a cruel tempest, where lightning rages. The glittering stars have
no place there. The thoughts of your heart are alluring songs heard
amidst the thunder and tempest of the battle. There is no room there for
your sweet soul. If you pass a mown meadow, you weep over every flower
which has been trampled under foot. The battle blood flows from the
cut-down human flowers. How could you see this? You would die at the
sight of it."
But women do not give way.
"I want to see how thousands of Dzsins melt away at your glance; to note
how they fall to the ground when you only look at them. Does not the
song say this? 'They are numerous and come in great numbers. Their
noise, like thunder, makes heaven tremble. My Djildirim steps forward,
and they fall to the ground, and their voices fill hell.' Does not the
song say, 'The opponents' leader is a metal idol, but Bajazet is the
lightning, and the lightning melts the metal.' Does not the song tell
the truth?"
Bajazet had to admit that all was true which the women of the harem sang
about him.
"I wish to see you," urged Maria, "I wish to see you in the blaze of
your glory. I wish to see you as Djildirim, as the lightning which
pursues the enemy! I want to admire you in the height of your glory! I
want to applaud at and delight in your glory! I want to be on the spot,
so that I may weave the wreath, and place it upon your brow, so that,
dazzled by the light of victory upon your face, I may fall at your feet!
Will you not take me with you, my Djildirim?"
The Sultan said, "Let it be so!"
He was excited at the idea of fighting in the presence of his wife, and
of proving to her, who believed him to be an earthly god, that he was
one indeed. The desire being roused in his heart, he was now doubly
thirsty for revenge and also for glory! His wife's eyes would watch his
deeds; therefore they must be magnificent!
CHAPTER VIII
In the year 1446, according to the Christian era, an enormous comet
appeared upon the horizon. The golden tint of this phenomenon of the
heavens was observed for six months amongst the stars, and when it was
closest to earth two-fourths of the sky was covered by the dreaded
spectre. When the sun set and the gigantic marvel made its appearance,
the pale phosphor head drawing its tail after it, everything was lit up
by its wonderful light. Forests, mountains, people's faces, appeared
ghastly by its illumination, and all around amongst the mountains was
to be seen a glow which appeared like a distant fire lighting up the
sky. Only the reflection of the light was not red, but green; and when
the moon made her appearance, with her silver-tipped crescent, the two
heavenly wanderers followed after one another with curious wonder. Once
it happened that the moon went into the vaporous element of the comet,
and astronomers then calculated how many million miles it covered and
how long it would take before it would touch the moon with its head in
place of its tail. Then both would shoot down from heaven, and the Day
of Judgment would arrive. Religious folk went on pilgrimages and awaited
the _Dies Irae_; whose herald was this Lampadias, the name given it by
Greek astronomers. Under the fearful glitter of this heavenly
phenomenon, which wandered over the horizon and lit up the entire
surface of the earth, compelling the inhabitants to breathe its deadly
poison, the two most dreaded men in the Mussulman world prepared to
fight against one another in a life and death struggle. Sultan Bajazet
had 420,000 men; Timur Lenk had 780,000. One million two hundred
thousand fighting men, therefore, had to seek a suitable place amidst
the Asiatic wastes, which would afford sufficient space for the blood
required to be shed.
The two conquerors of the world were not alarmed by the sign from
Heaven. They not only divided between them the stars which led them, but
they also cut the comet asunder! The head of the Lampadias bent towards
the west, and the thinner end of its long mane hung to the east. Bajazet
said it was a sword which the Prophet had sent to him, and that with its
aid he should kill the heretic Shitaa. Tamerlan, however, gave out that
this was the same club which the Prophet had given into his hands, and
that the head was turned towards the heretic Szunnita. The stars at the
end of the tail he held to be the head of the club, with which he would
lay him low! And so, the two greatest generals of the period started in
search of one another with two enormous forces, and as quickly as they
neared one another, so quickly did the dreaded star approach the earth!
The two conquerors debated to themselves which of them would first grasp
the comet by its tail!
CHAPTER IX
Both Bajazet and Timur Lenk did what no conqueror of the world ever did
before or after them. They each carried their favourite wives with them
to view the decisive battle of the world! It was as though they were to
witness a dramatic spectacle, in which one million armed men took part,
and by which the government of a portion of the world would be decided
either to the right or to the left. Such a spectacle was surely never
before presented by a general to his wife!
Bajazet's wife was in the camp in an elevated tent made of muleskin.
One thousand women riders went before, and one thousand after her, to
keep from her gaze the face of every man. These were masculine women,
accustomed to sword-handling, and to cutting off heads, women for whom
men can feel but horror, and of whom it is difficult to form an idea.
Bajazet headed this woman's camp with 10,000 veteran Janesars and old
soldiers scarred with wounds. They were picked out from amongst the
Nicapol victors. Every one of them was a hero, and their attacks on the
enemy were always made simultaneously. To the right of Maria were 15,000
Christians, mounted and mailed, and under the leadership of Stephen
Lazaruvich, the Servian Waidwode. These were the most faithful adherents
of the Sultan. The remainder of the troops were led by the Sultan's
sons. Suleiman, the eldest, was in the centre of the camp; whilst the
two wings, consisting of Turcomans and Tartars, were commanded by Isa
and Muza. Amongst these troops were the people of the Khan of Aidin.
Mustafa, another of the sons of the Sultan, led the heroic Arab troops;
and Mohammed, yet another, was in command of the reserve. Timur Lenk's
sons, Miran Shah, Chalit Shah, and Mirza Mohammed, were also in the
camp. Fathers fought against fathers, sons against sons, and women
against women! Mirza Mohammed Khan led his own troops, and each
detachment was dressed in different colours--some, for instance, in red
uniform and red bucklers, with red standards, red saddles, &c., others
in blue or yellow, white or black. When they moved in square, it seemed
as though figures were moving on a chess-board!
The name of the place where the two opposing forces met was Csibuk Abad.
It is an historic spot. Here Pompey and Mithridates fought a decisive
battle! At the back stand the celebrated Stetta cedar-forests, and
facing it are the endless plains where the tall oriental reeds grow in
line from which the people cut stalks to make the stems of pipes,
calling them from the place, Csibuk.
Towards the eastern horizon the towers of the citadels of Angora were to
be seen, whence Timur might be observed approaching. He was engaged in
bombarding this place against the Bey Yakab, when the approach of his
opponent caused him to raise the siege.
Between the two forces was only one well (Miral) which supplied the
district abundantly with water. The inhabitants were, therefore, right
to call it the Sainted Well. Bajazet hastened to seize this before his
enemy. He knew very well that he who secured it would have the advantage
of tiring out his opponents, who would be forced out into the desert.
Sheik Trzlan, an old Dervish, at one time an adherent of Timur Lenk, was
the guardian of the well. As a follower of Shi he possessed magic power
over the people.
Bajazet rode to this Sainted Well, and asked the Dervish for a drink of
water out of it. He filled the jug, and gave it over to the Padishah
with the usual blessing, "Glory be to Him who created clouds and
wells!"
The Sultan threw a golden piece to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked up
the money and looked at the portrait. Then he returned it, saying, "Oh!
my Lord, of what use is this money to me, when Timur Lenk's head is
engraved here?"
The Sultan dragged the coin out of the Dervish's hand and threw it with
horror into the air, wondering how his enemy's money could possibly have
found its way into his camp. Then he took out another gold piece, upon
which he first looked earnestly; then, seeing his own likeness engraved
upon the coin, he threw it to the Dervish. Sheik Irzlan picked it up,
and then, with marks of the greatest respect and reverence, he handed it
back to him again.
"Why here, my master, on this piece also is engraved Timur's portrait!"
And so indeed it was.
Bajazet, who was now furious, took out a third coin, which he threw to
the Sheik, who, on picking it up, showed him that again it bore the same
superscription.
"You scoundrelly magician!" shouted Bajazet in despair, "it is your
delusive magic!" and he slashed the Dervish across the face and breast
with his whip.
"Thank you for your gracious kindness, mighty lord," said the Dervish,
putting his blood-stained face into the dust.
Timur Lenk would not have acted like this. He allowed blood to flow in
streams, but never in his life did he hurt a scholar or a Dervish.
Afterwards when the infuriated Sheik ran bleeding from the breast
through the streets of Chorazan, Timur Lenk, looking at him, smiled and
said: "This is a sign that Chorazan itself, which is the breast of Asia,
will fly to me voluntarily."
And so indeed it came to pass.
Bajazet was so certain of having obtained possession of the Miril well,
that the next day he organised a hunting expedition to the ancient
forest of Stetta for Maria's amusement. Whilst half of his troops were
pursuing the stag or shooting game, and he himself was shooting wild
peacocks, the enemy, at a distance of trumpet-call, commenced to pull
down the stakes of his camp. In the evening, when the party returned,
tired out, from the chase, Bajazet's son, Suleiman, who had been left
behind with the rest of the forces, came to him in a furious state, and
said:
"To-morrow we shall have to face the enemy."
"Why?" asked the Sultan, with surprise.
"Because we have no water!"
"Surely the well has not dried up in one night?"
"It has not dried up, but it is contaminated. The Dervish whose face you
struck yesterday hung heavy stones round his neck last night and jumped
into the well, where this morning he was found drowned. You know that
when a man has been found dead in a well no one will touch its waters
until the new moon. So the camp has been parched with thirst throughout
the whole day!"
"Oh! cursed Dervish!"
"Ah! the Dervishes were all devoted to Timur. Beware, for he who was
capable of killing himself might yet kill you! And now you had best
decide whether you will retreat or make an advance to-morrow, for in
this place it is impossible for us to remain longer."
Bajazet angrily pointed to the watch-fires of Timur Lenk, and exclaimed,
in hot fury, "Advance!"
CHAPTER X
It is quite natural that two loving hearts should think and dream alike,
but it happens often, too, that the hearts of two opponents who bitterly
hate one another think in concord. That night neither Bajazet nor Timur
shut his eyes. Both of them were tortured by the conjecture as to which
of the two should lead the morrow's attack, prove victor, and destroy
his adversary. They both anxiously awaited the break of day, for each
longed to be first upon the battle-field.
It was yet dark when the priests completed their morning prayer in
Bajazet's camp, and as the Sultan stepped out from his tent, the 10,000
Janesars, who stood ready for attack, commenced to sing the
blood-curdling song which thus concludes:
Do not let your son be lost!
This was the Sultan's daily greeting, and he now stood face to face with
his son's murderer! At the other end of the camp the dreaded signal of
the _gurgach_, twice repeated, responded to the strains of the song, and
this was accompanied by the screaming and clacking of the _kernai
reveille_. The _gurgach_ was a big drum and the _kernai_ a trumpet, and
these signals announced that the attack had commenced. When the sun
peeped out from behind the lilac- mountains of Karadegh both
camps were in marching order. The standards and the horses' tails used
as banners were flying aloft in the centre, and the tails of two horses
dyed red let it be known that two sovereigns were fighting face to face.
Here were Bajazet's Janesars, while there were Timur Lenk's brave
Samarcand troops, and between them two rows of fighting and mailed
elephants were placed to form barriers. Skilful armed throwers of Greek
fire were placed in towers with orders not to waste their arrows on
other heads but those of princes. Timur, who was resting upon the bare
earth, was greeted in turn by his officers, who stood with their horses'
bridles in their hands, exclaiming:
"_Raszti ruszti!_"
These were historical words by which leave was taken, and they signified
"Justice" and "Aid." Amongst the rows of elephants stood a white one,
the largest of all. This Timur had brought from the Court of the Prince
of Burmah, where it used to be worshipped as a holy animal. On the back
of this curious beast a tower had been erected, where the two favourite
wives of the Khan, Tumanaga and Csolpan, were seated. The one was the
mother of his children, the other his latest favourite. Timur rode up
to them before the commencement of the battle, greeted them lovingly,
and unsheathed his sword before them. Raising it towards Heaven he
exclaimed:
"Now may it be decided which of us is to be thrice separated from his
wife!"
Sheriff Said then knelt down upon the ground at Timur's feet, filled his
hands with grass, and as a symbol of cursing and destruction, he threw
this towards Bajazet's camp. Then turning towards Timur, with a
trembling voice he murmured:
"Go, and be thou victor!"
To these words the trumpeters in camp responded.
On the opposite side Bajazet had raised a high wooden tower for his
wives, from whence they inspected as from an amphitheatre-box the
magnificent and dreadfully dramatic spectacle which was being enacted
before them by two real heroes. It could not indeed have been other than
a truly novel spectacle to Maria. What a fearful array of _Dszins_ she
saw clad in iron and copper armour! Such garb surely could only be worn
by inhabitants from another world! What tremendous camps! Surely only
evil spirits who fly, constantly following one another through the air,
could come in such large flocks! Likerbuli, the favourite songstress,
was seated at Maria's feet when the attack commenced, and the strains of
her lute seemed to bring the spectators into line to watch the battle
which was proceeding before them.
"Look how they come towards us, the cursed enemy! Seven detachments in
seven colours like the rainbow! The leader--Timur Lenk's son--the devil
whose name is Mirza Abubekr, rides before them. His armour is made
entirely of rubies. How it sparkles in the sun! He who faces him, clad
in dark armour, and seated on a black horse, is our hero, Lazaruvich. He
can be recognised by his standards, which bear crosses. Hearken! how the
earth trembles beneath the tramp of their horses. Listen! how the skies
ring with the tumult of the battle!"
"'Sueruen! Sueruen!' exclaim the cruel enemy. 'Allah! Allah!' scream our
troops. 'Jesus! Jesus!' shout the men of Lazaruvich, but Allah listens
also to these!"
Maria secretly crossed herself, and prayed to Jesus.
"Look, they have just come into collision. The clashing of the swords
and axes upon their shields can be heard up here. Look, Timur's
seven-hued troops become disordered. Lazaruvich sweeps them away before
him as a whirlwind tosses the mown grass, or as the waves of the sea
sweeps the shells towards the shore. Ha! Mirza Abubekr's chosen horsemen
no longer keep to their own colours. White is mixed with red, and green
has yellow patches like china fragments trodden under foot! Lazaruvich
is the first hero amongst our troops!"
Maria herself bent forward from her balcony, and applauded this
wonderful spectacle, which was soon, however, obliterated from the sight
of all in the reedy forest by the clouds of dust which were uplifted.
Lazaruvich now commenced to pursue the despised Tartar horsemen who
were fleeing towards Angora. Maria, intoxicated with joy, tore the lute
out of Likerbuli's hands, and began to sing herself the song glorifying
Bajazet and his hero "Korona" (Lazaruvich).
The wild madness of the battle seemed to enter into her soul, and she,
too, cursed the drunken enthusiasm of these demons who were always the
cause of glory or trouble to her own people.
In the dust-cloud of the battle, Khan Mohammed Mirza noticed his
brother's flight, and rushed to his aid, with his crack Samarcand
regiment. In the midst of the Csibukabad reeds he reached one of the
wings of Lazaruvich, whilst Shah Miron, and Chalid with his archers
threw themselves upon the troops of Prince Mustafa just where a gap had
been caused owing to Lazaruvich having made a rush from thence upon the
enemy. Mohammed, the Sultan's son, was there with reserve troops, but he
had orders from Bajazet not to move until ordered to do so by him, for
the deceitful enemy might make a circuit, and then there would be need
for this reserve. Bajazet, in order to relieve his two sons, ordered
Suleiman, who commanded the left wing, to throw himself upon Timur with
his entire force.
CHAPTER XI
Suleiman had 15,000 Tartars amongst his troops, principally inhabitants
of Aidin and Saruchan, who were led by Bey Illisz. These Tartar hordes
were suddenly let loose in one body, being sheltered on either side by
the Anatol troops. Timur's opposing force advanced slowly towards the
rushing enemy. At its head was the Khan of Aidin who, on that day, wore
neither armour nor helmet, and did not even draw out his sword from its
scabbard, though he made straight for Illisz.
The Bey of Illisz was twirling his pike, and turned it towards the Khan.
As he nearly reached him and was within throw, the Bey exclaimed,
"Defend yourself," and threw the pike at him.
The Khan of Aidin smiled. Had he earned his bread for a whole year as a
magician in vain that he should be frightened by a pike?
"You had better defend yourself," he replied to Illisz, as the pike
hissed towards him. He grasped it in its flight, and threw it back to
the Bey, and the iron penetrated his cheek-bone. In this state his
terrified charger ran away with him. Then the Khan of Aidin rose in his
saddle and straightened himself on his horse's back, whilst with ringing
voice he cried out to the Tartars, "I am your Khan! Return to me, and
aid me against the enemy!" In a moment the entire Tartar force turned
round to him and threw clouds of arrows upon the Turkish horsemen
behind them, and thus cut open a space in the left wing for the advance
of Timur's troops.
This move decided the fate of the battle. Bajazet could not believe that
his Tartar soldiers would desert him at the sight and by the command of
their late master. Those whom he believed to be his own followers had
now actually gone over to the enemy! The Sultan's son Suleiman upon this
stroke of ill-fate turned his horse's head, struck spurs into him, and
was the first to leave the battle-field.
Another son, Mohammed, commenced a fight with the reserve, but no
success attended their efforts. The day was lost to Bajazet. The
"lightning" was vanquished, and the iron sword prevailed; but Bajazet
still could have escaped with the rest of his troops, and might have
overcome his enemy from his European forts, could he have reconciled
himself to the notion of flight. All round was heard the tumult of the
tempestuous war. It was impossible to see, owing to the clouds of dust,
and the women away yonder in the velvet tower no longer sang of victory,
but trembling awaited the close of the day. Once during the afternoon a
ray of hope sprang up, when Timur's force made an advance, and the
Waiwode Lazaruvich cut his way through the Csibukabad reeds across
Mohammed Mirza, and joined Bajazet in correct battle order. The Sultan
stood motionless amidst his unconquered veterans. Lazaruvich, with his
fagged out and wounded troops, who were blackened by dust and covered
with the blood of the enemy, with broken pikes and torn standards,
suddenly appeared before the Sultan.
Lazaruvich hardly recognised him.
"Is it you, my faithful friend?" the Sultan asked, with emotion.
"It is I, father. Escape; the battle is lost!"
"Then let me perish," replied the Sultan. "You had best return. You have
wife and children, and have yet a long life to live."
"God can alone bring help," answered Lazaruvich, and quitted the
battle-field.
It was already twilight. The escaping forces were seen in all
directions. Only 10,000 Janesars stood steadfast round Bajazet. Since
the morning they had been thirsting for water: now they thirsted for
blood! They could have had plenty of time and opportunity for escape,
for Timur did not attack them until later on. The night came on; the sun
disappeared, and the comet--the dread of heaven and earth--shone out on
the sky. By the aid of its demoniacal glitter Bajazet could see the
opponent's army. He was not frightened, either by the star or by Timur's
victory, and motionless he stood with his ten thousand men on the spot
where half a million men had already perished. Then Timur raised his
hand to heaven, as though he would grasp the flaming club, and with it
strike his enemy.
"Well, so be it," he said, and with this he gave the signal to start his
troops of mailed men, the Dzsagata horsemen and the rows of fighting
elephants, against Bajazet's Janesars. Maria heard tremblingly from her
tower the bellowing of the elephants. "Ah! the _Dzsins_, the _Dzsins_!
But Bajazet will pursue them and rout them asunder, for he is the
'lightning.'"
The flying Greek fire opened the attack. From the elephants' towers the
blinding sparks came in clouds, and created dazzling colours in this
night battle, whilst arrows shot at the same instant from all sides. The
Janesars fought and died speechless, as though they were not men, but
spectres. The two forces fought without a word. Only the clanking of
their swords spoke. Oh! the _Dzsins_, the _Dzsins_!
Suddenly one of the flaming arrows cut its way through the ranks of the
Janesars, and flew to the women's tower, igniting a velvet curtain, and
so setting the whole place on fire. The women, terror stricken, rushed
down from the burning amphitheatre, which, in a few moments, was as a
burning torch in the midst of the camp, lighting up the spectacle of
slaughter. Immediately Bajazet saw this his heart gave way, and he
turned back with his suit of horsemen, and, leaving behind him the
fighting Janesars, he galloped towards the women. Maria was then lying
on the earth, her face covered with dust.
Oh, the _Dzsins_--the _Dzsins_! "To horse quickly, by my side, away to
the mountains!" exclaimed the defeated "lightning," lifting his wife
from the dust, and with these words he escaped from the field. One
thousand brave horsemen and two thousand fighting Amazons accompanied
them. Mahmud Khan saw the Sultan's flight, and rushed after him with
4000 Dzsagata horsemen. Until midnight he pursued him up to the foot of
the mountain. The soldiers left behind fought with Timur's men whilst
the Sultan got away.
The Khan of Dzsagat did not relax his search after Bajazet, whose
horsemen and horses fell to the right and left, and by daybreak only
forty men remained. The Sultan was, therefore, left almost alone with
his women. He then stopped and awaited his pursuers. He was clad in
impenetrable armour, and held a good Damascus blade in his hand, for he
had to defend his beloved harem. Ten of his pursuers fell before their
swords could touch him, but finally becoming dazzled by the frequent
strokes of his sword, he fell down from his horse at Maria's feet, where
he was captured. Maria had to see the face of her demigod become pale
and besmirched with dust. His eyes were heavy, and from his lips issued
impotent curses.
CHAPTER XII
Timur Lenk was playing chess with his favourite son. The young prince
was commonly known as Schach Roch (castleing). He had been called this
because it was he who had invented the chessmove where the king changes
places with a castle. Just as the prince was saying "Schach Roch" to
Timur, the curtains of the tent were drawn back, and before them stood
the captured Bajazet. Schach Roch! A king who had exchanged his throne
for a tower, indeed; the tower of captivity!
Timur got up from his place, and held out his hand to his opponent,
leading him to the divan, upon which he placed him beside him.
"Bajazet, fortune has turned against you. Not so my heart! Fate has made
you a captive. I shall allow you to remain a Sovereign. Your tent is
ready. You will not be watched by any one. You will find there your wife
and your son Muza, who have been taken prisoners, and they will remain
with you. I only ask you one thing. That is, your solemn promise not to
attempt to escape from me by trickery whilst I remain fighting your
sons. If we can conclude peace, then you can return quietly to your
country, for Allah does not permit two faithful Sultans to humiliate one
another! Therefore you had best give me your solemn word of honour."
Bajazet was moved by his opponent's generosity, so he gave his solemn
word, accompanied by a grasp of the hand, that he would not attempt to
escape from Timur Lenk's camp. After this he was led to a pompous tent,
where his wife and son awaited him. The tent was magnificent, and those
whom he loved were there, yet it was a tower in place of a kingly
throne. Schach Roch!
CHAPTER XIII
"So long as you keep your sovereign word to me you will be regarded as a
Sovereign in my camp." This was Timur Lenk's promise to his opponent.
Whichever direction Bajazet took, he was received with the honours paid
to a Sovereign, and imperial pomp surrounded his tent. Overnight, whilst
the captive Sultan was walking in front of his camp, he found a screw of
parchment lying before him, on which the following words were written:
"MY SULTAN,--Your sons are coming with fresh forces
against Tamerlan; Jacob Bey will break upon Angora.
The Waiwode is returning with reinforcements. Be
prepared. We are making a subterranean way from the
Bakery which will lead into your tent. To-night all
will be ready. Be ready yourself also. At daybreak
disguise yourselves as bakers, and you can escape with
your wife and sons into the open, where you will find
your horses awaiting you. Be ready!
"YOUR FRIENDS!"
This letter was too tempting for Bajazet, and he eagerly seized the
opportunity offered. It was indeed a fact that a subterranean way was
made to his tent, but it was Tamerlan's workmen who constructed it! At
midnight the hammering of the subterranean poleaxes let the Sultan know
that his rescuing body of moles were coming! The earth gave way under
his feet, and from a narrow passage human heads rose up from the earth
before him. "Come!" whispered the head which ascended from the earth's
depths. "Come!" And the Sultan followed the enticer, taking with him
Maria and his son Muza. They could only proceed in bent form along the
footpath, holding one another's hands. Finally the neck of the cavernous
way became visible. The extreme end was the Bakery oven. When Bajazet
was going to step out from the low opening, some one put out a hand to
assist him, and when he emerged he who had given him a helping hand did
not release his own. The Sultan looked at him. Timur Lenk stood before
him!
"What! Is this your sovereign word?" he softly demanded of the terrified
Bajazet.
The Sultan saw that he was trapped. Timur threw away his hand from him:
"This is not the hand of a Sovereign. It is the hand of a slave."
So saying, he turned away and left him to himself. Bajazet saw only the
executioners before him, carrying chains and iron rods in their hands!
CHAPTER XIV
Timur was not an ordinarily cruel man--satisfied to be able to bathe
himself in the blood and break the limbs of his opponents. He was a
veritable poet and artist in mercilessness! He required poisoned arrows
by which to strike his foes. He did not want to kill Bajazet, but he
wanted to drive him mad. After this attempt at escape he had a cage
made for him out of iron rods, wherein he caused him to be imprisoned,
and he placed the cage on a car and had it drawn about the camp. A crier
preceded this, pointing out with his pike this spectacle to the curious
multitude.
"Here is a captive Sultan; a celebrated wild animal whose name is
Bajazet, the King of Kings, the Padishah, the Master of the Seas and
Earth, a crowned king who has got four hundred thousand soldiers, foot
and horsemen. Look at the conqueror of the Round World! who is the only
Master from East to West! He is in the cage!"
Ha! ha! ha! laughed the armed crowd gathered together. Bajazet sat mute
and motionless inside the iron bars as though nothing could hurt his
feelings. The crowd threw jibes and curses after him, and the youth
threw oranges and walnuts into his cage as it is customary to do to
monkeys. But Bajazet's face did not change. The crier now formed the
idea of playing on the drum and cornet an air which evidently amused
him, and which ended in the refrain "Do not let Szivasz fall, or your
son be lost!" If anything could fill the captive's heart with bitter
sorrow it was this song! Oh, had he only listened in time to this! Oh,
if he had not in the days of his pride forbidden it to be blown by the
shepherds of Izmid! Had he but only hastened in time to the rescue of
his son Ertogrul, he would not then have had to listen to it from the
cornet of this bear-dancer and buffoon, who now paraded a King in place
of strange animals!
The fellow carried him away in his cage up to the hills where the heads
of his heroes were piled up. On the summit of these piles were placed
here and there the heads of leaders, whose turbans fluttered in the
wind! Bajazet knew these faces too well! They were the heads of his most
trusted veterans. He had frequently distinguished them for their
services, and kissed their faces after victorious battles! Now they
stared at him with glassy eyes from the top of these piles raised from
the heads of his troops! After this buffoon had carried the Sovereign
captive about the camp, he returned with him to Tamerlan. The Khan, his
sons, and the vassal princes, the Khan's wives, and the slaves of the
Court were taking part in a _fete_, and at the height of its amusement
the gilded iron cage arrived with its sad captive. A vanquished Sultan
brought thus before drunken slaves!
Mockery and shouts of laughter greeted the appearance of the conquered
lion from his intoxicated victors, and still Bajazet's face remained
unchanged! Timur Lenk himself was drunk. Wine, victory, and
revenge--this triple inebriety filled his veins.
"This glass I raise to the health of the master of half of this world,"
exclaimed the conqueror, and threw the contents upon his opponent's face
in the cage.
Yet Bajazet's face remained unchanged!
"Bring fresh wine--more women slaves," said Timur Lenk, thumping with
his hand, and Bajazet saw the figure of an elegant slender woman walking
totteringly forward. On her head rested a floral wreath. Her hair hung
loosely and carelessly around her. Her silken mantle was rent from top
to bottom in accordance with Tartar fashion. This woman tottered, for
she was herself intoxicated. She went forward to fill the Khan's glass,
and in her Bajazet recognised Maria! This was the final blow to the
captive Sultan when he saw his wife so humbled and tottering towards the
Khan's footstool. Then he sprang up from his seat and grasped the iron
bars of the cage, and burst out ravingly, "Oh, you demoniacal beast,
Timur! You crippled dog, who have buried your soul's better part in your
useless foot, and remain here living in this world, half of you a demon!
You are no vanquisher of men! You have never wholly been a man. You can
only revenge yourself on women. You grave-worm, who chew treacherously
what a greater hero than you has let fall! Detestation rest upon your
filthy name! Every woman will execrate you as a coward, and will throw
your image on the ground to be played with and broken by her children.
Disgrace be upon you and ignominy rest upon your belongings--you, who
were hatched by a slave and will be buried by the executioner! You were
born to drive camels, you wretch, and your father, who died on a
dust-heap, was a better man than you! Faugh! I spit upon you! This will
be the best spot in your filthy glory! Curses be upon you and upon your
offshoots! Your soul to hell, and your bones to the dogs! Your name to
derision! I shall await you, where both of us are to meet!"
With these words he struck his head with such force against the iron
railings that he fell down dead.
Tamerlan could no longer joy in his opponent's impotent fury.
CHAPTER XV.
Timur Lenk arranged a pompous funeral for Bajazet. His entire troops
came out to accompany the body. On his tombstone he caused to be
engraved a recital of his glorious deeds, and he commanded the Sultan's
women to wail and mourn for him. As he returned from the funeral
ceremony his historian, Shacheddin, came before him, to read out what he
had written down concerning the event, for the benefit of future
generations. It was as follows:
"When Timur Djeihangir defeated his enemy and captured him, he treated
him as a brother. He placed him next to him at table, calling him
friend, and treated him with the distinction due to a Sovereign. When
Bajazet, following fate's decree, departed to his ancestors, he had him
buried like a King, and raised a royal mausoleum over his ashes. Glory
be to Him who sees everything!"
* * * * *
The Comet disappeared, and did not destroy the Earth after all!
VALDIVIA
Valdivia is the name of a Chilian province; also of the river which
there pours down from the mountains into the plains: and likewise of a
city which is remarkable for its architecturally constructed
bamboo-bridge, and for the fact that every man you meet in the street is
called Rocca, and prides himself on his ancestors having been the
ancient rulers of Chili and walked about there barefooted. Now the
inhabitants have degenerated into wearing boots and they talk Spanish.
Even, however, after centuries of blood-mixture by intermarriage, the
men of the nation are still peculiar for a certain kind of beard which
grows very thin, whilst the women still possess somewhat bronzed
complexions and a love of ornamenting their hair with long feathers and
snake-skins. Although the male population retain a traditional fondness
for slaughtering an enemy when they get fairly hold of him, they no
longer, like their fathers, hunt the wild boar; this unfortunate animal,
indeed, having long since been hunted out of existence. The noble
Roccas, no longer occupied with the chase or war, have become merchants.
One, Bria Rocca, is a great sugar-planter; another, Marco Rocca, owns a
huge coal-mine; and a third, Alvarez Rocca, does a nice little business
in the slave trade.
The Rocca is a fine, powerfully built man, six feet in height, whom one
would not care to meet in a lonely road. The native woman is a handsome
creature with beautiful eyes, whom one would be charmed to meet in a
lonely road were it not that she is a little too quick in slapping one's
face.
Descendants of a long kingly lineage, these people to-day go about the
streets and along the banks of the river selling Spanish onions and
little trinkets.
The town of Valdivia, situated on the river, had a widely different
aspect three hundred years ago. At that time stood there the bamboo
palace of Bria Rocca, whose facade rested upon two mighty bamboos
resembling, in appearance, a couple of polished marble columns. The
whole palace was built of this same wood. Its walls were curiously
carved, and, but for its majestic dimensions, it might have reminded you
of the toy palaces you build in childhood. Its doors and windows were
made of interwoven tree branches, whilst its roof was thatched with
agave leaves. In front of the palace was a balcony where Bria Rocca was
accustomed to hold councils with the sages of his nation, and from this
balcony two doors opened into the interior. One of them led into the
apartment of Bria Rocca. It was an immense lofty room, and the ceilings
were lined with jaguar skins, while the walls were covered with the
skins of the black buffalo. Here and there hung axes and hatchets,
arrows, specimens of the dreaded tomahawk, sundry warlike weapons of
stone, and the deadly globe which, furnished with sharp teeth and
hurled at an enemy, would not leave his body until it had torn out his
heart. Finally, in a row, were ranged various trophies of victory,
including a blood-stained helmet which the king had worn.
The other door led into the queen's apartment. It was finely painted
with the dye obtained from the native indigo trees, whilst its ceilings
were covered with curiously woven mats. There were two magnificent
bedsteads in the room, remarkable for the beauty of their coverlets and
still more for that of the curtains with which they were hung; for had
not Queen Evoeva spun them with her own hand? It was no wonder that Bria
Rocca had chosen her to be his wife; for what woman in the land could
weave such gorgeous tapestry as she, or prepare such delicious cheese?
It was said of her, moreover, that in the whole dominions there was no
woman of such entrancing beauty, her eyes being ablaze with all the
colours of the finest opal; and if she only threw one momentary glance
through her long, dark eyelashes she could tame the fiercest tiger--and
even man himself. Her figure was exceedingly beautiful, and when she
danced before her husband she would gracefully curve her head backwards
and downwards until she could kiss her own heel. Yet she was wonderfully
powerful, and if she was suddenly attacked by a jaguar she would press
the beast to her bosom until she had crushed it to death. One might,
therefore, easily imagine how highly her embraces would be prized by a
man whom she was really in love with, and what pleasures would lurk in
one kiss from her sweet lips. Once, when the king had been poisoned in
the shoulder by an arrow, she herself sucked the poison out. She was,
consequently, very ill for a year afterwards, and the king, of course,
thenceforward loved her more passionately than ever.
* * * * *
In the happy land of Chili the trees never cast their beautiful green
leaves and the flowers never hide their heads in consequence of the
cold. The bears do not betake themselves to slumber during the winter
season; and the singing birds do not periodically fly away to a warmer
climate. Summer, in this region, is only distinguished from winter by
the fresh budding of the flowers, by the falling of cocoa-nuts from the
trees; by a glittering appearance assumed by the stem of the _hevea_
tree, which then sheds its juice in abundance; by the strewing of the
ground with the nuts of the urcur tree, and by the flowers of the _pao_
tree casting off their wool. There is no difference between the seasons
but these, except that winter means a six weeks' spell of rain.
About that time a great fete is held in honour of the gods of the
_hevea_, the _urcur_, and the _pao_, who have provided their chosen
people with so many good things. On this occasion the inhabitants would
cut open the bark of the hevea tree, from which would flow a white fluid
which, when boiled by the fire of the urcur nut, was changed into a
leathery solid, from which they manufactured all kinds of fancy articles
in order to sell them to the surrounding countries, who, not knowing the
secret of manufacture, were ready purchasers. On the day of the
festival the male inhabitants would wash their skin with the sticky
juice of the hevea, and then cover their bodies with the beautiful white
wool which comes from the pao-tree, whereupon they painted themselves
with gorgeous colours, and the whole covering looks as if it grew to
their flesh. The women were not, however, permitted to practise this
custom; they had to content themselves with ornamenting their necks with
rows of coral, their ears with snake-pendants, and their waist with a
girdle of long feathers.
When the flowers are beginning to open afresh, and the beautiful roses
for which this land has so long been famous commence to re-expand, then
the summer is approaching, and a fete is held in honour of the goddess
Morinka. The _morinka_ is a gigantic flower which, growing from the
bottom of the lake, expands the petals of its flower on the surface. So
huge is it that one single petal would suffice for the cradle of a
child, while a single flower will perfume the entire neighbourhood far
and wide.
At the time when the morinka commences to spread forth its beauty the
inhabitants bring sacrifices to the goddess, who, if in a good temper
and auspicious, causes the flower to expand freely and with great
beauty. In this case there will be a splendid harvest; but if the flower
is scanty and reluctant to open, then the goddess is angry--there will
be dearth, drought, and plague, and a foreign foe will invade the land.
The home of the Aruacans was indeed a happy land. The gigantic walls of
the Andes mountains surrounded it like a fortification, and the steep
mountain clefts cut it off from its neighbours, whose curiosity, desire
of conquest, and thirst for treasures made them long to explore its
unknown regions. It would have been useless for them to build bridges
across the tremendous waterfalls that tore up the mountain peaks; in
vain would they have made tunnels through the massive mountains; in vain
would they have constructed winding pathways over the ridges; a December
rain would have destroyed all man's labour. If that were not sufficient
to protect the country from invasion, the Andes mountains had four
mighty forts in addition--whose names were Maypo, Peteroa, Chollan, and
Antuco. They were volcanic mountains. If only one of these strongholds
would have started the campaign against the conquerors there would have
been an end to all toils of theirs; the roads would have been replaced
by precipices, while the valleys would be covered with lava and
icebergs; the plains would be concealed by avalanches dotted over them
like soap-bubbles; the entire district, with its cliffs and waterfalls,
would appear in a different light, as though in a huge kaleidoscope:
towering hills would have taken the place of running waters in the
mountain basin.
One day two hundred strangers appeared before Bria Rocca's town;
peculiar looking people--such indeed as the good inhabitants had never
yet beheld in their country. Straight to the Palace of Bria Rocca did
the two hundred horsemen ride along, in presence of curious crowds and
with sound of trumpet. Then the leader placed his soldiers in line, and
a respectful message that he should allow them to pay him their respects
was sent to the Cazcique. The leader's name was Valdivia, now for the
first time pronounced in that territory. Did not the land of Chili
tremble when she heard this name for the first time? Did not the river
swell? Did not the volcanic mountains which had lain dormant for a long
time burst out into violent eruption? No, oh no! They are deceived who
imagine that the soil is mother of her people and that she feels and
grieves over her sons' dangers. The soil is a coquette who delights in
strangers, reveals her bosom to them, and to them as to others gives her
bloom; she makes love to a new-comer and protects him from hostile
attacks; on the graves of her old admirers does she grow him flowers.
Why should she not in the present instance? Were not the Spaniards
stately men, superior to the ancient inhabitants? Their whole apparel
was bright, and sparkled; the sun could see himself in their glittering
buckles, the breeze found an attraction in their fluttering ribbons. And
how much more intellectual were they than the old inhabitants! Why, they
could actually hold communication by means of signs, and towards
whatever direction they desired could shoot out fire by means of metal
tubes; they could travel by ocean, and they knew those who lived beyond
it; they could build high-towered palaces from stones, and from small
threads they made delightful raiment; from seeds they prepared such
savoury dishes! Why should not the land prefer them to her old
inhabitants! Bria Rocca has already heard of the fame of those white
fairies--rumour travels unaided--for now Pizarro had long conquered
Peru, which is divided from Chili only by the snow-peaked Cordillera
mountains. He accorded a warm reception to Valdivia; he conducted him to
his palace, asked him to be seated on his finest bear-skin, and placed
before him the best coca drinks in cocoa-nut shells. And no one could
prepare them so well as Evoeva! Then Valdivia could talk the language of
the Redskins; he acquired their tongue and primitive phrases and could
talk as well as if he had been an Inca.
"Gentle Cazcique," he said to Bria Rocca, "brethren never come to visit
you with strong and friendly arms. In one hand they hold glittering
pearls and jewellery, which would gracefully adorn your women's necks,
also fire-concealing liquor which exhilarates the sad ones and
strengthens the feeble; it cools in hot weather, warms in cold. The
other hand contains sharp iron which would cut your shields, and
fire-throwing implements which aim from a distance! You can choose which
one you please. We do not ask much of you, only give us that little hill
you call Guelen, that we may build ourselves a shelter there, near the
Matocko river. Consider your reply to my proposal."
Bria Rocca puffed thrice from his hookah, and while looking through its
smoke, pondered what he should say.
"You remarked that you are white brethren and that you come with full
arms; in the one hand carry presents, in the other guns. We are
accustomed to catch monkeys in a similar manner; in one hand we hold
fruit, in the other spears, and when the animal approaches for the fruit
we hurl the spear at it. We desire not your presents--neither those from
the right hand nor those from the left. Our women are pretty enough
without your pearls, we are in good spirits without your liquors, and if
you have more effective guns we have stronger arms; and if you present
fire, we throw poison, which also brings death. If you wish for the
Guelen mountain in exchange for your pearls and liquors you will not get
it; if you ask it in return for sharp swords and fiery arrows, once
more, you will not get it; but if you ask it nicely, you can have it
gratis."
"What is the 'nice' phrase, gentle Cazcique?"
"That you will never do us any harm, that you will leave us in peace and
not destroy our forests."
Valdivia promised the Cazcique that they would remain faithful brethren,
and as a proof of eternal friendship they both drank water from the
river Matocko out of a pumpkin-shell. They then broke the shell and
divided its pieces as a token of the sealed friendship, the idea being
that just as the pumpkin-shell could not be put together without mutual
consent, so they themselves could not be happy the one without the
other. They finally smoked the pipe of peace and parted company.
Valdivia mounted his horse and his followers went away, leaving behind
them a cask filled with the "drink of wisdom"--the phrase by which the
Spaniards designated brandy when speaking of it to the Indians.
The Indian fathers asked Bria Rocca to divide the spirit amongst them,
in order that they might all taste it and become as wise as the white
people--"And such slaves as the Peruvians," thought Bria Rocca, though
he did not say so. The spirit of the great Tao-tum had blessed him with
the art of keeping judiciously silent. He poured out the spirit into a
large tank and placed all the curious people around it, remarking that
when he gave the signal they should bend down and drink to their hearts'
contents. Bria Rocca then lit a long camphor laurel switch, which burned
with a white flame, and twirled it round his head, thereafter dipping it
into the tank. Hardly had the burning shoot touched the tank's contents
when, in a moment, they became ignited, and the wonderful white
transparent liquid began to burn with a pale blue flame from every part
of the vessel's surface. The Indians recoiled in terror from this
strange phenomenon, but Bria Rocca thrust his switch into the flaming
fluid, and the blazing drops were spurted over their naked bodies like a
shower of fire-sparks. He then grasped the edge of the tank and poured
out from it the flaming liquid, which followed the Indians as they
retreated. Even those of them who managed to escape carried on their
heels some flames, and a certain amount they dropped at each step they
took. The good people asked no more to taste the wise men's spirit, and
the Spanish calabasse did not have the same destroying charm over them
as it did over their copper- brethren.
* * * * *
In the Tlenoch legendary lore there was a strange and ancient tradition,
originated long before the Spaniards set foot on that soil. According to
one legend the Queczalcot gnome had appeared hundreds and hundreds of
years before in South America; its face was white, with a beard and
moustache, and it taught the people what herbs to eat, also chronology,
the use of copper, and the building of houses. The gnome remained there
for a century, spreading happiness all over the country. Then it
disappeared across the sea, towards the east, promising to return
hundreds of years thereafter, when it would teach much more. Well! the
legend has just been fulfilled. The blessed white-faced, black-bearded
descendants of Queczalcot have come, and have brought many nice things.
In the rich Aztec province of Tlenoch this teaching was very easy; the
Aztec tribe were already an extremely submissive people; they knew
already the value of gold and apparel; they had their own fashions and a
rich capital, which overlooked on one side a salt-water, and on the
other, a fresh-water, lake. Around the earth were built houses,
pyramids, and sacrificial _teocallis_, where at holiday time hundreds
and hundreds of their chosen men are sacrificed to their bloodthirsty
gods. Gold and men's lives were of small value, but pleasures were
expensive. No wonder, therefore, that the Spaniards taught them so
quickly how to appreciate their imported pleasures. But in Chili the
gold was still under the soil; the people were treading upon it, not it
upon them. Their hatred of foreigners existed from time immemorial, and
also the desire to preserve their ancient customs, which they
worshipped. So the Spaniards found them very bad pupils, their alluring
words were not appreciated by the old ones; their presents were not
esteemed by the young; the women's eyes refused to rest upon them. These
people could be subdued by bold and daring means only.
Valdivia gave wonderful presents to Bria Rocca for the Guelen
mountain--a fully caparisoned horse, a kingly present and one worthy of
acceptance being amongst the number. Cazcique could not refuse such a
gift, and after having learnt to ride was pleased to know how he looked
on horseback. At that time the proper use of the noble horse was unknown
to the Indians. Valdivia had calculated well. As soon as Bria Rocca
became possessed of his horse he rode about for several weeks upon the
Salt Plains, and employed his time in pursuing herds of musk-ox in the
high and luxuriant prairie grass, never dreaming that the Spaniards were
building a fort on the top of Mount Guelen. When the Morinka fete was
about to be held, Bria Rocca, according to established custom, ordered
every man to retire from the scene; the Morinka fete was for women only,
and no man's eye was allowed to witness it. On such occasions the people
would retire to the forests to hunt; in town none were left but children
and old women; the young married women and maidens were at the Morinka
lake, and nobody was allowed to disturb them. Let that man beware who
would dare to set eyes on this fete! He would carry the sentence of
death upon his face. Although he should hide in forest after forest yet
would he be traced out and killed for presuming to invade the Morinka
fete. The heavenly flower _morinka_ is herself goddess amongst flowers;
a most peculiar plant is she; eleven months of the year she reposes
under water, twelve feet beneath the surface. During this time she has
no actual existence. When her birthday arrives, which it never fails to
do, for it falls at that precise date when the day is longest and the
night shortest, all of a sudden the lake gets covered with brown and
orange- bubbles a span long, which float on the surface like
many small boats. One day later the bubbles will burst open, and the
knotted membranes will expand, enormous cup-shaped leaves coming out,
whose inside is painted a pale carmine colour, which glitters on the
rich and fleshy fibres of the leaves like the inside of an autumn peach.
Its light green netted veins turn to a bright gold as they approach the
stamens, the leaves begin to develop with astonishing rapidity, and
spread on the water's surface like round tables. The pale carmine enamel
changes into a mild green colour, and the veins that from yellow and
lily colour have become carmine in netted form divide it up into 1000
squares. The tremendous leaves grow and extend with visible rapidity;
some of them are a fathom in width. Thus they cover the Morinka lake
with a wonderfully rich carpet, over which, indeed, one may walk to and
fro. The wide leaf may bend, but it will not become filled with water
under the tread. A man's weight is no more to it than is a butterfly's
to an ordinary flower. Ten days afterwards the buds--their huge closed
cups as large as a child's head--burst from under the leaf, resting
sideways owing to its weight. The outer leaves, which are white and
netted, are as large as melon slices; two days afterwards they have
changed to a pink colour, and on the night of the fourth day they burst.
The flower does not bend any more, but stands straight.
As the cup bursts open many white petals appear from the light pink
calyx. An indescribably sweet perfume spreads all over the district; and
so intoxicatingly delicious a sensation does it produce upon those who
have inhaled its pure and virgin fragrance that a woman forgets she is a
woman and imagines herself a fairy. On the fifth and sixth days the
flower opens quite, and one petal after another develops; on the seventh
day it appears in its fullest glory.
The petals have snow-white branches, deep red; their centre is
of a rich gold colour, containing thousands of thready moulds. The
length of the calyx is then from three to four spans. The Morinka fete
takes place on the night when the flower opens. It is held at new moon,
under a dull sky; for so sensitive to light are the petals of our fairy
plant that with the moon's light even they open but half-way; when the
sun shines they shrink together again; but the stars' cold glitter is
very dear to them, as also are those star mimics which are visible from
afar, and whose virgin brilliancy does not affect the picturesque
senses, I mean the fire-fly.[4]
[Footnote 4: By the most serious people of serious Europe, this plant
has been named "the Queen." _Victoria Regina_ is the name by which it is
called. It is to be found in royal collections only.]
When the flowers begin to burst open millions of fire-flies appear by
the lake--attracted perhaps, by the perfume; possibly they are born with
the flower, so that each may be fated to take delight in the other. Now
the tremendous calyx, with a light green colour like diamond glitter,
bends to and fro. Nature's artistic hand has ornamented its crown with
precious stones, for thousands of dewdrops, those stars of floral
creation, are glittering from the petals, while the fire-flies are
continually flitting from one leaf to another, thus forming a fairy-like
walk; on the majestic flower glistens the sovereign fire-fly, the
magnificent _avra_, the lenten insect, on whose glittering colours the
petal shades are thrown. The night is moonless, but rich in stars; the
surface of the Morinka lake is covered with a green leaf carpet, on
which many little stars are shining as if in heaven above. The dense
banana grove that surrounds the enchanting lake gives it the appearance
of a temple encircled by thousands of green columns. And the surface of
the lake forms a magnificent altar, whence, from the gigantic calyx, the
most delicate sacrifice, the most delightful odour, rises to heaven. By
the sides of the lake, on a grassy plot, the Indian women solemnise the
sacrificial rites. Thousands of the most beautiful virgins and childless
women, placed in three circles, dance about and sing praises to the
Great Spirit who brought forward the budding season of the
water-flowers, and who awakes the feeling of the slumbering heart.
Whoever saw them from a distance would imagine them to be fairy circles.
Each woman had a chain of glittering gems round her neck. These in fact
consisted of many hundred Brazilian insects, which the Indian women
strung upon thread and used as neck-ornaments. The colours of the
insects were continually changing from green and marigold to a ruby hue,
and _vice versa_, and surpassed in brilliancy the most precious stones.
In the midst of the circle stood Queen Evoeva. She was distinguished by
her wearing three insect chains on her neck. Round her waist, too, was
arranged a broad girdle, ornamented with many dazzling insects; their
light was not, however, sufficiently great to allow one to see the
shadow cast by this charming woman. In her dark hair there glittered a
splendid "lampyris," whose moon-shaped light was thrown upon the lovely
creature's face, to which it imparted a pale serenity.
Could one have seen those women one would have imagined they were
fairies. But who would have presumed to approach them? Would not the
Great Spirit have been enraged at the breaking of a divine command?
Indeed an Indian would not have dared to do this, even were he an enemy.
A Spaniard, however, does it, though a friend.
All of a sudden wild noises of men were heard in the banana groves; the
women, frightened, rushed into one group. "Men, it seems," cried they,
"have broken into the Holy Grove on the eve of the Morinka fete." It was
Valdivia with one hundred and fifty of his comrades. When Queen Evoeva
recognised the Spaniards she stepped forward with stately tread, and
boldly asked Valdivia how they dared appear on the sacred ground while
the Morinka fete was being held, and when every man was required to keep
at a respectful distance. Valdivia's reply was to embrace the queen's
beautiful form, and to implant a kiss upon her cheek, burning with fury.
"Ah!" shouted the Indians, "our queen has been kissed by a strange
man--a kiss has reached her lip on the eve of Morinka! The kiss of a
_strange man_!" The Indian women madly attacked Valdivia and his
comrades and began a severe struggle for her majesty. Here, then, was a
conflict between feeble, naked women, unarmed, and strong mailed men.
With nails and teeth did the former fight, like wild beasts, considering
but little the wounds which they themselves received. The Spaniards were
obliged to have recourse to arms against those enraged attacking ones,
and before long red streams were flowing towards the Morinka
lake--streams of women's blood. But Evoeva was freed from Valdivia's
grasp, and one moment gave her time to jump into the lake, whose surface
was covered with huge nymphean leaves. These clod themselves upon her
and did not part asunder again. Hundreds upon hundreds of women followed
the queen's example, throwing themselves into the lake to escape their
pursuers. The Spaniards saw none rise to the surface; the nymphic leaves
floated there as before. But the women swam under the smooth leaf-carpet
to the river's mouth; the river emptied itself into the lake, and
farther up formed a waterfall ten fathoms in height; across this the
women proceeded. Those only escaped who were neither dashed by the rocks
nor suffocated by the waterfall.
* * * * *
Bria Rocca was until late evening pursuing a jaguar--which he contrived
to reach and kill--on the wild plains. It was nightfall when he returned
with his men and reached the banks of the Mapocho river, where they
encamped.
Bria Rocca led his horse to the river to drink. The noble animal had
been moving about quickly the whole day and was very thirsty; but as
soon as it bent its head towards the water it retreated and galloped to
its master, shaking all over; then, tossing its mane from side to side,
it broke into a violent snorting. The king thought that the horse had
smelt an alligator in the stream, and conducted it to another part; but
she manifested the old signs of aversion. "There is blood in the water,
Bria Rocca, woman's blood; your horse dreads it, and that is why he
refuses to drink." It was now midnight, but still a light seemed to
shine from the forest. "Look how soon it gets light now!" said the
Indians, awaking from their dreams. "It is not daybreak, nor is it the
flames of a burning forest." The king's town was in flames, and beneath
that spot where the sky seemed brightest blazed the royal palace. The
strangers had set it on fire! Towards daybreak there was great commotion
in the grove. At first a few crying children rushed thither and awoke
the slumbering camp. These informed his majesty that the white strangers
had disturbed their dreams and made fire on the roofs of their homes,
and that those who could not run away were slain. Then came other
messengers to Bria Rocca, and the heads of slaughtered women and
children could be seen floating down the river. These could not speak to
the king, but sufficient could be gathered from their silent
communication.
Bria Rocca stood on the river bank, resting on his axe and looking at
the floating human remains. All around the following raving noise was
heard, "It is all up with Matocka town; the dreaded of the Guelen
mountain have by stealth broken into it and bombarded it with metal
dragons; they have killed the children, carried away the women, and
burnt down the king's palace."
The King himself replied quickly, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria
Rocca should bathe his feet in blood, and should warm himself at his
town's flame, Bria Rocca is silent and refrains from shedding tears."
The old people told his majesty that the white men from the Papua and
Omagua tribes had secretly collected in force in the Guelen mountain,
and during the Morinka fete, when all had withdrawn to the forest, had
attacked every village of Bria Rocca and destroyed them; and that
Valdivia was proclaimed master of the country. The King quietly
replied, "If the Great Spirit desires that Bria Rocca's people should
leave their kingdom, Bria Rocca refrains from shedding tears."
Lastly, there became visible on the Mapocko river rush-boats, on which
the women who had escaped, with their tiny children--many of whom, that
possibly life might again appear, were still pressed to their mother's
breasts, dead from the strokes of the enemy--lay terror-stricken and
furious.
Now approached the king's wife, the beautiful Evoeva. Her black hair
hung loosely over her face in order that her shame might be covered. The
women grasped Bria Rocca's hand with great fury, pointing to Evoeva.
"Look," said they, "here is your wife; her cheeks were kissed by a
strange man."
Bria Rocca's lips paled, and every vein on his temples became swollen;
yet the war-lance did not move in his hand. He resignedly answered the
women, "If the Great Spirit desires that I shall not behold Evoeva any
more Bria Rocca is content and never will look at her again."
Whilst saying these words he covered with a skin the wife who knelt at
his feet, and turned away from her. The Indians seized their arms and,
beating upon their shields, vowed vengeance upon the strangers. Bria
Rocca approached them softly, and said:
"Let your arms rest; this day we have lost, let our enemies gain it; it
is to-day the fight of kings against beggars whose lances are weak as
straw. Let them have happiness, splendid towns, fine women and
children, and abundance of earthly treasure. At present they have
nothing to give us in return for this evening's gift. Let us wait until
they have."
* * * * *
Ten years have elapsed since Bria Rocca's palace was burnt, and since
then many changes have taken place in Chili. Valdivia has occupied Chili
in the name of Pizarro; then he goes over to the king's side and helps
to overthrow Pizarro, and as a reward receives the Viceroyalty of Chili.
A portion of the province which he had first conquered was named
Valdivia, and also that river from which Bria Rocca's horse refused to
drink. The splendid city too, which was built on the site of the ancient
bamboo town of Bria Rocca, was named Valdivia. This Valdivia gave quite
a different appearance to the whole district. Stone-made roads,
constructed by European adventurers, were laid, and from town to town
people have ploughed and gathered in the earth's produce, and have
exposed the precious metal of the mountains, just as if they were really
quite at home. Nobody has disturbed them in their work; the
copper-<DW52> persons have disappeared, not a sound of them can be
heard in the forest, nor a trace of their footsteps observed on the
ground--like a crowd of grasshoppers before a seven-days' rain have they
become entirely destroyed.
Perhaps they have gone up to the mountains or into the wastes of the
interior, where the Golden Land has already sprung into existence, and
concerning which so many wonderful stories have been related to
adventurous Spaniards about the monks Cabeca de Vaca and Nica: where
wild people were walking about in civilised clothing, where the towns
were laid out with emerald and turquoise, and whose fort Cibolla was ten
miles long.
Some people who tried to find out this remarkable land, never returned
from it. In the time of Valdivia the Spanish imagination became excited
about this El Dorado. If any wondered how Bria Rocca's people
disappeared, without leaving a trace behind them, they could console
themselves with the fact that they were now very happy, and that they
had gone in search of brethren to Cibolla town, where they were now
wallowing in milk and honey. Although they wondered why they could not
follow the Indians, the Spaniards now quietly settled in Chili; they
have ceased to dig trenches round the town, and to post guards along the
roads; they no longer teach their bloodhounds to scent out the
two-footed wild animal; there is peace and tranquillity in the whole
country. The merchants count out their money and the great lords
lavishly spend it; pretty women walk about in silks, and little children
ride on their fathers' knees. Yes, yes! the Spaniards have
everything--riches, happiness, and splendid towns, also beautiful women
and tiny, chattering offspring. . . . .
"Let us wait until they can repay us," said Bria Rocca.
* * * * *
A new lake would be found, and the waterfalls would have cut for
themselves new passages. Still, Bria Rocca's people have taken refuge
there with their herds and flocks, whilst the eager searchers for El
Dorado have failed to discover the way to fairyland. The Chilian volcano
has rested for a hundred years, and only a few craters have shown from a
distance that he too was one of those gigantic bombarders of the heavens
who now rests conquered. But perhaps he sleeps merely--such great beings
dream long. Whilst, then, he is thus dreaming, the Southern voluptuous
plants have entwined themselves round about him, and every kind of grass
and tree derives nourishment from his presence; at his foot a forest of
red cedar has formed, and on his head tamarisk bushes live and flourish.
From the autumn greenery which covers the mountain, dark caverns peep
out. These are the mouths of ancient lava-streams by which one might get
at the mountain's heart. According to the stories of the Omagua tribes,
it was through such that the Aruacans made their way to the Cordillera
interior. There were always a few adventurers who attempted to penetrate
these caverns in search of the Golden Land, but they, as a rule, never
returned, and nobody troubled about them. Once, however, two monks,
accompanied by an Indian who understood the language, left Sant-Jago in
search of this mysterious country. Had all three disappeared, no one
would have made much ado; but it so happened that the Indian returned
soon afterwards without the monks. He was interrogated on the subject,
but he merely said that his comrades had perished--in what way he
declined to tell. He had sworn by the great teeth of Mahu-Mahu that he
never should divulge the secret. Valdivia had him placed on the bench of
torture, and it appears that he felt the thumb-screwing instruments,
and boiling oil had greater effect upon him than the big teeth of
Mahu-Mahu, and so he promised to disclose everything. According to his
story he and his comrades, after they had provided themselves with
torchlights, entered the Chillon cavern, where, after proceeding a few
hundred yards, they discovered on the moist soil the footprints of
Aruacans. They knew them to be theirs, for they were marked by
india-rubber heels, worn as a rule by the Aruacans to protect them from
serpents. As they advanced further the cavern got wider in extent, and
from its steep sides great rocks stood out. The descent, which became
steeper and steeper as they advanced, was crossed by a stream that one
could hear but not see from the cavern's mouth. Over this stream a
bamboo suspension bridge become visible later on, similar to that which
the Aruacans had erected over the Matocka river.
The volcanic footpaths got more and more difficult to tread upon, and at
times he and his companions were obliged to climb upon the rocks, as if
they were trying to ascend a mountain.
Finally the opening became so narrow that two men could hardly walk
through it, and there they reached a spot that seemed hollowed out
beneath. They advanced further when the earth gave way, and they all
fell down to the cavern depths. It was a trap from which there was no
escape. After they had for a few hours vainly endeavoured to rise from
this pitfall, they suddenly heard sounds of voices, and--recognised the
Aruacans. They recognised them from the wool which covered their
bodies. The Indians pulled them up with long ropes, blindfolded them,
and bound their hands behind their backs, driving them on between two
tough trees. Ere long the echo from the narrow passage ceased, and the
atmosphere revealed to them that they were in the open air. When their
eyes were unfolded they saw they were in the Chillon crater. It was a
dreadful smoking valley, with a funnel-like descent, whose sides were
then just as bare as when the last eruption had taken place.
All around there were red-brown stone piles, quite burnt out--dead for
ever--on which no plant could live. Not even a piece of moss or of
lichen was to be seen upon them.
Lower down the valley got compressed, and on its sides numberless small
holes, like wasps' nests, were visible. Neither grass nor flower could
be observed anywhere--nothing of that kind, indeed, but a few pale green
trees scattered about at intervals. These were upas-trees, in the poison
of whose sap the Indians dip their spears. Every surrounding plant had
been killed by their exhalations, so that they alone grew in the valley.
On the sides of this dreadful valley a wide, hollow border was to be
seen; it represented the last active volcano; in appearance it resembled
the gallery of a great amphitheatre. On this gallery stood the Aruacan
fathers with Bria Rocca. Under it was formed a sort of semicircle, where
many large china jugs might be seen placed near one another, whose
mouths were for the most part covered with india-rubber; some were
open. As the captives were brought before Bria Rocca two such jugs were
procured, and the two monks, tied to a couple of columns, were then
killed with two long axes, similar to those with which the Aruacans cut
the hevea-trees. Their blood poured out into the jugs; their bodies were
thrown down the precipice. After this the Indians carried away the jugs
with the blood and placed them near the others. Soon thereafter numerous
serpents peeped out of holes in the walls: in appearance they were like
cigars. A traveller who does not know this serpent might be deceived,
and, imagining it a cigar, pick it up--which would mean death. One bite
from this serpent is fatal. These dreaded reptiles crept in thousands
into the jugs in which the murdered Spaniards' blood had been placed,
and when they filled them two Indians approached and carefully put two
india-rubber covers over them, so as to prevent their exit.
They meant at first to kill the priest's dusky guide, but Bria Rocca
said that black blood was useless, and they let him go. But he had to
swear by the great Mahu Mahu that he should not tell a soul what he had
seen; if he did tell, the Aruacans would come for him in tens of
thousands, and they would not be particular as to who was white and who
black. So they let him go through the same way as he and the monks came
in, and he could not say how he got out of the crater.
Of course, nobody believed a word of the Indian's story, and they
believed that he himself killed the monks and invented a fable. It was
all a tissue of lies, they thought, and the unfortunate man was pinned
to a stake outside Sant-Jago.
* * * * *
The Indian's story had long been forgotten in Chili. Valdivia returned
with glory and overwhelmed with distinction from Peru, and settled down
to live peacefully in the town which bore his name. He dispersed his
troops amongst the various towns and settlements, and he had hardly more
than three hundred soldiers left with him. These, moreover, got out of
practice, as they seldom had occasion to handle the gun.
All of a sudden, on a still and quiet night, a wild noise awoke the
peaceful inhabitants of Valdivia. Frantic shouting came from the
surrounding hills, and all around the farm-buildings were set on fire;
the faces of hundreds of people were distinguished by the flames. "The
Aruacans have returned!" were the words, distractedly uttered, that
sounded through the town, and that also reached Valdivia's palace. Yes,
the Aruacans _have_ returned--to ask for an explanation regarding the
presumption of building a town over the graves of their ancestors; and
Bria Rocca was there to inquire who it was that killed thousands of his
subjects, and also who it was that kissed the cheek of Evoeva. The
attack was so sudden and unexpected that there was no time to report the
great danger to the adjoining town; and before Valdivia had time to draw
his sword all the hills surrounding the town were occupied by thousands
of the Red Indians. There was only one outlet from the town through
which the Spaniards might have escaped, and it seemed as if the Indians
had purposely left that unguarded. The Spaniards were not, however, to
be led into a trap, rightly thinking that it would have been folly to
throw themselves upon thousands of wild and enraged Indians, who would
have despatched them with their poisonous spears; they, therefore, drew
up their guns on the fortification walls. How, possibly, can the simple
arrows of the Indians compete with such weapons?
The Indians occupied all the adjoining hills, and had they had guns in
their possession they could very easily have fired into the town.
Valdivia's men looked quietly down from the rampart walls, for they
observed that the Indians had no storming engines with which they might
attack the stronghold.
Bria Rocca's tent was erected on a hill concealed from view by huge
cocoa-palms, from which Valdivia's palace could be seen. At the Indian
chief's command the brown leaves of eight trees were pulled down, and
the trunks of the trees were cut open to the extent of several feet in
width; then were tied to their tops long ropes of sap-wood, the other
end of the ropes being twisted round a potter's wheel which was made to
turn by means of long rods. Under the influence of these ropes the trees
got quite bent and their tops touched the ground. Then the Indians
placed some strange-looking vessels into the hollows of the trunks; the
mouths of these vessels were covered over with india-rubber. Bria Rocca
next pulled his axe from his belt and cut the ropes in twain. The palm
trunks flew up with great force, and with a tremendous noise the jugs
that had been placed in the tree-hollows shot into the market-place of
Valdivia. Each tree discharged its dangerous bombs as did the others.
Oh, what a curse those bombs proved! Thousands upon thousands of
poisonous serpents escaped from the broken jugs and, maddened by white
man's blood, rushed at the people in every direction. Guns were of no
avail when dealing with these cursed little monsters. The bloodthirsty,
devil-moved insects crept up the legs of the horses, and getting beneath
the armour killed their riders. They swarmed all over the streets and
streamed into the houses, killing the women and children and those who
could not fly from them. In one hour's time Valdivia had more dead than
fighting men. Valdivia himself became desperate and mounted his horse,
and, accompanied by a hundred horsemen, proceeded towards the gate
leading to Sant-Jago, that gate which the Indians had left unguarded. He
heard the triumphant shouts of the Indians and saw before him the
ancient forest shooting out flames in hundreds of directions. He was
surrounded! The enraged Indians followed him up behind, and in front the
burning forest cut off the means of escape. His companions rode away in
alarm; they preferred to die fighting, not in this manner. Valdivia
thought it best to boldly cut his way through the burning forest, and so
effect his escape--or perish in the attempt. The Indians pursued him to
the edge of the forest, but seeing how boldly he galloped through the
flames they nearly all held back there. One man only attempted to
pursue him further--namely, Bria Rocca. The Spanish horses on which both
were mounted did not fear the fire. Burning foliage fell over them and
little embers glowed under their feet; still the two horses wildly
plunged forward, step for step. Valdivia did not even look back, and he
did not, therefore, observe the Indian chief when he threw a long
harpoon spear at him. This spear entered his body, and when it was
pulled out the heart came away along with it.
* * * * *
The spot on which Valdivia stood was strewn with the charred ruins of
the burned town, and there--on that gloomy space--Bria Rocca, after ten
years' mourning, held a feast in honour of the injured Goddess Morinka.
He sent for his wife Evoeva, whom he had thrust away from him, and upon
whose countenance he had not gazed for ten years; and when he had
embraced her he presented her with a tambourine and a flute of bone, as
well as a cup filled with native wine. Then he said: "This is a day of
great rejoicing, Evoeva. To-day you must sing, drink and dance. Strike
upon this tambourine, blow the flute, empty the cup--the tambourine is
made from Valdivia's skin, the flute is his bone, the cup his head."
* * * * *
Up to the present day the Aruacan's country has remained unconquered.
BIZEBAN
Such is the name of the deaf and dumb boy who waits upon the Sultan.
The art of manufacturing these _bizebans_ is very simple, and at Gozond
there are several hundred professors of it who find it lucrative enough.
From poor people, who possess families, they buy children, at ten or
twenty rupees apiece--mere infants a twelvemonth old. As yet, of course,
they cannot talk. These men begin by pouring into the ears of the little
creatures a fluid prepared from herbs, which renders them absolutely
deaf. Two-thirds of the children die under the process. Those which
survive are valuable articles of commerce. Having lost their hearing
they can, of course, no longer learn to talk, and they remain dumb, as
well as deaf, for life. These children, as they grow up, see the world
around them but cannot comprehend what they see. Their native
intelligence cannot become developed: they are like human beings from
whom the soul has been snatched. These soulless boys are very valuable
articles in the seraglio. They are always hovering around the Sultan. In
the most secret chambers they are in attendance; the most valuable
documents are entrusted to their care; and beneath their eyes passes all
the private correspondence between the Sultan and his confidential
advisers. They do not hear a syllable of any conversation--of such a
thing as speech they have no conception. How can they imagine what those
peculiarly shaped letters mean which their eyes behold? There is no
corresponding knowledge or intelligence within them which would render
this possible; and the few things which they both see and understood,
they could not communicate to other people.
Such were the unfortunate _bizebans_. Nevertheless they were dressed in
purple and silk robes. Long chains of pearls hung from their neck, and
they were fed upon what overflowed from the Sultan's own table. In all
respects they were treated with especial consideration--like monkeys or
parrots which are kept as playthings.
These creatures, deprived of soul, know how to do one or two things, but
no more. They understand that they must remain on guard at a certain
post and not move thence; they can carry a certain article to a certain
place; they can cut the Sultan's nails to beautiful fine points and
adjust his turban--such is the utmost limit of their accomplishments.
They are indeed like dogs, taught to fetch and carry things for their
masters in their mouth.
Before Sultan Mustapha II. ascended the throne he already possessed a
number of _bizebans_. One of these was his especial favourite--a boy who
was quite superior to the rest and who excited more sympathy; for in
his big, dreamy eyes so much sentiment and intelligence was visible that
it seemed sad that he could not be taught to feel and think like a human
being. Like other _bizebans_ he had no name. Why should a _bizeban_ have
a name? He won't hear it even if it is addressed to him.
As a rule the _bizeban_ also fulfilled the office of eunuch, and walked
freely into the seraglio. Prince Mustapha used often, by the hand of his
pet _bizeban_, to send to his sister, the beautiful Saliha, presents of
a certain kind of very choice melon which only grew in the Sultan's
garden and concerning which fruit a very sad story was told.
One day, noticing that one melon was missing from the beds, the Sultan
had all his gardeners tortured that the culprit might confess his theft.
Then, when this experiment failed, he had seven of them cut open. To no
purpose; but when the eighth was ripped up fragments of the melon were
revealed, which was very fortunate, as a few hundred other servants
would, but for this, have been treated likewise.
The lovely Saliha was a very kind-hearted creature. She thought her
brother's _bizeban_ was a very sweet and gentle little thing, and she
did not hesitate to pet him. She tried to make him understand this and
that, and he seemed to have a very quick intelligence. Why should he not
one day possess a soul? This idea occurred to her as she was walking, on
one occasion, in the shrubbery. Could she not give back to him the soul
of which he had been deprived, could she not teach him the alphabet? If
she showed him a certain letter and then pointed to some object with
which he was familiar could he not by degrees be made acquainted with
the world?
Saliha made the experiment. She found it a very pleasant recreation, for
life in the seraglio is extremely monotonous.
We have heard that prisoners in their dungeons have even taught spiders
to dance at the sound of music (and the seraglio as a place of detention
is scarcely more exhilarating than a dungeon). Why should not the deaf
and dumb boy prove as apt as a spider? At her first essay, Saliha was
amazed to see how the soul of the _bizeban_ began to expand. He grasped
anything in a moment. Once shown the alphabet he could afterwards trace
out each letter on the ground. Once shown the name of a certain article
he never forgot it. This success encouraged Saliha to further attempts.
Would it not be possible to speak to the _bizeban_? But how could the
speaking be done so that no beholder comprehended it? Ah! with the
hands! The human hand has five fingers, and their variety of motion, as
they open and shut, is such that the entire alphabet might thereby be
distinctly expressed. Saliha determined to teach the boy to converse
with her by means of his fingers; and the success of her experiments
exceeded her expectations. He quickly learned the secret signs. It was
delightful to Saliha; and she determined to get amusement out of it too.
She would extract from the _bizeban_ secrets concerning her brother
which he thought no one living knew, and then she would tease this
relative by pretending that she had discovered them through the mystic
words of the Cabala. Who could ever dream of suspecting a _bizeban_ who
was deaf and dumb?
After the death of Osman, Prince Mustapha ascended the throne. His
youthful gaiety now quickly fled--his shoulders began to bend beneath
the weight of the Turkish Empire, which was then already in a tottering
condition, with enemies on every side.
At that time the country possessed a great statesman in the person of
Raghib Pasha, whose potent hand had preserved the empire from
destruction. It was he who crushed the forces of the rebellious Egyptian
princes and laid the province at the feet of the Padishah. Raghib was
not only a hero in war, he was also a famous poet and the greatest
scholar in the land. Historians describe him, in his character of
statesman, as a "leader of leaders," _szad rul vezir_, and in that of
writer as the "Prince of Roumelian poets". (_Sultani suari Rum_). In his
gigantic work entitled _Zezinet Olulum_ ("Ship of Knowledge") all the
legends are collected which had lain scattered about the Arab plains. It
was he who founded the splendid library which bears his name.
At the time of which we now write, Saliha was in the very springtide of
her beauty--like the lotus-flower which opens its petals before the dew
of dawn. Sultan Mustapha could not have given Raghib Pasha a greater
reward than by bestowing upon him the hand of his lovely sister; and as
to whether he inspired her with real affection I need only say that he
was fifty-nine when he married her and that she loved him so much that
when he died her mind became deranged.
Raghib Pasha ruled not only over the Mussulmans but also over the ruler
of the Mussulmans, for he had divined the Sultan's thoughts--yes, his
innermost thoughts.
It was the Sultan's habit not to retire at night to his bedchamber until
he had recorded, in a voluminous diary, all the events of the day and
his impressions concerning them. This book he habitually kept in the
secrecy of his own room, and the _bizeban_ watched over it until the
morning. To whom would it ever have occurred that the deaf and dumb from
birth could read, or that he could communicate the written lines to some
one else? In the room where this diary was kept there was a little
window which opened into the _khazoda_, the Sultan's place of worship.
But it was so shut off from view by various corridors as to be only
visible from the seraglio. Every evening, just as the Sultan was leaving
his apartments in order to go and say his final prayers in this
sanctuary, the murzims were accustomed to strike seven times with a
hammer a bell without a tongue. Then the Imam who stood before the altar
would say: "Ahamdu lillahi Rabbil alemum" ("Grace descends from Heaven,
which rules over all"). Thereupon the congregation would fall on their
faces. They remained prostrate until the Sultan reached the door; when
the Imam would exclaim: Allehu ekber! ("The Lord is powerful"), and all
present rose to their feet. During the period of prostration a secret
hand would be stretched out from the little window we have mentioned,
and would make all kinds of signs. No one noticed this hand, except
Saliha, who carefully watched its mysterious movements whilst she was
upon her knees. From these signs she knew everything that the Sultan had
that day recorded in his diary; and the very same night she would
whisper the information to her husband.
Raghib Pasha was a wise man, who knew how to keep such information
secret. He thereby learned who his enemies were and managed to clear
them out of his way. He got to know the wishes of the Sultan and could
long before anticipate them. Everything he did was done in the name of
the Sultan: the pomp and glory which he himself achieved he allowed
people to ascribe to his Sovereign, and he even made Mustapha imagine
that he ruled; whereas the feeble-hearted monarch was a mere puppet in
the hands of his skilful Grand Vizier.
In his poems Raghib extolled the Sultan for his mighty and politic
deeds--eulogised him for inspecting the navy and the military magazines,
for increasing the nation's revenue by 6,000,000 piastres, and doing
other things which Raghib himself had in fact done on his own account.
Throughout Turkey, throughout Europe, it was known well enough that, not
the Sultan, but his Minister, ruled at Stamboul; it was only Mustapha
who did not know it.
One day Raghib's enemies, Hamil Pasha, Bahir Mustapha, and Mohamed Emin,
who were jealous of the Minister's great power, said to the Sultan:
"This man only calls you Sultan in mockery. He does everything without
you, just as if the State were his. He has just concluded, without your
knowledge, an alliance with the ruler of one of the infidel empires--an
alliance which, although it may prove the destruction of other
unfaithful nations, he should never have dared to make before obtaining
the consent of his monarch, in whose presence he is nothing but dust."
It was Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who, believing in the
wisdom of the distinguished Minister, had invited his alliance, and the
documents ratifying it had already been signed. Had that alliance been
allowed to continue, perhaps the crescent of Turkey would have risen
again. But the heart of Mustapha had been perturbed by these malicious
whisperings. When the traitors had left him he said nothing, but simply
ordered his _bizeban_ to bring him his diary, wherein he proceeded to
record his impressions of the day. Then, shutting the book and giving it
to the _bizeban_, he went to evening prayers. On this occasion the hand
appeared at the little window and made certain signs which Saliha
watched intently. They said: "Escape, Raghib. The Sultan knows of your
letter to the Prussian king. To-morrow your head will be cut off and
your documents confiscated."
The Sultan returned from his profound devotions with a lightened heart.
No one, he said to himself, knew his secret, and to-morrow morning he
would send his executioner to fetch him Raghib's head. Yes, he longed to
possess that head ignominiously severed from its trunk.
But when the executioner reached the Grand Vizier's residence, he found
there his dead body, which could no longer be killed. On his table lay a
letter addressed to the Sultan and enclosed in a velvet envelope. It was
taken to the Sovereign with the news that the Minister had been found
dead. The letter ran thus:
"Mustapha, the Omniscient has vouchsafed, in His
mysterious providence, to let me know that you wished
to kill me because, without your knowledge, I
concluded, for the benefit of your dominion, an
alliance with the King of Prussia. I did not run away
from death; I simply anticipated it. I consider I have
lived long enough in order to die fitly now, and long
enough not to be forgotten. All the documents at my
palace I have burned. You will see what I have done
for your country; the rest will be said when we meet
in presence of the great Prophet."
The Sultan was paralysed with wonder and fear. How could that secret,
which had been locked up only in his own heart, have been divined by
Raghib? First he accused the _dsins_ (Christian prophets), then the
Hindoo soothsayers, then the interpreters of dreams--then the very pen
with which he had written. How could he dream that the deaf and dumb
could speak?
When Mustapha endeavoured to further the alliance with the King of
Prussia, this great ruler of the infidels replied that there had until
recently been one wise man in Turkey, but that he did not now propose
to do business with fools. This was a bitter humiliation to the
Sultan--to think that his late slave could have procured an alliance
which was contemptuously refused to the King of Kings!
Mustapha frequently lamented the loss of Raghib, and was constantly
tortured by the mystery whereby the secret of his heart had been
penetrated. After the Grand Vizier's death the _bizeban_ ceased to
communicate to Saliha the secrets of the Sultan. He had no longer any
motive to do so.
First came Hamil, who only, however, remained Grand Vizier for six
months, when he was executed for his negligence; and chroniclers relate
of him that he let the empire go as it pleased, doing it neither good
nor harm. Then followed the head of Bahir Mustapha. It was cut off for
his barbarity. The third was Mohamed Emin, whom the Sultan beheaded for
cowardice on the battlefield. Mustapha shed tears over the loss of his
three Grand Viziers--but not on their personal account, for he had never
forgotten Raghib, who was so wise, brave, and noble; and whenever he
beheaded one of his Grand Viziers he would always think of the
unfortunate Raghib.
The _bizeban_ laughed within himself; for the deaf and dumb can laugh
when they are alone. His secret no one ever knew.
THE MOONLIGHT SOMNAMBULIST
Pozdordy was one of the best known and respected farmers in the province
of B----, and the surrounding gentry were accustomed to visit him at his
picturesque homestead. The frequency of their visits was, however, due
chiefly to the circumstance that he was possessed of a lovely daughter.
This maiden, besides being enchantingly beautiful, was as proud as a
queen.
It was quite natural that the young men from round and about should be
helplessly in love with her and willing to hazard life itself in the
hope of winning such a prize. But many as were the rival suitors, they
all at last had to give way to one upon whom Etelka bestowed her
preference, and that preference could not be divided either in two or
more parts. As a matter of fact no objection could have been made
against her choice, for it fell upon such a man as is generally regarded
as the ideal of a woman's dreams. He was of fine stature, tall,
well-proportioned, no longer young, it is true, but far from his
decline. He was a retired major, and bore himself with a faultless
military carriage. His manners were polished, his education extensive,
and his wit by no means inferior. He was good-hearted, patriotic, and
keen in business matters; he did not gamble, neither did he run into
debt--in fact, from top to toe, you could not find a fault in him.
Of course the various competitors for the hand of Etelka had to bow
before her decision, they could not help themselves; but one of them, in
his fierce dissatisfaction, vowed inwardly that he would not yield the
prize so easily. This rival was a young man who fancied that Etelka had
regarded him with a degree of favour which was only second to that which
she had bestowed on the victorious Major.
But Mogyorody, the malcontent in question, knew that Major Duranczy was
very handy with rapier and pistol and did not care to be trifled with.
He therefore determined to use diplomacy. He paid a friendly sort of
visit to the father of Etelka, and spent the evening with him. Pozdordy
had a pretty good suspicion as to why the visitor had come.
In due course the conversation turned upon Duranczy.
"A very nice fellow indeed, isn't he?" said the farmer.
"Oh, yes," replied Mogyorody, who at the same time made a grimace which
betrayed his real opinion.
The farmer, who was evidently uneasy at the young man's obvious
jealousy, exclaimed:
"But you have nothing to say against him?"
"Oh, no, nothing in the world!"
"But you have something on your mind. It is true he's not so youthful as
you, but he is not yet old."
"Oh, no, he's in the prime of life."
"Do you wish to imply that there is anything against his past?"
"No; for who amongst us has not got a past?"
"Perhaps you wish to make out that he is only marrying Etelka for her
money?"
"By no means."
"Do you accuse him of being a gambler?"
"He never touches cards."
"A spendthrift?"
"He is the very reverse--stares on both sides of every halfpenny before
he parts with it."
"Do you think him lazy?"
"No, a model of plodding industry."
"Then what is amiss with his character?"
"It is perfect--almost monotonously so; but he has one peculiarity with
which you ought to be made acquainted if you are going to marry your
daughter to him."
"What is that?"
"Well, if you want to know, he's a lunar somnambulist--when the moon is
at the full he rises at night from his bed, and, with open eyes, walks
about the house in a dream, muttering all kinds of extraordinary things.
If swords or pistols were then within his reach he would probably wound
or kill any one, and I shouldn't like to see your daughter murdered in
one of these moonlight perambulations."
"Oh, that is nonsense. I will believe no tale of that kind."
"Do as you please. I have discharged my duty, and told you. Now,
good-night."
But after Mogyorody had departed, the farmer, although he had pretended
to be unconcerned, said to himself:
"This might possibly be true; I must investigate the matter further
before the marriage takes place."
His mind being very uneasy, he determined to invite Duranczy to his
house on the next occasion, when the moon would be at its full; and when
the night in question arrived he entertained the Major at his farm with
all the outward demonstration of confidence and friendship.
It so happened that during the evening Mogyorody looked in, for although
a rejected lover, he was still a recognised visitor, owing to business
and family connections with the farmer.
Pozdordy, albeit that he was somewhat alarmed at the appearance of his
rival, politely welcomed him, and was relieved to notice, as his two
guests conversed together, that the old jealousy seemed to have quite
disappeared, and that Mogyorody evinced towards the Major every symptom
of good fellowship.
The wine circulated freely, and the night wore pleasantly away, until
the clock reminded Pozdordy that there was a limit to every festivity.
He had already intended to press Duranczy to sleep with him; but, as it
was already late, he felt he could not do less than extend the
invitation to Mogyorody. Wishing, however, to have the alleged
somnambulist under his inspection, he assigned to the Major a spare bed
in his own dormitory, and gave Mogyorody a separate room.
In due course, both host and guests retired. The farmer, as soon as he
was between the sheets, lit a massive long-stemmed pipe, and began to
smoke, keeping his eye upon Duranczy.
The moonlight was streaming in upon the Major's pillow. It looked weird.
The farmer watched Duranczy as he lay prostrate--watched and watched
until he himself dozed off into an involuntary slumber.
Presently he was awoke by a noise. In the moonlight he perceived a
figure, robed in a night-shirt. Ah! the Major, who seemed to be gazing
around him with an air of mysterious inquiry. Then, step by step, with
great circumspection, he advanced towards the farmer's bedside. Pozdordy
held his breath. "Yes," he said to himself, "this man is a lunar
somnambulist!"
Upon tiptoe the figure now went nearer and nearer to the farmer's couch.
Pozdordy, in breathless expectation, grasped his heavy long-stemmed
pipe--the only weapon of self-defence within arm's length--and just as
the somnambulist was reaching towards an antique and richly inlaid
sword, suspended high up against the wall, he dealt him a blow, so
terrific as to produce a howl from the apparition. The farmer leaped out
of bed, and, to protect his own life, was proceeding to half-strangle
the sleepwalker, when, to his astonishment, he saw that it was not the
Major.
"Who are you?" he exclaimed.
There was no answer. The farmer looked towards the Major's bed--there,
in the moonlight, lay the warrior, who was just beginning to be roused
from sleep by the noise of the scuffle, and who dreamily exclaimed,
"What the devil?"
Pozdordy released his hold of the neck of this unknown man, who hastily
escaped from the room; and the report goes that Mogyorody travelled home
at 2 A.M. in his night-shirt. Anyhow, after hiding under the Major's bed
in order to make him out to be a somnambulist, he never again dared to
put his nose into Pozdordy's household; and the gallant soldier is
to-day in peaceful possession of the beautiful Etelka.
_Printed by BALANTYNE, HANSON & CO._
_London & Edinburgh_
Transcriber's Note: Many of the Hungarian titles listed in the
Introduction were misspelled. "Estilapok" was changed to "Esti Lapok",
"A Magyar Nabob" was changed to "Egy Magyar Nabob", "A Koszivue Ember
Fiaa" was changed to "A Koszivu Ember Fiai", "A Szerelem Bolondja" was
changed to "Szerelem Bolondjai", "A Nevtelen Var" was changed to
"Nevtelen Var", "Balvanyvarak" was changed to "Balvanyosvar", "A Fekete
Gyemantok" was changed to "Fekete Gyemantok", "A Jove Szazad Regeje" was
changed to "A Joevo Szazad Regenye", and "Az Uj Foeldes Ur" was changed to
"Az Uj Foeldesur".
In addition, the following typographical errors in the text have been
corrected.
In "In Love With the Czarina", "she nodded to Genera Karr" was changed
to "she nodded to General Karr".
In "Tamerlan the Tartar", Chapter I, "the immovable cloud towards the
east" was changed to "the immovable cloud towards the west", and "the
victorious couqueror" was changed to "the victorious conqueror". In
Chapter III, a period was changed to a comma after "the Thief of the
Desert". In Chapter VIII, "two real hereoes" was changed to "two real
heroes", and "Mirza Abubker's chosen horsemen" was changed to "Mirza
Abubekr's chosen horsemen".
In "Valdivia", "If you wish for the Guelin mountain" was changed to "If
you wish for the Guelen mountain".
In "Bizeban", a quotation mark was added before "This man only calls you
Sultan".
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In Love With the Czarina and Other
Stories, by Mor Jokai
*** | {
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{"url":"https:\/\/askdev.io\/questions\/338828\/ad-group-membership-changes-not-reflected-in-winbind","text":"# AD group membership changes not reflected in winbind information\n\nI have actually acquired numerous RHEL5 web servers that were set up to confirm customers versus their advertisement accounts using winbind. Every little thing functions penalty till I upgrade team subscription in advertisement. For some customers, the adjustments never ever make it to the result of the \"groups\" command, although they are mirrored in the result of \"getent team \".\n\nAs an example, take into consideration the following:\n\n[origin @hcc1pl1 ~ ] # groups plubans\u00a2 plubans: domain name customers systems framework development\u00a2 [origin @hcc1pl1 ~ ] # getent team q1esb\u00a2 q1esb: *:23136: q1qai, q1prodi\n\nIf I add myself to q1esb on the DC that winbind is making use of, you can see that the subscription is upgraded:\n\n[origin @hcc1pl1 ~ ] # lsof - i|grep winbind\nwinbindd 31339root 17u IPv4 63817934TCP hcc1pl1:56541 - >hcnas01: microsoft - ds (ESTABLISHED) \u00a2 winbindd 31339root 21u IPv4 63817970TCP hcc1pl1:53622 - >hcnas01: ldap (ESTABLISHED) \u00a2 [origin @hcc1pl1 ~ ] # ldapsearch - u - x - LLL - h hcnas01 - D \"plubans @XXX.XXX\" - W - b \"CN = Peter Lubans, OU = Standard User Accounts, OU = Users, OU = XXX, DC = XXX, DC = XXX\" \" (sAMAccountName = *) \" memberOf\u00a2 Enter LDAP Password: \u00a2 .. \u00a2 memberOf: CN = q1esb, OU = Security Groups, OU = Groups, OU = XXX, DC = XXX, DC = XXX\u00a2 ..\n\nKeep in mind that winbind is running without caching (- n flag):\n\n[origin @hcc1pl1 ~ ] # ps - ef|grep winbind\u00a2 origin 31339 1 0 13:50? 00:00:00 winbindd - n\u00a2 origin 31340 31339 0 13:50? 00:00:00 winbindd - n\u00a2 origin 31351 31339 0 13:50? 00:00:00 winbindd - n\u00a2 origin 31352 31339 0 13:50? 00:00:00 winbindd - n\u00a2 origin 31353 31339 0 13:50? 00:00:00 winbindd - n\n\nNow getent programs that that team has the proper participants:\n\n[origin @hcc1pl1 ~ ] # getent team q1esb\u00a2 q1esb: *:23136: q1qai, plubans, q1prodi\n\nBut the upgraded subscription is not mirrored in my account information:\n\n[origin @hcc1pl1 ~ ] # groups plubans\u00a2 plubans: domain name customers systems framework development\u00a2 [origin @hcc1pl1 ~ ] #\n\nThe absolutely troublesome component of this trouble is that it functions penalty for various other accounts on this equipment, and also for my account on equipments that I have actually set up from scratch.\n\nAny kind of suggestions?\n\n6\n2022-06-07 15:16:32\nSource Share\n\nI've had a comparable experience with RHEL is supply samba\/winbind plans. It is been my experience that RHEL is winbind is a little questionable. What I observed was that as soon as a customer confirmed, their team subscription would certainly be properly upgraded, yet in addition to that, no adjustments in team subscription would certainly ever before turn up. This is not an optimum remedy, specifically if you remove a customer from a team that would certainly grant them accessibility to the equipment, given that it properly provides one last login that they should not get. This might or might not mirror your scenario specifically however, due to the fact that I additionally dealt with not seeing the team participants of an advertisement team when running getent group (it would certainly simply resemble a team without participants, also if groups username revealed them as a participant of the team), yet it shows up that is benefiting you.\n\nWhat addressed the trouble for me was mounting the \"tested\" circulation of RPMs from enterprisesamba.org. Team subscription adjustments turned up quickly, no matter winbind cache setups. Called for no arrangement adjustments, BUT if you are mapping advertisement customers and also groups with a neighborhood idmap table mounting the new RPMS will certainly greater than most likely entirely remap your numerical team and also customer ids , so be planned for that (unload your getent group and also getent passwd result to a documents prior to updating so you have a reference to deal with documents possession with.\n\n0\n2022-06-28 20:32:57\nSource\n\nMy only idea and also it is a really obscure one is that it could have something to do with interaction with your Infrastructure Master (which is in charge of upgrading team subscriptions throughout domain names).\n\n1\n2022-06-07 16:00:54\nSource\n\nIt shows up that this was brought on by team details being cached at logon - time in\/ var\/cache\/samba\/ netsamlogon_cache. tdb. I presume that although' - n' advised winbind not to cache it is questions versus LDAP, the visibility of the subscription details because TDB documents sufficed to mess points up.\n\n4\n2022-06-07 15:56:08\nSource","date":"2022-12-06 15:02:54","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 1, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.20631687343120575, \"perplexity\": 13949.923545001713}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2022-49\/segments\/1669446711108.34\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20221206124909-20221206154909-00421.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
\section{Introduction}
In the present days, Weyl semimetals [\onlinecite{Burkov2016}] enjoy significant scientific interest which is generated by a multitude of reasons. From the theoretical viewpoint, this class of materials is special since it represents a solid state realization of Weyl's theory of chiral relativistic fermions [\onlinecite{Weyl1929}] -- an elegant theory which regrettably seems to have lost its connection to fundamental particle physics after the discovery of neutrino oscillations [\onlinecite{NeutrinoOscillations}]. In the context of transport theories, the unique features related to the chiral anomaly [\onlinecite{Bertlmann2000}] are at the basis [\onlinecite{SonSpivak2013}] of the experimentally observed giant magnetoresistance [\onlinecite{XiongOng2015}]. From the viewpoint of applications, Weyl semimetals are attractive as their topologically protected band touching associated with a Berry curvature singularity may allow to explore and exploit novel regimes and phenomena of semiconductor physics. As we understand now, the appearance of Weyl nodes in systems lacking inversion or time reversal symmetry is far from being exceptional and the observation of Weyl physics has been already reported in various materials [\onlinecite{WeylRealizations}]. One particularly exciting phenomenon occurring in Weyl semimetals is the photogalvanic effect (PGE) [\onlinecite{ChanLee2016, WuOrenstein2016, MorimotoMoore2016, Jarillo-Herrero-Gedik2017}], i.e. the generation of current due to the exposure to light. In contrast to most ordinary semiconductors, Weyl semimetals are susceptible to lowest frequencies and allow for novel technologies in the infrared. This consequence of the protected gapless spectrum comes along with the theoretical prediction of a quantized circular PGE [\onlinecite{deJuanMoore2017}] which is awaiting its experimental verification.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[scale=.45]{SpectrumWithOptTransition.pdf}
\caption{[Color online] Cut through the spectrum of $H_{\rm kin}$ defined by Eq.~\eqref{eq:Hkin} for the case $\hat t \perp \v b$. The green [red] dispersion relation represents bands with negative [positive] Berry flux $\text{sgn}(\widehat{\v p - \zeta \v b} \cdot \boldsymbol{\Omega}_\xi) = -\xi = -1$ [$\text{sgn}(\widehat{\v p - \zeta \v b} \cdot \boldsymbol{\Omega}_\xi) = -\xi = 1$]. When $0 < \epsilon_F < \gamma$ and $\frac{\omega}{2} \in (\gamma - \epsilon_F, \gamma + \epsilon_F)$, optical transitions occur in the $\zeta = +1$ cone, only (solid vertical line), while transitions in the $\zeta = -1$ cone are Pauli-blocked (dashed vertical line). In this plot $\omega = 3 \gamma$.}
\label{fig:Opttransition}
\end{figure}
The theoretical foundations of PGE go back to the seventies (for review see Refs.~[\onlinecite{BelinicherSturman1980,SturmanFridkin1992,Ivchenko2005}]) while modern derivations rely on the nonlinear susceptibility framework [\onlinecite{SipeShkrebtii2000}], Floquet theory [\onlinecite{MorimotoNagaosa2016}] and the Keldysh quantum kinetic equation approach [\onlinecite{Koenig2017}]. In this paper, we concentrate on the dc response. It is common to distinguish two contributions: the \textit{injection} current and the \textit{shift} current. The former of the two represents the current generated by photoelectrons which are excited by optical (vertical) transitions with an anisotropic transition rate. In the steady state, this contribution diverges linearly when the current relaxation time becomes infinite. Differently stated, in the absence of a relaxation mechanism, the injection current grows linearly in time. In contrast, the shift current [\onlinecite{vonBaltzKraut1981,BelinicherSturman1982}] is due to the real space displacement that electrons undergo upon an optical transition. This contribution is always finite and thus subleading for long relaxation times.
Therefore, in the present paper we keep only the dc injection current. We focus on the parameter regime with a single photoactive node which materializes the predicted topological quantization [\onlinecite{deJuanMoore2017}]. We investigate its relaxation due to impurities taking into account both intra and inter valley scattering in a model of two Weyl nodes. We scrutinize the time evolution of the current in response to a sudden illumination as well as its steady state characteristics. Furthermore we study the effect of a weak tilt in the Weyl spectrum. As we show, the interplay of impurity scattering and tilt leads to skew scattering and to the appearance of current components transversal to the direction of illumination.
It is also worthwhile to emphasize, that the current injection mechanism for the nonlinear PGE response at large frequencies is strongly different from the nonlinear intraband response at small frequencies considered in Refs.~[\onlinecite{SodemannFu2015,ZyuzinZyuzin2017,IshizukaNagaosa2017}]. We explicitly show that the latter exactly vanishes in our model for the case of absent tilt and intervalley scattering and that it is generically subdominant for frequencies exceeding the elastic scattering rate.
This article is structured as follows. In Sec.~\ref{sec:Model} we introduce the model under consideration and the assumptions for the calculation. In Sec.~\ref{sec:Calculation} we present a sketch of the technical derivation as well as the main results, which are subsequently discussed in Sec.~\ref{sec:Discussion}. We conclude with a summary and an outlook about the experimental relevance of our findings, Sec.~\ref{sec:outlook}. The Appendix contains details on the model (Appendix \ref{app:model}), the elastic scattering rates (Appendix \ref{app:Rates}), the relaxation of the photocarriers (Appendix \ref{app:Relaxation}), the intraband response (Appendix \ref{app:intraband}), and a microscopic tight binding model (Appendix \ref{app:MicroModel}).
\section{Model and Assumption}
\label{sec:Model}
The terms entering the free Hamiltonian $H_0(\v p, \v x) = H_{\rm kin}(\v p) + H_{\rm dis}(\v x)$ are as follows. The kinetic term is a generalized low energy version of lattice models presented in Refs.~[\onlinecite{ShapourianHughes2016,deJuanMoore2017}] and Appendix~\ref{app:MicroModel}
\begin{subequations}
\begin{equation}
H_{\rm kin}(\v p) =
\sum_{\zeta = \pm} \zeta [ v (\v p - \zeta \v b) \cdot \boldsymbol \sigma + u \hat t \cdot (\v p - \zeta \v b)+ \gamma ] \frac{1 +\zeta \kappa_3}{2}. \label{eq:Hkin}
\end{equation}
Here, Pauli matrices $\boldsymbol{\sigma} = (\sigma_1, \sigma_2, \sigma_3)$ act in spin space, while Pauli matrices $\boldsymbol{\kappa} = (\kappa_1, \kappa_2, \kappa_3)$ act in node space. The terms proportional to velocities $v, u$ with $0 \leq u \ll v$ represent Weyl dispersion and the tilt in direction $\hat t$ respectively, the energy scale $\gamma$ is the offset between the two nodes. The spectrum $\epsilon_{\xi\zeta}(\v p) = \zeta (\xi v \vert \v p - \zeta \v b \vert + u \hat t\cdot [\v p - \zeta \v b] + \gamma) $ of the kinetic Hamiltonian is characterized by quantum numbers $\zeta = \pm 1$ (node), $\xi = \pm 1$ (band) and $\v p$ (momentum) and plotted in Fig.~\ref{fig:Opttransition}.
This kinetic term is supplemented by a disorder potential
\begin{equation}
H_{\rm dis}(\v x) = V(\v x) [\mathbf 1_\kappa + \kappa_1], \label{eq:Hdis}
\end{equation}
where $V(\v x) = \sum_{\v R_j} \mathcal{V}(\v x- \v R_j)$ is a sum over impurity potentials $\mathcal{V}(\v x)$ which are centered at uniformly distributed positions $\v R_j$ in $\mathbb R^3$.
Finally there is a homogeneous electric field $e \v E(t) = e \sum_{\pm} \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_{\pm}e^{\pm i \omega t} = - \nabla \Phi(\v x,t)$ enclosed in our model Hamiltonian by means of $H = H_{0}(\v p, \v x) + \Phi(\v x, t)$ ($e$ is the elementary charge).
\label{eq:H}
\end{subequations}
By construction, the model defined by Eqs.~\eqref{eq:H} is not invariant under time reversal, space inversion or rotation symmetries, see App.~\ref{app:model} for more details. We note that the tilt direction could also be assumed to be equal in both nodes [\onlinecite{DetassisGrubinskas2017}]. In contrast, we chose a model with opposite tilt in opposite cones, so that the tilt preserves inversion symmetry.
Our calculation of the photocurrent in Weyl semimetals relies on the following simplifying assumptions. First, we neglected any spatial dependence of the electric field which is justified for $v/c \rightarrow 0$, where $c$ is the speed of light. In doing so, we omit the photon drag effect. The assumption of a homogeneous electric field treatment within a 3D bulk Hamiltonian also relies on the second assumption of a long Thomas-Fermi screening length. In this limit, the contribution of surface states can be expected to be subdominant. Third, in neglecting all other sources of scattering we assume impurities to be the dominant source of photocurrent relaxation. While this statement is generally expected to be true at sufficiently low temperatures where electron-phonon and electron-electron scattering rates are small, we will explicitly show the limitations of this picture. Fourth, the current relaxation is calculated using a semiclassical kinetic equation approach which is justified if the mean free path of photoelectrons and photoholes exceeds their wavelength. This implies that the frequency of light is much larger than the elastic scattering rate. Formally, we implement this assumption by keeping only the leading $\mathcal O(n_{\rm imp}^{-1})$ terms in small impurity density. For the evaluation of quantum transition probabilities we truncate the T-matrix at next to leading (i.e. second) order in powers of weak impurity potentials. We also assume that the impurity potential is short ranged as compared to the wavelength of photocarriers (but it may be long-ranged as compared to $1/\vert \v b \vert$). Fifth, our calculation at the lowest temperatures is exponentially accurate if the energy difference between Fermi energy and the energy of photocarriers exceeds the temperature. Finally, all presented formulae are valid to linear order in $u/v \ll 1 $, unless stated otherwise.
\section{Sketch of the calculation and results}
\label{sec:Calculation}
In this section we present a sketch of the derivation of the photocurrent for a tilted, disordered Weyl semimetal. For the sake of a clearer presentation, we here restrict ourselves to the case of photocarrier generation at the $\zeta = +1$ cone only (see Fig.~\ref{fig:Opttransition}) and of absent intervalley scattering and relegate details and the more general case of finite intervalley scattering to Appendices~\ref{app:Rates} and \ref{app:Relaxation}.
Our calculation is based on the Boltzmann kinetic equation [\onlinecite{LyandaGellerAndreev2015, DeyoSpivak2009}] describing the time evolution of the distribution function $f(\v p, t)$
\begin{equation}
\partial_t f(\v p, t) + \dot{\v p} \nabla_{\v p} f(\v p, t) = St_{\rm inj}[f] + St_{\rm dis}[f]. \label{eq:Boltzmann}
\end{equation}
Here, $\dot {\v p} = e \v E(t) $ and the collision integral contains two contributions. First, there is a term describing the excitation rates of photocarriers
\begin{subequations}
\begin{eqnarray}
St_{\rm inj} [ f ]&=& 2\pi \xi \zeta \delta (- \xi \zeta \omega + \epsilon_{\xi \zeta}(\v p) - \epsilon_{-\xi, \zeta}(\v p)) \notag \\
&& \Big \lbrace \frac{1}{4 p^2} \Big [ e\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}^T_+ (\mathbf 1 - \hat p \otimes \hat p) e\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_{-}\Big ]\notag \\
&& + \frac{i}{2} \xi \zeta (e\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_{+} \times e \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_{-}) \cdot \boldsymbol{\Omega}_\xi \Big \rbrace. \label{eq:Sinj}
\end{eqnarray}
Here, we assumed states with energy $\epsilon_{\xi \zeta}(\v p)$ [$\epsilon_{-\xi \zeta}(\v p)$] to be empty [filled].
In the considered parameter range, $\xi = 1$ ($\xi = -1$) for photoelectrons (photoholes) and $\zeta = 1$, see Fig.~\ref{fig:Opttransition}. Clearly, terms proportional to the Berry curvature $\boldsymbol{\Omega}_\xi = -\xi {\hat p}/{2 p^2}$ change sign when the chirality of the photoactive node is reversed. Note that $St_{\rm inj}$ contains two anisotropic terms proportional to the direct product $\hat p \otimes \hat p$ and to $\boldsymbol{\Omega}_\xi$ as well as an isotropic term proportional to $\mathbf 1$.
The second part of the collision integral describes the relaxation of photocarrieres by impurities
\begin{equation}
St_{\rm dis} [ f ] = - \int_{\v p} w_{\v p' \v p} f({\v p},t) - w_{\v p \v p'} f({\v p'},t).
\end{equation}
\end{subequations}
We introduced the shorthand notation $\int_{\v p} = \int d^3p/(2\pi)^3$.
Since impurity scattering is fully elastic, it may only relax anisotropic terms in the photoexcitation rates.
The intervalley scattering discussed below and in Appendix~\ref{app:Relaxation} may also relax the valley imbalance of the isotropic contribution to the photoexcitation rates.
In the limit $u/v = 0$, time reversal and rotational symmetries dictate that the scattering probability $w_{\v p' \v p}$ contains only terms proportional to $1$ and $\v p \cdot \v p'$ and thus $w_{\v p' \v p} = w_{\v p \v p'}$. This statement is fulfilled also when intervalley scattering is present, see Appendix \ref{app:Rates}. However, the symmetry of the scattering probability is lost in the presence of a finite tilt $u/v \neq 0$. Here we present the dominant contributions of symmetric and antisymmetric scattering probability:
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
w_{\v p', \v p}^{(s)} &\simeq 2 \pi \delta (\epsilon_{\xi \zeta} (\v p) - \epsilon_{\xi \zeta} (\v p') ) n_{\rm imp} \mathcal{V}^2_0 \frac{1 + \hat p \cdot \hat p'}{2}, \\
w_{\v p', \v p}^{(a)} & \simeq 2 \pi \delta (\epsilon_{\xi \zeta} (\v p) - \epsilon_{\xi \zeta} (\v p') ) \notag \\
&\times \left (-\frac{\pi u}{2v}\right ) \nu_\zeta(\epsilon_{\xi, \zeta}(\v p)) n_{\rm imp} \mathcal{V}_0^3 \hat t \cdot (\hat p \times \hat p'). \label{eq:SkewProb}
\end{align}
\end{subequations}
Here, $\mathcal{V}_{\v p}$ is the Fourier transform of the impurity potential and the density of states (DOS) is
\begin{equation}
\nu_{\zeta}(\epsilon) = \frac{(\zeta \epsilon - \gamma)^2}{2 \pi^2 v^3}.
\end{equation}
The skew scattering probability obtained in Eq.~\eqref{eq:SkewProb} relies on the third moment of the distribution function of the disorder potential. We note that, by means of both semiclassical [\onlinecite{SinitsynSinova2007}] and diffractive [\onlinecite{AdoTitov2015,KoenigLevchenko2016}] mechanisms, skew scattering may also occur for Gaussian disorder models. However, skew scattering probabilities due to Gaussian disorder contain an additional factor of $n_{\rm imp}$ and are thus subleading in the perturbation scheme employed here.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[scale=.65]{PlotOfTaus.pdf}
\caption{[Color online] Plot of the effective scattering times entering the final steady state solution of the photocurrent, Eq.~\eqref{eq:SteadyStatePGE}. As in Fig.~\ref{fig:Opttransition} we assumed $\omega = 3\gamma$ for this plot and furthermore we assumed $\Gamma_{\text{sk},+} = \Gamma_+/3$.}
\label{fig:PlotOfTaus}
\end{figure}
To obtain the photocurrent in the steady state, the solution for the distribution function can be obtained by equating the full collision integral to zero. We obtain the following nonequilibrium corrections to the Fermi-Dirac distribution function in band $\xi$
\begin{subequations}
\begin{eqnarray}
f_\xi(\v p) &=& \delta(\omega - 2 v p) \Gamma_+^{-1}\Bigg \lbrace \hat p_i I_i + \frac{2}{3} \hat p_i \hat p_j I_{ij} \notag \\
&&+\frac{u}{v} \xi \Big[\hat p_i \left (\hat t_i \frac{4 I}{5} - \frac{4 I_{ij} \hat t_j}{15}\right ) + \frac{2}{3} \hat p_i \hat p_j \hat p_k \hat t_k I_{ij}\Big ]\notag \\
&& + \frac{u}{v}\epsilon_{ijk} \hat p_i I_j \hat t_k \frac{\Gamma_{sk,+}}{\Gamma_+} \Bigg \rbrace, \label{eq:deltaf}
\end{eqnarray}
where we introduced
\begin{eqnarray}
&&I= \frac{2\pi v^2}{\omega^2} \xi e^2 \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \cdot \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_- ,\\
&&I_i = \frac{2\pi v^2}{\omega^2} \xi \left \lbrace - i e^2 ( \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)_i\right\rbrace, \\
&&I_{ij} = \frac{2\pi v^2}{\omega^2} \xi \left \lbrace -\text{Re}[e^2 \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_{+,i} \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_{-,j}]\right\rbrace .
\end{eqnarray}
\end{subequations}
We also introduced the intravalley scattering rates for momentum relaxation and skew scattering
\begin{subequations}
\begin{eqnarray}
&&\Gamma_\zeta (\epsilon)= \frac{2 \pi}{3} n_{\rm imp} \mathcal{V}_0^2 \nu_{\zeta} (\epsilon),\\
&&\Gamma_{\rm sk, \zeta} (\epsilon)= \frac{\pi^2}{3} n_{\rm imp} \mathcal{V}_0^3 \nu_{\zeta}^2 (\epsilon) ,
\end{eqnarray}
which both implicitly depend on the energy of the photocarriers by means of the density of states.
\end{subequations}
In Eq.~\eqref{eq:deltaf} the scalar part of the distribution function was omitted (it will be recovered shortly). Furthermore, Eq.~\eqref{eq:deltaf} was derived using the premise that only $\mathcal O(u/v)$ corrections proportional to odd powers of $\hat p$ enter the final expression for the photocurrent.
We insert this expression into the definition of the current
\begin{equation}
\v j = - e \sum_{\xi = \pm 1} \int_{\v p}v \left [\xi \hat p + \frac{u}{v} \hat t \right ] f_{\xi}(\v p). \label{eq:CurrentDef}
\end{equation}
Here the sum over $\xi$ reflects the two types of photocarriers that the injection term generates: electrons in band $\xi = +1$ at energy $\epsilon_e = \gamma + \omega/2$ and holes in band $\xi = -1$ at energy $\epsilon_h= \gamma - \omega/2$. As a side remark, we note that \textit{anomalous velocity} terms $\delta \v v \sim \boldsymbol{\Omega}_\xi \times \v E$ are unimportant for the photocarriers, since their nonequilibrium distribution function Eq.~\eqref{eq:deltaf} is quadratic in electric field.
The final steady state current can be written as
\begin{subequations}
\begin{eqnarray}
\v j &=& - {\frac{e^3}{12 \pi}} \Bigg \lbrace \tau_{\rm CPGE} [-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)] \notag \\
&& +\frac{u}{v} \Bigg [\tau_{\rm skew} [-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-) \times \hat t] \notag \\
&& - \tau_{\hat t}\hat t (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \cdot \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-) + \tau_{\perp} \text{Re}[\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \otimes \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_- ] \hat t \Bigg ]\Bigg \rbrace. \label{eq:SteadyStatePGE}
\end{eqnarray}
We present the microscopic values of the effective scattering rates $\tau_{\rm CPGE},\tau_{\rm skew},\tau_{\hat t},\tau_{\perp}$ in Eqs.~\eqref{eq:TauCPGENOScatt}-\eqref{eq:TauTensorWScatt}, below. In Appendix~\ref{app:Relaxation}, we generalize the calculation presented here to a finite intervalley scattering described by the parameter $\kappa = \vert \mathcal{V}_{\bm{ b}} /\mathcal{V}_0 \vert ^2$. The latter interpolates between long-range impurities ($\kappa = 0$, no intervalley scattering) and short range impurities ($\kappa =1$, strong intervalley scattering).
The relaxation times in the limit of weak intervalley scattering $\kappa \rightarrow 0$ behave as
\begin{align}
&\tau_{\rm CPGE} \simeq \frac{1}{2}\sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h} 1/\Gamma_+ , \label{eq:TauCPGENOScatt}\\
&\tau_{\rm skew} \simeq \frac{1}{2}\sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h} \Gamma_{\text{sk},+}/\Gamma_+^2 , \\
&\tau_{\hat t} \simeq -\frac{1}{2}\sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h} \frac{2}{3 \Gamma_- \kappa } \text{sgn}\left (\epsilon-{\gamma}\right) , \label{eq:SteadyStatePGE_taut}\\
&\tau_{\perp } \simeq-\frac{\kappa}{2}\sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h} \left [\frac{2 \Gamma_-}{5\Gamma_+^2}+\frac{2}{5 \Gamma_-}\right ]\text{sgn}\left (\epsilon-{\gamma}\right).
\end{align}
In contrast, for $\kappa \rightarrow 1$ we obtain
\begin{align}
&\tau_{\rm CPGE}\simeq \sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h} \frac{1}{3[\Gamma_- + \Gamma_+]} ,\\
&\tau_{\rm skew}\simeq \sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h} (1-\kappa)\frac{2(\Gamma_{\text{sk},+} \Gamma_- + \Gamma_{\text{sk},-}\Gamma_+)}{9(\Gamma_+ + \Gamma_-)^2} , \\
&\tau_{\hat t} \simeq -\sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h} \frac{9 \Gamma_-+5 \Gamma_+}{15 \Gamma_- (\Gamma_++\Gamma_-)}\text{sgn}\left (\epsilon-{\gamma}\right),\\
&\tau_{\perp } \simeq-\sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h}\frac{2}{15 (\Gamma_+ + \Gamma_-)}\text{sgn}\left (\epsilon-{\gamma}\right). \label{eq:TauTensorWScatt}
\end{align}
\label{eq:SteadyStatePGE_ALL}
\end{subequations}
General formulae which interpolate between these two limits are presented in Eq.~\eqref{eq:FullRelaxTimes} of Appendix~\ref{app:Relaxation} and are plotted in Fig.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus}.
Note that all relaxation rates $\Gamma_\zeta (\epsilon)$ and $\Gamma_{\rm sk, \zeta} (\epsilon)$ introduced in these formulae are implicitly energy dependent. However, in the photoactive cone, the particle-hole symmetry about the Weyl node implies for both photoelectrons and photoholes equal scattering rates $\Gamma_+ (\epsilon_e) = \Gamma_+ (\epsilon_h)$, $\Gamma_{\rm sk, +} (\epsilon_e) = \Gamma_{\rm sk, +}(\epsilon_h) $. The rate $\tau_{\hat t}$ is not defined in a noninteracting model without intervalley scattering as it is determined by the relaxation time of the isotropic part in Eq.~\eqref{eq:Sinj}. This can only be achieved by inelastic scattering or by means of intervalley scattering. We discuss this issue and other physical implication of the result presented in Eqs.~\eqref{eq:SteadyStatePGE_ALL}, Eq.~\eqref{eq:FullRelaxTimes} and Fig.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus} in Sec.~\ref{sec:Discussion}.
In Appendix~\ref{app:Relaxation} we also present a derivation of the time evolution after a sudden illumination in the limiting case $u/v = 0$. Technically, this amounts to adding the solution of the homogenoeous Boltzmann equation (Liouville equation), Eq.~\eqref{eq:Boltzmann}, to the particular steady state solution, Eq.~\eqref{eq:deltaf}. In terms of the final result Eq.~\eqref{eq:SteadyStatePGE} this amounts to the following replacement $\tau_{\rm CPGE} \rightarrow T(t)$ with
\begin{equation}
T(t) \simeq \!\! \sum_{\epsilon = \epsilon_e, \epsilon_h}\!\!\begin{cases} \frac{1}{2\Gamma_+}\left[1- e^{- \Gamma_+ t}\right], & \kappa \rightarrow 0, \\
\frac{1}{3(\Gamma_++\Gamma_-)}\left[1- e^{- 3 t (\Gamma_++\Gamma_-)/2}\right], & \kappa \rightarrow 1,
\end{cases} \label{eq:TimeEvolution}
\end{equation}
where we assumed the light to be switched on at time $t = 0$. For a more general formula of $T(t)$ which interpolates between the two limits $\kappa = 0$ and $\kappa = 1$, we refer the reader to Eq.~\eqref{eq:TdepGeneral} of Appendix \ref{app:Relaxation} as well as to Fig.~\ref{fig:TimeEvolution}. Again, the discussion of this result is relegated to Sec.~\ref{sec:Discussion}.
Finally, the Appendix \ref{app:intraband} contains a calculation of the intraband rectified response due to particle hole excitations near the Fermi surface. There we show, that this contribution vanishes in the absence of tilt and intervalley scattering and that it is generically suppressed by the parameter $\Gamma_+/\omega \ll 1$.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[scale=.65]{TimeEvolution.pdf}
\caption{[Color online] Time evolution of the circular photogalvanic effect after a sudden illumination at time $t = 0$ for $\kappa = 0,\, 1/3, \, 2/3,\, 1$ from top to bottom. In this plot $\omega = 3 \gamma$ was chosen, i.e. the case represented in Fig.~\ref{fig:Opttransition}.}
\label{fig:TimeEvolution}
\end{figure}
\section{Discussion}
\label{sec:Discussion}
In this section we analyze and discuss the physical content of the major results of this work, Eqs.~\eqref{eq:SteadyStatePGE_ALL} and \eqref{eq:TimeEvolution} as well as Figs.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus} and \ref{fig:TimeEvolution}.
\subsection{Limit $u/v = 0$}
We begin the discussion considering the limit of absent tilt $u/v =0$. In this case, the dc photocurrent is proportional to $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)$ and is thus crucially dependent on \textit{circularly} polarized light. This is the injection mechanism: vertical transitions inject photocarriers moving predominantly in direction $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)$, see Eq.~\eqref{eq:Sinj}. This leads to the linearly increasing time-dependent response, Fig.~\ref{fig:TimeEvolution} at small $t \ll 1/\Gamma_+$. The slope is topologically quantized [\onlinecite{deJuanMoore2017}] in the present case of a single photoactive Weyl node. Disorder exponentially relaxes the linear increase and a steady state is formed, see Fig.~\ref{fig:TimeEvolution} at large $t \gg 1/\Gamma_+$. It is worthwhile to notice that $1/\Gamma_+$ is the ``transport'' mean free time, which is a factor of 3 larger than the ``quantum'' mean free time responsible for the level broadening. While these features are generic to any disorder model, intervalley scattering has the following three additional effects. First, it increases the scattering rate by increasing the density of available final states. This implies faster relaxation and a smaller steady state value. Second, since the relaxation rates at energies $\epsilon_e$ (photoelectrons) and $\epsilon_h$ (photoholes) are different in the $\zeta = -1$ node, intervalley scattering introduces two different relaxation rates for the circular PGE. Third, for intermediate $\kappa$ and provided $\Gamma_- < \Gamma_+$ intervalley scattering can lead to a peculiar nonmonotonic time dependence, see Eq.~\eqref{eq:TdepGeneral} and the $\kappa = 1/3$ and $\kappa = 2/3$ curves in Fig.~\ref{fig:TimeEvolution}. For the parameters chosen in our plot the nonmonotonicity stems from the photoholes living at energy $\epsilon_h$. Those scatter from the photoactive $\zeta = +1$ node to the $\zeta = -1$ node where the current is opposite and the decay much slower in view of a smaller DOS.
\subsection{Finite $u/v$}
We now turn to the steady state solution at finite $u/v$. The finite tilt allows for the presence of additional contributions to the current, see Figs.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus} and \ref{fig:DirectionsofPGE}.
First, skew scattering leads to a term $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-) \times \hat t$. Just as the circular PGE, it is only present for circular polarization of light. As we already mentioned, the momentum of excited photo electrons predominantly points in direction $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)$. The time-reversal symmetry breaking tilt introduces a finite anisotropy leading to a preferred direction of momentum relaxation. The resultant imbalance between electrons moving towards $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-) \times \hat t$ as compared the opposing direction generates the skew scattering term proportional to $\tau_{\rm skew}$. It is in accordance with intuitive expectation that opposite tilts in opposite nodes imply antagonistic skew scattering contributions from opposite Weyl nodes. It is however surprising to find, that the $\mathcal O(u/v)$ skew scattering contribution exactly vanishes at strongest intervalley scattering $\kappa = 1$, see the blue dot-dashed curve in Fig.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus}.
Apart from skew scattering, the finite tilt in the spectrum also introduces terms which do not rely on circular polarization of light and which may be present also for linearly polarized light. We first focus on the term proportional to $\hat t (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \cdot \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)$. This term stems from the $(u/v) \hat t$ term in the definition of the current, Eq.~\eqref{eq:CurrentDef}. Therefore, it stems from the scalar (isotropic) part of the distribution function of photocarriers, or differently said, from the scalar term proportional to $\mathbf 1$ in Eq.~\eqref{eq:Sinj}. As we already mentioned, without intervalley scattering impurities cannot relax such a term. This is why the photocurrent in direction $\hat t$, represented by a red arrow in Fig.~\ref{fig:DirectionsofPGE}, is much stronger than all other contributions. The presence of intervalley scattering $\kappa >0$ introduces a finite $\tau_{\hat t}$, which however diverges as $1/\kappa$ for small $\kappa$, see Eq.~\eqref{eq:SteadyStatePGE_taut}. This is represented in the red dashed curve in Fig.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus} which, for the sake of a better presentation, had to be downscaled by an extra factor of $20$. In the chosen parameter regime, $\tau_{\hat t}$ is particularly large, because $\Gamma_-$ is relatively small at $\epsilon_h$. Even though inelastic scattering is beyond the scope of the present paper, we mention that in practice, the steady state value of the current in $\hat t$ direction is determined by the smaller of $\tau_{\rm inel}$ (inelastic scattering time) and $\tau_{\hat t}$.
Finally, the steady state result, Eq.~\eqref{eq:SteadyStatePGE} contains a term proportional to $\text{Re}[\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+\otimes\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-]\hat t$. This term stems from the tensor contribution to the photocarrier excitation rate, i.e. the $\hat p \otimes \hat p$ term in Eq.~\eqref{eq:Sinj} and is absent in the absence of intervalley scattering.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[scale=.55]{Directions_of_PGE.pdf}
\caption{[Color online] Directions of photo current according to the final result, Eq.~\eqref{eq:SteadyStatePGE} (same color coding as Fig.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus}). Here, $\hat \gamma$ is the direction of incident light. The orange $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal{E}}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal{E}}_-)$ term is the ``quantized'' response for circularly polarized light [\onlinecite{deJuanMoore2017}]. The blue vector $-i(\boldsymbol{\mathcal{E}}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal{E}}_-) \times \hat t$ is directed into the plane spanned by the directions of light propagation and tilt $\hat t$. Just as the green $ \text{Re}[\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+\otimes\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-]\hat t $ and red $ \hat t (\boldsymbol{\mathcal{E}}_+ \cdot \boldsymbol{\mathcal{E}}_-)$ vectors it is a consequence of finite tilt. In the absence of intervalley scattering, the red contribution proportional to $\hat t$ can not be relaxed by impurities and may therefore be dominant, see Fig.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus}.}
\label{fig:DirectionsofPGE}
\end{figure}
\section{Summary and Outlook}
\label{sec:outlook}
In summary, we have derived and analyzed the disorder induced relaxation of the photogalvanic effect (PGE) in a simple model for a Weyl semimetal. We took into account intra and intervalley scattering as well as leading order corrections due to finite tilt of the Weyl spectrum.
The major findings, which are pictorially summarized in Figs.~\ref{fig:PlotOfTaus}-\ref{fig:DirectionsofPGE}, are that (i) intervalley scattering can lead to nonmonotonic time dependence of the circular PGE proportional to $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)$; (ii) the finite tilt introduces additional current components proportional to (a) $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)\times \hat t$ due to skew scattering, (b) $\hat t (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \cdot \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)$, and (c) $\text{Re}[\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+\otimes\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-]\hat t $. As we discussed, the contribution (ii b) in the direction of the tilt vector $\hat t $ is particularly inert to elastic scattering as it stems from isotropic generation of photo carriers and may thus be dominant. Contributions (i) and (ii a) involving $-i (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \times \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)$ change sign when the chirality of the photoactive Weyl node is reversed.
The observation of decisive qualitative and quantitative consequences of a weak spectral tilt corroborates the findings of earlier studies on different observables such as the linear conductivity tensor [\onlinecite{TrescherBergholtz2015,Carbotte2016,SteinerPesin2017}], the polarization function [\onlinecite{DetassisGrubinskas2017}] as well as transport through Weyl tunnel junctions [\onlinecite{YesilyurtJalil2017}]. Further implications on characteristic features of Weyl fermions, e.g. the natural optical activity [\onlinecite{MaPesin2015}], will be the subject of a separate studies [\onlinecite{RouPesin2017}].
We conclude our paper with an outlook on the experimental relevance of our findings. First of all, we comment on the minimal two Weyl node model that we are considering. Such materials are not discovered so far, but they were suggested theoretically in heterostructures [\onlinecite{BurkovBalents2011}] and alloys [\onlinecite{BulmashQi2014}] of Chern insulator materials as well as, most recently, in certain magnetic Heusler compounds [\onlinecite{WangBernevig2016}]. At the same time our simplified model may be applied to present day materials when pairs of Weyl nodes are well separated in momentum space.
Concerning optical experiments, we are aware of only two published results on the PGE in Weyl semimetals. The work of Ref. [\onlinecite{WuOrenstein2016}] is devoted to the second harmonic generation, i.e. a different observable as compared to the focus of this paper. In the second experiment [\onlinecite{Jarillo-Herrero-Gedik2017}] the chirality of the Weyl fermions, which is given by the sign of the Berry monopole charge, was inferred from the photocurrent response to mid-infrared light. Two key points are important: (i) Experiment reveals a current component perpendicular to the direction of light which strongly depends on the polarization (linear, circular positive, circular negative) and which is claimed to be proportional to the chirality of the photoactive nodes. As we show, skew scattering also induces a term of the very same tensor structure. (ii) Polarization independent photocurrent is observed in a direction perpendicular to both light and to the polarization dependent current. As we show, such terms may also be induced by the tilt. In addition, unpublished THz spectroscopy data on the dc PGE in TaAs presented at the APS march meeting 2017 [\onlinecite{Patankar2017}] indicates that the signals of radiated electric field in direction perpendicular or parallel to the polar axis show very different behavior and that for the latter case the signal is nearly independent of the polarization of incident light and is relatively long lived. The preliminary interpretation focused on anisotropic scattering and is thus related to the skew scattering mechanism investigated here. Another route for interpretation could be contributions similar to the terms $\hat t (\boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_+ \cdot \boldsymbol{\mathcal E}_-)$ considered in this paper. We repeat that these are indeed long lived and independent on the polarization of incident light. At the same time, we note that the tilt of the Weyl fermions in TaAs is substantial ($v/u>2$) and, therefore, our perturbative calculations should not be expected to quantitatively describe those experiments since our time-reversal breaking two node toy model has limited resemblance with the time reversal conserving 24 Weyl node material TaAs. However, we are convinced that the present results provide a proof of principle for various types of photocurrent contributions which will trigger future investigations.
\section{Acknowledgments}
We acknowledge useful discussions with A.V. Andreev, P.-Y.~Chang, P.~Coleman, L.~Golub, A.~Grushin, Y.~Komijani, J.~Moore, A.~A.~Zyuzin, and, in particular, with S.~Patankar and L.~Wu, who shared insights from ongoing experimental efforts.
The work of E.J.K., H.-Y.X. and A.L. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was financially supported in part by NSF Grant No. DMR-1606517 and by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The work of D.A.P. at the University of Utah was supported by the NSF Grant No. DMR-1409089. At the latest stage of the project (when writing the manuscript), work by E.J.K. was carried out at Rutgers University, where financial support was provided by DOE, Basic Energy Sciences grant DE-FG02-99ER45790.
| {
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Q: Save output of generic listview into html-file Using django I get the correct output displayed in the browser when direct it to right URL after login and add the needed query string (GET) parameters.
Now I would like - from a different view - to get the aforementioned output and save it directly into a (server side) (html) file.
Do I need to construct an HttpRequest object? What settings are required there? How to I get the content out of the HttpResponse?
Or is there a simpler solution?
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 6,104 |
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In keeping with the theme of having a simple Christmas this year (see 'The Zen of Christmas'). I created this wallpaper especially for your laptop/computer desktop to serve as a subtle reminder. 🙂 Happy Friday!
Source: Heading To Your Dreams « Positively Positive. I just had to quickly share this blog I found today with my readers...a little boost to your Monday! Don't ever forget how much courage it takes to just begin stepping out of the box! | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 1,915 |
# _Errol Flynn_
#### The Life and Career
####
#### THOMAS MCNULTY
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
_Jefferson, North Carolina_
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE
BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE
**e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-0972-0**
© 2004 Thomas McNulty. All rights reserved
_No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher._
Cover photograph: Errol Flynn (Paul M. James collection)
_McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers_
_Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
_ _www.mcfarlandpub.com_
To Trudy McVicker
and to the memory of
Paul M. James
### _Acknowledgments_
I owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to my wife Jan and daughter Brenna for their understanding and patience. They endured my absences with love and encouragement and allowed me the privacy needed to finish such a complex project. Without them, I would have faltered long ago, and I am a much better man with them at my side.
My friend Trudy McVicker, whose interest in Flynn began when she was a teenager in the late 1940s, generously consented to proofread the manuscript and kindly offered editorial suggestions, most of which I heeded. Trudy provided superb editorial guidance and helped me mold the manuscript into palatable form. Trudy wielded her blue editing pencil with a skill that puts most professional editors to shame. She challenged me, corrected me, and saved me countless errors and embarrassments. It should be noted that while she added considerable value to the text, any errors or misrepresentations are unintentional and entirely my fault.
This book would not have been possible without the cooperation of many people. I have had the generous help of many of Flynn's colleagues and Flynn fans. I am indebted to the following: the late John Agar, the late Peter Stackpole, the late Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and his wife Vera, Sheb Wooley and his wife Linda, the late Burt Kennedy, Jack Elam, Robert Vaughn, Paul Picerni, Vincent Sherman, Arthur Hiller and his assistant Brenda White, and the late Don Kincaid for sharing their comments on Flynn. Janet Leigh and Olivia de Havilland also contributed their comments via letters for which I remain grateful. Wallace Berry generously shared his memories of serving as a crewman on the _Zaca._
I am also indebted to Noel Ary (former director), V. James Sherer (current director) and librarian Janice Scott at the Kansas Heritage Center, who contributed outstanding research material on the _Dodge City_ premiere. Dodge City residents Anna Marie Eckles, Martha "Betty" Muncy, Bill Ripple, D.V.M., and Louis Sanchez shared their memories of that long-ago day in 1939 when Errol Flynn came to town. Penny Porter graciously shared her memories of meeting Flynn in Reno, Nevada, in 1940.
Thanks are due also to Mike Mazzone, who provided videotapes from _The Errol Flynn Theatre_ as well as several photographs, and Rick Dodd, who generously contributed photographs and a touching statement that appears in the appendix. Rick Dodd and Mike Mazzone are the preeminent collectors of Flynn material and their enthusiasm and knowledge about Flynn continues to impress me.
Thanks as well to the late Don Norman; Josef Fegerl; Tom Sharpley; the late Steve Allen and his assistant Karen Hicks; the staff of the New York Public Library, Manuscript and Archives Division; the staff of the Film and Theatre Department at UCLA; Bob Clark, Archivist, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum; Linda White and the staff of the County Records Center of the Los Angeles Superior Court; Deborah Day, archivist, and Carolyn Rainey at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library; Robert Keefe, historian, the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco; and the staff of the Crystal Lake Public Library. Attorney Jeffrey Schulze contributed to my understanding of the legal aspects of Flynn's 1943 rape trial. Mr. Schulze also provided counsel regarding various contractual issues when I was preparing the manuscript. Jonathan Magoon contributed research material on both _Sirocco_ and _Zaca_. Jason Grainger also kindly provided pertinent historical background material regarding the _Zaca_. Sharon Uzarewicz provided the metaphor of Flynn as a multifaceted crystal. Russ Begitschke handled logistics in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Memphis while serving double duty as videographer. Thanks to longtime friend Nick Ciccotosto, Ph.D., for his research regarding the _Zaca_ 's etymology. Dr. Ciccotosto also translated some correspondence into French.
A last minute nod to Lincoln Hurst, the better writer and better scholar, and Brian Twist for his heartfelt enthusiasm.
Special thanks to my parents, Tom and Pat McNulty, for allowing me the opportunity to watch Errol Flynn movies on the late show when I was growing up. And thanks are due the Crystal Lake Adventurers, Sue and Ray McKinnon and Debbie and Tony Alevizos, for drinks around the campfire on those summer nights I needed the break. _Cheers!_
_**A Note on the Photographs:**_ The various photographs are from several sources, including Cinema Collectors in Los Angeles; Collectors Bookstore in Los Angeles; the Larry Edmunds Bookstore in Los Angeles; the collection of Milton T. Moore, Jr., in Las Vegas; the Jerry Ohlinger Movie Memorabilia Store in New York; and Metro Golden Memories in Chicago. Josef Fegerl graciously consented to reproduction of the Hermann F. Erben photographs. The Kansas Heritage Center in Dodge City graciously consented to the use of photographs in their collection. Other photographic material was obtained from the collections of Rick Dodd, Mike Mazzone, Paul M. James, Trudy McVicker, and Thomas McNulty. The photographs used in this book are believed to be in the public domain unless otherwise listed. Every effort has been made to determine ownership of the photographs appearing in this book for the purpose of giving appropriate credit. We regret any unintentional error concerning the attribution given to the photographs and will be pleased to make appropriate acknowledgments in any future printings.
### _Contents_
_Acknowledgments and a Note on the Photographs_
_Preface_
ONE. From Tasmania to Hollywood, 1909–1934
TWO. Hollywood, 1935–1940
THREE. The War Years, 1941–1945
FOUR. Don Juan, 1946–1949
FIVE. The Wanderer, 1950–1959
AFTERWOOD. Of Scrapbooks and Ghosts
_Appendix 1: Remembrances_
_Appendix 2: Filmography_
_Notes and Sources_
_Bibliography_
List of Names and Terms
> Invariably a proficient in his perilous calling, he was also more or less of a mighty boxer or wrestler. It was strength and beauty. Tales of his prowess were recited. Ashore he was the champion, afloat the spokesman; on every suitable occasion always foremost. Close-reefing topsails in a gale, there he was, astride the weather yard-arm-end, foot in the Flemish horse as "stirrup," both hands tugging at the "earing" as at a bridle, in very much the attitude of a young Alexander curbing the fiery Bucephalus. A superb figure, tossed up as by the horns of Taurus against the thunderous sky, cheerily hallooing to the strenuous file along the spar.
—Herman Melville, _Billy Budd_
> This is one of the outsider's worst dilemmas: to feel the whole being groaning for some emotional satisfaction, some solid reality to touch, and to feel the reasoning faculty standing apart, jeering at the possibility of satisfaction and discouraging its approach.
—Colin Wilson, _The Outsider_
> Since men first went venturing upon the ocean, it has been well known that sailors returning from places no landlubber ever sees will tell tales of the sea and ships, of other people and other lands, of portents and monsters. After his hardships and dangers, the mariner enjoys being the center of a circle of admiring or spellbound listeners. Besides, they might even reward the storyteller with drink or food.
—Peter Freuchen, _Book of the Seven Seas_
### _Preface_
To moviegoers Errol Flynn will always be Robin Hood striding defiantly into Nottingham Castle with a deer slung across his shoulders, a proud rebel with the audacity to question authority. On the screen he thrilled us as a pirate captain, dueling with the ease and grace of a dancer, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. He radiated the confidence of a man who knows he cannot lose. There was a sense of _defiance_ about him. He conveyed these things with a faint smile, by the confident way he stood, the expressively cocked eyebrow, or the knowing glint in his eye. Perhaps he was so convincing in his heroic roles because he could, in fact, imagine himself as Robin Hood and Peter Blood and Geoffrey Thorpe, and there was a world-weary wistfulness in his performance as Don Juan that was more than convincing—that _was_ Flynn.
This book follows the remarkable arc of Errol Flynn's tumultuous life, but it is not meant to be a revisionist biography, although there is new information. I have attempted to correct some distortions in regard to the public perception of Flynn. For many, the fact that he worked hard to make his films successful throughout his career will come as a surprise. Readers unfamiliar with the details of his life will discover his keen intellect, his passion for art, and his thirst for knowledge. The impressions I have gathered in my research are remarkably diverse and often contradictory. They bring to mind the image of a crystal with many facets, each one solid and permanent yet forever changing as the light and the point of view shifts.
But there will be gaps and omissions and I cannot claim that this book is definitive. I regret the unavailability of certain family members and close friends. I console myself with the knowledge that perhaps no single volume can do justice to a man as complex as Flynn. Readers familiar with the details found in this account are encouraged to allow themselves some nostalgic moments. I envy those who are discovering Errol Flynn for the first time. In the coming pages you will encounter one of the most fascinating men of the twentieth century.
The contents of this book are factual. The quoted statements by Errol Flynn and others are taken from published sources, private letters, and unpublished journals. I conducted interviews with Flynn's friends and co-workers whenever possible, and their comments helped clarify many incidents discussed here. I also consulted a wealth of public documents. Nothing here has been fabricated.
Watching Flynn's films again was enjoyable, and if this book can accomplish anything I hope it is a renewed interest in his film career and perhaps even the scholarly appreciation and critical acceptance he so richly deserves. While watching the films and writing about them was agreeable, certain aspects of his life were disquieting. I did not enjoy reviewing the sordid pages of the FBI file, but an objective, scholarly study such as this required that I do so. Flynn is to be admired for his substantial contribution to film history as well as for those personal qualities that keep us interested in him, such as his personal courage and his honest and unabashed approach to life, but we must also accept him as a man with the faults and shortcomings that are common to us all. We may not condone some of his behavior, but we can learn much by understanding him. I do not judge Flynn, and like most of his fans, I feel a fascination and appreciation for his complexity as a man, as well as an admiration for his screen persona. I cannot help but admire his reckless determination to live life to the fullest.
Sifting through half a century of gossip and the endless stream of magazine innuendo was no enviable task. The facts are often conflicting. This book is essentially a work of cultural anthropology and is necessarily laced with critical analysis, historical background, and character studies. I intended to place Flynn's life and career in its proper historical context in order to better understand the cultural influence of his image as a swashbuckler, a cowboy, and a war hero. His life was at times filled with extraordinary adventure, and in his early career there were times when he was genuinely happy. His creativity burned brightly. He wrote two books and numerous articles and turned in many great performances as an action hero. His tumultuous marriages, his affairs, the 1943 rape trial that altered his life, the travels on his yacht, and his brawls and boozing provided reporters with the copy they needed to sell their stories. But Flynn's final image as that of a pathetic caricature of himself has the essence of tragedy. According to _The Webster Dictionary of Names,_ "Errol" derives from Latin and means "wandering," an uncannily appropriate association.
Earl Conrad, who assisted Flynn on _My Wicked, Wicked Ways,_ has this to say in his book _Errol Flynn: A Memoir_ —"No one else I ever met contained the essence of enigma in human form as did the celebrated actor-cavorter." Conrad concluded that Flynn was "the proportion of those heroes who have shadowed the world, leaving us a book, a statue, a legend, a tale, some unbelievable thing: adding to the concept of The Fable that is man, helping explain us to ourselves."
Although I have avoided delving heavily into popular psychology regarding Flynn's personality, I have made it a point to look objectively at his creative accomplishments in my effort to understand him. There is much to be learned from studying Flynn's contribution to film history. So while popular psychology is not my purpose, I have, for better or worse, heeded the words of Carl Gustav Jung:
"Every creature is a duality or a synthesis of contradictory aptitudes. On the one side he is a human being with a personal life, while on the other side he is an impersonal, creative process. Since as a human he may be sound or morbid, we must look at his psychic make-up to find the determinants of his personality. But we can only understand him in his capacity of artist by looking at his creative achievement."
In the following pages I have elaborated on those creative aspects of his personality that compelled him to pursue a writing career and to make an attempt at conquering television late in his life. What follows is an investigation into the vagaries and wonders of the human condition. Somewhere between the heroic images of Robin Hood, the depraved character that inhabits the FBI file, and the frustrated writer, there emerges a man who is at once vital and unique.
Errol Flynn's rise to fame coincided with many of the twentieth century's historical highpoints: rising to stardom during the Great Depression, he personified the image of a movie star and captured the imagination of an America desperately in need of heroes; his erotic escapades diverted an increasingly cynical media during the cold, long years of World War II; and his hedonistic, vagabond lifestyle became a blueprint for the counterculture of hipster poets who flourished after the bitter years of McCarthyism.
Errol Flynn's life story is a rollicking adventure. In these pages you will find not only the movie star, but the writer, the devoted father, the prankster, the versatile actor, the tormented loner, the sailor, the seeker of adventure, the philosopher, the art collector, and the comedian. Errol Flynn was all of these, and more.
## ☆ ONE ☆
### From Tasmania to Hollywood, 1909–1934
Tasmania is a place of beauty and cruelty. This picturesque island off the southern coast of Australia seems always to have been a port of call for trading vessels from around the world. Settled by convicts in the early 1800s, this is a place with an ancient history, a place for drifters and wandering seafarers. It is a ruggedly beautiful country, a land of steep and treacherous mountains and green river valleys. The land here has an idyllic feeling not unlike an English countryside. The pastoral charm works in collusion with the rugged vistas, seducing and cajoling with a lover's expertise, drawing us into its romantic embrace.
An island state of Australia, Tasmania boasts a natural grandeur amid images of rural colonialism that has long attracted adventurers, travelers, and tourists. From this landscape emerges folklore rich with tales of lost loves and mad sea captains and ghostly convicts rattling their chains in the night.
Errol Leslie Flynn was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on June 20, 1909. His father, Theodore Thomson Flynn, scratched out a living teaching science, physics, and chemistry (as a tribute to his father, Errol later inserted "Thomson" into his name, stretching it out to "Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn"). Theodore Flynn worked diligently at his craft, and the year of young Errol's birth he accepted a position as lecturer of biology at the University of Tasmania. Errol's mother, Lily Mary Young (who preferred to be called Marelle), was descended from Midshipman Edward Young who served aboard HMS _Bounty_ with Fletcher Christian and Captain Bligh. Errol Flynn's lineage to the heroes of the _Bounty_ saga is further enhanced by his namesake uncle Leslie Young's marriage to Ethel Christian, a descendent of Fletcher Christian. Many of Flynn's other forebears were marine adventurers. Don Norman, one of Flynn's boyhood friends, has speculated perhaps Marelle's family also possessed a hint of Polynesian blood. This is an interesting conjecture that has yet to be proven.
Marelle was an attractive young woman whose family settled in Australia a hundred years earlier. She had in her possession the sword once belonging to Midshipman Young of the _Bounty._ The sword had been secured after the mutiny on the _Bounty_ by Midshipman Young and passed on through the generations.
Errol's father was the son of Irish immigrants. His lineage is not as easy to trace, with most records of his ancestry lost or moldering in forgotten archives. But a few interesting facts stand out: Theodore was born in Coraki, in upper New South Wales, in 1883. He was educated in Sydney at the Fort Street Model School, Trinity College, and Sydney University. He distinguished himself early in his life. While at Sydney University he was the recipient of several scholarships and the Sydney University Medal for Biology. He was clearly endowed with a strong sense of adventure complemented by an intelligent mind. His strong interest in marine biology would later bring him many distinguished awards.
Tasmania's capital, Hobart, is cradled between the breathtaking peak of Mt. Wellington and the beginning of the Derwent Estuary. Hobart is rich in maritime history and the surrounding countryside is idyllically diversified: from the slopes of Mt. Wellington, to the rugged outcroppings of the coast, to the fertile farming land of the Derwent Valley. Hobart has always been a haven for adventurers. So it was that Errol Flynn began his life in a seaport, and as he grew he would explore the winds and tides of the seven seas on the sails of his imagination. This youthful preparation would serve him well when he later took to the sea as master of his own ship.
In 1911, when Flynn was two years old, Theodore Flynn was appointed Ralston Professor of Biology at the University of Tasmania. He maintained this post until 1931. In December 1919 Marelle gave birth to Errol's sister, Norah Rosemary. Year by year Professor Flynn was increasing his academic standing with his many published papers contributing to the study of marine biology. In 1920, on one of his numerous biological expeditions, he discovered the fossilized remnants of a _Squalodont_. _Squalodont_ thrived twenty-six million years ago during the Miocene period and Professor Flynn's discovery of its ancient skeleton at Wynyard on the northwest coast of Tasmania added greatly to his prestige.
Professor Flynn engaged himself fully in the study of marine biology, and in November of 1912 he participated in a portion of the Mawson Australian Antarctic Expedition. He boarded the polar ship _Aurora_ for a thirty-three-day expedition of oceanographic research off the shore of Macquarie island. Theodore's academic career was blossoming, and in April 1921 he received his doctorate in science. Professor Flynn's thesis bore the scholarly title "The Foetal Membrane and Placentation of the Marsupialia." An interesting aspect of his thesis can be discovered in his introduction where he lamented the difficulty in obtaining relevant biological literature and "other disadvantages of isolation in Tasmania." This is the earliest evidence that Theodore, and most certainly his wife, may have been discontented with the provincial lifestyle of Hobart. They clearly preferred the quicker pace of Sydney.
Professor Flynn's tenure at the University of Tasmania often required that he travel to London to report the progress of biological studies entrusted to his direction. His regular absences for lecturing or biological research placed the primary responsibility for young Errol's care with his mother. Marelle's influence, as well as that of his South Seas environment, would have a lifelong effect on him. Marelle was highly creative and often spent time playing the piano, singing or dancing. She spoke French and German well enough to carry on a conversation, and her youthful beauty had an entrancing effect on many young men in Hobart. The Flynns were fairly well known in the city due to Theodore's prestigious standing in the academic community. Although highly creative and adventurous himself, Professor Flynn was prone to moodiness and favored his prized research over some of Marelle's ambitious leisure-time activities.
**Errol Flynn at about the age of six. He began his life in a seaport, and as he grew he would explore the winds and tides of the seven seas on the sails of his imagination.**
Marelle enjoyed swimming and she spent many summer hours on the beach at Sandy Bay with young Errol. The photographs from this period attest to Marelle's beauty, and Errol's charm is evident even in the pictures of him as a child playing on the beach. He was a pudgy boy, large for his age, but the mischievous grin that would one day help make him famous is already recognizable on his lips.
Flynn's earliest memories reflected something of Tasmania's pastoral charm. He later recalled: "Hobart is a town that nestles at the foot of Mt. Wellington. My principal recollection of it is of its apples, its jams, its rosy-cheeked girls. I am happy to note that even at that early age I was pretty observant. We lived in a little two-storey brick house, and there was a courtyard behind us where I spent much of my time. The region was agricultural. A beach, Sandy Bay, was not far away and I was often there, swimming at the age of three. The beach was of hard brown sand, the water freezing cold. Mother was a good swimmer, and she took me there often. I have never been out of ocean water for very long since."
Marelle obviously possessed a theatrical streak and strong athletic ability, traits she clearly passed on to her son. She was active in social circles and enjoyed attending dances and soirées. By contrast, Theodore was moody and passionate only regarding his intellectual pursuits. They made an odd couple and there is much evidence to suggest their home life was not harmonious. Marelle often visited her parents in Manly on mainland Australia or found other reasons to leave Tasmania.
Don Norman has stated that Flynn was often left to fend for himself and was frequently fed and cared for through the kindness of neighbors. These early experiences had a lifelong effect on the future actor. Flynn's schooling began in 1916 and henceforth his education followed a haphazard pattern. His parents moved about Hobart, living for only a few years in each location, and he was never in attendance at one school for very long.
From 1914 to 1920 the Flynns lived on Warwick Street, Darcy Street, Holebrook Place, and finally at 60 Duke Street in Sandy Bay. Flynn attended the Franklin House School briefly and then the Albuera Street Model School until he was ten years old. In 1918 he was enrolled at Hobart's Hutchins School and remained there as a pupil for about a year.
In his first ten years he demonstrated rebelliousness toward authority and an extraordinary tendency to play pranks and get himself in trouble. He was, by all accounts, a mischievous, charming and likable child. There is little doubt he was pampered and doted on by various neighbors and relatives. Sometime during this period he was enrolled in Miss Lola Smith's dancing class and participated in pantomimes staged at the Theater Royal in Hobart. Perhaps Marelle, sensing the theatricality in her son, was intent on nurturing his flamboyant characteristics.
His formative years paralleled the era of the great silent pictures, and attending a moving picture show—paid for with money cajoled from family and friends—was one of his favorite activities. "Errol was a boy with an inadequate home life," Don Norman later said, "and the lure of the silent silver screen was irresistible to him."
There are numerous documented tales of young Flynn's rebelliousness. On one occasion while on an outing to tour a five-masted schooner Flynn climbed into the rigging and began shouting gleefully. After being called down from his piratical perch he was chastised. Sulking momentarily, he waited until no one was looking and exacted his revenge by tossing the ship's buckets into the sea.
At approximately the age of eight he was caught in the yard with a little neighbor girl playing the timeless game of "show me yours and I'll show you mine." His mother berated him mercilessly, and some years later, at about the age of twenty-three, he repeated this tale to a man named Benedict Parer in a New Guinea pub. Flynn told Parer that his mother was so angered by this event that for a year she refused to call him by his Christian name, referring to him instead as a "pig, a little pig."
Almost thirty years later the story would be told again, with slight variations, in Flynn's autobiography. Although the story seems true, there is some question as to the actual extent of Marelle's anger. In any case, the event left a mark on young Flynn's psyche. It is also an indication of the growing rift between him and his mother. He seems to have developed an admiration for his studious father while the animosity towards his mother grew. This too would remain with him for life.
Another image of Flynn's boyhood that strikes a chord is that of him at seaside watching the ships. He was prone to fantasize while watching these vessels glide into port and he enjoyed standing on the wharves studying the many colorful flags on ships from around the world. Surely his imagination was stoked here under the clear blue sky with the wind in his hair, listening to the cries of gulls and breathing the fresh salt-tinged air and dreaming of sailing the seven seas. Sailors and roughnecks and grizzled veterans of a hundred adventures must have paraded past this youngster with the impish smile and shock of reddish-brown hair standing patiently at the docks.
Flynn's relationship with his mother was stormy from the beginning. They were both temperamental and as a child Errol often amused his mother with his wicked attitude. Marelle later recalled: "He use[d] to make me die of laughter. On another occasion, we were invited to a tea party on a Japanese warship, and I decided to take him too, knowing how he would like the warship. The headmaster of his preparatory school was there—Errol was about six at the time. I said to Errol, 'Aren't you going to speak to so and so?' (I've forgotten the headmaster's name). Errol replied, 'No, mum, as a matter of fact I'm avoiding him.' I was highly amused at such a reply. I asked why and was told, 'Well, if I speak to him he is sure to enter into a long conversation with me!' This speech made me sure he was going to be a great writer."
Sometime in late 1920 Theodore and Marelle took Errol and his baby sister Norah Rosemary to Sydney. There had been other trips in the preceding years and by the age of ten Errol was seasoned in traveling between Hobart and Sydney. Their stay in Sydney was short and soon thereafter they sailed for England with a brief stop in South Africa.
Theodore was involved in research for the University of Tasmania and spent the next several years traveling between Melbourne and Sydney with an occasional jaunt to England.
There is some question as to Flynn's precise location from early 1921 until his return to Tasmania in June 1924. Clearly, he was enrolled in school in England, probably at the South West London College (or an institution with a similar title) where his father made arrangements for his room and board. No documentation has yet turned up confirming the existence of such an institution, and the only fact researchers agree on is that Errol Flynn was in school somewhere in England during this period. It also appears fairly certain he was then enrolled in Colet Court, a preparatory school for St. Paul's.
Regardless of his location, Flynn found his English educational experience distasteful. He was unhappy, and for good reason. He was now separated from his family and plunged into an unfamiliar (and, by his account, often hostile) environment. His mother had gone with Norah Rosemary to live in Paris with her sister, leaving Theodore to his Tasmanian studies and Flynn to fend for himself once again.
He would recall these years in his autobiography as essentially somber, dismal times. He resented being isolated from his family but he made the best of it. He made occasional trips into London and generally moved about between Putney and Hammersmith. "I felt my loneliness in particular during vacation periods," Flynn recalled. "I learned how to be alone. This was preparation for me, I suppose, for long stretches of being alone a little later in the jungles of New Guinea. These were formative years, and I learned to stand on my own two legs."
There is a great deal of irony in the fact that after leaving New Guinea and arriving in Hollywood a few years later, he would never be alone again, although he certainly remained at times a lonely man in his very crowded world.
By his admission, we know that Flynn was expelled from school, and when he returned to Tasmania he moved in with his father on Aberdeen Street in Hobart. Marelle was estranged from her husband at this time, preferring to stay in France and take care of her toddler daughter. Undoubtedly, Marelle also took pleasure in the Parisan nightlife. Theodore, on the other hand, had taken up with several women. Once when Errol visited his father unannounced during one of his London stays he found a strange woman living with him. His wife's prolonged absences offered Professor Flynn an excuse to act on the romantic proclivities that would later make his son infamous.
Flynn was enrolled in Hobart High School on July 14, 1924, and his return to Hobart did not go unnoticed. One anonymous female student, as reported by researcher John Hammond Moore, recalled his arrival in vivid detail: "He was then fifteen years old, just over six feet and incredibly good-looking, dressed in Eton-type clothes—striped morning trousers, short black coat, white shirt, and bow tie. He was also incredibly smug and contemptuous of the rather hard-working, ambitious class in which he was placed."
Flynn went to work immediately—on the local female talent, not his schoolwork. By now he was well acquainted with the pleasures of sex. But in spite of his active carnal pursuits he was developing strong reading habits, primarily due to his father's influence. From this point on it would not be an uncommon sight for those close to him to see him with a book. He was familiar with Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson, Herman Melville, and many other classical and contemporary writers as well as various scientific texts, including his father's scholarly biological reports.
He took up with a pretty blonde and frequented the movies at the Strand Theatre. They were captivated by this new breed of movie actor. John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, Tom Mix, Ronald Colman, Charlie Chaplin, and Rudolph Valentino were particular favorites.
His natural athletic ability lent itself to success at cricket and tennis, with the latter his almost daily preference. While at Hobart High School he joined the tennis team and played in the finals of the intra-city clubs. He won a competition on November 2, 1925, that was reported by the _Hobart Mercury_ newspaper who referred to the match as "the best tennis of the day." On November 25th Errol represented his Fernside Club and won another round.
Days later he took the court again and the newspaper account of the time tells the tale: "Flynn commenced strongly, and by clean and forceful good length driving kept his opponent in the back court, quickly running to a lead of 4–1. Though Scoles had some good recoveries he was unable to deal with the pace of Flynn's shots, and the Fernsider took the set in two games. Scoles took the offensive at the commencement of the second set, and, coming to the net frequently, made many winning volleys, his driving, too, being much steadier than formerly. Flynn, on the other hand, lost a bit of his accuracy during this set, and the Buckingham representative evened the score. Both players were by this time glad to take advantage of the usual respite, and on the resumption a neck-and-neck struggle ensued until the score was four all. At that stage Flynn, by superior play, took the next two games, thereby gaining the rubber, and with it the title of B grade champion for the year."
This modest introduction to local celebrity is one of the first times Errol Flynn's name appeared in a newspaper. He was now Hobart High School's junior tennis king. Not many more days would pass before Errol would leave Hobart High, again because of his tendency to pull pranks.
Don Norman befriended Flynn during this period and recalled Errol's affection for animals. "I found Errol to be kind to animals and I remember one occasion when I had given my dog a sharp smack across its rump with a stick being soundly reprimanded by Errol."
Don and several other Hobart classmates would recall Errol's better than average ability to use words, his eye for a pretty girl, and his skill at tennis and boxing.
At the Hobart High School Fair, Errol, perhaps giddy with his athletic success, purchased some ice cream, ascended a balcony, and promptly dropped the ice cream onto the heads of people on the main floor beneath him. There can be little doubt that his raucous laughter boomed from the balcony. He was banished from the festivities immediately by a headmaster named Mitchell. Flynn amused himself further by locating Headmaster Mitchell's automobile and spreading molasses over the steering wheel.
These youthful shenanigans resulted in Flynn's being asked to leave Hobart High School, and the academic arrangement was severed on December 16, 1925.
In January 1926, Flynn was sent by ship to Sydney where he was admitted (due to his father's influence) to the Sydney Church of England Grammar School. He would distinguish himself here as well, not academically, but most certainly romantically with various delighted young ladies, all the while continuing his career as a merry rascal.
Many years later an instructor at the school, Pat Eldershaw, would recall Flynn quite well indeed. Eldershaw, who was later described by researcher John Hammond Moore as "A jovial man with a delightfully puckish sense of humor," was known to say, whenever the boys from the school would get a bit too full of themselves at reunions, that he had the pleasure of teaching "two murderers and Errol Flynn." Eldershaw witnessed Flynn's boxing ability firsthand one day when he watched him on the way to the gymnasium with another boxer. They apparently became a little too enthusiastic in their discussion and Flynn punched his opponent so hard that workmen had to repair the wall where he landed.
While at the Sydney Grammar School he studied English, French, math, history, chemistry, and physics. He seems to have done well with his English composition exercises, a skill that he would continue to nurture. He continued boxing and kept himself in shape playing tennis, football and cricket.
In his autobiography Flynn would claim his sudden expulsion from the Sydney Church of England Grammar School was due to his brawl with a bully over the affections of a girl named Lindsay. The story contains a glimmer of truth.
There are two plausible reports as to the reasons behind this expulsion, with the first probably being closer to the truth. As one classmate bluntly recalled, "His dismissal from school was not for bad influences on the boys, but for rooting one of the maids." Errol had been caught on the school's coal pile with his pants down, having his way with the daughter of the laundress.
The second possible reason for his expulsion is decidedly less intriguing, but still within character. He was, as another classmate explained, "Caught stealing money from one of the guests at a party given by a member of the school tennis team and expelled from school."
Both activities were possible for him and in all probability a combination of these events led to his dismissal. This concluded his formal education. Henceforth, he would be self-educated, an adventurer at the tender age of seventeen.
He was cut adrift in Sydney, but not without resources. His father was in England at the time and his mother was still in France, and so he was housed, clothed and fed by his grandmothers, aunts and uncles, cousins, and family friends. He lived with a grandmother in Bondi and explored the area around Sydney with his usual vigor.
Through mutual acquaintances he was introduced to a man named Kenneth Hunter-Kerr who assisted Flynn in procuring employment. Thus, he found a job as a mail clerk in September 1926. He was employed in this common position by Dalgety and Company, an export firm. His leisure time was spent pursuing females and playing tennis, two activities that remained dear to his heart years later in Hollywood.
Ten months later he was still gainfully employed. Dalgety and Company transferred him to the Wharf and Stevedoring Department shortly after his eighteenth birthday in June 1927. His social life prospered in these ten months, thanks to his friendship with Ken Hunter-Kerr. Through Hunter-Kerr, Flynn was introduced to a bevy of shapely young ladies, including three sisters—Miriam, Naomi, and Cecile Dibbs. Ken Hunter-Kerr was wed to Miriam in 1932. Briefly, Errol was engaged to Naomi.
He was now integrated with a well-to-do crowd, albeit on a clerk's lowly salary. They partied often with outings to the beach and trips to Bowral or Saturday afternoons at the picture show. Flynn was popular; women were quick in responding to his debonair charm, his witty personality, his handsome features and athletic body.
But his successes were matched by scandal, even at this early age. In fact, the pattern of success shadowed by some scandal was developed here during his Australian youth.
On August 27, 1927, he entered the boxing ring at Sydney Auditorium as a contender in the New South Wales State Amateur Boxing Competition. Although he lost the bout his impressive performance was duly noted in the sports paper _Referee:_ "In the heavyweight division, E. Flynn (11.10) beat F. Scarf (12.10) by a margin as wide as the Sydney Heads. But both judges agreed for Scarf who did not land a decent blow owing to the other fellow's elusiveness, or straight left worked overtime, if lightly. In the last round, the only hard blow by Flynn, a right swing, momentarily dazed his bigger and stronger, but infinitely less scientific opponent."
It was further reported that Flynn had developed a deceptive dance wherein he pranced about his opponent smiling before quickly glancing at his feet. As a reflex action his opponent would glance down as well and Flynn would clobber the unsuspecting battler. A good trick—one commonly used by professional boxers, and a ruse he would later use time and again as a saloon warrior in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and other battlegrounds.
At the height of his local fame, in August 1927, he was summarily fired from his position at Dalgety's for inappropriate usage of the company stamp funds. Apparently, he needed a bicycle and wasn't too concerned about using Dalgety funds to get it. Ken Hunter-Kerr later maintained that Flynn returned the bicycle and paid back every cent to Dalgety's. All the same, he was out of a job and needed to come up with another plan. It wouldn't take him long.
By now he had heard the tales of gold being found in New Guinea, tales of magnificently rich finds in the mountains of Salamaua. Gold deposits had been discovered in the creeks and streams of the Wau-Bulolo area. Flynn had a plan. He would go to New Guinea. The wanderlust endemic in teenagers of any era motivated his actions.
Sometime in September 1927 he boarded the ship _Montoro_ bound for Rabaul. Errol Flynn's seafaring adventures had begun.
There are several aspects of his personality that were keenly developed by the time he arrived in Rabaul on October 1, 1927. He was contemptuous of authority, prone to playing pranks and using his charm to obtain any desired result. He was also given to laziness. It should be said here these traits in themselves are not unusual for a spirited teenager, and certainly his machismo is indicative of an Australian upbringing. He was very much an Australian in his masculine approach to life.
Rabaul was the starting point of adventures on the islands of New Britain, New Ireland, and New Guinea with forays to the outlying islands of Umboi, New Hanover, and Lemus. While aboard the _Montoro_ Flynn made good use of his time and apparently befriended several passengers which led to his appointment as a cadet patrol officer. The Australian government had inaugurated the cadet program with an eye on turning out seasoned officers after two years of rigorous training and studies which included tropical hygiene, accounting, criminal law, map making, ethnology and general administrative duties. Appointment as a candidate required completion of high school examinations.
Undoubtedly realizing the delay in confirming his high school certification, and knowing the consequences of failing to provide that requirement, Flynn basically used the opportunity to make friends and get the feel for his new environment. He was assigned to the outpost in Kokopo in New Guinea.
He was soon competing in swimming meets and tennis tournaments, and quickly contracted malaria. His career as a cadet patrol officer ended after less than two months when officials received letters detailing Flynn's academic shortcomings.
Years later he would tell wonderful stories about a confrontation with Nakani natives who had been involved in a massacre, but these tales (repeated in his autobiography) are fabrications. The massacre occurred twelve months before Flynn arrived in Rabaul but was still such a hot topic of local conversation that his imagination was fueled by the details he picked up.
A series of jobs followed: a position as an assistant manager of the Kenabot Plantation south of Kokopo; a brief job as a mechanic in the Adams-Cooper Garage and Service Station back in Rabaul; and manager of the Lemus Plantation. He did not tarry long in these jobs.
He was now at home in the south-seas environment. He made friends, played cards and tennis, and enjoyed the company of the women who found him so irresistible. There was the occasional saloon brawl, for this was a world where some men didn't like this young, good-looking Aussie with his glib tongue. It's interesting to note that there are no indications that Flynn drank excessively during this period. Perhaps he was too busy trying to stay alive.
He became a familiar figure in the local pubs, but his interest here was not necessarily in drinking. This was an undeveloped region bereft of good roads and railways. Air transportation was in its infancy here. White men had colonized the area, relegating the natives to a subservient role, preferably far in the background. The pubs and restaurants were the social center. This is where people came for information and to make contacts for employment or banking or to seek aid.
They noticed Flynn, of course, these hopeful wayfarers, gold hunters, aging sailors, businessmen and religious servants at the crossroads of civilization. He commanded their attention with his tanned six-foot-two frame. He was a smooth talker and already something of a skilled con artist. One can easily picture him standing jauntily at the bar as the ceiling fan whirled the humid air and mosquitoes aside while Flynn spun tales of fancy. The descriptions and existing photographs from this period show the confident young man in white undershirt, white shorts, and tennis shoes, sometimes with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
New Guinea's rugged geography appealed to him. This was a land of deep, often impenetrable verdant jungle, ripe with the danger and adventure of poisonous snakes, crocodiles and cannibals. Nature was uncaring and cruel. Often an adventurer's fate was decided swiftly. The towering mountains and winding rivers beckoned.
Flynn's precise activities from late 1927 and early 1928 are still the subject of much conjecture. We can shed some light on his vagabond existence by gleaning facts from the published research of John Hammond Moore and the unpublished copies of Flynn's letters to his father.
**Errol Flynn as a cadet patrol officer standing with a New Guinean, circa 1927–1932. His appointment into the cadet program was a magnificent bluff that ended after less than two months when officials received letters confirming his academic shortcomings.**
In his autobiography Flynn states he killed a native in self-defense during this period and stood trial for murder. This claim was disputed by many after his death (his autobiography was published posthumously) and no records of a trial or jail sentence have been located. Yet there may be a glimmer of truth in his story. A few years later, in a letter to his father dated May 1932, Errol mentions: "A friend Jack Ryan, is 50 years old and it was he who was mainly instrumental in having a charge of murder squashed against me in the other Territory when I shot a native there in 1929." This offhand comment in a letter presented without braggadocio to his father is slim evidence indeed, but Flynn was certainly involved in recruiting natives for plantation labor, an often dangerous occupation. The residents of the area have always stated Flynn never stood trial for murder. There is no reason to doubt them. He was obviously bragging, trying to impress his father and friends.
Flynn became a labor recruiter for a gentleman named W. A. Money who owned the Siassi Island Plantations near Umboi. During these excursions he met "Dusty" Miller who later gained some fame as a flyer during World War II. Flynn and Miller were called upon to locate native workers for the copra and tobacco plantations, or to assist in prospecting for gold in Edie Creek. Although native labor was legal in the sense that appropriate documents were drawn up and payment was made to the native laborers, it is important to note this activity bordered on slavery. Flynn and Miller were moderately successful, but whatever funds they procured were easily eaten up by debt and diversions.
The Papuan natives, many descendents of the original Melanesians and Polynesians, formed a diverse culture. There are the islanders, the southern Papuans, the northern New Guineans, all with a religious and spiritual history as tangled as the tributaries of the Sepik River. Picture them observing this tall smiling white youth with their impassive dark eyes, while Flynn, in turn, was fascinated by their coal black skin and often colorful body adornments. According to Flynn he engaged in sexual relationships with several attractive native girls, and not so many years later was heard to recall with tenderness one of these romantic interludes. But Flynn's romanticism belied the fact that the New Guinea tribes were not all friendly. Cannibalism was still practiced, and tribal conflict was commonplace. Flynn proceeded carefully in this environment, learning as he went. He mastered the pidgin language in order to communicate for purposes useful in business with the natives. _Mi laik baim yu_ ("I would like to buy you") is the type of statement Flynn would need to learn when negotiating a labor contract.
He read anything he could get his hands on. In this cultural isolation he borrowed books or accepted books shipped by his father and read them by oil lamp in a hut or tent or a ship's cabin or dingy hotel room, devouring words with an insatiable appetite. Some of his trips up the rivers or into the jungle were measured by the number of books he had. As he later recalled: "I felt ignorant and uneducated. Though I had read whenever I had the chance, now I made the chance. I plunged into reading as if it were my most vital need—and, after money, it was." He read Honoré de Balzac, Guy De Maupassant, Victor Hugo, H. G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson and the French writers Baudelaire and Rostand. He read Rostand in French, using a French-English dictionary as a guide. There, amid the palm fronds, incessant insects, and constant humidity, he developed a taste for Plato and Aristotle. He was educating himself through determination and intellectual curiosity, making up for the education he had so recently scorned.
"Always, wherever I was, nightfall meant books and a chance to try to connect with the ideas of the world," Flynn later remembered. "For I sensed how far a cry all this was from the schoolboy life I had been leading only shortly before." He was an adolescent coming to grips with his future, struggling to fit into the hard, complex world of New Guinea. "Now—out of school—an inner need for learning sprang up in me."
Flynn's letters to his father in August 1928 detail his attempts at running a tobacco plantation. These letters have a youthful charm and seem to be an effort to gain his father's approval. It is obvious he admires and even envies his father's intelligence and educational standing. There is a sense that he was viewed as a wastrel by his family, and he was attempting to correct this impression. In one letter Flynn chides his father about the length of his letters, mentioning that he remembers his father once writing him a letter of about "2 pages." And he continually alludes to the business of surviving, _i.e.,_ making money. He appears to have developed an astute and practical understanding of business matters by the age of nineteen.
Any effort he made attempting to pull gold from the soil along the Edie Creek banks was a failure, although a few others were successful. Recruiting native labor was work enough.
In 1929 Flynn became involved in a movie-making venture of some sort, probably as a guide on a ship. The facts of this expedition are clouded by the passage of time and conflicting existing statements. It is clear, however, that Flynn assisted a documentary film crew in some way, probably in late 1929 or early 1930. He later claimed it was his friend, Hermann F. Erben, who hired him for this expedition, but the publication of some of Erben's diaries in 1985 established that Flynn and Erben met in 1933. Other reports state that it was documentary filmmaker Charles Chauvel who traveled with Flynn up the Sepik River and along the coast, but Flynn did not meet Chauvel until 1933, and prior to meeting Erben. It may be an insignificant point, but one that continues to perplex Flynn aficionados. No documentation has turned up that will establish Flynn's precise activities during that period, but it is no stretch of the imagination to assume that he enjoyed himself.
Malaria continued to plague him and by October 1929 he was back in Rabaul. By now he also suffered from a painful case of gonorrhea. Recovering from his illnesses he set sail, again on the _Montoro,_ for a return trip to Sydney, arriving back in Australia on October 30. He was now twenty years old, infinitely wiser in the ways of the world, having pulled off an impetuous, dangerous stunt by leaving the relative security of provincial Hobart at such an early age. Flynn's true education had come to him by way of ships at sea or in books absorbed by the glow of a hurricane lamp, and certainly in his innate ability to survive the dangers inherent in the rum ports of the South Pacific. These experiences toughened him and molded his outlook. His education was, in many regards, a Renaissance-style education of his own design.
There were more experiences still to live, however, and once back in Sydney he began preparations for another adventure. He was working temporarily as a model for R. C. Hagon Limited. It is another of the many ironies of Flynn's life that his first appearance on a movie screen was these advertisements flashed on theater screens in Sydney. While working in this capacity he visited Neutral Bay, located on Sydney's north shore, when he spied a fifty-year-old weather-beaten yacht made of ironbark and kauri. The sailor in him was inspired by this old ship.
The _Sirocco_ 's purchase was financed with gifts and loans from relatives and friends. In March 1930 Flynn and three friends—Rex Long-Innes, H. F. Trelawney Adams, and Charlie Burt—set sail for New Guinea. The shakedown cruise in February had been covered by Sydney's _Daily Pictorial_ where it was reported that the crew (accompanied by Ken Hunter-Kerr and other friends) was caught up in a violent storm. The fact of the matter was, none of the crew were experienced sailors. Their expertise was limited to girl hunting and simple jaunts around the bay. This time they were attempting to navigate a small, aging yacht across the open sea toward an equally perilous destination. A longer voyage was planned, a voyage that was to take six weeks but would last six months.
Mapping their route is possible by a close reading of John Hammond Moore's _Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ , Flynn's letters to his father, as well as his first book _Beam Ends_. Their itinerary up the Australian coastline unfolded generally as follows:
_Sydney to Port Stephen's/Coff's Harbor:_ Battling seasickness and high waves, they plunged on, stubborn and determined.
_Ballina:_ Many residents here recalled for years the two weeks the _Sirocco_ crew drank, fished, swam, and generally had a glorious good time chasing the local girls.
_Brisbane:_ In Queensland's capital they continued their carousing, drinking, poker playing, and wenching. They were, after all, vigorous young men adrift on a grand adventure, and there is every indication they enjoyed themselves tremendously.
_Bundaberg:_ Additional carousing. They appear to have arrived in Bundaberg with the curiosity of tomcats alert for diversions.
_Gladstone:_ An ill-fated decision to take a shortcut up the Fitzroy River resulted in their being stuck in the mud, literally. Set loose by the tide they sailed for Rockhampton.
_Rockhampton:_ Gleaned from the June 18, 1930, edition of Rockhampton's _Morning Bulletin,_ a brief article describes "Captain Errol Flynn" as suffering from a "touch of malaria." This newspaper account exaggerates their trip from Sydney to Rockhampton but manages to express this fundamental truth when it describes the _Sirocco_ and its four-man crew: "She breathes an atmosphere of romance all too scarce in days when young men no longer go to sea to seek their fortunes." The column headline summed it all up by referring to their arrival thus: "OFF TO NEW GUINEA—FOUR ADVENTURERS—THE SIROCCO CALLS IN—ONE TIME CRACK YACHT." By now they had taken up charging local residents for "pleasure cruises" which helped supplement their meager financial situation. They also sold fish they caught, and indulged in poker games where one of them might occasionally win a high stake. They arrived in time for Rockhampton's yearly carnival and took in the pleasures of sideshows, sporting events, music and dance.
Aboard the _Sirocco_ they entertained chorus girls from the J. C. Williamson troupe. A month later, in a letter to his father dated July 27, 1930, Errol would describe these escapades with enthusiasm: "We had the J. C. Williamson chorus out with us on the river & caused the _Sirocco_ to look like a flagship or river excursion steamer. A merry day—with young maidens everywhere from stem to stern."
He was having the time of his life, and these sun-drenched summer days would provide fond memories for many years. Errol was spinning tales, too; having befriended two journalists, he described himself to them as a "Cambridge undergrad," one of several erroneous facts that found its way into the _Morning Bulletin_ article. He also fought a boxer named Bud Riley in a public exhibition that found Errol taking "the biggest hiding of my life." Swimming, drinking, fishing, fighting, sailing, and romancing girls became a part of his daily menu.
_Islands of the Great Barrier Reef:_ Exhausted after their trip, they drifted among the tranquil islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Errol had a brief but tempestuous romance with an islander named Lucy Wilson who caused them some concern when she swam out to the _Sirocco_ demanding to be taken along. Errol and his friends were swift to exit nimble young Lucy and sail on.
_Townsville:_ Errol wrote to his father in July reporting on their Rockhampton adventures. He was by now storing details, trivia, and anecdotes in both his memory and notebooks for later use.
_Cairns:_ Another round of cavorting, boozing, brawling, and romancing. With an insatiable appetite for the good things in life, they plowed on.
_Cooktown:_ Mid-August found them frequenting the many pubs during their final stop on mainland Australia. Errol wrote to his father on August 17 prior to leaving for Lizard Island and subsequently the long hop to New Guinea.
_Port Moresby, New Guinea:_ After several days on a stormy sea they arrived in New Guinea.
When Flynn, Rex Long-Innes, H. F. Trelawney Adams, and Charlie Burt left Sydney they were novice seamen. By the time they reached New Guinea six months later their nautical skills had been considerably sharpened and, one might add, their experience with wine, women, and song had been greatly enhanced. Their experiences in Port Moresby repeated their pattern of vigorous partying.
In December the _Sydney Morning Herald_ ran an article describing a misadventure Flynn shared with Rex Long-Innes who had taken to sea again accompanied by a local barmaid. The article reports the _Sirocco_ was smashed on the reef at Taurama Point. After repairs were made, Flynn reported to the paper that the _Sirocco_ was destined to be a "diving tender in the beche-de-mer industry."
This concluded the first phase of Flynn's South Seas adventures and provided him with the raw material for a book that was already taking shape in his mind. His experiences molded him into a daring young man and honed the storytelling instinct that rang true in him like the evocative call of a ship's bell.
In January 1931 Flynn boarded the _Morinda_ with Rex Long-Innes bound for Sydney. His engagement to Naomi Dibbs, an ill-fated romance from the beginning, was formally announced a few weeks later. He was soon soliciting financial backing for a proposed tobacco plantation he thought would prove lucrative. The tobacco industry was flourishing in New Guinea and he easily gained the support of friends and acquaintances who shared his view of turning out a high profit.
He secured several acres of property near the Rouna Falls on the Laloki River and returned to New Guinea intent on a windfall. Naomi was soon forgotten. It is unlikely she realized her place in a long line of females who would have their hearts broken by this handsome adventurer.
One of Flynn's financial backers was Dr. William Eric Giblin, and decades later Dr. Giblin's son would describe Flynn to journalist John Hammond Moore: "He was a young, attractive person. The natives looked up to him. They like people who are young. Good figure, dressed well... white shorts and all. Always very presentable. The natives certainly admired him."
In his autobiography Flynn details his relationship with a beautiful native girl he calls Tuperselai and who, he says, had a scent like hibiscus. Perhaps she lived in the coastal village of Tupuselei south of Port Moresby, thus explaining the similarity in names. In any event memories of this love affair brought out his poetic, romantic side whenever he spoke of her in the years to come.
Flynn's high hopes for a successful tobacco crop were not to be realized. The failure of this enterprise was due to several factors beyond his control. There is every indication to believe he worked hard at this venture but was stymied by both a faulty curing process and an antagonistic political climate. New Guinea tobacco was not favored in competition with Australia's profitable tobacco industry.
He wrote several letters that were published in the Sydney _Bulletin,_ and several of these missives were published under the _nom de plume_ of "Laloki." Angered by a government that raised taxes on exported tobacco, Flynn had broken into print. He authored seven articles from December 1931 until October 1932. His topics ranged from a description of a Papuan sorcerer's attempt to bring a dead dog to life, through various examples of native folklore. These short vignettes were well-written and showed the flair he had for words and details. His contribution on January 27, 1932, described the problems inherent in killing a turtle:
> Killing a turtle in New Guinea is a horribly messy business. I once came upon several natives about to dispatch a 600-lb. specimen. The turtle was lying on its back on the beach, helplessly flapping, and my cook-boy, Mai-Ike, squatted nearby, kindling a fire on its stomach. Bellowing loudly I rushed to the rescue, scattered the fire, and, in honest rage, was about to inflict grievous bodily harm on Mai-Ike. Deciding, however, that he knew no better, I sent a boy for my revolver, and, while awaiting him, discoursed to the assembly on the evil of cruelty to animals. To my annoyance Mai-Ike wanted to debate the matter. "Master," he said earnestly, "this fella he no savvy die quick time. S'pose you shoot 'im he no die." "No?" I said, "You watch," and pumped three rounds from a .32 into his head. To my chagrin the turtle showed no sign of having noticed anything unusual, and did not even interrupt the slow pendulum-like movement of its head from side to side. Rather staggered by such unconcern I fired three more rounds, but with the same result. The thing seemed slightly bored with the proceedings and certainly displayed no resentment. "Bring akis!" (bring an ax) I shouted desperately. "Cut off head belong 'im." That was done and the turtle, I thought, was out of its dreadful agony. But when, to my amazement, the headless body continued to breathe through the severed windpipe, as though losing a head was an everyday occurrence, I threw the towel in. "All right," I told Mai-Ike, "go ahead and kill it anyway you like." He remade the fire, and when the tissue was no longer like leather cut the flesh around the edge and removed the stomach shell, leaving the inside exposed. It was such an uncanny sight to see the heart pumping and everything else apparently working to schedule that I repaired to the house for a drink. Even when I returned several hours later the turtle wasn't quite dead.
**Errol Flynn made his film debut in** _**In the Wake of the Bounty**_ **(1933). He later said of his performance as Fletcher Christian, "I stank."**
In July 1932 he boarded the _Macdhui_ and returned to Sydney. Precise details on how and when a filmmaker named Charles Chauvel decided to use Flynn in a film version of the Fletcher Christian–Captain Bligh saga of the _Bounty_ are unknown (Chauvel told different versions for years). Earlier Chauvel and his crew had visited Pitcairn Island and Tahiti where they shot several reels of film. Now he intended to make a type of docu-drama utilizing the island footage with new scenes featuring actors. Flynn was cast as Fletcher Christian and his distant relative, Edward Young, was portrayed by John Warwick.
Filming of _In the Wake of the Bounty_ commenced in September 1932. The film was shot on a soundstage in Sydney and completed in either late October or early November. By his own admission, he didn't have a clue as to what he was doing but proceeded with the idea that "I was supposed to be an actor." In less than a year Flynn made the transition from Laloki plantation overseer to published author and fledgling actor.
His screen debut was noted in the pages of _Smith's Weekly_ on October 22, 1932, under the headline: PAPUAN TOBACCO PLANTER BECOMES A TALKIE ARTIST. The film was not a success and is remembered and available today on video only because it marks Flynn's acting debut. The movie played infrequently throughout 1933 and garnered mediocre reviews.
Although he had been firmly bitten by the acting bug he did not make any immediate plans to continue with his thespian activities. He took a series of jobs in order to remain solvent and involved himself with a woman he later called Madge Parks (a fictitious name) whose jewels he stole in a moment of greed. Flynn was down on his luck and he claimed the sight of those jewels was simply too tempting to resist. With the jewels hidden in the handle of a shaving brush, Flynn traveled from Sydney to Townsville, and from Townsville shipped out again to Port Moresby. He was traveling a familiar area now, but this time he was doing so as a fugitive.
By the end of January 1933 he had sold his Laloki tobacco plantation and stayed briefly in a hotel in Salamaua where he copied into his notebook a few pages of Henry David Thoreau's ruminations from _Walden._ Flynn was again involved in recruiting native labor and his notebook describes this effort. He scribbled down ideas with the intention of expanding some into essays. This notebook was left behind when he continued his mysterious flight. It was discovered in 1935 by the Salamaua Hotel owner Mr. Allen Innes (excepts were published in November 1960, over a year after Flynn's death).
Charles Chauvel's wife, Elsa, recalled decades later that her husband encouraged young Flynn to get to England and pursue a theatrical career. She was quick to point out that Errol "breezed into our lives, caused trouble with the girls in the studio, and left."
A not so subtle transition was occurring as Flynn, perhaps bolstered by reviews of _In the Wake of the Bounty_ (such as in Sydney's _Daily Telegraph_ where it was noted the role of Fletcher Christian was "particularly well acted"), had decided to somehow become an actor. But he wasn't finished with New Guinea yet.
From January 1933 until February he appears to have drifted between opportunities, perhaps trying his hand once again at gold prospecting along Edie Creek. That he did his share of gold prospecting is certain; what remains uncertain is the nature of his efforts. In February he was in New Britain and by now had borrowed so much money from friends and acquaintances that his name was becoming a familiar object of derision. He was not paying his debts in a timely fashion. In fact, in many instances he was not paying them at all.
This brief interlude naturally included an amorous escapade or two, the usual round of pub-cavorting and blarney so thick you could make a sandwich from it. A man named Ben Parer recalled an evening drinking with Errol about this time: "You can tell the shifty-eyed blokes who can't shout their turn at the bar. They sorta hunch up their shoulders and try to become inconspicuous as the bottles empty one by one. Not Flynny-boy! No, sir, not on your life! By God, he was right in there buying his share with the very best of 'em."
"Flynny," as he was called since his Hobart adolescence, was generally considered bright, enthusiastic, and optimistic. His detractors had sound reason to scorn him, but his admirers were quick to defend him. This was a duality in his life which remained a constant fixture.
There is speculation here that he made a negotiated settlement to stay out of jail, perhaps turning the jewels over to authorities, but it is also likely he simply fled when his arrest seemed imminent. This is pure speculation. What we do know thanks to the published documentation of Josef Fegerl is that Flynn met Dr. Hermann F. Erben on April 14, 1933, in Salamaua when they boarded a ship bound for Vitu, a plantation on Garowe Island in the Bismarck Archipelago.
Born in Vienna in 1897, Erben was a physician, traveler, and avid photographer. He made his living primarily as a ship's doctor. His travels took him to the Middle East, Asia, the Far East, the United States, and Europe. Skilled in handling the intricacies of various cultures, he was experienced in the ways of the world. He also worked briefly as a physician attending the German film industry in the late 1920s. He made friends with the young Flynn immediately. It is easy to understand why Flynn remained friends with this eccentric but highly intelligent Austrian. In 1959, not long before his death, while preparing the manuscript that would become his autobiography, Flynn offered this observation to collaborator Earl Conrad: "Thanks to Erben and his lusty, practical outlook on men and mice, sex, morals and morons, I was seldom ever trapped again in this world between the Skylla [ _sic_ ] of good clean living and the wicked Charybdis of a good solid hard on (erection). Ladies and gentlemen may I offer this suggestion that we should have more Erbens in our younger days?"
These comments, dated August 1, 1959, and written on Shoreham Hotel stationery in New York City, offer a concise summation of his friendship with the Austrian doctor. Erben was a man's man, as Flynn was, enjoying the pleasures inherent in a male-dominated society. Well read, adventuresome, gleefully pursuing women for sport, Flynn and Hermann F. Erben had a lot in common.
On April 17 they sailed on the schooner _Kokopo_ to Thiel's Plantation where Erben took his first photographs of his new friend. In these photographs Flynn is wearing a white sleeveless singlet and white shorts and drinking from a coconut shell or wading in the surf, a drifter on the prowl in a humid tropical paradise. The tangle of palm trees and crudely constructed huts in the background give an indication of the rugged terrain through which they traveled.
They arrived in Hong Kong on May 7 and on May 9 boarded the steamer _D'Artagnan_ heading for Saigon. In Saigon they visited a brothel and judging from Flynn's comments in his autobiography, the experience was satisfying indeed, although he claimed that he contracted "the pearl of great price" there, his euphemism for venereal disease.
On to Singapore and then Colombo where they visited a temple and Erben administered medical advice to friends. On May 26 they arrived at Egmore and took lodging in a YMCA. Flynn had a fever but accompanied Erben to the "Rita Brothel."
"A girl is the best medicine against fever," Flynn told Erben who recorded the cost of Errol's "medicine" as 17 rupees. They continued their sight-seeing in museums, local attractions, and "the New World Fair" where Erben recorded in his notebook "Nice sing song girls."
On May 28 they boarded the SS _Compiègne_ where they befriended soldiers of the Foreign Legion and at one point Flynn borrowed a uniform and posed on deck for Erben. Perhaps this is where the myth developed that Errol Flynn once lived and fought with those brave soldiers in the French Foreign Legion.
Erben's photographs from this period indicate that Flynn's features were arresting even at such a youthful age. He turned heads, this tall, tan, handsome Tasmanian. He showed off his physical prowess by doing a chin-up for the camera; engaged the girls on the ship in small talk; and planned his arrival in Paris and trek to England. He was considering employment as an actor.
**Flynn aboard the SS** _**Compiègne**_ **in a photograph taken by Hermann Erben on June 15, 1933. (Photograph courtesy of Josef Fegerl.)**
On June 20, 1933, Flynn parted with Erben who went on to Vienna. We know that Flynn traveled to Paris and then to Northampton, England. Erben and Flynn had cemented a friendship that would last many years, although from this point on they would see each other only infrequently. Their whoring and conniving in the Far East had a lasting effect on Flynn. He would repeat these stories again, embellishing facts, and adding details. Much of it later appeared in various forms in his articles and books.
He arrived in Northampton sometime in the late summer or early autumn of 1933. There are indications he may have sought employment as an extra with the Warner Bros. Teddington Studios. There is an existing still of a film called _I Adore You_ which starred Margot Grahame and Harold French where he is peeking out behind a line of chorus girls. Unfortunately, no prints of this film are known to exist.
He did land extra work with the Queen's Theatre Players and by December had joined the Northampton Repertory Players. The January 13, 1934, edition of the _Northampton and County Independent_ carried this morsel under the headline FILM STAR JOINS REPERTORY PLAYERS: "A new member has joined the Northampton Repertory Players in the person of Errol Flynn, who is well-known in Australia as a film star. He has played leading parts in the last six Australian films and was brought over by a London film company. Although Mr. Flynn has done so much on the films, [he] prefers the stage, and is of the opinion that repertory is the one thing that has definitely come to stay. It is interesting to note that Mr. Flynn reached the finals in the amateur boxing championship of Australia and was also chosen for the Olympic Games as a swimmer."
None of this is true, of course, but Flynn put his time to good use after fleeing New Guinea with those stolen jewels. He created his own publicity and essentially bluffed his way into the acting profession.
**A previously unpublished photograph of Flynn (wearing all white) at Thiel's plantation, April 17, 1933. He spent seven years trying to make a fortune in New Guinea and the South Pacific. (Photograph courtesy of Josef Fegerl.)**
He found a girlfriend and took lodging with her on 13 Hazelwood Road. The girlfriend's name is not known. A few months later he moved to Guildhall Road and continued his habit of running up debts he had no intention of repaying. The busy schedule set for him by the Northampton Players left him little time for tennis and lovemaking, but he managed as best as he could. His acting technique was benefited here by his association with seasoned professionals. He learned pacing, blocking, and delivery. An actor emerged from this young drifter who, seven months earlier, was knocking about the South Pacific with stolen jewels and a zest for something more.
He found time for writing. In the March 17, 1934, edition of the _Northampton and County Independent_ appeared an article called "Why I Became an Actor." The article fictionalized his trip up the Sepik River with a documentary filmmaker. This material was crucial in his development as a writer. He would recall this time in New Guinea on the page and in conversation.
And he found time for drinking, although still not at the level he would attain later. He joined his journalist friends from the _Northampton and County Independent_ at the nearby Swan Hotel for drinks and stories. He frolicked with women; he played tennis and boxed a little.
He appeared in 22 plays for the Northampton Repertory Players, beginning in December 1933 and concluding in May 1934. Notable of these were Henrik Ibsen's _The Doll's House_ where he played Nils Krogstad, the villainous lawyer (one reviewer noted he "made a splendid villain"); George Bernard Shaw's _Pygmalion_ (a small part as a bystander); _Seven Keys To Baldpate Inn_ written by American musical genius George M. Cohan and based on a story by Earl Derr Biggers who created Charlie Chan; and Shakespeare's _Othello_ (Flynn had a dual part as 'First Senator' and 'Lodovico').
He was noticed because of his good looks. Flynn's features were never ordinary or average. He possessed a strong, clean jaw-line, a classically shaped nose, and deep, penetrating eyes. His profile begged comparison to the Greek statuary of Olympian gods. Women were romantically attracted to him and men found his boyish enthusiasm and masculine approach to sporting competitions appealing.
Young girls noticed him too, and they would continue to notice him for years afterward. They might wait at the Northampton stage door hoping to catch a glimpse of this brash, smiling newcomer. He enjoyed his popularity and exploited it to his benefit.
Shortly after his final Northampton appearance he met Warner Bros. producer Irving Asher at the Teddington Studios and landed a role in the thriller _Murder at Monte Carlo._ Flynn was given the male lead playing a character named Dyter. He was undisciplined and initially awkward before the cameras, but his Northampton experiences provided the confidence he needed. The result was a moderate performance with just enough of his talent shining through. Filming was completed in November 1934. Flynn later assessed his debut as a lead actor: "The cameraman didn't pay much attention to me. My jaw sagged, I had a face two feet long and looked exactly like a horse."
Another first came with his starring role, the arrival of fan mail, predominantly from local girls who noticed him on the boards at Northampton. They waited for him outside the theater entrance and admired him on the cricket field or at tennis matches. He began receiving his first fan letters. One admirer was lucky enough to receive this response:
> Dear Mrs. Norfolk
> Thanks very much for your letter & your good wishes, which I thought very nice of you indeed. I am leaving for Hollywood in a week but until I get there I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing. I hope "Murder at Monte Carlo" goes to Northampton – it's a good comedy with quite a few thrills & we finished it yesterday.
> Again, thank you for your letter.
> Yours sincerely,
> Errol Flynn
Producer Irving Asher was primarily responsible for bringing Errol Flynn's potential to Jack Warner's attention in California. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., the handsome son of the silent era's greatest action star, also made a recommendation that assisted in procuring a contract for Flynn. Fairbanks was introduced to Flynn by Asher shortly before filming began on _Murder at Monte Carlo._ Recognizing the raw talent in this "very handsome, personable Australian," Fairbanks asked to see a screen test and after viewing it sent a note to Asher stating, "I thought he showed not much acting ability or enough training as yet, but he has great looks, great charm, and he moves easily and well."
**A rare, early publicity shot taken shortly after leaving the Northampton Repertory Players in the summer of 1934. He still appears awkward and self-conscious.**
Fairbanks, Jr. is generally not given much credit for his part in furthering Flynn's career, but it is significant because of his friendship with Irving Asher. Fairbanks cultivated a friendship with Asher and the two men respected each other's opinion. There was enormous pressure on Fairbanks, Jr. to star in action pictures reminiscent of his father's swashbucklers, a direction he was not yet willing to take. The younger Fairbanks was always magnanimous in promoting talent when he saw it and the potential he saw in Errol Flynn was not something he could ignore. In a 1999 interview with the author, Fairbanks recalled immediately the enormous, personal charm Flynn possessed, and stated, "You know, I managed to get Flynn his first job in this country. I gave him a recommendation to a friend of mine in Europe. I liked him." Asher was certain there was something worthwhile in Flynn, but the recommendation by Fairbanks confirmed his opinion.
Seven years had passed since Flynn arrived in Rabaul and began his wanderings. He propelled himself through these experiences with unbridled enthusiasm, raw courage, and an inner creative drive. The qualities of grace and bravado, combined with his good looks, made him a natural film star during a period in American filmmaking that later became known as the Golden Age.
Irving Asher's recommendation to studio head Jack Warner set in motion events that would shape one of the most remarkable film careers in Hollywood history. In early 1935 Errol Flynn sailed for the United States with a Warner Bros. contract. Another phase of his life had begun.
## ☆ TWO ☆
### Hollywood, 1935–1940
The Spaniards who settled in southern California in 1781 called their farming community _El Pueblo Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciúncula_ —the town of Our Lady Queen of Angels of Porciuncula. The hot, dry weather lasted most of the year and every day felt like summer. The entrepreneurs who followed the Spaniards one hundred and fifty years later had the best of everything: a climate that favored outdoor filming year round, and a diverse topography that included forested mountains, desert, prairies and valleys, all within driving distance.
The dream merchants of Hollywood later built their empires here and told their stories in short reels of silent film. The first age of movie celebrities had begun prior to World War I and flourished for over a decade. Acrobatic heroes like Douglas Fairbanks and frontier lawmen like William S. Hart mastered the galloping 35-millimeter frame. Tom Mix, Lillian Gish, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Theda Bara, and Buster Keaton became as familiar to Americans as members of their own family. They were the poets of the movie palaces and they reigned supreme from 1916 until the sound films began to proliferate after 1929.
Jack L. Warner settled in Los Angeles with his three brothers—Harry, Sam, and Albert—and went to work churning out films during the nickelodeon days after the war. They built a studio on forty acres of land to compete with the businessmen who rushed to mine the gold found in Hollywood's rich celluloid industry. "They all wanted a piece of the movie gold mine," Jack Warner wrote in his autobiography decades later, "and it was an inexhaustible vein."
Under the masthead of the Warner Bros. Studio they opened a chain of Warner Theaters from Los Angeles to New York and settled into the business of making and promoting movies. From time to time there were financial setbacks, for this was an industry in its infancy and experiencing the throes of growing pains. After 1927 title cards gave way to dialogue, sound effects, and the pomp of a full orchestra synchronized to the action. The heroes of dime novels who had taken form in silent theaters had found their voice.
Jack Warner's metaphoric comparison to the Gold Rush was no exaggeration. People came in droves from every town and city on a journey filled with high hopes and endless heartache. Then as now, Hollywood attracted gypsies and con men, shysters and dreamers, and—very occasionally—people with talent.
The image that persists to this day is an enchanting vignette: the palm trees swaying in Beverly Hills, the devoted fans seeking autographs outside the nightclubs where their favorite stars are rumored to be lunching. And high up in the rolling foothills of the Santa Monica mountains a great white sign proclaims HOLLYWOOD for the camera-carrying tourists at the corner of Sunset and Vine. The image is not entirely false, but it is packaged too tightly and emits a false glow, like a miniature scene in a snow globe, which, once tipped, pleases the eye only fleetingly with its tinsel snow settling onto a romantic landscape.
Errol Flynn entered the glittering neon jungle of Los Angeles with the same raw energy that helped him survive the hard years in New Guinea. He liked what he saw. Southern California was a place brimming with hedonistic excess, a place where Flynn's Aussie charm and sharp intellect would propel him to the top of the Hollywood heap.
Flynn departed England aboard the liner SS _Paris_ with a commitment from Warner Bros. who paid his passage and provided him with a wardrobe and spending money. His journey across the Atlantic was far from routine. Also on board was Lili Damita, a lovely French actress who had been starring in films in England and France since the twenties. Lili was born Liliane Marie Madeleine Carré in France on July 19, 1901. She was famous, gorgeous, and high-spirited. Flynn was familiar with Damita's career and wasted no time in arranging an introduction. During an evening gala he approached her and asked for a dance. He was quickly rebuked. Not many months later Flynn would be telling the press he didn't speak to Lili Damita again during the voyage. But they had noticed each other, and admitted they couldn't keep their eyes off each other.
After arriving in New York they struck up an acquaintanceship which soon escalated into a heated romantic entanglement. Lili was a practical but passionate woman who had already adjusted to the public scrutiny that comes with a Hollywood career; Flynn, by comparison, was an avowed non-conformist. They were opposites in almost every way, but the mutual attraction was something neither could resist. The trip from New York to Los Angeles was the beginning of a tumultuous relationship.
Flynn's first impressions of the United States varied depending on his location. He found New York noisy, crowded, and ultimately depressing. But he appreciated the geographic diversity that swept past his train window, and upon arriving in southern California knew immediately the warm, sunny climate suited his temperament.
He became a part of the growing pool of contract players Warner Bros. kept at hand. The first of many photographic sessions commenced as the publicity department went to work fashioning an image for their new employee. They didn't really know what to do with him. Flynn contributed to the confusion regarding his background and repeated the stories he'd fabricated about his Olympic boxing experience, his stint with the Northampton Repertory Company, and his adventures in New Guinea.
The combination of Flynn's tall tales and the spin put on his background by Warners' publicity staff transformed him into an Irishman from Dublin who excelled in Olympic boxing. According to his publicity, he had only recently escaped the clutches of New Guinea cannibals to find himself an apprentice stage actor in England. The image would have a dual effect on him for years: while his adventuresome past enticed and thrilled his fans, others who checked on the facts and discovered the truth labeled him a liar and a braggart. From his beginning in Hollywood, Flynn made friends and enemies quickly.
He established an athletic routine that helped keep him in shape. He became a fixture at the Los Angeles Tennis Club and promptly earned a reputation as one of the best tennis players in Hollywood. And he was introduced to the coastal pleasure of boating to Catalina Island thus affording his nautical instincts a venue for exploration.
Flynn was given his first assignment in a picture called _The Case of the Curious Bride_ which starred Warren William as Perry Mason. Writer Erle Stanley Gardner worked mainly in the pulps. His topics included westerns and science fiction stories, but it was his creation of Perry Mason that solidified his literary reputation. Jack Warner saw the potential in Gardner's stories and moved to capitalize on the character's popularity. Warren William was known and respected in Hollywood and offered the urbane intellectualism Warner thought was right for Perry Mason. Flynn was given a brief non-speaking role as a corpse, and later in the film (in flashback), he had a scene with co-star Margaret Lindsay. The film was a moderate success and appealing only to aficionados of mysteries. The April 1935 review in _Variety_ referred to the film as a "Good whodunit entertainment." Flynn's brief appearance was unnoticed by all.
His romance with Lili Damita escalated and in June 1935 they flew to Yuma, Arizona, and were married in a civil ceremony. Flynn was acclimating himself to the film community. Regardless of the bitterness he would feel later, there is every reason to believe his early years in Hollywood were happy ones.
This less than auspicious beginning in Hollywood was followed by another brief appearance in _Don't Bet on Blondes,_ a July premiere again starring Warren William. He had a new life in Los Angeles and new creative avenues to explore. He was not content playing small parts in melodramas. The luxurious lifestyle offered by a steady paycheck provided him the time required for writing. His stories were about New Guinea, of course, for he would never separate himself from those youthful experiences.
Contrary to popular belief, Flynn's first year in Hollywood was a sincere attempt at a creative lifestyle coupled with domestic bliss. But the distractions were too great; perhaps if he had been less attractive his life might have taken a different turn, but as it was he found himself the subject of sexual interest to women who pursued him with great zeal. He indulged himself. Lili would not tolerate his infidelities and their verbal sparring was frequently heated. All the same, she was madly in love and it is to her credit that she worked so hard to save their marriage.
The creative aspects of Flynn's personality craved something more than a regular salary for such a small measure of acting. He was writing but had yet to publish an article in the United States. Errol Flynn's acting talent in 1935 was unfocused and undisciplined. That would change when actor Robert Donat dropped out of the lead role in the upcoming production of _Captain Blood_. Flynn's career as a minor supporting player in melodramas was forever ended when he was signed to play the lead in the Warner Bros. adaptation of the classic pirate novel by Raphael Sabatini.
Robert Donat dropped out of _Captain Blood_ after a contractual dispute that Jack Warner later claimed was nothing more than a misunderstanding. Donat's unavailability placed Warner Bros. in a predicament. None of their other lead players seemed to fit the character of Peter Blood. But there was a new player on the lot, a tall, brash Tasmanian with the kind of presence that forced people to notice him.
"One of my little inner voices said: Errol Flynn can do it," Jack Warner wrote in his autobiography. "A second little voice said: A nobody like Flynn? You must be out of your mind!"
Warner knew the Sabatini novel would translate well to the screen, and this was an opportunity not to be missed. Warner explained: "I asked Mike Curtiz, who would be directing the picture, to make a test of Flynn in the Captain Blood costume. Mike and I sat in the projection room later, listening to Flynn reading lines, and seeing him whip a sword against an imaginary foe. I knew we had grabbed the brass ring in our thousand-to-one shot spin with Flynn. When you see a meteor stab the sky, or a bomb explode, or a fire sweep across a dry hillside, the picture is vivid and remains alive in your mind. So it was with Errol Flynn."
Perhaps growing up near the harbor of Hobart in Tasmania instilled in him an appreciation for nautical adventure, for Errol Flynn had the sea in his blood. Of the many ironies in his film career, the fact that he would make film history portraying the image of a seafaring adventurer is the most profound.
Michael Curtiz agreed with Jack Warner that Flynn demonstrated a potential that might be harvested with the proper training and guidance. Born in 1888, Curtiz was a Hungarian with an often ruthless approach to handling actors. He expected them to work hard, follow orders, and keep their mouth shut. He was a taskmaster, but his work ethic lent itself to the creation of rousing entertainment.
Curtiz knew Lili Damita from Germany where they had both worked in the film industry (in 1926 he directed her in _Einspanner No. 13)_. It was impossible for Curtiz, and most everyone else in Hollywood, to ignore the tall, dashing fellow towering at her side. Flynn had done nothing to bring attention to himself, other than marrying one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood. This fact alone fueled the innuendo and sent the tongues of gossip columnists to wagging with an eagerness that matched their intensity at the typewriter. Lili socialized with the wives of Jack and Harry Warner and her friendship with Michael Curtiz undoubtedly helped in bringing Flynn to their attention. Lili's connection to Curtiz certainly contributed to his rise to stardom, and there are many such fortuitous connections in his life. An interesting peripheral connection lies with Dr. Hermann F. Erben who worked as a physician in Germany in the mid–1920s. Erben was employed as a physician for several features directed by Michael Curtiz— _Das Spielzeug von Paris, Einspanner No. 13,_ and _Der goldene Schmetterling._ All of these features starred Lili Damita. Flynn served himself well by the company he kept.
The gossips took note of his friendships with Carole Lombard, Marlene Dietrich, and Dolores del Rio. Dietrich flaunted her promiscuity throughout her life, and del Rio allegedly succumbed to Flynn's charm immediately, but Lombard is said to have resisted his advances. She had already met and fallen in love with Clark Gable, but she liked Flynn and invited him to her extravagant soirees.
In June 1935 Lombard staged an epic party, one that would be the talk of Hollywood for years. Prior to beginning work on a film called _Hands Across the Table,_ she rented the entire Ocean Park amusement pier and invited several hundred people. Flynn made an impression by the number of times he enjoyed a ride in the popular Tunnel of Love attraction with every girl competing for his attention. Flynn became the talk of Hollywood without having made a major film.
**Publicity photograph for** _**Captain Blood**_ **(1935). Flynn emerged as a superstar when Captain Blood shouted to his men with exhilaration: "Up that rigging you monkeys, aloft! There's no chains to hold you now! Break out those sails and watch them fill with the wind that's carrying us all to freedom."**
**Errol Flynn as Captain Peter Blood. His image as a swashbuckling champion of justice would remain forever etched in the minds of his fans.**
Shortly, he was given a screen test, fitted for costumes, and introduced to his co-star, Olivia de Havilland, another newcomer to the Warner's lot. Warner Bros. executives were investing a great deal of money and resources in _Captain Blood._ Their expectations were high and they saw in Flynn a gemstone they thought might be polished to perfection. Their assumption that Flynn showed promise as an actor was accurate, of course, but the result would be nothing any of them could have predicted.
Commencing in the summer of 1935 Flynn's life and career had begun playing out in print, first in the _Los Angeles Evening Herald_ where his casting in _Captain Blood_ was noted, and throughout numerous newspapers and magazines in an avalanche of gossip, publicity, reviews, speculation, adoration, criticism, and scorn. The breadth of printed material accumulated during his lifetime is a testament to his enduring popularity.
_Captain Blood_ proceeded under Curtiz's direction with an ensemble of character actors joining Flynn and de Havilland: Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson, and Robert Barrat all contributed strong performances. _Captain Blood_ faithfully recreated Raphael Sabatini's high drama. The film evokes an age of dastardly villains (personified here by the always superb Basil Rathbone) and dashing heroes as exemplified by Flynn.
Flynn ran into problems immediately. His experiences in Northampton provided him with the raw material for acting, but he was undisciplined and still awkward before the cameras. He needed guidance. He spoke his lines with an amateurish delivery, often grinning self-consciously. Movie acting was decidedly different from stage acting and he found the transition difficult. He was assigned a dialogue coach and given lessons on carrying himself before the camera.
Curtiz showed no mercy. He set a grueling pace and demanded perfection. Olivia de Havilland recalled in a 1979 interview the difficulties Flynn suffered during filming.
"He was dynamic but an extremely tense man," de Havilland said of Curtiz. "He cared about his films, but not for the actors. Very difficult for me to adapt to, I must say. He was so abrasive and so hostile towards actors, especially towards Flynn."
But Flynn was a quick study, and according to de Havilland he learned from his mistakes and paid close attention to everything around him. The experience may have been unpleasant for him, she surmised, but he was not going to let it stop him. All the same, he made enemies, and many people associated with the film, and other Warner Bros. executives at the time, harbored grudges against Flynn. Many took a dislike to his stand-offish attitude.
Flynn met a stuntman named Buster Wiles while filming _Captain Blood_. They shared an interest in sports and gambling. Wiles would comment later, "We pretty much did as we wanted. In the afternoons, I would accompany Flynn to the Hollywood Athletic Club, where we would box. I was surprised by how good he was.
**Michael Curtiz, seated on a rock with hands on his knees, directs Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in the famous duel from** _ **Captain Blood**_ **.**
Flynn's image was that of the debonair romancer. When women turned their heads in his direction, their boyfriends and husbands got jealous. If somebody made a crack, Errol tried to ignore it. If a guy insisted, well, Flynn didn't back down. He was tough as nails and wouldn't take any abuse from anyone."
The December 1935 release of _Captain Blood_ was hailed as a success by virtually every critic in Los Angeles. Columnist Harrison Carroll, writing for the _Los Angeles Evening Herald,_ began his January 1, 1936, review with NEW STAR RISES VIA TITLE ROLE. Carroll went on with a description of Flynn's appeal that would be repeated for years with slight variation by many writers: "Flynn is a natural actor, particularly suited to roles like that of Peter Blood. He has assurance, but carries it modestly, and he speaks lines with simple directness. He is a definitely romantic type, but will appeal to both masculine and feminine audiences."
Pairing Errol Flynn with Olivia de Havilland was box-office gold for Warner Bros. Jack Warner said it best when he summed up their appearance in _Captain Blood_ : "Together these two amateurs set the screen on fire." Film historian Tony Thomas, who interviewed both Flynn and de Havilland many years later, wrote of their screen chemistry: "They were perfection for a story of historical romance, what with their classic good looks, cultured speaking voices, and a sense of distant aristocracy about them."
The Depression-era audiences watching _Captain Blood_ for the first time fell immediately in love with Flynn and de Havilland. The fan mail began to pour into the Warner Bros. offices. _Captain Blood_ established the heroic image that was to remain with Flynn for the remainder of his life. Peter Blood is an English physician wrongly imprisoned and sentenced to a life of slavery in the West Indies. He escapes from his servitude in Jamaica, captures a ship, and begins life as a pirate. He stands defiant against injustice, and moviegoers saw in this handsome figure the personification of their heroic dreams. Captain Blood's duel against Captain Levasseur (Rathbone), filmed at Three Arch Bay near Laguna Beach, was the first of many memorable fencing sequences in Flynn's career. _Captain Blood_ also marked the beginning of Flynn's thespian association with works of literature. One can argue that his emergence as a movie star was solidified in the scene where Blood and his fellow escaped slaves take over a Spanish pirate ship. Captain Blood shouts to his men with exhilaration: "Up that rigging you monkeys, aloft! There's no chains to hold you now! Break out those sails and watch them fill with the wind that's carrying us all to freedom!"
_Captain Blood_ featured the music of composer Eric Wolfgang Korngold who created a score that matched the epic sweep and emotional intensity of Peter Blood's dashing heroism. It was to be the first of many scores Korngold would create for an Errol Flynn adventure film.
Flynn's performance in _Captain Blood_ is at once an energetic spectacle and dauntlessly flamboyant. He had not yet mastered the self-assurance that distinguished his later films, but as Peter Blood he possessed an intensity that ignited all of his scenes. But the awkwardness was present as well, primarily when he forced his dialogue through a boyish smile. Although his effort is visible, his charm carried him through.
Four months after the _Captain Blood_ premiere, and when it was still bringing in substantial box office receipts, author Raphael Sabatini stated to the press that Errol Flynn was "the ideal type for Captain Blood." The film still evokes spontaneous excitement after over sixty years, though today one is left wishing for modern high-tech computer-enhanced explosions rather than shots of miniaturized ships exploding in a tub on the Warner Bros. back lot. In fact, there are persistent rumors of such a high-tech remake starring any number of today's action stars. Such rumors are intriguing, but it is undeniable that Errol Flynn is irreplaceable.
The heroic image of Flynn perpetuated by _Captain Blood_ was accentuated by growing press reports of his travels throughout New Guinea. Many of these exaggerated stories originated with Flynn himself—he could never resist spinning a good yarn—but an equal number originated with members of the Warner Bros. publicity department who wanted to cash in on the success of _Captain Blood._ His New Guinea experiences became the cornerstone of magazine and newspaper articles for years to come. Warner Bros. executives fully understood the marketing potential Flynn's real life adventures had in combination with a successful film.
In one of the earliest such reports as written by Harrison Carroll in March 1936, Flynn comes across as a dashing fellow indeed: "Seems as a motion picture troupe hired Flynn to take them in a 20-ton schooner up the unexplored Sepik river, a stream infested by crocodiles and traversing jungles crawling with hostile natives. Sure enough, the troupe was ambushed and five of the police escorts were struck by poisoned arrows. Flynn and the crew managed to repel the attack with rifle fire and to get the troupe back to civilization."
Certainly, none of the events related by Harrison Carroll ever occurred, and Flynn was clearly the original source of this tall tale. But the press loved these exciting tidbits and Flynn became a constant subject in the flourishing movie-magazine industry. When a reporter asked him how he felt about the "Bounty" picture he made in Australia a few years earlier, Flynn said flatly, "I stank."
March 1936 also saw reports that Flynn was slated to star in Warner's next big action picture, _The Charge of the Light Brigade._ He would have only a few short months of relaxation before beginning work on the film he later said was the most demanding of his career. During this period Flynn was hard at work on a novel that had been taking shape in his mind for several years. He maintained contact with some friends in England and in one of his letters he promised a friend a copy, but added the book was "a very lousy one." He was busy learning his trade at Warner Bros. and preparing for his next picture. "I'm just as busy as hell now," he wrote, "getting ready for the next picture, 'The Charge of the Light Brigade.' It should really be something good as pictures go. It is supposed to be the biggest Warner's have ever made but to me it looks like nothing so much as the hardest work."
Even with the demands on his time imposed by Warners, Flynn still had ample leisure time to read and write and play tennis. By early spring of 1936 he was at his creative peak and his energies would not ebb for several glorious years.
He made friends fast; generally a rough-and-tumble group of stunt players, like Buster Wiles, riders and wranglers. He met Iron Eyes Cody and his brother Silvermoon during the filming of _Captain Blood._ Both worked as extras in the film. Iron Eyes, along with Jim Thorpe, the Native American athlete recently stripped of his Olympic gold medals when it was discovered he played professional baseball which violated his amateur status, would enjoy uncredited bits in Flynn's pictures for years to come. Cody's assessment of Flynn is typical: "We hung out quite a bit, and I came to know him well, if it was possible to say that about Errol Flynn. When he wasn't working hard, he spent most of his time drinking, fighting, and wenching through the bedrooms and barrooms of Hollywood, hardly pausing to wind his watch. There were complexities to his character, to be sure, but he tried his damndest to keep them hidden behind a facade. We called him the 'cocksman,' an image he often complained about...."
During this period Flynn's writing had taken on a life of its own. With his instinctive talent for storytelling he recognized the allure of a tale set on the Australian coast. It was a world and a lifetime away from the opulence he experienced in Hollywood, and it was a story he was compelled to tell. He wrote his book, embellishing his trip on the _Sirocco_ across the Great Barrier Reef five years earlier, while preparing for his role as Major Geoffrey Vickers.
In June the press reported that Frank Borzage was set to direct _The Charge of the Light Brigade,_ and Flynn was also slated to star in the film adaptation of his own original screenplay _The White Rajah._ Borzage was replaced by Curtiz and _The White Rajah_ was never made, but Flynn's fame as an action hero would be confirmed by the success of _The Charge of the Light Brigade._
Flynn was joined by Olivia de Havilland, David Niven, and Patric Knowles. The film was a fictionalized account of a British military blunder during the Crimean War in the 1850s which resulted in the death of six hundred men. The plot has Flynn in love with Olivia de Havilland, but de Havilland's character, Elsa Campbell, is secretly in love with Flynn's brother, played by Patric Knowles. Flynn, as Geoffrey Vickers, sacrifices himself after learning of his brother's love for Elsa.
Curtiz set a demanding schedule and put his crew to work at Lone Pine. "It's a really great story," Flynn said in September, "I do kill the Surat Kahn [ _sic_ ] but am myself killed, as I wanted to be. I prefer death to making two I love unhappy. Knowles, of course, gets the girl. Not bad, what?"
The fact that Flynn revealed the picture's ending prior to the premiere did nothing to deter enthusiastic audiences from making _The Charge of the Light Brigade_ one of the biggest money makers during the 1936 Christmas season.
In August, when the production was near completion, Flynn published a newspaper article (his first in the United States) that demonstrated his natural ability as a writer. In "I'd Rather Play Tennis" he created a thumbnail description of the hard work that was making _The Charge of the Light Brigade_ a much-anticipated Hollywood premiere. He describes the location work at Lone Pine with deft images: "They say the place is hot in the summer, but this wasn't summer and there was a snow storm going on up on Mount Whitney. The sky was overcast and the wind whipped down from the Sierras, bringing powdered snow with it."
He also availed himself of the opportunity to poke fun at Michael Curtiz's fractured English: "Director Mike Curtiz looked at the sky and shook his head. 'De script it calls for a nice sunshine day and look at it. Clouds. Snow. God is not goot to me. What I do, Sol?'"
According to Flynn, cameraman Sol Polito's recommendation was to change the script to fit the weather. Flynn goes on to describe taskmaster Curtiz's unsympathetic direction. "You ride up and the horse she jumps and you fall off," are the orders Curtiz issued when Flynn was riding against the Russian guns at Balaklava. The article takes a humorous approach to what was clearly a demanding schedule, with Flynn repeating that he would rather have been playing tennis.
**With Olivia de Havilland in** _**The Charge of the Light Brigade**_ **(1936). They made one of the more endearing romantic screen couples in history.**
In his much-quoted 1975 memoir, David Niven recalled their glee when Curtiz uttered the line "Bring on the empty horses" which sounded like "Bring on the empty whores" in his broken English. Niven also recalled that Flynn was not well liked by various stuntmen, and at one point an extra poked his Brigade lance into the flank of Flynn's horse which bolted, tossing him to the ground. According to Niven, Flynn confronted his broken-nosed antagonist and walloped him, a fact that made Flynn's prestige rise in the eyes of the stuntmen and rough-neck extras.
As part of his contract, Flynn was required to maintain a physical fitness program and he generally kept himself in shape playing tennis or swimming. In June Warner Bros. publicity leaked the fact that Flynn and contract players George Brent, Patric Knowles, James Melton, Pat O'Brien, and Ross Alexander were being given regular instruction in "the manly art of self-defense" under the fistic tutelage of local boxing professional Mushy Callahan. Flynn had little difficulty keeping up with Callahan, in fact, his boxing skills probably benefited from Callahan's instruction.
This was the first starring role where Flynn sported a pencil-thin mustache (he debuted with the mustache in _Don't Bet on Blondes_ ). The thin mustache was a common fashion among men during the Depression, perhaps because it offered men a feeling of suavity and elegance. Film stars had become a showpiece for America's eclectic and evolving taste in fashion, and it was not unusual then, as now, for certain films and stars to pioneer a fashion trend. Certainly Errol Flynn wore his pencil-thin mustache better than some.
His physical ability is evident in the stunning action sequences in _The Charge of the Light Brigade._ Flynn on a charging horse, lance raised, eyes burning with fierce determination, and shouting "Onward, men!" was an inspiring heroic image for many young people in those halcyon days before World War II. From coast to coast audiences flocked to the movie houses and sat in those darkened theaters and dreamed of becoming like their hero Errol Flynn charging against the Russians at Balaklava. Booming cannon and the cries of dying soldiers and thundering hoofbeats reverberated in the passionate hearts of youngsters who, afterwards, would not forget the thrill and excitement of that moment. Superimposed on the charging Six Hundred, the stanzas of Alfred Lord Tennyson's immortal poem advanced the action in syncopation with Max Steiner's musical score.
> Cannon to the right of them,
> Cannon to the left of them,
> Cannon in front of them,
> Volley'd and thundered;
> Storm'd at with shot and shell,
> Boldly they rode and well,
> Into the jaws of Death,
> Into the mouth of Hell
> Rode the six hundred.
This melding of poetry and film inspired the imaginations of those who saw the movie upon its release, and Tennyson's poetry was henceforth set to memory by youngsters who repeated the lines with the intensity of patriots reciting an anthem. Warner Bros. publicity department saw to it that ample copies of Tennyson's poem were included with photographs, plot synopses, and advertising materials sent to movie magazine editors and various reporters.
**As Major Geoffrey Vickers, Flynn embodied the hero willing to sacrifice himself for the woman he loved.**
Today the film remains unpopular with animal rights activists who find the scenes of horses stumbling at full gallop disturbing. Indeed, the scenes are brutal. Trip-wires called a "running W" were used to force the horses into a fall. These wires were attached to the horse's front legs. When the horses reached the end of the wire they were pitched headfirst into the ground. Many horses were killed or injured during the climactic battle. Flynn and others at the time complained about this brutal treatment, which was commonplace in Hollywood during this period. Obviously, times have changed, but even so, this criticism is no reason to ignore one of the finest examples of bravura filmmaking in Warner Bros. history.
_The Charge of the Light Brigade,_ which followed so closely on the success of _Captain Blood,_ marked a watershed year in American films. Eleven years had passed since Douglas Fairbanks thrilled moviegoers in _The Black Pirate_ (1925) and in that time Fairbanks aged and his popularity and creativity waned exponentially. An economic depression coincided with the advent of sound, and movie studios made contractual agreements with actors and actresses that later became known as "the studio system." Flynn's rise in popularity came at a time when audiences were hungry for a new hero and studios like Warner Bros. were reaching higher levels of technical and dramatic achievements. Sound films had flourished for only about seven years and competition in Hollywood was growing. Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 20th Century–Fox, Universal Studios, RKO Pictures, and Paramount Pictures competed with Warner Bros. for top-grossing films.
Flynn was aware of the effect he was having, and his early interviews are a stark contrast to the bitter man who ten years later offered few interviews, and when he did, lampooned himself and often used the press as an outlet for his practical jokes. But in 1936 he was still sincere and enthusiastic. In a January 1936 interview for _Silver Screen_ magazine, Flynn made this prophetic comment: "I had read of Hollywood as a cruel place, where hopes were dashed, an insular world, self-sufficient, excluding outsiders. I haven't found it so. Except for their justifiable competitive spirit, the people are friendly. They are clever and interesting, and smart individualists. However, I can see this is going to be my toughest adventure."
In truth, he was giving things a positive spin by not mentioning he found so many people in Hollywood to be pretentious snobs. He was trying to fit in and wise enough to understand he could use the press to send a message to Warner Bros. executives that he was willing to work through any problems. That Hollywood turned out to be Flynn's "toughest adventure" was an ironic understatement.
Flynn's image as an adventurer was repeated in virtually every news report and magazine article in the thirties. He fostered this image himself, understanding fully the heroic light cast on him with his roles in _Captain Blood_ and _The Charge of the Light Brigade._ His exaggerated exploits in New Guinea reached epic proportion: he battled tribes of angry headhunters deep in the jungle; plunged through crocodile-infested waters in his quest for gold; and brandished either a sturdy pistol or trusty rifle in his stand against the bloodthirsty cannibals. The word "adventurer" became a mandatory inclusion in magazine profiles of the hot new star at Warner's.
Flynn happily reported to the press that he planned a six-month jaguar hunting trip to British Guiana when _The Charge of the Light Brigade_ was completed. He also planned to bring back a supply of boa constrictors for his Hollywood pals. His reasons for this expedition, which he never started, are unknown, nor is it known why his Hollywood pals would wish to have boa constrictors as pets, but Flynn was enjoying himself. He was never at a loss for ideas, and at night when his hectic day fighting the Russians during the Crimean War was completed, he sat at his desk and returned to the Australian coast, once again making the journey on the _Sirocco_ across the alluring blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef. His manuscript now had a title, _Beam Ends,_ and through his Warner Bros. connections he made arrangements with a publisher.
_The Charge of the Light Brigade_ was immensely popular, and fan mail continued arriving at Warner Bros. in praise of the most romantic couple in the movies. The fans wanted more of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Warners would comply, but first they set Flynn to work on some melodramas and romantic comedies.
In September 1936, Flynn was visited briefly by Dr. Hermann Erben during the filming of the melodrama _Another Dawn._ The reunion lasted only a few days, and on September 30th Erben embarked on a long trip that took him to Cuba and on to various cities in South America. Erben, always snapping photos, took some photos of a briefly reunited Flynn and Lili at the Los Angeles Tennis Club. Their reunion was the genesis of a trip they would take six months later.
The year 1937 was a busy one for Flynn. _Green Light_ opened in February, _The Prince and the Pauper_ in May, _Another Dawn_ in June, and he finished the year with the release of _The Perfect Specimen_ in October.
_Green Light_ is a rather typical 1930s medical melodrama. Flynn played Dr. Newell Paige, a protégé of the nation's foremost surgeon, Dr. Endicott, played by Henry O'Neill. When Dr. Endicott operates on a wealthy woman, his knife slips and the woman dies. Endicott pleads with his idealistic young protégé to take the blame and save his good name. The convoluted story is hampered by Paige's romance with the dead woman's daughter, Phyllis, played by Anita Louise. Blaming him for her mother's death, she rejects him and Paige travels to Montana to begin life anew. Shortly, he begins investigating spotted fever in a federal laboratory. Phyllis follows him after realizing she loves him after all, but Paige is struck down by an illness during his medical research. The film concludes, not unsurprisingly, with Dr. Endicott clearing Paige who recovers from his illness and marries Phyllis.
Flynn played his role with stoic determination, but the high drama is stiff and unconvincing. Not long after, Flynn gave a typically frank appraisal of the film: " _Green Light_ exacted from me a noblesse I myself cannot pretend. I am not constituted for noble sacrifice or suffering and so I don't think the character was really the best I could have been given. Personally I left that character, as I have done with every other one with which I have struck up a brief studio acquaintance, the moment the director told me the film was through." _Green Light_ served no purpose other than to keep Flynn's name in the public eye. But his screen image benefited from the noblesse he pretended for the role of the idealistic physician.
_Another Dawn_ was another romantic melodrama, this time set on a desert military post in Iraq. Kay Francis was chosen as Flynn's love interest. Francis was a popular star in the so-called "weepies" during the thirties. Although she was not classically beautiful in the sense Greta Garbo personified beauty, she was attractive and carried herself well. She was never a great actress and her participation was primarily for name recognition. Executives at Warners wanted Flynn teamed with popular actresses to capitalize on his romantic screen presence.
_Another Dawn_ emphasized his dashing good looks and his reliable heroics. The solitary action scene—a desert battle against Arabs—left reviewers wishing for an epic. The romance with Kay Francis is nothing less than silly. Their characters are restrained and talkative. Flynn, however, is charismatic on screen. It was apparent his was a personality that craved the bold, romantic approach that made him so popular in _Captain Blood_ and _The Charge of the Light Brigade._ All the same, his name sold tickets and both _Green Light_ and _Another Dawn_ achieved their purpose of keeping Flynn's image in the public eye.
Of his 1937 releases, only _The Prince and the Pauper_ is well remembered. The Warner adaptation of Mark Twain's novel, first published in 1882, was tailor-made for thirteen-year-old twins Billy and Bobby Mauch. But the Mauch twins were not considered a strong enough box office draw, and with Flynn's popularity reaching a fever pitch, Warners assigned him the role of Miles Hendon to ensure a box office lure.
The main plot related the salvation of young Prince Edward, who exchanged places with the pauper boy Tom Canty, a waif who could pass as Prince Edward's twin. Canty also requires saving, for in his guise as the pretend–King he is besieged by the wicked plotting of the Earl of Hertford, played to menacing perfection by Claude Rains.
Flynn's first appearance occurs twenty minutes into the film. He appears on a crowded street dressed in tunic, flat feathered cap, knee-high leather boots, a rapier on his hip, a cape flowing behind him. Rushing to the aid of the beggar prince, he mounts a wagon and strikes a heroic pose, pointing a finger at the ruffians and commanding them to "Lay off!" After a brief skirmish he takes the boy to his room where he tells the future king his occupation is that of "a soldier of fortune for anyone who can afford enemies."
The role of Miles Hendon casts Errol as a representative of justice for hire. He is sympathetic to the boy, although he still disbelieves the boy is anything other than play-acting as king. These scenes with Bobby Mauch establish Flynn/Hendon as a caregiver and protector of the weak.
Complications ensue when Tom Canty's father, John (Barton MacLane), forces his son to begin a life of thievery. Interceding on Tom's behalf, Hendon (who eventually comes to realize this is indeed Prince Edward) confronts and kills John Canty in an unconvincing, awkwardly staged scene. There are several fencing sequences in _The Prince and the Pauper,_ and all but one appear amateurish.
Reminiscent of the intelligent quips he uttered in _Captain Blood,_ the script gave Flynn a few choice moments. After Flynn kills John Canty, the prince innocently asks, "Is he dead?" Flynn, catching his breath and brushing himself off, says, "Well, I don't anticipate hearing an apology from him much before judgment day."
Alan Hale's role as Captain of the Guard, and co-conspirator with the Earl of Hertford, marked his first screen appearance with Flynn. Hale began his career in 1911 and by 1937 had appeared in over 100 films. By the time he signed the contract to work in _The Prince and the Pauper,_ he had become a staple in what was known as the Warner Bros. Stock Company, a group of reliable character actors who could step in and play any supporting role with professional ease. Hale and Flynn became fast friends during the filming of _The Prince and the Pauper._ They shared a taste for alcohol and a sense of humor that kept them laughing together for hours.
Although they played adversaries in _The Prince and the Pauper,_ their good-natured friendship was evident on film. When Miles Hendon is temporarily held under suspicion of attempted thievery, the Captain of the Guard remarks, "He seems capable of digesting about twenty lashes." Hendon is quick to retort, "And when next we meet I trust you'll be equally capable of digesting about twenty inches of steel." Both men speak their lines with a half-smile and twinkle in their eyes, clearly enjoying the masculine histrionics.
The film's only effective fencing sequence has Hendon and the Captain dueling on a forest path at night, only moments after Hendon has killed John Canty. Taking the best elements from the Flynn/Rathbone duel in _Captain Blood,_ the choreography has Hendon slashing at the Captain with energy and grace. Locking swords, they grimace and struggle against each other as Hendon taunts, "How's your digestion now, Captain?" True to his word, Hendon runs the Captain through after asking him, "Ready for that twenty inches of steel I promised you?" The fundamental aspect of Flynn's characterization is his lusty youthfulness punctuated by a devil-may-care attitude. It's a good performance.
For _The Prince and the Pauper,_ Eric Wolfgang Korngold contributed a boisterous score that was used sparingly, but there are hints of the lushness and grandeur that Korngold would score for Flynn's best films in the not-too-distant future. Flynn was the perfect choice to play the carefree swashbuckler. Ian Hunter was originally slated for the role, but the addition of Flynn added the sparkle the film needed.
His spats, separations and reconciliations with Lili Damita were diligently reported by the gossip columnists. Their marriage would last seven years, primarily because Lili Damita loved Flynn. His inability to remain faithful caused her much grief.
In January 1937, Flynn told reporter W. E. Oliver he wanted to leave Hollywood. "He confessed to me one night amid the noisy chatter of a typical Hollywood play-spot," Oliver wrote. "His wandering soul has been obsessed with thoughts of far-off places—the mellow peace of down-under islands in the blue Pacific, the flickering lights of Hong Kong, seen from Kowloon, strung up from the shore line native cribs to the millionaire's palaces on the peak."
Flynn also confessed a desire to play light comedy rather than the action roles. And he didn't like Hollywood because he felt the pace was too fast. "You are being hustled all the time," he said, "I like to live in places where you can get the 'long view' of things." Explaining to W.E. Oliver what he meant by the 'long view,' Flynn said that he meant "time to live, to think, to read important books on dialectical materialism."
Oliver mentions that Flynn's first book was about to be published and that he expressed a desire to "write deeper stuff." But Flynn was stymied in his effort due to the many diversions of Hollywood. "I don't get a chance to work out my ideas," he said, "they always come out confused in this place."
The spring release of _The Prince and the Pauper_ met with success although reviewers were quick to point out that Flynn's role was too small. NOT ENOUGH FLYNN IN 'PRINCE & PAUPER,' one headline said, with the accompanying assessment of Flynn's contribution: "The high-point of the picture, however, is Errol Flynn in the role of a professional soldier who rescues the outcast little King in the nick of time to save the beggar boy who is struggling to keep himself from being crowned... Should you see it?...Definitely, yes. You will be disappointed that there is not more of Errol Flynn in the picture, for his sly, dashing characterization is like the flash of a saber against the heavy historical background."
During the filming, Flynn suffered an attack of flu, compounded by a resurgence of malarial fever. A struggle with pleurisy prohibited him from working for several weeks. Quick to recover from his ailments, he maximized his time with excursions to Santa Catalina Island. Establishing a pattern of exaggerated illness allowed him a little more free time in what had become an industrious schedule.
He was at ease and relaxed in his new profession, although New Guinea was very much on his mind. Not long before the premiere of _The Prince and the Pauper,_ Flynn had this to say about New Guinea and Hollywood: "In small towns in the tropics, the reactions of both natives and whites are similar to ours. The films are old ones: there are almost no sound movies—at least, I never saw any, though there may be some by now in the bigger places. Silent western pictures, starring Bill Hart and Hoot Gibson, are run until they are completely worn out. The drawing room 'problem plays' haven't reached there yet.
**Errol Flynn with Lili Damita in Beverly Hills in the mid–1930s.**
"Yes, it does seem strange to be in Hollywood, meeting actors whom I knew only as images from a distant civilization. But one can't get to know people well here; the social life is amusing but superficial. However, remember that I am just a savage from the jungles! Perhaps when I am tamed, I will jump through the social hoops, too."
During the filming of _The Prince and the Pauper_ Flynn's first book was published to reasonable reviews. Thus we have _Beam Ends_ (1937) to consider, a gloriously entertaining novel that evokes his adventuresome spirit. He is best known as a cinema swashbuckler, so there is no small sense of irony in the fact that Flynn was an accomplished seaman whose early nautical adventures had a profound influence on his life.
Although it is written in the first person and uses actual names (and photographs) in re-telling the _Sirocco_ voyage of 1930, _Beam Ends_ should be viewed as a work of fiction. The critical analysis of _Beam Ends_ as autobiography perpetuated by fans and scholars (of both the armchair and academic variety) misses the point. This is a tale that grew in the telling, benefiting as good stories do from embellishments that held the attention of its audience.
There is an originality and beauty in _Beam Ends_ that Flynn would have difficulty re-creating in subsequent articles and books. In many ways _Beam Ends_ is a lyrical travel novel, a unique combination of memoir and history. But Flynn was so much more than a traveler taking copious notes. He was first and foremost a storyteller and the world he wrote about was as much imagined as experienced.
_Beam Ends_ takes its title from a nautical term for sailing a vessel with such bravado that it nearly capsizes. The writing is leisurely and very properly British in its construction. Flynn had a painter's eye for the small details and flourishes that give the novel its pastoral tone. The novel's characters are well-rounded, although at times perhaps he relies somewhat too much on the device of exaggerated caricature.
The novel's structure is simple enough: eighteen chapters that tell of four young men, living an extraordinarily carefree life as they sail along the Great Barrier Reef. Along the way they encounter a colorful assortment of characters, culminating in the _Sirocco_ 's being shipwrecked and one of the crew being killed. It is a nautical tale, very much in the tradition of the best seagoing literature.
Essential to the book's appeal is that it speaks of these events with the wisdom of experience tinged with a poet's romanticism. Trelawney Adams (nicknamed "The Dook"), Charlie Burt, and Rex Long-Innes are distinguished by their personalities. Here is a crew reaching for the future with the identical spirit that sent Captain Cook along the Great Barrier Reef and on to the islands of Hawaii where he met his fate.
They are anachronisms, but cut from a similar cloth, discovering together the sensation of possibility that comes with travel. Dook came from a "sea-faring family," and wore spectacles that "had an annoying habit of clouding over with the heat and sweat, so that most of the time Trelawney was forced to work under rather aquarium-like conditions"; Charlie was "short and stocky, wore his hair cropped like a convict and spoke like a judge"; Rex possessed an eye for barmaids and "no scruples of any sort."
The story is punctuated by stopovers in various coastal cities and towns and the characters they meet are rendered with the same detailed eye that distinguished the best of Flynn's writing. Early on they meet a pilot who assisted their navigation across a line of breakers on the bar: "...the pilot had displayed the tattooing on his body, depicting several full-rigged ships he had sailed in, and a number of great-bosomed females who, he said, loved him passionately in the past...."
Flynn knew the sailor's life well and his descriptions of the storm-tossed ship on the open sea bear the mark of authenticity: "When it rained in buckets, without the wind's easing up, our misery was complete. She had a different motion this time, like continually going down in a fast elevator on a full stomach. We were soon beyond caring. There is nothing so utterly demoralizing as a hearty belly-retching, honest-to-God seasickness."
Writing aroused in Flynn a passion which he felt compelled throughout his life to debase with comedy. At his best, as in _Beam Ends,_ he balances the drama with an unobtrusive lyricism: "We hoisted the mainsail and the _Sirocco_ got way on, driving into the seas now and shaking the water from her like a whale coming up after a dive. She plunged ahead, cleaving her sharp bow through the white capped waves like a knife."
The story's characters are engaged in a life-or-death struggle when they're at sea. Their danger is counterpoint to the sensuous lifestyle they favor when they return to land. In some instances, as in chapter six, the action borders on slapstick. Arriving in Bundaberg in time for a carnival, the lads relish the sight of the tallest man in the world, the fattest lady, Zimmo, the Limbless Wonder, a Chinese Giant, and Wirth of Coonabarabran, the best rider in the world. The carnival, as well as other scenes depicted in _Beam Ends,_ was inspired by actual events. Flynn had written several letters to his father from Cookstown in 1930 and another from the Laloki tobacco plantation in 1931 describing some of the events that made their way into the novel. The carnival was a pleasant diversion that remained a strong image in his memory. So too the tale of tricking Rex, the perennial virgin, into visiting a brothel under the pretense they were visiting a Turkish bath. An underlying, albeit clumsy, bawdiness underscores the humor.
When Flynn envisions the natural world he does so with the concentrated imagery of the English Romantic poets he admired. The natural world of Byron, Keats, and Shelley that he experienced while reading at the seaside at Sandy Bay or by the glow of a hurricane lamp in New Guinea seemed organic fulfillments in his imagination.
One of his best descriptions, in chapter ten, distills the essence of the idyllic setting of his youth: "We ate on deck, watching the setting sun paint the horizon and sky a dazzling mass of colour over the sea. The warm evening, the sound of tiny waves rippling along the beach, the grove of coconuts rising suddenly to green grass-covered hills, looking in the peculiar bronze light of sunset like old tapestries, all formed an unforgettably beautiful scene, and the warm land breeze completed almost the perfection of environment."
The innate curiosity that drove Flynn to wander the world is evident as the _Sirocco_ and its crew made their way to Restoration Island: "I wanted to see the island which had once been the salvation of Bligh and his men of the _Bounty_ a month after they had been turned adrift in their twenty-three-foot boat near Tahiti. Hearing at midnight the roar of the Great Barrier Reef, Bligh found a lagoon channel next morning and landed safely on the island which he named for the double reason that he arrived there on the anniversary of the restoration of Charles II and that it restored him and his crew to health and strength."
Finding himself following in Bligh's footsteps fueled his creative faculties and, in a rare moment, Flynn the novelist reveals himself as a dreamer: "We swam in the lagoon and then lay on the beach trying to recapture in imagination what had been the feeling of those men as they saw the aborigines in all their war paint, shouting and waving their spears only a short distance away, and the dread misgivings in each heart as they launched their tiny boat once more and sailed off to what must have seemed certain death."
Flynn had accomplished a fictionalized travel writing that bespoke the influence of Melville and Stevenson; he expanded and altered his own adventures and laced the story with historical facts and figures to produce a pleasing mixture of fact and fancy.
Although Flynn was the literary descendent of Melville, his writing came to represent a lost opportunity, for under different circumstances he might have become a celebrated writer-adventurer such as William Beebe and Thor Heyerdahl whose books are a testament to the adventurer's spirit that was so much a part of Flynn's psychology. _Beam Ends_ is sprinkled with historical and literary references that lend the novel a sense that the author was weaned on the classics; a remarkable accomplishment considering Flynn's literary education stemmed from his determination to learn something of the world outside his New Guinea environment.
Of the many contradictions in Flynn's nature, the fact that under certain circumstances he was essentially shy and modest seems incongruous in relation to his image as a bold adventurer. His shyness was noted by several journalists, and it appears to have been apparent whenever the subject of his writing came up. Flynn tended to blush when someone complimented him on _Beam Ends._ The book found an audience with his loyal fans at a time when _The Perfect Specimen_ was still turning a coin at the box office.
Writing was the intellectual and creative outlet he craved most. "Sitting down and trying to work out something is real relaxation," he said. "It's tranquil. There's the opportunity to follow out an idea, which you never can do in a picture, when it's all shouts and noise."
The book sold steadily for several weeks but never achieved best-seller status. Reviewer Richard Doughton, writing in the _Boston Transcript_ , found little to criticize: "It is a fine, virile, red-blooded, he-man tale of adventure, quite decently and wittily written. It is the story of a man's adventure. He learned to love his ship and his shipmates as any good sailorman should."
Perhaps sensing that his success in films was as much the result of luck as his own determination to rid himself of the poverty-stricken life of a beachcomber among the Pacific islands, Flynn viewed authorship as a dignified and legitimate living. As he explained succinctly: "After being in Hollywood for two years, I'm likely to be all washed up any day now. Overnight they can throw you out on your ear. For that matter, I'd quit this minute if I thought I could make a living at writing."
Most reviewers were kind to the book and its author, and the Warner Bros. mail room was flooded with requests for autographed copies. Harrison Carroll, writing in the _Los Angeles Evening Herald,_ reported that Flynn received $350 in orders in ten days. To satisfy the demand, Flynn had to purchase extra copies from local bookstores and was losing money on the postage it cost him to please his fans.
Hermann Erben's second visit to Hollywood was a welcome diversion for Flynn. The grind of studio activities—rehearsals, costume fittings, afternoons with a dialogue coach, and sitting for the endless stream of still pictures the studio used to inundate magazine editors—all paled in comparison to the eccentric but ultimately _machismo_ friendship he found with Erben. They immediately made plans to travel to Spain to view the action in the Spanish Civil War up close.
Following a failed military coup to overthrow the elected government in 1936, Spain was thrown into a political and ideological turmoil. The Nationalists, who supported fascism and cultivated the support of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Germany's Führer Adolf Hitler, appointed General Francisco Franco as _Generalísimo_ (commander in chief) of the Nationalist troops after he had distinguished himself in the assault on a fortress in Alcázar.
The Spanish Civil War was a bloody precursor of the events that would soon transform Europe into a battlefield. It was followed closely by the American press, and the plight of the Republican loyalists fighting to preserve their country from fascism appealed to Flynn. Erben also likely influenced his Tasmanian friend to go to Spain on what they undoubtedly considered an opportunity for their usual roistering and vagabonding. Lili was scheduled to meet them in Paris later, and Erben and Flynn sailed on the _Queen Mary_ on February 24, 1937, bound for Cherbourg.
Jack Warner was vehemently opposed to Flynn's trip; in fact, Warner was increasingly irritated by the 27-year-old's growing laziness. His lateness arriving on the set and constant delays due to the clearly embroidered illnesses had not gone unnoticed. In response, Flynn followed the same routine with Warner—they argued—and Flynn did as he pleased.
Erben began snapping photos of Flynn from the moment they boarded the _Queen Mary._ The trip was initially routine. They arrived in Cherbourg on March 1 and by March 5 they arrived in London. Flynn wrote in his journal the happiness he felt at being separated, albeit temporarily, from the possessive Lili. He savored his freedom and did not look forward to their meeting later. He also expressed confusion at Erben's activities. Once, when Erben summoned him to a mysterious border rendezvous, Flynn wrote: "I don't know if I like it at all. I wish I knew what was going on, and what he was up to."
_Captain Blood_ and _The Charge of the Light Brigade_ had captured large audiences in England, and Flynn was treated with the respect befitting a foreign dignitary. From London they traveled to Paris where they were joined by Lili. It was not a happy reunion. Perhaps for any other couple, a Paris meeting in early spring would have rekindled their romance; but this was mid–March and the rift between "Damita" and "Fleen" was irreparable. Erben wrote in his notebook that Flynn and Lili had a "big quarrel" on March 18.
On March 21 he attended the public memorial for the Clichy victims. Clichy was a Leftist stronghold, and when factions of the Populist Front organized a demonstration they were met by supporters organized by the Socialist politicians. The demonstration turned into a violent riot and police fired on the mob, killing five and wounding over 150. Flynn was no mere onlooker. His interest in world affairs was sincere, although he would rarely find an opportunity to reveal the seriousness of his views. And he still had Lili to contend with. A few days making the social rounds to meet her many Parisian friends did nothing to mend the open wounds of their marriage. Lili smiled bravely for Erben's camera, but too often Errol appeared ill-at-ease and out of place. They left Paris and traveled to Barcelona, Spain.
Executives in the Warner Bros. publicity department were quick to recognize an opportunity. Flynn's arrival in Barcelona was reported as a goodwill visit. On March 29 Flynn visited the Barcelona Publicity Department Foreign Office where he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd. He posed for pictures and signed dozens of the glossy 8 × 10 photos provided by Warner Bros. The following day he visited the royal palace.
The visit to Barcelona was the beginning of a series of unfortunate events which had a long-lasting negative impact on Flynn's reputation. George Seldes, a war correspondent for the _Chicago Tribune,_ remembered meeting Flynn and Lili in Paris shortly before they left for Barcelona. They were, he recalled, "two of the most beautiful people I've ever seen." Lili was helping her husband procure a visa. Flynn told Seldes: "I've got a million dollars which I've raised among the friends of Loyalist Spain in Hollywood. I'm going to Madrid and we're going to build a hospital and buy ambulances for the Loyalists."
There was no million dollars and neither Errol Flynn nor any of his drinking buddies back in Hollywood had shown any interest in the Loyalist cause. Lili departed sometime after their arrival in Madrid. Flynn and Erben were left to their own devices.
In his autobiography, Flynn explained that the story about the million dollars was fabricated without his knowledge by Erben (whom he refers to as "Koets"), and claims that he went along with it because he felt he had to. This is probably true. Unknown to Flynn, Erben followed his own agenda and was clearly using Flynn as a means of achieving access to the front lines.
On March 31 they visited Valencia, then went on to Albacete and arrived in Madrid on April 2. Flynn carried a notebook and posed for pictures, content playing the role of a war correspondent. He may have been thinking ahead to the article he would write from the security of his rented home in Beverly Hills. They made their way to the Guadalajara front where Flynn and Erben posed with Loyalist soldiers.
Flynn continued taking notes, and at one point addressed a group of communists: "Have to give short speech and am cheered when I finish with clenched fist communist salute and the word 'Salute'...great reception! Erben reminded me afterward I said 'God bless you all'—heresy here naturally as religion has been abolished. Lucky they didn't understand."
On April 3 Flynn and Erben met Ernest Hemingway and Sidney Franklin at the Hotel Gran Via. George Seldes was also present, as were many journalists and Loyalist sympathizers. Seldes would not recall Flynn's visit with fondness. Seldes said: "Although the whole country was starving they raked up a banquet for Flynn in Barcelona and he accepted this. He told them all about the wonders he was going to do, and, believe it or not, they supplied him with a car. He got to Madrid by car and he told the same story in Madrid. We met frequently, usually at the entrance to the Hotel Victoria, before going out. Flynn kept talking and everybody bowed to him and said he was one of the great benefactors. He was a goddamned liar! I've met three sons-of-bitches in my life. One was Mussolini, the second was D'Annunzio who betrayed Duse, and the third is Errol Flynn for his betrayal of the Spanish Republic to make publicity for himself for a Hollywood movie."
According to Seldes, Flynn's reputation as "The Grim Raper" was well known. He added that when the discussion turned to money, or when the distant machine-gun fire sounded close, Flynn became frightened and said: "Do any of you gents know the address of a good clean whorehouse?"
Leicester Hemingway, Ernest's worshipful younger brother, underscored the feeling toward Flynn: "Ernest not only despised Flynn, he felt the guy was a triple phony. Ernest never double-crossed people. Ernest always kept his word. Flynn you could always count on to let you down."
Hemingway and Flynn never became close friends, but they would meet intermittently for the remainder of their lives, either at Hollywood social functions or in the Havana casinos or bars where both would end up in the late 1950s. Hemingway shared Flynn's trait of self-aggrandizement and talent for keeping himself in the public eye through a series of exploits that solidified his reputation as a seasoned adventurer.
On April 4 wire reports said that Errol Flynn, a "war correspondent," was wounded by a bullet that creased his face. The story was another fabrication that Seldes would remember with contempt: "When he got back to Barcelona, he had a scratch on his arm or face and a little Mercurochrome on it. He said he had been shot in the front-line trenches. Then he sent a very innocent cable: 'Everything is set,' or 'Everything is all right.' That was a tip to whomever he was working for to release a story that he was shot at the front."
Flynn left Spain at midnight, as the _New York Daily News_ and other papers began circulating the story that he was wounded. The story quickly transformed into exaggeration, and by the following day some reports were saying that Errol Flynn had been killed in Spain. Lili Damita, who was staying at Leeds Castle in Kent, England, issued a statement (after confirming her husband was wounded, not killed) that her only worry was "whether the reported injury to Flynn's handsome Irish face will mar his film career."
Flynn's sudden, midnight departure would not be forgotten, and the anger he generated with his promises for aid found its way into print as early as 1939 when Constancia de la Mora wrote harshly about Flynn's trip in her autobiography, _In Place of Splendor: Autobiography of a Spanish Woman._ In 1952 Sidney Franklin's autobiography, _Bullfighter from Brooklyn,_ also painted a very negative portrait of Flynn's trip to Spain.
Shortly after Flynn departed Spain, Franco's Nationalist forces launched a massive campaign in the north. On April 26 German aircraft targeted the small town of Guernica. The raid reduced Guernica to a wasteland. Over 900 civilians were killed or injured. Franco denied his troops had any involvement in the massacre, and the controversy would haunt him until his death in 1975. Pablo Picasso, the Spanish painter, immortalized the tragedy in his 1937 painting, _Guernica._ That such a terrible loss of human life would play out as a backdrop to Errol Flynn's recent publicity trip both sickened those who might otherwise have admired him, and ostracized him from politically conscious intellectuals who viewed him as a selfish playboy totally lacking in moral fiber.
Flynn was sincere in his effort to write about the Spanish Civil War but the negative perception of this trip has long been fuel for Flynn's detractors. Flynn's unpublished 1937 diary illuminates his frustration at the time, his desire to be free of Lili's possessive nature, and his confusion and concern over Erben's erratic behavior. Unfortunately, his July 1937 _Photoplay_ article, _What Really Happened to Me in Spain,_ downplayed the seriousness of the Loyalists' cause and focused on the circumstances surrounding his reported death (a piece of plaster fell on his head). His narrative skills are strong and his descriptive powers moved the article to a swift conclusion. Flynn referred to the nightly battles as "the war's most fascinating scenes" and described the "fascinating horror and repellent beauty of spouts of flame belching into a velvet night while the drums of war resounded in a crashing, menacing crescendo."
Dissatisfied with his screen roles, Flynn had focused his creative energies on _Beam Ends._ With the book published, he continued writing, originally intending to author several books set in the South Pacific, culminating with his arrival in Hollywood. A busy schedule prohibited him, in part, from making great strides on his next book. His laziness and the hedonistic lifestyle in which he indulged were the main reason for his slow literary progress. But he continued writing magazine articles.
Unhappy with his roles in _Green Light_ and _Another Dawn,_ he expressed a desire to Warner executives for lighter fare. Said Flynn: "I want some acting to do, if I am to be called an actor, which seems to be the general idea around Hollywood. If you ask me whether I have any preferences—and I really have—I would pick on light comedy roles. Generally speaking, they seem to be my stuff. I feel light comedy is easier for me to do and, being by nature more than a trifle lazy, I like to take the easiest or at least the most appealing route through the daily grind."
Eager to please their new star (and equally interested in keeping him in front of the cameras to satisfy the public demand), Warner Bros. cast Flynn in a light romantic comedy titled _The Perfect Specimen._ An ambitious film that captures Flynn's talent as a light comedian, _The Perfect Specimen_ was directed with traditional briskness by Michael Curtiz. As Gerald Beresford Wicks, Flynn played a millionaire reared on a secluded Pennsylvania estate, Wickstead, who grows up to become an example of "the perfect specimen" of manhood. Lacking contact with society, Gerald is a loose cannon in a complicated world. Intrigued by this handsome millionaire she has heard so much about, Mona Carter, played by Joan Blondell, is determined to meet this renowned specimen. By crashing her car through the estate's fence she promptly encounters Gerald when he falls out of a tree. Gerald, always intent on a regimented and scientific approach to physical fitness, had climbed the tree to use its branches as balancing beams for a series of pull-ups befitting Tarzan.
Smitten with this attractive woman, Gerald tracks her down the following day and together they embark on a spontaneous drive around the country where their various adventures bring them closer to each other.
Similar in style and tone to _It Happened One Night_ (1935) starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert (both films were based on stories by Samuel Hopkins Adams), as well as the romantic comedies exemplified by the 1930s films of Carole Lombard, _The Perfect Specimen_ contains the comedic ingredients that made Flynn so popular with his growing legion of fans. Mushy Callahan coached Flynn for a boxing sequence that demonstrated his ability in the ring. Also evident here are the salient features of his personality: the boyish enthusiasm, the bravado, and even a sweetness that always seems tinged with an air of mockery. Immediately likable, Gerald Wicks and Errol Flynn are distant cousins with like dispositions.
Instinctively, Flynn knew he'd turned in a good performance, regardless of his growing disdain for the demanding rigors of working with the arrogant Michael Curtiz. Said Flynn: "I'd say that this definitely was more than merely light comedy: It was character stuff told in a light comedy vein and was, as I readily admit, my most difficult film up to date. All the same, I liked it fairly well and wouldn't mind playing more like it."
Similar to his comments after making _The Charge of the Light Brigade,_ the difficult aspect of filming _The Perfect Specimen_ was his simmering dislike for Curtiz. Their verbal exchanges were becoming as infamous along the Hollywood gossip circuit as were his verbal (and sometimes physical) battles with Lili Damita. His fights with Lili had become epic. They fought and reconciled, fought again and reconciled again from their home at 345 St. Pierre Road in Bel Aire. Flynn's personality was a stark contrast to Lili's lustful approach to affairs of the heart. Flynn was moody and prone to self-absorption. He demonstrated a taste for fine art, literature, and music. Lili was dynamic in her preference for high society and the glitter that comes with fame, but her husband found far too many people in Hollywood high society to be insincere and shallow. Flynn's view of himself, inflated now by the constant attention, necessitated an ambitious assault on life. He would sample everything, explore every avenue of the vast and sprawling playground he found himself in. Buster Wiles noted: "Lili was quite possessive, wanting him to stay home at nights, but Flynn wasn't ready to be domesticated."
Lili married Flynn with customary golden expectations, but the blush of romance faded quickly and their screaming matches exhausted her. Columnist Hedda Hopper recalled their legendary battles: "Errol used to live directly across the street from me during his marriage to Lili Damita. All I had to do to pick up an item or two for the column was sit by my bedroom window and listen to them shrieking at each other. I got the low-down on their separation by just lying in bed and listening. It was a screaming, juicy bout."
Lili could not tolerate his infidelity. They separated and Flynn moved into a rented home at 601 North Linden in Beverly Hills with David Niven. Niven's 1975 memoir, _Bring on the Empty Horses,_ devoted an entire chapter to Flynn. Niven did not feel Flynn was a particularly kind man, but he was a good friend and a "magnificent specimen of the rampant male."
**Flynn as Robin Hood, the bandit of Sherwood Forest who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.** _**The Adventures of Robin Hood**_ **(1938) remains one of the best adventure films in Hollywood history.**
By early 1937 Flynn was living the typical high life of a hedonistic Hollywood actor. He was not alone in his pursuits or approach to fame. The Hollywood community long ago bred the egotism and careless promiscuity that has become a stereotypical characteristic. But Errol Flynn played the role better than most.
Flynn's next big picture, _The Adventures of Robin Hood,_ began filming in September 1937. The film had been in the planning stages since 1935 with James Cagney favored for the title role, but soon thereafter Cagney left Warner Bros. for two years in a contractual dispute. The success of _Captain Blood_ and _The Charge of the Light Brigade_ left no room for doubt as to the public's preference (and, accordingly, Jack Warner's preference) as to who should play the merry bandit. A $2 million budget and the use of Technicolor photography made _Robin Hood_ Warner Bros.' most ambitious film to date. They were attempting from the onset to make a blockbuster film, _i.e._ , both a critical success and a financial windfall. Warner Bros. was assured of a heavy profit with Flynn reprising his role as the hero willing to stand against tyranny. Film historian Rudy Behlmer, writing in his introduction to the published script in 1979, noted: "The costs had soared, but in order to guarantee a profit, perfection was the objective and every scene was carefully studied to determine what improvements or embellishments were necessary. This was definitely not the modus operandi of the efficiently run, cost-conscious Warners studio."
The word was out that _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ was the costliest film Warner Bros. had yet to make. Reporters were eager for interviews with Flynn, Curtiz, and the ensemble cast. Warners publicity department was in a quandary: they wanted the association with the fondly remembered Fairbanks film of fifteen years earlier but were eager to avoid accusations of copying the Fairbanks style. The dilemma was obvious in Flynn's comments during the production: "I am avoiding spectacular jumps which Douglas Fairbanks did so well that few if any could hope to equal him."
But the Fairbanks legacy was difficult to ignore and _Robin Hood_ ultimately featured several scenes and images evoking the Fairbanks spirit: In several publicity photos Flynn is posed with his hands on his hips, feet apart, and smiling boldly. The pose is identical to the Fairbanks stance so familiar to moviegoers in _The Mark of Zorro_ (1920), _The Three Musketeers_ (1921), and _The Gaucho_ (1927). Several stunts, particularly Robin's escape from Nottingham castle by scaling the wall on a rope (performed by Flynn's friend, stuntman Buster Wiles), the feathered caps, costumes, broadswords, and even Flynn's pencil-thin mustache, were all similar in style to the Fairbanks film.
The Fairbanks version is an excellent film, with lyrical scenes and a pastoral beauty that matched the fairy-tale subject matter. Fairbanks was clearly the unofficial inspiration behind Warners interpretation of the 1890 opera (by Reginald de Koven and Harry B. Smith) about the Robin Hood legend. Warners owned the rights to the opera through one of its music publishing firms, but they had no intention of making a musical.
With Fairbanks as the inspiration, the Warner's _Robin Hood_ would take additional plot devices and images from Howard Pyle's 1883 novel _The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown, In Nottinghamshire._ Pyle was an American illustrator who found popular success with his fanciful telling of the Robin Hood legend. His illustrations added a childlike sense of joy to a place he described in the book's preface as "a country bearing a well-known name, wherein no chill mists press upon our spirits, and no rain falls but what rolls off our backs like April showers off the backs of sleek drakes; where flowers bloom forever and birds are always singing; where every fellow hath a merry catch as he travels the roads, and ale and beer and wine (such as muddle no wits) flow like water in a brook."
Pyle's description of Robin Hood and his men provided a blueprint for the pastoral tones that finally gave the film its carefree, nostalgic feel: "No archer ever lived that could speed a gray goose shaft with such skill and cunning as his, nor were there ever such yeoman as the sevenscore merry men that roamed with him through the greenwood shades. Right merrily they dwelt within the depths of Sherwood Forest, suffering neither care nor want, but passing the time in merry games of archery or bouts of cudgel play, living upon the King's venison, washed down with draughts of ale of October brewing."
The screenplay went through various revisions from its inception in 1935 to its final form, freely borrowing plot devices from Pyle's book, the de Koven-Smith opera version, Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel _Ivanhoe_ , and medieval ballads. Attributed to screenwriters Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller, the film's opening credits eventually stated "Based upon ancient Robin Hood legends" to avoid copyright infringements.
Perhaps the most fortuitous casting in Warner Bros. history, the players chosen to bring the fairy tale alive were a professional mix of seasoned American and British actors and supporting players: Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian, Basil Rathbone as Sir Guy of Gisbourne, Claude Rains as Prince John, Patric Knowles as Will Scarlet, Eugene Pallette as Friar Tuck, Alan Hale as Little John (he played the same role in the Douglas Fairbanks version), Melville Cooper as the High Sheriff of Nottingham, Ian Hunter as King Richard the Lion-Hearted, and supporting players Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin, Montagu Love, Leonard Willey, and numerous speaking parts.
William Keighley commenced directing the film at Bidwell Park in Chico on September 17. The first scene to be filmed was that of Robin and Little John sparring with quarterstaves over Big Chico Creek. Keighley worked on the film until early November when he was replaced by Michael Curtiz. Executives at Warner Bros. felt the Keighley scenes were lacking in the zest necessary to keep the story moving. Curtiz was chosen as his replacement primarily due to his ability to bring action sequences alive.
Flynn was not happy with the change in directors, but he had other things on his mind. He had recently purchased a yacht from John G. Alden called _Avenir._ Flynn would soon rename the ship _Sirocco_ in honor of the vessel that carried him and his friends across the Great Barrier Reef seven years earlier. Flynn was eager to finish _Robin Hood_ and take _Sirocco_ for a cruise.
The residents of Chico were enthralled by the impressive sight of the Warner Bros. crews. An imposing force of actors, cameramen, technicians, assistants, wardrobe staff, electricians, carpenters, messengers, errand boys, make-up artists, dialogue coaches, and hairstylists descended upon the quiet California community. Art director Carl Jules Weyl supplemented Bidwell Park's flora and fauna with artificial trees, shrubs, and flowers. Local residents eager to participate in some way in the excitement sweeping through the community were quick to point out that Bidwell's tall oaks were mere saplings when King John sat on England's throne seven centuries past. Genealogy enthusiasts found local connections to the Sherwoods whose surname was derived from "shire of wood." The Sherwood descendents by dint of judicious fortune (aided and abetted in some instances perhaps by the arrival of a motion picture company) now thrived in the far-away land of Chico, California. No less than ex-president Herbert Hoover, whose great grandmother was Lucinda Sherwood Minthorn, claimed lineage to the Sherwoods who long ago lived on the acreage made famous by the legendary rebel. Chico, Petaluma, and Oakland all boasted living descendents of the Sherwood clan. According to Chico press reports, residents lined up by the thousands to watch the filming of scenes in Bidwell Park. There were 103 local men hired as extras for the scenes set in Robin Hood's camp.
Keighley kept his crew and actors busy although the production began to run behind schedule. A jousting tournament and christening scene were cancelled to save time and money (the christening sequence would have involved Robin and Friar Tuck dunking the merry men's heads into a cask of ale). The jousting tournament was planned as part of the opening sequence, but delays due to poor weather and the complicated logistics involved in location filming necessitated the sequence's being cut.
**Olivia de Havilland's superb performance as Maid Marian gave the film the romantic depth that helped turn** _**The Adventures of Robin Hood**_ **into a masterpiece.**
Flynn was having fun and creating his own publicity. On October 14th he was arrested in Chico on charges of having pheasants in his possession in violation of game laws. Warners publicity staff stated the actor had been practicing with bow and arrow to make his role as Robin Hood more realistic and in so doing had shot the pheasants with arrows. Fines were paid and Flynn went looking for bigger game.
With archery expert and new-found friend Howard Hill at his side, Flynn hunted a bobcat at nearby Richardson Springs and the press reported that with one carefully placed shot with a longbow he sent a steel barbed arrow through the big cat's chest and out its back. The impact knocked the cat several feet into the air. The incident made the newspapers in Chico and Los Angeles on October 18th and exaggerated the bobcat's size. Under Hill's influence and guidance, Flynn became adept at archery. For many years after he would fish the waters off Catalina Island using a longbow.
Hill was hired to coach the actors in the use of a bow and arrow for the action sequences in _Robin Hood,_ and Flynn liked him immediately. Theirs was "an enduring friendship," Flynn later wrote in the foreword to Hill's 1955 autobiography, "based upon a mutual love for hunting and the Great Outdoors." They had much in common and Hill's prowess with a bow impressed Flynn. Hill's career developed quickly and before a decade passed he distinguished himself as a wild animal photographer as well as "The World's Greatest Archer." Almost eighteen years later, with his career in shambles, the dethroned matinee idol sat in a hotel room in Rome and recalled with poetic affection the bygone time of their adventures: "I do have much in common with Hill. The wailing note of the loon floating across a placid lake, the distant high-pitched roar of the jaguar and the blood-curdling cough of the charging wild boar, call to some deep inner response within us both that is not acquainted with modern civilization."
Flynn's fascination with things "not acquainted with modern civilization" included a disregard for social mores (and, occasionally, common sense). Early in the production Flynn decided to take flying lessons. He was encouraged in this new daredevil activity by co-star Patric Knowles who had recently become an aviation enthusiast. Knowles already clocked over fifty hours of solo flying time, but Flynn's flight time had been limited to that of a commercial passenger. Knowles recalled Flynn's attitude: "He lived life as if it were a game—a game he enjoyed playing. But he was an impatient player—not to win, but to move along to the next bout."
Billy Miller, manager of the Chico airport, fell under the spell of Flynn's charm and happily allowed the actor to take over the controls of the Piper Cub for well over an hour. They flew over the town, buzzed the _Robin Hood_ location at Bidwell Park, and looped around Richardson Springs. Flynn was delighted with the flight and announced that he and Patric Knowles would invest in an airplane together when they returned to Hollywood.
Knowles' recollection of flying with daredevil Flynn offered more details than those found in the sanitized press reports. "He phooled all over the sky, showing off. Nothing really dangerous, just hammer stalls, tight turns and wing overs. After only four hours dual he was a veritable Rickenbacker." Warner Bros. executives were angry when they learned the star of their biggest film was risking his life stunting an airplane across the blue skies over "Sherwood Forest."
Ignoring the telegrammed instructions from Warner Bros. to cease flying, both Knowles and Flynn continued their flights until Knowles was fined by the Civil Aeronautics Association as well as the Screen Actors Guild for flying in a manner to "endanger the lives and property of the public."
Lili arrived in Chico in early October, when Flynn was still involved in pheasant and bobcat hunting and impetuous skybound jaunts at the controls of a Piper Cub. They smiled for the benefit of photographers. Lili posed with her husband among the augmented foliage of Sherwood Forest. They made a picture-perfect couple. At this stage in his career Flynn was vocal of his dislike for the pretentiousness and egotism he saw in the Hollywood community, and Lili's arrival with eight massive wardrobe trunks filled with luxurious bed sheets and comforters struck many as typically egotistical. She was accustomed to extravagance and spared no expense in promoting the pretense of elegance. While Flynn viewed this elegance as a faux aristocracy, the fascination he held since he was a teenager dreaming of a career in British politics had found a counterpoint in the pampered world of cinema acting that treated him with kingly courtesies. An ego inflated in proportion with his fame failed to recognize the contradiction between his beliefs and his actions. Lili was going to fix up Flynn's hotel room "real cute" and that was fine with him. Their brief reconciliation during the production of _Robin Hood_ would be one of the last sincere attempts to save their marriage.
**Robin Hood's unrelenting attack against tyranny included a longbow and a quiver of goosequill arrows.**
Keighley's version of the Robin Hood legend was more comedic than the one completed by Michael Curtiz. Flynn and Keighley respected each other, having learned they worked well together during the filming of _The Prince and the Pauper._ The cinematography by Tony Gaudio and Sol Polito shared the distinctions evident in the directors with whom they worked. Gaudio's Sherwood Forest scenes are soft and quietly lyrical, while Polito follows the action with an intensity that matched the Curtiz style.
Journalist W. H. Mooring observed Flynn during the early stages of production and noted the actor had "no intention of becoming the next Douglas Fairbanks." Mooring published Flynn's revealing comments in a December issue of _Film Weekly._ Flynn mused: "Must films go on forever imitating the ghosts of the past? I believe the public has a right not alone to expect, but to demand of me, my own interpretation of Robin Hood. If I had thought otherwise I would have refused the chance in the first place."
Flynn never gave a second thought to refusing the Robin Hood role. The long-awaited Technicolor production, only the second color film by Warner Bros., was an eagerly anticipated event. Flynn discussed with Mooring the intricacies of a role he surely recognized as the greatest opportunity of his career: "If you ask me whether I am pleased about the role, I may give you a mild 'yes,' for the fact is I never yet have seen any film in which I played which aroused in me any sense of real satisfaction. To me, all my films are much like the old girl's oranges. You remember what she said: 'Some are and some ain't.'
"Perhaps if I confess the whole truth and nothing but the truth I will say that, as I see them, most of mine 'ain't.' If you decide otherwise, then may heaven bless you my children. Hollywood is bound to follow suit.
"I think _Robin Hood_ opens up some highly interesting possibilities. It cannot fail to provide a colorful picture, even leaving Messrs. Technicolor out of the calculations! The most I have hoped was that neither Warners nor Mr. Keighley would try too hard to preserve in the character the supposedly romantic value of Errol Flynn for, although I have so recently been described in another film as 'the perfect specimen,' I still cling to the belief, stupid or otherwise, that people go to pictures to be entertained by a good yarn, well presented, and not to delve into a two-hour search for loveliness of face or form where no loveliness is.
"If the character can become a dashing hero with romantic color about him, good luck to the actor. If the actor has to support a permanent impression that he is himself the romantic quality in every picture he attempts, then sooner or later I imagine that means bad luck to the actor. And if the play's the thing, it must be the character rather than the actor who really counts.
"Who am I to contradict authority? I would much prefer to go off to South America with a gun or two and do some hunting. I'm better at that than I am at playing the young romantic anyway."
Flynn never reconciled the fact that he loathed becoming a popular icon with working so hard to promote his image as the archetypal adventurer. He was an intuitive strategist, allowing himself to be manipulated and exploited in order to manipulate and exploit in turn. In his favor, he responded earnestly to children who had become infatuated with his heroic image from _The Prince and the Pauper._ He was always kind and outgoing with the children of various Warners staff and crew who sometimes visited the set. He clearly saw himself in these innocent, expectant faces. He knew well the effect a Technicolor telling of the Robin Hood legend would have on his young audiences.
Under Belgian fencing instructor Fred Cavens and his son Albert, Flynn, the principal male cast, and a dozen hand-picked extras (including Howard Hill, who appears in the film as 'The Captain of Archers') were trained in the use of broadswords and quarterstaffs. Keighley completed filming of the meeting between Robin and Little John and the forest banquet where Sir Guy of Gisbourne is humiliated after his capture by the merry bandits. The quarterstaff match between Robin and Little John on a log spanning a stream featured lithe choreography by Cavens. Alan Hale and Flynn were at their energetic best as they snapped, blocked, and swung their quarterstaffs between snippets of dialogue:
> CLOSE SHOT ROBIN
> as he ducks a whistling blow. They talk as they fight.
>
>
>
> ROBIN (grins):
> If it's a lesson you want—(wham) you've come to the right man.
>
>
>
> LITTLE JOHN:
> Where—(whish) is he?
> ROBIN (whack...thump!):
> Who?
>
>
>
> LITTLE JOHN:
> This quarterstaff—(smack) master!
> ROBIN (a mighty blow):
> _Here!_
The competitive and energetic thwacking of quarterstaffs would strike a chord with children who promptly went home after seeing the film to play Robin Hood in their yards, brandishing mops and brooms and cudgeling each other with chivalric abandon.
Flynn's sense of humor was boyish in nature, as was much of his personality, but at times his prankishness took odd or even cruel turns, such as the time he placed a toy snake in Olivia de Havilland's panties (it was not, as has been reported, a dead snake, but a toy pilfered from the prop department). De Havilland was horrified when she found the prop in her wardrobe and let Flynn know how she felt about his childish display of humor.
Early in _Robin Hood's_ production, Flynn invited Ida Zeitlin, a journalist with _Modern Screen_ magazine, to his rented Beverly Hills home for lunch. Feigning proper British manners, Flynn greeted the reporter with a stream of polite inquiries: "Wouldn't you like to sit out on the terrace? Cigarettes? A glass of sherry, perhaps? Oh, yes, we've got a story to do, haven't we? Well, here comes Sheffield with the sherry. Maybe that will inspire us."
He described Sheffield, one of many butlers Flynn would employ, as "a gift direct from P. G. Wodehouse." Wodehouse being one of his favorite authors, Errol went to great pains to associate himself with the image of aristocratic ease and leisure. Zeitlin found Flynn a difficult man to interview. He was constantly interrupted and his mind, always racing with ideas and whims, allowed him little time for polite conversation. Stuntmen and extras, many of whom had befriended him when he made _Captain Blood,_ practicised on the manicured green lawn with broadswords and quarterstaves. The purpose of the party was for Flynn to get acquainted with the dozens of extras hired to play his merry men. These acrobats and musclemen, which Flynn referred to as "Body Beautifuls," were fast becoming a permanent entourage wherever he went.
"Some stars throw you a party when the picture's over. Errol, he's the only one that throws it first," one guest told Zeitlin. "He don't want to be no star. And again, he don't do it to be a good fella, see what I mean? He don't go 'round slappin' people on the back, and then when they leave, call 'em a bum. He does it because he likes to be friends with the boys and have fun. He likes to laugh. Damn if I ever see such a guy for laughin'."
_The Adventures of Robin Hood_ turned out to be the pivotal film in Flynn's career. Like the films that sought to imitate its appeal, including modern classics such as _Star Wars_ and _Raiders of the Lost Ark, Robin Hood_ 's creators never pretended they were imagining anything more than a boy's adventure story. Keighley's lyrical approach to the Sherwood Forest scenes lends a nostalgic tint of romanticism while Curtiz provided the masculinity that elevates the action above the mundane. _Robin Hood_ renewed the public's faith in the virtues of idealism, espoused the staunch democratic sense of fair play President Franklin Roosevelt was touting with his "New Deal," and offered thousands the opportunity to forget their economic troubles for 102 colorful minutes.
The film also effectively ushered in the age of the big-budget spectacular. Every film studio since has been striving for this perfect combination of direction, casting, cinematography, and musical score (by the time of Flynn's death in 1959, this type of boyhood adventure film was already a thing of the past).
When Robin tells the usurper Prince John "I'll organize a revolt, exact a death for a death, and never stop until every Saxon in our shire can stand up to you, free men, and strike a blow for Richard and England!" he is voicing the idealism behind the democratic notion that all men are created equal.
But the political and social commentary is secondary to the sense of fun Curtiz put into the action scenes. Most of the film contains the now familiar images of Errol Flynn in action. In his first scene, Robin Hood gallops into view on horseback brandishing a longbow and quiver of goosequill arrows. His arrival is played out on a green landscape set against a blue sky made all the more beautiful by the long-outdated three-strip Technicolor process. For the rest of the film Flynn climbs staircases, leaps over tables and fallen candelabra, his silver broadsword slicing at Gisbourne and his men, his black arrows finding their mark in a concentrated attack against tyranny. In one remarkable scene he swings on a vine from the trees, lands on a giant boulder, and with a wave of his hand says to Maid Marian, "Welcome to Sherwood, m'lady!"
Rathbone was the perfect choice to play Sir Guy of Gisbourne, with his angular features, his clipped diction, and his blazing eyes all expressing his hatred for the brash bandit of Sherwood. Early in the film Robin strides into Nottingham castle with a dead deer slung across his shoulders, brazenly dumping the animal onto a banquet table before an astonished Gisbourne. "I'll have him dangling in a week!" Gisbourne proclaims. Sir Guy's hatred is so intense one is left wondering if his teeth have not been gnashed to powder.
The film's most famous sequence, an extended duel between Flynn and Rathbone throughout Nottingham castle, became the standard by which swordplay was choreographed. The thrust of dialogue is counterpoint to their sweeping broadswords. Hacking at Sir Guy, Robin Hood quips, "Do you know any prayers, my friend?" To which a snarling Gisbourne replies, "I'll say some for you!" They lock blades over a table, overturn a large candelabra, slashing at each other continuously, thrust and parry, their shadows following like dark giants through the great hall. When Robin Hood says to Gisbourne: "Did I upset your plans?" Gisbourne snarls back: "You've come to Nottingham once too often!" A beaming Robin Hood replies: "When this is over, my friend, there'll be no need for me to come again!"
Rathbone had taken a keen interest in fencing and practiced diligently. He was capable of running Flynn through when they made _Captain Blood,_ and by the time they made _Robin Hood_ his skill was even greater. Flynn, on the other hand, looked better with a sword in his hand. Rathbone offered a practical evaluation of Flynn in his memoirs: "He was monstrously lazy and self-indulgent, relying on a magnificent body to keep him going, and he had an insidious flair for making trouble, mostly for himself. I believe him to have been quite fearless, and subconsciously possessed of his own self-destruction. I would say that he was fond of me, for what reason I shall never know. It was always 'dear old Bazzz,' and he would flash that smile that was both defiant and cruel, but which for me always had a tinge of affection in it. We only crossed swords, never words, and he was generous and appreciative of my work. I liked him and he liked me."
Olivia de Havilland personified Maid Marian as no other actress since. Her long and fruitful career was punctuated by many superb performances, including the role of Melanie in _Gone with the Wind_ a year later. In Robin Hood she is a chaste and virginal fantasy and blessed with special grace and dignity. When Robin Hood scales the castle wall and enters her room through the balcony her face is flushed, her eyes shining and animated. The strong feelings she had for Flynn during the filming clearly show in her performance, perhaps even add quality to it. She had, by her own admission years later, fallen in love with Flynn, but sensing the self-destructive tendencies in his personality, she resisted consummating the relationship.
"What a man he was!" de Havilland recalled in a 1986 interview. "He was the most attractive, magnetic, charming creature in all the world. That's what I thought of Errol Flynn." More and more, Flynn often infuriated her with his self-centered approach to life, and she found herself being repulsed by his egocentric actions. "If Errol had a vice, it was that he was a hard drinker. That's true." Difficult as it was, de Havilland resisted a relationship with Flynn. "I was smitten with him, and I think he wanted to, but we never did. I suppose I regret that now. I was inclined to. It was a long time ago; maybe if it were today I might, but you kept those things very much to yourself then. But I was deeply affected by him. It was impossible for me not to be."
**Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in the climactic duel with broadswords that set a high standard for film swashbuckling.**
In all of her roles with Flynn she subtly combined the chaste with playful hints of a tender and experienced woman. Her scenes with Flynn, particularly those in Sherwood Forest, have the gentleness of an impressionist painting. After Robin explains his reasons for taking up a life of banditry they walk through a glen together. For a moment the camera frames them against a backdrop of bright foliage. Between them, visible through a break in the shrubbery, the sight and sound of a softly flowing stream underscore their dialogue. "Saxon, Norman, what does it matter?" he tells her, "It's injustice I hate, not the Normans." Maid Marian is slowly beginning to understand this brash bandit of the wood. It is one of the gentlest moments in the film.
Errol Flynn's Robin Hood has two emotions: joy and anger, with a sweetness reserved for Maid Marian. Today, Flynn would be considered what they call a "personality actor." During his lifetime there was little support for his efforts among the Hollywood actors who considered themselves serious thespians. But Flynn's limitations were suppressed by the merriment in his eyes. He enjoyed playing Robin Hood.
Flynn's last line in the film, spoken as he leaves Nottingham castle with Olivia de Havilland in his arms, became a fondly remembered cinematic moment. "May I obey all of your Majesty's commands with equal pleasure!" he proclaims after King Richard grants him Maid Marian's hand. Korngold's score swells to a final, romantic crescendo as the massive doors close on the happily departing couple. A fairytale ending to a child's storybook romance has seldom been so sweetly realized on film.
With the filming of _Robin Hood_ completed in the early fall of 1937, Flynn asked Jack Warner to cast him as Cyrano de Bergerac. Having devoured Edmond Rostand's book by hurricane lamp in New Guinea, Flynn felt an affinity with the character. Jack Warner, never one to play the fool, wasn't about to let Flynn's classic features become marred with bulbous nose make-up.
With the role of Cyrano de Bergerac out of reach, Flynn turned his attention to more familiar pursuits. In addition to the _Sirocco,_ he owned a nice array of boats. His menagerie included a twenty-five-foot speedboat, an outboard fishing smack, and two twenty-foot yacht tenders. These and the other boats Flynn owned over the years would never remain idle long. In early 1938 he announced an interest in purchasing a yacht named _Aafje_ which had been the recent scene of a gruesome piracy murder. Flynn said the craft's melodramatic history appealed to his sense of adventure, but this sounds like more posturing for the press. In any event, he never purchased the yacht.
The _Sirocco_ was moored in Santa Monica and when Flynn had a few days off he was in the habit of slipping away and taking a little cruise, usually to Mexico. He began planning a Caribbean cruise while filming his next feature, _Four's a Crowd,_ in March 1938. In early April he sailed the _Sirocco_ to Miami, Florida, where he had already established another circle of affluent friends who were thrilled to wine him and dine him. From Miami he ventured to Port Royal, Jamaica, arriving on or about April 12th. This was Flynn's first visit to Jamaica, and he had good reason to visit this lush, tropical island situated south of Cuba in the Greater Antilles of the West Indies. In 1692 an earthquake sank the small coastal city of Port Royal, and folklore grew around the legend of a sunken church. The natives claimed they could still hear the bells of the sunken church, ringing up from the depths of the deep blue sea. Flynn learned of the ringing of the sunken church bells, either in his readings or from his seamen friends; intrigued, he ventured out to conduct a series of deep sea dives in an effort to recover the bells.
That Flynn dove on the alleged site of the sunken bells is uncertain; what is certain is that he realized the task of finding the bells was beyond his scope. No matter, he wasn't about to let endless fathoms of salt water deter him from having a good time. Jamaica in 1938 was a crossroads for wanderers and sailors, only slightly more civilized than Papua New Guinea. Jamaica offered a familiar environment: a tropical climate, palmetto palms and coconut trees, isolated beaches, and willing dark-skinned native girls.
Perhaps because his New Guinea experiences were still a fresh memory and the similarities too poignant, Flynn gave no indication of further interest in Jamaica other than satisfying his immediate need to see things, explore, and carouse. The _Sirocco_ would not sail to Jamaica again; that distinction would belong to another of Flynn's legendary ships soon afterward. He explored Kingston, and sometime in late April or early May sailed for Cuba. Jamaica had been a pleasant diversion as audiences began to throng to _The Adventures of Robin Hood._ The film became a blockbuster hit and Warners reaped a large profit from it. He pressed on with a round of drinking in Cuba's casinos and cantinas.
On May 17 his name made the headlines again: ERROL FLYNN, FRIENDS IN HAVANA CAFE FIGHT.
The press never reported precisely how the argument started, but Flynn was now an international celebrity, easily recognizable in any port where his films had been shown, and often the target of brawlers out to make a name for themselves. The brawl took place in the Eden Concert Night Club. Chairs and bottles were thrown with a heated abandon that lasted several minutes. Flynn struck hard, as the press happily reported, and he "joined in with two or three effective punches at those who got in his way."
Fulgencio Batista Zaldívar had taken over the Cuban government in September 1933. Throughout the '30s and '40s he controlled Cuba through puppet presidents. In 1938, Federuco Laredo Brú was officially president, but functioned more or less openly as Batista's second-in-command. Another ten years would witness Cuba transformed into a haven for the mafia, but in 1938, although rife with organized crime, the small island country was only beginning to attract high-stake gamblers. The casinos, although readily available to visiting Americans, had yet to become the popular night spots they would become after World War II. Flynn experienced Cuba in its corrupt infancy, when the memory of the Spanish-American War was as fresh and biting as the smell of gunpowder. Flynn enjoyed himself in Cuba, and returned often. Any subsequent trip to Florida invariably meant a jaunt to Cuba where Batista's crime lords were happy to accommodate Flynn's wishes.
In the span of four weeks he established a pattern of judicious partying on the two islands that would have the strongest association with him at the end of his life.
Returning to Hollywood in June, he commenced to argue with Jack Warner over his salary. It bothered him that Warners was making so much money from _Robin Hood_ and he felt entitled to a larger share of it. He was at work on _The Sisters_ opposite Bette Davis when _Four's a Crowd_ premiered in August. With _Robin Hood_ still drawing large crowds, _Four's a Crowd_ benefited and earned a profit quickly.
_Four's a Crowd_ offered Flynn one of his favorite roles. It is a film with spontaneity and a commanding tone of romantic silliness, very much in the fashion of the features Carole Lombard was making with co-stars like Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Fred MacMurray.
As Bob Lansford, managing editor of the _News-Herald,_ Flynn is insufferable but capable. His talent as a comedian is put to good use here, as it was in _The Perfect Specimen._ His timing and tongue-in-cheek delivery are matched by the performances of Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell and Patric Knowles. The story, however, is a mess and holds together only because the cast has the competence to overcome its material.
Ace reporter Jean Cristy (Russell) wants to save the _News-Herald_ from oblivion and influences the hiring of Bob Lansford as editor. Lansford, who had previously worked for the _News-Herald,_ sees the opportunity to achieve satisfaction for a previous injustice. He takes on the task of eulogizing the unpopular millionaire John P. Dillingwell (Walter Connolly) while romancing both Lori Dillingwell (de Havilland) and Christy. The story gets lost in a sub-plot involving Dillingwell, who is made to appear an ogre who hoards his wealth without care for others. Under Lansford's editorial direction, Dillingwell redeems himself by donating money to a children's hospital. In a double wedding ceremony at the film's conclusion, each couple reveals their true feelings and Patterson Buckley (Knowles) marries Lori and Lansford weds Christy.
_Four's a Crowd_ is not a high-water mark in Flynn's career, but neither is it an embarrassment. It is quite simply a silly film that suffered from a weak script and is notable only for its always-splendid cast.
Reviewers were kind to the film (Flynn had yet to receive a really scathing review), although most noted that the confusing story line marred the pacing. Flynn told a reporter he liked the character of Bob Lansford because he shared the trait of keeping his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. It is easy to understand Flynn's affinity for the Lansford character given that Flynn saw himself too as duplicitous and conniving. Flynn admitted that of all of his roles to date, Bob Lansford was the closest to his own personality.
Sometime in 1935 or early 1936, Flynn was given a dog—a schnauzer—by producer Robert Lord and named him Arno. Flynn trained Arno to perform certain tricks as a pup and kept the dog by his side wherever he went, including the _Sirocco._ Flynn pampered Arno, and Arno, true to his canine self, behaved as he pleased. Master and dog were kindred spirits.
Stories about Arno and Flynn were quick to make for a good paragraph with the gossip columnists. Flynn appears to have delighted in seeing Arno's name in print as often as he delighted in reading about himself. Some of these stories were fabricated by either Flynn or his publicity agent. But they made good copy, and like the stories Flynn wove about New Guinea, it didn't matter so much if he stretched the truth a little. The story was the thing.
Once, during the filming of _The Sisters_ (so the story goes), Arno chased a cat up a power line pole. Heroic Flynn chastised Arno and shimmied up the pole to retrieve the cat. A moment before Flynn reached the cat the feline leaped from the pole onto the power line and burned to a crisp before his eyes. Errol, they say, was sickened by the sight. Arno made no comment to the press.
**With Lili and Arno on a boating trip in the mid–1930s. Arno would become as famous as his master thanks to a willing press.**
It was said that Flynn trained Arno not to allow an assistant director within ten feet of Flynn's dressing room. If one approached with instructions of some type for authority-hating Flynn, Arno would attack with growls and snapping teeth. It remains for future historians to determine how Arno learned to distinguish an assistant director from anyone else.
Arno accompanied Flynn onto the sets of his films and was allowed (because Flynn insisted) into the Warner Bros. commissary. Flynn enjoyed feeding Arno from his plate. To make Arno feel comfortable when aboard the _Sirocco,_ Flynn installed potted palms on the yacht so that Arno could take a leak in style.
It got to the point where reporters would ask Flynn for an Arno story. Flynn obliged and posed for photographers with Arno in his car, aboard his ship, or resting at his feet. Flynn always loved dogs, but Arno was special. A sincere affection that those around him seldom saw was reserved for his faithful Arno.
This was the atmosphere that awaited Dr. Hermann F. Erben when he arrived in Hollywood in September. He brought Flynn a gift of four parrots. Erben attended a party with Flynn. Dolores del Rio, Norma Shearer, Bette Davis, Ramon Navarro, and Gary Cooper were among the guests. Lili, temporarily reunited with her husband, was admired for her tightly fitting blue dress. Responding to so many flattering comments, Lili exclaimed, "If monkeys have blue asses, I can have blue tits!" Erben dutifully recorded her comment in his notebook.
Erben stayed with Flynn on Linden Drive and photographed him in the garden and on the Warners lot during the filming of _The Sisters._ These photographs show a man at ease with his life. Flynn was living in high style, with butlers and maids and assistants from Warners at his beck and call. His coterie of friends provided diversions and excitement. Alan Hale, David Niven, Howard Hill, Bud Ernst, Bruce Cabot, Buster Wiles, and Johnny Meyer were on hand to participate in his amusements.
Bruce Cabot was an actor of mediocre talent and one of Flynn's hangers-on. He was briefly a hot property after making _King Kong_ in 1933, and _The Last of the Mohicans_ in 1936. Cabot, whose real name was Jacques de Bujac, was the son of diplomats and began working in films in 1930. But his career never flourished, although he worked steadily until his death in 1972.
Johnny Meyer was perhaps the most unscrupulous of Flynn's friends during this period. Buster Wiles recalled that "Meyer had started working for Flynn by walking the dogs. Then Flynn got him a job at Warner's as a press agent. He was sharp when it came to handling money and a good public relations man. Flynn was very kind to Johnny. He even gave money to Meyer so he could support his parents."
But Meyer was not loyal to Flynn, although this would not be known until later. In the late 1930s Flynn relied on Meyer to handle his arrangements for transportation, and often for female companionship. Meyer's title may have been "Press Agent" but he filled the job description of a pimp.
_The Sisters_ teamed Flynn with Bette Davis, who later wrote: "I was extremely happy to be co-starred for the first time with Errol Flynn. He was a big box office star at the time, and it could only be beneficial to me to work with him."
Davis' sense of awareness regarding her public image and the politics of image-making was equal to Flynn's. In this regard, they had much in common, but both were volatile personalities with Davis taking the lead as a prima donna. However, Davis' approach to acting differed sharply from Flynn's: he favored a playful and carefree attitude, while Davis fancied herself a serious dramatic actress. Flynn's serious side—and he _was_ serious on certain topics quite often—simmered below the surface of his joyous indulgence in the trappings of fame.
The stage was set for a conflict, yet remarkably the two worked together amicably during production of _The Sisters._ What conflicts they created were nothing more than quick flashes of impatience, a temperamental weakness they shared. A blooper reel from the Warner Bros. archives that circulated on videotape in the mid-eighties shows them relaxed and joking together. One of their minor tiffs, however, did make the papers. Arno, perhaps mistaking Davis for an assistant director, lunged at Davis and bit her during the filming of a scene. Davis allegedly mounted a chair until Flynn could calm his jealous pooch. Subsequently, Arno was banned from _The Sisters_ set. The story seems to be pure hokum, but points out the extent to which Arno was given attention by the press.
The film opens with the inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt and concludes with the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. Davis played one of the three sisters referred to in the title. Married to an alcoholic sportswriter and aspiring novelist, she suffers the indignities of a neglected wife. Her husband, Frank Medlin (Flynn), is an unsuccessful writer who relies on drinking to ease the pain of his literary failures. His job as a sportswriter does little to appease his creative fire; having failed as a novelist, he despairs and takes to the sea, leaving his wife to fend for herself. Medlin travels to Singapore but never really finds inner peace. The drama plays out with Medlin slowly realizing that his wife offered the best of everything and they are reconciled after she survives the San Francisco earthquake. The earthquake sequence is expertly staged and takes up almost two minutes of footage.
Davis is excellent as the devoted wife and her winsome presence elicits sympathy for her plight. As for Flynn's casting as Frank Medlin, Davis said it best in her 1962 autobiography: "For this particular role of a restless, confused newspaperman, he was well suited. Handsome, arrogant and utterly enchanting, Errol was something to watch."
Davis was also observant of Flynn's romantic predilections that by this time had increased in proportion with his fame. With the rift between himself and Lili unbridgeable, Flynn assumed a swaggering public pose. He did nothing to hide his sexual conquests, and often bragged of his abilities. The young man who so recently drifted amid the poverty of New Guinea, dreaming of escape and the sensual pleasures made possible through wealth, found himself flaunting his sexuality. Recalled Davis: "Flanked by four to six blondes, arms linked, Errol would strut in about eleven. One expected them to go into a routine, which no doubt they did. He was already the stud of the Warner stable and had or would co-star with everyone on the lot."
In numerous interviews after Flynn's death, Davis appeared to delight in telling how she rebuked him when he propositioned her and also noted: "Infinitely charming Errol was possessed of his own demon. His drive was in an entirely different direction and probably enhanced by his hushed but recurrent tuberculosis which was soon to keep him out of military service. At the time, he was unquestionably the most wholesomely beautiful satyr."
_The Sisters_ is not a great film, but it is a solid film, and "solid" must count for something in film history. Davis and Flynn make a good pair here. The film engages the audience and gives them enough reason to care about Louise and Frank. At one point Louise asks, "What are you looking for?" and Frank replies, "I don't know. Something I haven't seen yet." Although Flynn is not wholly convincing (his impish smile sneaks out too often), he does suggest the aching loneliness of a frustrated, alcoholic writer. His search for literary success and a higher meaning to his life are sincere expressions, and offer Flynn his best scenes. "I've got to find out what made me a walking corpse," he tells Louise.
In the growing literature on Flynn, historians often remark on the similarity between Flynn the man, the myth, and the characters he played. This is a necessity born of the fact that he was inexorably linked to his heroic roles, but as Frank Medlin there are intimations of Flynn the man as well. Unable to achieve success as a writer, and thinking himself a miserable failure, he takes to the sea, lost in the wanderlust of someone who is constantly seeking, but seldom finding, inner peace. There is every indication to believe that Flynn recognized this trait in himself.
In early September, Flynn's arguments with Jack Warner resulted in an abridged contract (it's a pity that a recording of Warner and Flynn arguing does not exist, for by all accounts these two men spared no insult during their heated debates). He was to receive $4,500 weekly for 52 weeks, and three months' vacation. A few weeks later, Flynn came down with yet another case of malarial fever, complicated by a respiratory infection. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for convalescence.
When _The Sisters_ premiered in October it was greeted with generally kind reviews. All three of his 1938 releases made a profit for Warner Bros. The upcoming Christmastime release of _Dawn Patrol_ was another anticipated money maker for Warners.
After recovering from his malarial fever, Flynn continued his active lifestyle, playing tennis almost daily. He was popular with the Hollywood tennis community and won most of his matches. He paired off with celebrities and tennis pros alike, reveling in the competitions. In early December, while at a cocktail party with Bud Ernst and Bruce Cabot, Flynn was involved in an altercation with a polo player named Aidan Roarke, who was married to tennis star Helen Wills Moody. Roarke and Moody had only recently married, following Moody's eighth Wimbledon singles title. It may be that Flynn was attracted to Moody. She was pretty and drew attention to herself by championing dress reform for women athletes. On the tennis court she wore a knee-length, white pleated skirt rather than the bulky long skirts and petticoats worn by most female tennis players. Her unconventional attitude and attractiveness was probably a factor in Flynn's interest, but whatever the reason, Flynn decked Roarke with one punch.
Roarke, according to various reports, made a disparaging comment about Flynn's acting ability in _Robin Hood._ Roarke allegedly told Flynn he was a lousy actor. Flynn told Roarke to shut up and when he refused and continued his harangue, Flynn knocked him cold with a right to the jaw. One of Roarke's friends then went after Flynn and a mélée ensued. The _Los Angeles Evening Herald_ headlined their report with ERROL FLYNN KAYOES POLO STAR.
Hitler had already sent his troops goose-stepping across Europe when Jack Warner gave the green light on a remake of _Dawn Patrol,_ a 1930 World War I drama that starred Richard Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. The Barthelmess/Fairbanks version was an excellent film and a scant nine years old, but executives at Warner's felt the story suited Flynn's talents. They needed to keep their star in the public eye and it was easier to brush off a script from a successful production than to start from scratch.
In 1938, with Hitler's annexation of Austria telegraphing his predatory intentions, the threat of an international conflict that might involve the United States was increasingly obvious. The country was divided between isolationist sentiment and concern with the growing menace of fascism. But in the days before Pearl Harbor, the worst of the Depression behind them, the American public favored celluloid heroes and packed movie houses in increasing numbers.
_Dawn Patrol_ was carefully promoted as an anti-war drama. Rather than involve themselves in the opposition to involvement, Warners found a way to play it safe. The publicity copy for _Dawn Patrol_ drove the point home: "A powerful screen drama, DAWN PATROL is a stirring plea for peace as well as excellent entertainment."
**Errol Flynn relaxing between takes on the set of** _**Dawn Patrol**_ **(1938) with Donald Crisp, Basil Rathbone, and David Niven.**
The full-page newspaper and magazine advertisements echoed the anti-war sentiment with stirring copy framing a heroic picture of Flynn in a leather flyer's jacket, pistol drawn, a determined look on his face:
> ERROL FLYNN
> as the daring leader of the
> DAWN PATROL
> with a dashing squadron of famous stars
> Basil Rathbone • David Niven
> This is a great picture, yes, but it is more than that.
> It is a dramatic reminder of what has happened
> before; a vivid expression of America's hope for
> peace! A picture that you will long remember!
Edmund Goulding directed Flynn, Basil Rathbone, David Niven, Donald Crisp, Melville Cooper, and Barry Fitzgerald in this film. There were no roles for women. The screenplay by Seton I. Miller and Dan Totheroh was based on the story "Flight Squadron" by Mark Saunders and Howard Hawks, who directed the original version.
Goulding was a capable director with the ability to recognize a good story, a talent perhaps attributable to his early career as a screenwriter. Goulding wrote the screenplay for _Broadway Melody_ and directed the popular _Grand Hotel_ in 1932. He took the reins of _Dawn Patrol_ with a script that was heavy with dialogue.
_Dawn Patrol_ told the story of the 59th Squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps in France in 1916. Commander Brand (Basil Rathbone) watches his youthful fliers get shot down day in and day out, and his nerves are frayed from sending so many young men to their deaths. Upon his promotion, he turns his job over to Captain Courtney (Flynn) who has been at odds with Brand whom he considers a "butcher." Taking the job of squadron commander turns out to be equally difficult for Courtney who prefers life as a daredevil flier. Eventually, unable to send any more men to their deaths, Courtney takes a suicidal assignment, bombs a munitions factory behind German lines, and engages in a duel with a German ace (based on Manfred von Richthofen). Courtney dies in the air in heroic fashion.
The ensemble cast turned in exemplary performances. Donald Crisp, a veteran actor who began his career in the silent era, momentarily takes the movie away from its star performers in a touching scene with Rathbone. "It would be awfully nice if we had a dog around here in the morning to cheer us up," he tells him. He leans from his chair and begins calling to an imaginary puppy. "Here! Come here, fellow! Mind your muddy feet!" Crisp is calling for the dog as Rathbone stares, and for a moment he begins to crack a smile, but upon hearing the sound of planes returning he is reminded that death is a daily visitor with his squadron and his expression darkens again.
There is nothing false or pretentious about _Dawn Patrol,_ with the exception of an inconsistent advertising campaign that alternated between anti-war sentiment and bravado:
> They roared through the dawn with death on their wings...
> and the laughter of youth on their lips –
> •
> Hell bent for glory!...And Heaven help them all!
At the center of the film is Errol Flynn's performance as Captain Courtney. Surely he benefited from the company of such skilled actors as Rathbone and Crisp. Director Goulding had no trouble with his star and the film leaves one wishing they had worked together again.
Flynn's Courtney is a man of action, smiling, boyish, and quick to anger at injustice. These are the stock characteristics for an Errol Flynn-style hero. With _Dawn Patrol_ his range of emotion (a rarity in any Flynn picture) is demonstrated best in a scene where Courtney hauls a very drunk flyer, Scotty (David Niven), to his bunk.
They are talking quietly as Scotty falls asleep and the camera closes in on Courtney. His voice is soft and his eyes have a faraway look. They had been talking about home. "All of that seems pretty far away, doesn't it, home, and that sort of thing. Imagine being at home now, peaceful and quiet, nothing to worry about. Nothing to do but get up in the morning and laze around. Marvelous."
There is an undercurrent of tension in the squadron headquarters, a prevailing sense of doom. To counter their despair, the men take to drinking and singing a fatalistic song ("Here's a toast to the dead already, Hurrah for the next man who dies"). When they are not flying they have nothing to do but numb themselves with alcohol and song, enjoying a good time in the squadron lounge as if it were a cabaret.
Hollywood had yet to stereotype German soldiers, although there would be hints of that within a year with the release of _Confessions of a Nazi Spy._ In _Dawn Patrol,_ a captured German flier, Von Mueller (expertly played by Carl Esmond), is a fully realized character. _Dawn Patrol_ was Flynn's tenth successful film in a row and the reviews doled out equal praise for the cast.
With the youthful pudginess evident in the early publicity photos melted away by his constant tennis playing, a lean, tan Errol Flynn went about Hollywood smiling. With his passions fueled by a continuous dash of alcohol, he reveled in the women and roughhoused with his male cronies. His life had become a glorious array of fine foods and glittering parties. The rich, full sound of his laughter echoed his pleasure.
His territory was firmly established. Los Angeles was his primary playground, complemented by trips north to San Francisco and east to Palm Springs. He sailed the _Sirocco_ to Mexico and back; drove one of his automobiles in road races he staged with friends; flew on the burgeoning passenger air-line industry to Chicago or New York for the weekend night life.
Other than his public arguments with Lili, he gave little indication of discontent. The films he made during this period are the ones people remember the best. He was at the zenith of his life and career. He had mastered the illusion of the carefree cavalier.
Looking back at his life through the voluminous and disintegrating clippings in my possession, several patterns emerge. In those early interviews he revealed more of himself than at any other time of his life (excluding the revelatory autobiography, which is discussed later), but reporters in general did not seem to know what to make of this articulate, brash Adonis with his passionate ideas about acting, art, and literature. The willingness to discuss his personal feelings with reporters was temporary, and a stark contrast to the rare interviews he gave after 1942, most of which were staged as pranks or as exhibitions designed to generate publicity.
Shortly after completing work on _Dawn Patrol,_ Flynn told reporter Charles Darnton about the difficult time he was having completing his second book:
"What can an actor do? He can't write about it because all his time is taken up with acting. When I get home at night Flynn, the writer, is there waiting for me. He tells me to sit down at the typewriter and get busy with his job. But I'm too tired to tackle it. I've just time enough to take a bath, have my dinner, then a highball perhaps, and go to bed, for I have to be up at six-thirty and beat it back to the studio. All I can do at the moment is let the actor and the writer fight it out. It's the same old row again."
**Flynn on the second** _**Sirocco**_ **in the late 1930s.**
Flynn's free-flowing ruminations touched on many topics, and he often spoke about his travels:
"When I get on a boat I leave the actor behind. And I'm glad to be rid of him. I had a fine time in New York buying a boat for my Caribbean cruise. But New York itself depressed me. There are so many people crowded into it that it's too impersonal for me, a cold thing."
The romantic side of his nature is evident as a yearning for the things he could not have. The young man from Tasmania who craved love and happiness was always present:
"Once in the harbor of Sydney, Australia, I had a great thrill passing a square-rigger, one of the last of the old sailing ships. A girl in a red sweater—she looked splendidly savage—was leaning over the rail. I waved to her, and she waved back. That was all, but I shall never forget the picture that ship made."
Women and ships. These are the two central themes in Flynn's life. Critics today are quick to focus on Flynn's egomania, but they are missing the point of his tragically acute understanding of himself. To wit: "Though I am not wholly blind to the romance in women, the most romantic thing in all the world is the sea. With me, it is the old sailing ship lore that makes it so.... It is one of the things I want to write about. The sailor instinct is very strong in me. I am never happier than when on the sea. There's nothing like being on a small boat coming into a harbor you have never seen before. I don't know of anything quite so exciting. I have a terrific lust for moving and seeing something I've never seen before."
The search for knowledge was the driving force behind his wanderings. Flynn's early interviews are marked by his apparent restlessness.
"I'm always interested in discovering what's there. And I know I have a very strong discontent. I feel it in Hollywood as I've felt it nowhere else. This makes it difficult for me to stick in one spot. I want to get away and find out what's going on in other parts of the world."
Flynn was in the habit of making his point eloquently, due in part to his natural ability as a storyteller. He summarized his quest brilliantly: "The one thing I hold most valuable is knowledge, and it is gathered here and there, as a bird collects twigs or a dog picks up bones."
Too often during the magazine interviews of the 1930s, he was asked his favorite foods, what type of wife he preferred, his favorite color, and all of the routine staples of a fan magazine profile he came to loathe. Flynn cast a spell over reporters. They were entranced by him, intrigued, sometimes repelled by his antics, but ultimately infatuated with him, even though few understood him. The Darnton interview is especially rare, then, in that it offers so much insight into the man who would become so reviled in a few short years. There are inklings here too of the prankster, the raconteur telling the same story differently each time.
One of the anecdotes Flynn shared illuminates his fear of hunger, but also characteristically makes fun of his fear. Errol Flynn's "The Triumph of the Veal Cutlet" was a story that grew in the telling:
> There is romance in adventure—if you are young. It is essentially part and parcel of youth. You can't set out upon it without the right set of springs in your feet. Maybe mine have already gotten a bit worn and rusty, though I'm still willing to take another chance with them. You never bother about risks when you're young. I often wonder if they'd bother me now. I'd be ashamed if they did. For that would mean I had come to depend upon money instead of relying on myself. I'd probably go to pieces if I went broke. There was a time when I didn't mind that a bit. For that matter, I once deliberately went broke with a great deal of pride. With a penny—an English penny—in my pocket and nothing in my stomach, I was walking up McWilliams Street in Sydney one day when I stopped to look hungrily into the window of a ham-and-beef shop. My eyes fixed with endearing gaze on a veal cutlet. But the price went on it was a penny—ha!—a penny. What to do? Lacking that necessary half-cent, there was nothing to do but go inside and give the proprietor a talk better than myself. It was a desperate case of mind over matter. There are great moments in all our lives, and that one financially speaking, was the greatest in mine. It is written down on the sorry tablets of my memory as the Triumph of the Veal Cutlet. For I got it at my own price. Since then I have talked down Hollywood producers in arguments over movie contracts involving thousands of dollars. But these achievements have been nothing compared to my glorious victory over the ham-and-beef shopkeeper. And it pleases me to think, indeed believe, that this tale points a moral—if you don't mind my pointing. For the triumph of the veal cutlet was really the triumph of the primitive over civilization. I mean, youth is primitive by its very nature, and it is only with years that we arrive at a civilization which would make it impossible for us to overcome the fixed price of a beef-and-ham man. But, mind you, this isn't saying that it can't be done with a ham actor.
Flynn made fun of his fear of starving, but it was an underlining motivation in his fixation on wealth. Try as he might, he could never forget a youth spent conning people in the daily effort just to stay alive. In Hollywood, the finest foods were served to him at the best restaurants in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. He had chefs prepare him the finest meals at home. Only the most expensive wines would suit him. He told another reporter, Ben Maddox, that he had "made two attempts to get out of New Guinea, but both times I'd failed. I realized the third attempt had to click, so I connived like fury. I was resolved to start a new life, to escape the fatal drifting habit that would wind me up as a beachcomber. I became plenty shrewd, believe me!"
But Flynn never really lost the fatal drifting habit, and like the heroes he portrayed on screen, he went about his business smiling in the face of adversity.
An argument can be made that Westerns began when cameramen turned their attention to William F. Cody's "Wild West Show" in the 1880s. Cody, popularly known as "Buffalo Bill," debuted as a showman before Custer fell at the Little Big Horn in June of 1876. Ten years later Cody's popular show had expanded and became forever a symbol of the mythological West. Not so many years later, another American icon, Thomas Alva Edison, spearheaded a film production company and produced _The Great Train Robbery_ in 1903.
William K. Everson, in his seminal book _A Pictorial History of the Western Film,_ made the point that _The Great Train Robbery_ "established the essential formula of crime, pursuit, showdown and justice." The silent era created an array of cowboy stars—Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Hoot Gibson, Bronco Billy, William S. Hart, Tom Mix—and the serial programs of the 1930s continued the tradition of action over plot. The film industry exploited the lure of the Western from the beginning. The dramas of the nickel and dime pulps offered filmmakers the raw material for entertainments that described a recent American past in an uncomplicated fashion. As is so often the case, Hollywood moguls eschewed the need for a good script and relied on the bank robbery, the Indian attack, outlaws threatening a rancher's daughter, cattle stampedes, and blazing six-guns to keep audiences coming back. The "horse operas," as they became known, were immensely popular, and Hollywood met the demand with a profusion of mostly low budget pictures.
Warner Bros.' _Dodge City_ would not deviate from the established clichés, but it would offer, through superior production facilities and attention, a sleek and polished version of the Western.
Flynn felt he was miscast in Westerns, but he understood their allure. He would later claim he walked through his Westerns without much effort, but this is not precisely true. His early Westerns are a testament to his effort, although it was an admittedly sporadic effort. (His later Westerns did indeed suffer from his disinterest. He claimed, they "stopped my trying to act.") But Flynn worked hard on _Dodge City,_ reserving his animosity for director Michael Curtiz.
**In the space of a few years, Errol Flynn had become the idol of millions. (Paul M. James collection.)**
Pre-production began while he was filming _The Sisters,_ and some of the most interesting photos taken by Dr. Erben show Flynn on a soundstage in a cowboy outfit, standing in front of Roman statuary; an incongruous clash of historical and cultural imagery that makes an appropriate metaphor for the fantasy world he helped create in his films.
**With Olivia de Havilland in the epic** _**Dodge City**_ **(1939).**
Flynn used his influence to cast Bruce Cabot, Alan Hale, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams in _Dodge City._ Olivia de Havilland was slated to co-star, but the decision came during a difficult time in her life. She was hoping to establish herself in better roles than the love interest in Errol Flynn pictures, and _Dodge City_ offered little for her to do but look pretty and allow herself to be saved by the dashing frontier marshal in the final reel. The public had been demanding more of Flynn and de Havilland and the triumphs of _Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade_ and _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ made it clear she was the one actress everyone wanted to see in his films. _Four's a Crowd_ hadn't provided the romantic consummation audiences craved, but _Dodge City_ was created especially with de Havilland and Flynn in mind.
With best buddy Bruce Cabot around, Flynn assured himself of some fun, something he needed when faced with the task of satisfying a dour man like Mike Curtiz. According to de Havilland, Flynn "picked his friends foolishly. They were wild, undisciplined, boisterous, reckless, and most of them older than he was, and gave him a poor image of himself."
Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, along with Alan Hale, would remain a lifelong friend. Williams made 200 films between 1919 and 1962, his last being a small role in Michael Curtiz's final film, the underrated _The Comancheros_ starring John Wayne and Stuart Whitman. Born in Decatur, Texas, in 1899, Williams was a genuine Westerner. He was prolific in silent films and had a devout fan following throughout the mid–1930s. The pairing of Flynn with Guinn Williams and Alan Hale was providential.
**Flynn on the train station platform in Dodge City, Kansas, April 1, 1939. With him are Rosemary Lane, Jean Parker, Frances Robinson, Gloria Dickson, Jane Wyman, Humphrey Bogart and John Garfield. (Courtesy of the Kansas Heritage Center.)**
With his popularity at its peak, the publicity staff at Warners were constantly on the lookout for beneficial ways to keep their star at the forefront of public scrutiny. In retrospect, this seems nonsensical given Flynn's talent for making headlines, and his antics were often embarrassing, a fact Jack Warner was quick to point out in the heated arguments he was having with Flynn on a frequent basis. Warners wanted to control Flynn's public appearances, something the studio never accomplished.
Upon learning that Warner Bros. was making a film with their city as the inspiration, an affluent political contingent in Dodge City, Kansas, decided to petition Warner Bros. to hold the _Dodge City_ premiere in the city that inspired the film. Local businessmen and members of the Chamber of Commerce formed an invitation committee that drafted a formal request. The invitation committee members intended to travel to Los Angeles and formally present Jack Warner with the invitation, a scroll made from buffalo hide. The invitation read, in part:
> We want to join in the official request made by the Kansas legislature herewith handed to you, that you hold the world premier of your production DODGE CITY in the city whose name it bears. All Kansas will be proudly grateful to you for this recognition. We sincerely hope that this petition, formally presented to you by a delegation of Kansas citizens and officials, on this 20th day of February, 1939, will be favorably acted upon.
The presentation by the committee was recorded by newsreel cameras, and in a subsequent radio address, Jack Warner agreed to hold the premiere in Kansas. Warner promised a "glamour train" of stars would arrive in Dodge City on April 1, 1939, but this would be no April Fool's Day joke. The film's cast, plus any available contract players, Warners executives, photographers, newsreel cameramen, representatives of the national press corps, officials from the Santa Fe Railroad (Santa Fe executives favored complicity with Warner Bros. in order to bring attention to railroad development), and politicians would all partake in a historic celebration that included a parade and rodeo.
The preparation sparked a flurry of activity and growing excitement. _Dodge City_ was Flynn's biggest film after _Robin Hood,_ and Warners spared no expense and left no avenue unexplored in their desire to maximize publicity. Dodge City Mayor Arthur Nevins, caught up in the excitement, issued a proclamation that read: "... from March 1st until the date of the premiere celebration, every male citizen of Dodge City over 14 years old, shall, as far as nature and intense persuasion and cultivation permits, cause to be worn on the exposed parts of his anatomy, a hirsute adornment—whiskers to you."
_Life_ magazine photographer Peter Stackpole, assigned to travel with the stars, recalled to the author that the _Dodge City_ junket was almost out of control. The train departed Los Angeles and made stops in cities and towns along the way where, briefly, Flynn and the other stars would make polite comments to the eager fans that crowded the station platforms. Flynn was joined by co-stars Guinn Williams, Alan Hale, Bruce Cabot, Ann Sheridan, Frank McHugh, and Victor Jory. Also on the trip were Warners contract players Humphrey Bogart and his wife Mayo Methot, John Garfield, Rosemary Lane and her sisters Lola and Priscilla, Jean Parker, Frances Robinson, Wayne Morris, John Payne, Claire Windsor, Hoot Gibson, Gilbert Roland, Leo Carillo, Buck Jones, Jane Wyman, Allan Jones, Anita Louise, Gloria Dickson, Eddie Foy, Jr., Michael Curtiz, Franklin Roosevelt, Jr., producers Hal Wallis and screenwriter Robert Bruckner, and photographers Gene Lester and Scotty Melbourne. Olivia de Havilland was unable to attend due to a prior commitment. The mood on the train was carefree, and according to all published reports and memoirs, alcohol flowed in abundance.
"I remember a cowboy character named "Big Boy" Williams," recalled Stackpole, "He got into a fight and was thrown off the train and had to get back on his own. Oh, and then Bogart got into a fight with his wife. He chased her three train lengths back to their bedroom and she slid the door right into his face and gave him a couple of shiners. So when he arrived in Hollywood he was wearing very dark glasses. He was mad at her because she was gambling too much."
Pandemonium prevailed whenever Flynn made an appearance at a train station, and to this day the people who saw him recall with fondness the moment they caught a glimpse of him waving at the crowds.
Flynn was viewed by the public primarily as a social champion, and the citizens of Dodge City responded with enthusiasm when the train arrived the morning of April 1st. Initial press reports estimated the "hip-hip hurrah crowd" between 20,000 and 30,000 persons (later reports increased the number to 100,000). People climbed on rooftops, scaled lampposts, and occupied every available space in order to catch a glimpse of Errol Flynn. Rumors circulated that Flynn would not attend, that he had in fact left the train to go sailing, and a skeptical but hopeful throng lined the streets "so thick the drunks couldn't fall down."
The sixteen-coach Warner Bros. blue streamlined train arrived in Dodge City at 10:15 and slowly crawled down the tracks as a band from Topeka played "Oh, Susanna." State Police and Dodge City patrolmen cordoned off an area around the main coach. Governor Payne Ratner, Lt. Governor Carl Friend, New Mexico Governor John Mills, Dodge City Mayor Arthur Nevins, and dozens of other dignitaries were on hand to greet the stars as a fleet of airplanes roared their welcome overhead.
The stars began to emerge almost painfully slowly and took their places at the Santa Fe depot. The Lane sisters, Ann Sheridan, Guinn Williams, Alan Hale and the others appeared to jubilant applause. Flynn was reportedly the last to emerge, wearing the buckskin shirt he wore in the film, flashing his famous smile, a bandana around his neck fluttering in the soft Kansas breeze. The sound of cameras clicking and whirring filled the air. The crowd broke into a deafening, spontaneous cheer.
The memory of that moment—and all the events of that day—would remain fresh in the minds of those who crowded the street. Anna Marie Eckles offered a typically enthusiastic response: "What young girl at nineteen wouldn't think that Errol Flynn was the neatest thing she'd ever seen? The streets were crowded with people and you couldn't get a car through. That was the biggest thing that ever happened to Dodge City. During the parade, Errol Flynn looked like he'd been riding a horse all of his life. We've got a lot of people riding horses around here, but he was better looking." Eckles, who worked at the local theater, recalled meeting Flynn: "I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. He was everybody's idol. We all wore cowgirl outfits when Errol Flynn came to town."
The stars wended their way to the Lora Locke Hotel for lunch prior to participating in a parade that wound through the downtown district, terminating in a Wild West show in Wright Park where Leo Carillo served as master of ceremonies. During the parade, Flynn was astride a black and silver saddle, specially commissioned by the Santa Fe Railroad for $25,000. At Wright Park, a wedding ceremony was planned as Byran Carpenter, age 23, and Gladys Bell, age 20, were united in holy matrimony with Errol Flynn as best man and Ann Sheridan as maid of honor.
Betty Muncy recalled attending the luncheon where chain-smoking Flynn was the center of attention: "I was in college when they had the premiere for _Dodge City,_ and I took some of my college classmates back home with me for the celebration. We had an in because my dad was one of those in charge of all the arrangements, so we were invited to the big luncheon that included Errol Flynn and all the other VIPs. Flynn was a constant smoker. It was a terrible quantity of cigarettes that he smoked. When the luncheon was over I went over and took butts from the ashtray. I took them back to school with me and sold drags for 25 cents."
**Crowd outside the theater for the historic premiere of** _**Dodge City**_ **in Dodge City, Kansas. (Courtesy of the Kansas Heritage Center.)**
Throughout the afternoon and evening, _Dodge City_ was shown concurrently at the Fox-Dodge Theater, the Crown Theater, and the Cozy Theater with Flynn and the other stars making appearances at each. A ticket for the event cost $3.36 (the 36 cents being federal tax), an amazingly high price (an average ticket in 1939 cost 25 cents). The _Dodge City_ premiere was unique, being at the time one of the rare premieres staged away from the usual urban centers of Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. It was the most extravagant and expensive premiere Warners had yet staged, setting a precedent for others to follow. In fact, in a statement to the _Dodge City Daily Globe_ on March 31, 1969, and coinciding with the film's 30th anniversary, Henry Friedman, National Services Editor for Warner Bros., stated that the _Dodge City_ junket had become legendary among Hollywood press and press agents.
No wonder. Gossip columnist Walter Winchell revealed in his April 12, 1939 column that the press corps consumed one hundred fourteen cases of Scotch. Warners publicity staff were eager to keep the press satisfied and made certain the event was covered from coast to coast. In addition to photographers and reporters from _Look_ and _Life_ magazines, the press was represented by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Erskine Johnson of King Features, _Variety,_ the _Los Angeles Times_ (and all of the Los Angeles daily papers), _Ladies Home Journal,_ reporters and photographers from all the major papers from Chicago, Detroit and New York, the Associated Press, and reporters from virtually every large and small paper in Kansas and New Mexico. The number of professional reporters and photographers is estimated at two hundred.
"I was an usher at the theater and Errol Flynn came to the theater ahead of the rest of the crowd," recalled Bill Ripple. "He had to wait there for everyone to catch up, so I got to see the man a little more close. And I remember the crowds. That was the biggest crowd ever. They were all celebrating that night. Guinn "Big Boy" Williams spent the night in Boot Hill with the rest of the stiffs."
A prodigious drinker, Guinn Williams joined Flynn, Alan Hale, Bruce Cabot and others for a long night of imbibing. The amount of alcohol they consumed was not recorded, but it was plainly at a level that comes through diligent practice. Williams was discovered the following morning by police officers as he slept off his hangover curled up next to a headstone in the historic Boot Hill Cemetery. Having missed the return train, Williams was driven to Wichita and caught a transcontinental plane to the West Coast. Before departing, he stated he slept in Boot Hill because he "wanted to sleep among the dead men for his Wild West thrill."
Flynn was kept busy for a solid twelve hours, with little time for relaxation, other than drinking. Elizabeth Wilson, reporting on the event for _Screenland_ magazine, was one of the growing numbers of reporters whose initial reaction to Flynn was negative. She had met Flynn at social events in Hollywood and thought he was snobbish, but her view of him changed after watching him in Kansas:
"I thought Errol Flynn would probably take one look at those thousands of eager faces at the railroad station and refuse to risk his precious neck out on the platform. But I am delighted to report that I had Errol Flynn down all wrong. Not once during the whole trip did he hide away in his drawing-room like a spoiled temperamental star. Not once did he run out on a fan. If any man, woman, or child in Dodge City who wanted to see Errol Flynn, talk to Errol Flynn, or get an autograph from Errol Flynn during the twenty-four hours he was there missed out on it, I can assure you it was not Errol's fault. He was all over the place, like a dust storm."
Myth making is not necessarily a complicated process, and in the case of Errol Flynn, the myths that surround his life often have a basis in fact. Folktales abound in Kansas, as in other places where he appeared, lending themselves to the mosaic of his life. One of these delightful tales originated with Elizabeth Wilson, who detailed Flynn's visit to a hamburger joint at midnight.
"Errol settled down at a table in the corner and stretched out his long legs. 'Boy, am I tired', he sighed. 'Bring on some hamburgers!' But Dodge City didn't elect to let Errol out of anything. Hardly had he buried his face in a hamburger with onions when a big colored mammy behind the counter shouted at the top of her lungs, 'Lawd bless mah soul, if there ain't that great actor Mistuh Errol Flynn! Ladies and genmum, Mistuh Errol Flynn!'" They say that Flynn gave a speech, one of many speeches he gave that day that had the Kansans cheering, and then he gave a stirring rendition of some cowboy songs, all the time his eyes gleaming and his brilliant smile lighting up the dingy interior of a hamburger joint on the outskirts of Dodge City.
**Flynn introduces** _**Dodge City**_ **at the Dodge Theater, April 1, 1939. (Courtesy of the Kansas Heritage Center.)**
Most of Flynn's recorded comments amounted to repetitions of "I'm happy to be here in Dodge City today and I appreciate such a warm reception," but no matter, the crowds savored every syllable. That day Errol Flynn could have recited Latin scriptures without his popularity dimming one iota.
During the hectic afternoon, an industrious youth named Louis Sanchez procured a white ten gallon hat and set out to have it autographed by as many stars as possible. Sanchez succeeded beyond even his own expectations, and the hat was signed by Flynn and the other stars. Sanchez, in a notably unselfish and magnanimous gesture, donated the hat as part of an auction to benefit Saint Mary of the Plains College. With the auction, the hat was to leave Dodge City, but many years later it was offered for sale and purchased by the current owner of the Dodge Theater. The hat, now a legendary reminder of that bygone day, is occasionally displayed for revivals of the film. Sanchez, like so many others, remembers the _Dodge City_ premiere with affection. And his view of Errol Flynn sums up the actor's life as well as any: "He was a ladykiller, he really was."
The full-page magazine advertisements proclaimed the coming film with a only a few bold words:
> SOON!
> FLYNN!
> DODGE CITY
> •
> TECHNICOLOR!
> TERRIFIC!!!
> WARNERS!
Screenwriter Robert Buckner tailored _Dodge City_ specifically for Flynn. Buckner's flair for telling a good story would soon lead him into a career producing films (well into the _Dodge City_ production he was at work on the screenplay for 1940's _Knute Rockne—All American)._ Buckner's script was equally sparse, relying on the standard devices of pursuit and reconciliation, but the film actually rises above the clichés with its breathtaking Technicolor photography by Sol Polito and magnificent musical score by Max Steiner. The end result is a beautifully mythic version of the American West.
Flynn played Wade Hatton, an adventurer from Ireland (conveniently explaining his accent) who finds himself unwillingly linked to the fate of the wild town. His initial reluctance disappears as he becomes aware of the unruly and dangerous atmosphere. After being appointed sheriff he sets out to clean up Dodge with a vengeance. His adversary is Jeff Surrett, played by Bruce Cabot, who does a commendable job acting unscrupulous, which may not have been a stretch for him. Flynn is joined by Guinn Williams and Alan Hale, who set the tone of male camaraderie. Hale and Williams steal every scene they are in. Olivia de Havilland has little to do, but she is beautiful and sweet and the perfect screen match for Flynn.
**Kansas Governor Payne Ratner, Mrs. Ratner, and Flynn at the dinner after the premiere for** _**Dodge City**_ **. Betty Muncy (not pictured) later sold drags from Flynn's cigarette butts for 25 cents each. (Courtesy of the Kansas Heritage Center.)**
With Michael Curtiz as director there is a profusion of gunplay, displays of skilled horsemanship, and one protracted saloon brawl that was so well choreographed most film historians justifiably consider it the definitive saloon brawl in Westerns. Flynn did not appear in the saloon fight because Warners feared he would be injured during the complicated fight scene.
The scenes of a wagon train rolling across the rich brown earth beneath a clear sky are lyrical and stirring. Traveling by wagon train couldn't possibly have been as idyllic as presented here, but the passionate score by Max Steiner completes the illusion of Manifest Destiny. By today's standards, perhaps the film is filled too much with the ideological trappings of Roosevelt's New Deal. Errol Flynn/Wade Hatton is clearly a champion of justice, and his sidekicks (played by Williams and Hale) represent the reckless but good-natured middle-class status quo. But these motifs are secondary to the simplistic theme of good conquering evil, and once again Errol Flynn does so with a flair and freshness that endeared him to millions.
By early 1939 there were approximately 18,000 movie theaters nationwide, attracting sixty million Americans weekly for an average cost of admission of 25 cents each. Combined box office receipts for all of the studios exceeded $659,000,000. In the decades to follow, 1939 came to represent the pinnacle of the sound era, resulting in an unprecedented number of high-quality films. A sampling of popular films and their stars from 1939 is indeed impressive: _Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Destry Rides Again, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Four Feathers, Gone with the Wind, Gunga Din, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Of Mice and Men,_ and _The Wizard of Oz._
Flynn was competing with the finest actors and actresses of the time, and 1939 marked the only year he was listed in the top ten for popularity. _Dodge City_ was one of Warner's biggest money makers, and one of the highest grossing films of the year. The historic Kansas premiere was overshadowed by the December premiere of _Gone with the Wind_ in Atlanta, Georgia. But 1939 was a first for Flynn in another way too; it marked his least productive year as an actor, a fact stemming from his insistence on more time off. With only two films released in 1939, his inclusion in the top ten resulted from his four successful films the previous year, and _Dodge City's_ enormous popularity.
The big-budget Westerns released that year began a cycle of popularity for the genre that would not diminish for thirty years; _Stagecoach_ (United Artists), _Jesse James_ (20th Century Fox), and _Union Pacific_ (Paramount) joined _Dodge City_ as financially successful vehicles for their studios. _Stagecoach_ gets the most attention from film historians, and _Jesse James_ is seldom mentioned unless it's within the context of a thesis regarding the outlaw from Missouri, and _Union Pacific_ suffered from Barbara Stanwyck's pathetic performance as an Irish belle. The big winner of the year, of course, was _Gone with the Wind,_ a film that shares a characteristic with _Dodge City_ —both films demonstrate how a mediocre script can be transformed into great entertainment by dedicated professionals.
In early December 1938, Flynn capitalized on the success of _Beam Ends_ and a string of hit films by selling his screenplay _The White Rajah_ to Warners for $25,000. He had been working on the script intermittently for several years in collaboration with William Ulman, Jr. It is Ulman who is partly responsible for Flynn's image as an adventurer, for with Flynn as a silent partner, Ulman published several articles that exaggerated Flynn's New Guinea exploits. Theirs was a lucrative partnership and it is interesting to speculate how _The White Rajah_ might have played if Warners had produced it. The story is similar in tone and style to Paramount's 1935 production of _The Lives of a Bengal Lancer_ (starring Gary Cooper) and reportedly loosely based on events in India involving a British ruler.
Flynn's half of the $25,000 received for _The White Rajah_ helped offset the purchase of the second _Sirocco_ , but the ship was already causing him problems. The _Sirocco_ came under scrutiny by the federal government because it exceeded the maximum length allowed under alien ownership. To settle the matter, Flynn negotiated an agreement where he was allowed to sell the vessel to a corporation of which he was a stockholder. Lili Damita and Flynn's business partner, Al Blum, also held stock in the corporation. Flynn filed for citizenship, a process that would take three years, at which time he would be able to purchase the _Sirocco_ back from his stockholders. In the meantime, of course, Flynn could borrow the boat and use it for his pleasure.
This complicated process might have been avoided if Flynn had not brought attention to himself once too often. With the federal government keeping tabs on him, his activities scrutinized by both the press and Jack Warner's underlings, Flynn might have benefited from some advice to curtail his activities. But he admitted he detested authority of any kind, and he was consistent in his rebellious attitude toward bureaucracy.
He spent his money ambitiously, if not foolishly. After investing $17,000 in an Alaskan gold mine that netted him a zero return, a nearby mountain peak was dubbed "Flynn's Folly." The press enjoyed this, too, and "Flynn's Folly" soon became synonymous with several of his exploits. It would not be the last time his name joined the lexicon of popular vernacular.
Flynn's next film was beset with problems from the start. Bette Davis, along with every actress in Hollywood, desperately wanted the role of Scarlett O'Hara in MGM's _Gone with the Wind_. Warner Bros. had an option on the story but dropped it and David Selznick bought the story. Davis said: "When initial plans were in the making, Mr. Selznick asked Warners if they could borrow Bette Davis and Errol Flynn as a package. The thought of Mr. Flynn as Rhett Butler appalled me. I refused."
Davis remained bitter throughout her life at not having played Scarlett O'Hara. "It was insanity that I was not to be given Scarlett," she wrote in her 1962 autobiography. Warner Bros. cast Davis in a string of quality productions, and although they were all successful pictures— _Dark Victory, Juarez, The Old Maid_ —it did little to appease her bitterness and satisfy her ego. Ever the prima donna, Davis longed for a meaty role, something that would elevate her growing prestige.
For some time she had wanted to star in a film adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's 1930 play, _Elizabeth the Queen_. When Warners announced the film was in production, she was elated, envisioning Laurence Olivier as Essex. But Flynn was Warner's biggest star, and the one actor in Hollywood who looked best wearing period costumes. Davis was infuriated. She did not possess enough clout to prevent the casting of Flynn in the film that was originally titled _The Knight and the Lady_. "To me the only fly in the ointment was the casting of Errol Flynn as Essex," she said. "He wasn't an experienced enough actor to cope with the complicated blank verse the play had been written in. There was only one Essex I wanted." Laurence Olivier was, in Davis' words, "perfect for the part of Essex. He was Essex—arrogant, beautiful, virile, and talented. In all our scenes I dreamed he was playing Essex."
Adding to the unpleasant atmosphere was director Michael Curtiz. His relationship with Flynn continued to deteriorate. Flynn was aware that Davis wanted Olivier—she made no secret of her wishes—and he was acutely aware Davis had refused _Gone with the Wind_ as long as he was attached to the deal. Although he was one of Hollywood's top draws, Flynn did not have the critical acclaim and reputation as an actor. By 1939 we can see that his heroic image was slowly beginning to work against him.
Flynn responded to all of this in typical style. He was late arriving at the set, and unprepared. The dialogue was difficult for him. He could remember his lines well enough, but he couldn't say them with conviction. Davis was correct in her assessment of Flynn's talent. Retitled _The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex_ at Flynn's insistence (because he wanted the title to better reflect his presence), this was a film that Flynn despised making. Olivia de Havilland had a small, useless co-starring role. Also cast were Donald Crisp, Vincent Price and Alan Hale.
**Flynn and Bette Davis rehearsing a scene for** _**The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex**_ **(1939). Seated with them are producer Robert Lord and the imposing director, Michael Curtiz. (Paul M. James collection.)**
In her excellent biography about her father, Victoria Price sheds some light on the circumstances that helped Flynn learn his lines: "Because Vincent had played Essex in summer stock in the Maxwell Anderson play, Curtiz often turned to him to feed Flynn the lines. Vincent realized that the director did this in an effort to shame the star into learning his lines, but he hated being thrust into the middle of their contretemps. The situation finally came to a head when Curtiz warned Flynn that if he wasn't prepared the next day, he would give the part to Price—a gambit that apparently did the trick."
Flynn worked hard, if sporadically, but he was still in the habit of balancing his tardiness and unpreparedness with stretches of intense effort. _The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex_ benefits from Warner's high production values: superb Technicolor photography and a splendid musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The array of supporting players contributed their high standard of professionalism, and if Flynn isn't quite up to the standard exemplified by Laurence Olivier, it wasn't because he didn't try. In his autobiography, Flynn speculates that Davis was also jealous of the fact that his salary exceeded hers. "Although she was crowned the Queen of Hollywood as an actress, she heard I was getting more money than she, and she had been in the business much longer than I. Getting more dough than she earned might have grieved her some, because she was a far better actress than I could ever hope to be an actor."
Davis chose to approach the role of Elizabeth with realistic make-up by Perc Westmore. The result is an uncanny resemblance to the Queen, and therein lies the film's problem. Errol Flynn is a fantasy version of Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex who was beheaded in 1601. As with the original play, the story is a fictionalized depiction of a romance between Devereaux and Elizabeth, a romance that probably never existed, although historians agree Devereaux may have intentionally led the Queen to believe he was loyal to her.
Davis is superb in the role, commanding attention in every scene. She had become Queen Elizabeth just as she envisioned Laurence Olivier the embodiment of Essex. The elaborate sets, lush orchestration by Korngold, and ornate costumes lend themselves to a Technicolor dream world of court intrigue resplendent with dashing heroes and devious rogues. Flynn does a credible job as Essex; certainly his performance is better than Davis expected. But Davis' performance, good as it is, is the least likable aspect of _The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex._ She does, after all, present the appearance of a bloated, aging monarch, badly mismatched with her handsome suitor. It is Errol Flynn who makes the film work. He is bold and unrelenting in his heroic romanticism.
_The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex_ was another success with audiences. Released at Christmas, it joined the growing list of Flynn films released during the holiday season that would remain a favorite memory.
Nineteen thirty-nine was also the year in which his life and career began to drift in a different direction. In September, Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declared war on Germany. Isolationist sentiment was high in the United States. While _The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex_ was playing to audiences, newspapers carried accounts of the British and French pursuit and sinking of the German navy's battleship _Admiral Graf Spee._ The enormity of the declaration of war was beginning to spread.
Flynn began 1939 with a cruise with Howard Hill to Cape San Lucas where they went deep sea fishing using bows and arrows. He ended 1939 in like fashion, sailing, hunting, and carousing. He bought a new car: a low-swung gunmetal Chevrolet phaeton with pigskin upholstery and silver-plated door knobs and handles. And he had already purchased a large tract of land up in the Mulholland hills where he planned on building his dream house. His personal library was growing, and he had purchased the best classical music recordings available at the time. His growing network of friends kept him occupied. He socialized with John Barrymore, W. C. Fields, Alan Hale, Guinn Williams, Johnny Meyer, Gilbert Roland, and Bruce Cabot. His travels took him to Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami and points in between. In June he was reunited with his parents and sister, an event followed closely by the fan magazines. Much attention was given to the fact that Flynn's father was a university professor.
The professor and Mrs. Flynn gave the impression of being thrilled, and perhaps even slightly surprised, by the unexpected success their son had achieved. While Errol's father maintained his stoic demeanor befitting a respected biologist, Marelle was clearly dazzled by the Hollywood glitter.
The first inklings of a negative reaction to Flynn were finding their way into print. Flynn's make-believe publicity was catching up with him. There is a line in _Dodge City_ where Alan Hale says of Flynn's character, Wade Hatton: "Boy, you're either the greatest traveler who ever lived, or the greatest liar." According to Elizabeth Wilson, the line initiated knowing winks and nudges among the press corps who viewed Flynn as another Baron Munchausen.
American film critics have produced amazingly little scholarly analysis of the Errol Flynn—Michael Curtiz films. Perhaps Flynn's life is too filled with myth and innuendo for a practical analysis. His legend gets in the way of the reviews. For his part, Curtiz was equally enigmatic: a self-assured know-it-all who treated actors with disrespect. His Hungarian accent caused people to laugh at him, an effect he loathed and which sent him into violent fits of anger. But he was highly intelligent, loved art, and understood great literature.
With his jodhpurs and riding boots, megaphone in hand, balding head and hawk-like features, he made an imposing figure. He often referred to actors as "bums." It was, by all accounts, the closest he ever came to uttering a term of endearment. Gruff and demanding, Curtiz swaggered on a movie set with the arrogance of a drill sergeant. And in so doing, he achieved greatness. No other director at Warner Bros. equaled his record in popular film making during this period. This is not a slight on the other directors at Warner Bros.—they were a talented and capable group—but it is Michael Curtiz who helped define the Warner Bros. style.
He had Flynn to thank for much of his success. Imagine James Cagney as Robin Hood. Successful, yes; but the insouciance would be missing. Flynn would have achieved success no matter who the director, but Curtiz accentuated the brash elements of Flynn's acting ability.
Their relationship did not improve over time. In late 1939 Flynn announced he would undertake a tennis tournament to assist in the war effort on behalf of England and France. True to his word, Flynn staged a tennis match with Bruce Cabot and two large-breasted models. The tennis match commenced with the foursome playing nude. It was a typical Flynn prank, and the type of antic that angered Jack Warner and Michael Curtiz. No doubt a tennis match of nude players appealed to Flynn's bawdy sense of humor. The very idea is rife with comedic possibility. But Warner and Curtiz were businessmen with little time for what they considered adolescent hi-jinks.
**The late 1930s were Flynn's glory days. He was the image of perfection and went about Hollywood with a smile for every occasion.**
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In late 1939, Curtiz assembled his group of talented bums and began production on _Virginia City._ For location shooting he transported the entire crew to the Painted Desert in Arizona. Scenes were shot outside of Flagstaff and Sedona, attracting hundreds of curious onlookers. Location costs (minus salaries) soared to $15,000 a day. Two hundred players that included the principal cast, stuntmen, extras and a crew comprised of the directorial staff, cameramen, make-up artists, hairdressers, electricians, carpenters, grips, property men, wardrobe staff, and horse wranglers set out in a convoy of six transcontinental buses, twenty-two trucks, ten limousines, two station wagons, a generator truck, and two camera cars. They converged on the Navajo Reservation outside of Flagstaff where Curtiz whipped into action.
No actor was spared his barbed insults. One of the actors, a young man named George Besolo (whose name had recently been changed to 'Reeves' to enhance his marketability) felt the sting of Curtiz's arrogance. Curtiz wanted Reeves for a scene, and seeing the actor standing quietly on the sidelines, the director shouted, "Mr. Bum! Be so kind as to act in our picture, please!"
Reeves ignored Curtiz, either because he failed to realize the director was calling him, or because he resented the insult. Reeves had come to Hollywood after spending almost five years learning his trade on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse, a fact that Curtiz used as bait when he shouted at the actor, "Hey, you, Mr. Pasadena Playhouse, gentleman, bum!"
George Reeves survived his encounter with Michael Curtiz, and exited the tapestry of Errol Flynn's life, finding fame of his own in 1951 when he was cast as the lead in _Superman and the Mole Men_ for Lippert Pictures. The role led to a television series and a devoted fan following similar to that experienced by Flynn, one that persists to this day (a strange, lonely man, Reeves died under mysterious circumstances in 1959).
Sharing the spotlight with Flynn in _Virginia City_ were Randolph Scott, Miriam Hopkins, Alan Hale, Guinn Williams, Humphrey Bogart, and character actors Frank McHugh, John Litel, Ward Bond, and a dozen others from the Warner Bros. stable of contract players. Robert Buckner again provided the script, with uncredited help from Norman Reilly Raine and Howard Koch. An improvement over his _Dodge City_ script, _Virginia City_ was also created specifically for Errol Flynn.
Several myths persist about the making of _Virginia City._ The most prominent of these is that Humphrey Bogart, cast as a swarthy Mexican bandit named John Murrell, hated working on the film. It's probable the role didn't please him—most serious actors (and Bogart _was_ a serious actor) could find fault with the role. But Bogart's work ethic never let such things stand in the way of his performance.
Vincent Sherman, who began his career first as an actor, then became a writer and dialogue coach, and eventually a director, offers this insight into Bogart:
> Bogie came from the theater, and all of us who came from the theater were dedicated, hard workers. A lot of parts we didn't like and a lot of scripts we didn't like, but whatever we were assigned to do we tried to make them better and do the best we could. So, he was a very disciplined actor, hard working, and a wonderful guy to work with.
Jack Warner allegedly threatened to fire Flynn and Bogart because of their lack-adaisical attitude toward the film. Warner was not beyond threatening anyone when his temper was up, and he might have threatened Flynn, but given what Vincent Sherman has said about Bogart's work ethic, it appears unlikely such an altercation took place.
The myth is embellished by a story of a drunken Flynn and Bogart sneaking onto the Warner lot one night and attempting to set fire to the Western-style sets, effectively shutting down production. This is also highly unlikely. Bogart and Flynn shared a love for sailing and a general disdain for authority of the type exemplified by the executives in the Warner Bros.' front office, but they were never close friends. And in 1940 both their careers were on an upswing. Neither was foolish enough to attempt arson to get back at Jack Warner, even if they had thought of it.
These myths stem from serious problems during the making of _Virginia City,_ however. Witness the comment from John Hilder, correspondent for _Hollywood_ magazine who accompanied the cast to the Painted Desert: "Tempers flared and feuds raged. For one eventful weekend it appeared that the cast was about to choose sides—the blues and the grays—and re-fight the Civil War with bare hands, rocks or practical bullets."
Much of the anxiety appears to originate with Curtiz's demanding tactics and a busy daily schedule that left the predominantly fun-loving male cast little room for relaxation. Flynn often referred to working on films as "a lot of work," and _Virginia City_ was no exception. But he did find time to take in the local sights. He enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon and wrote to a friend about the great scenery in the Painted Desert. Excerpts from his letter reveal his anecdotal talent:
> We've been here for three weeks and it will probably be another fortnight before our work is completed. The company of two hundred undoubtedly is spread out over more landscape than any other location company ever has been. "Hoppy"—that's our pet name for Miriam Hopkins—Randy Scott and "Bogey"—that's Humphrey Bogart—are living fifty-five miles from the Flagstaff headquarters, at the Indian trading post of Cameron, which hangs on the canyon wall over the Little Colorado. It's in the heart of Navajo country and a few mud hogans, looking like huge upside-down salad bowls squat right under their windows.
>...Things happen once in awhile that are not on the production schedule. Like two days ago when, returning to the trading post after a hard day in the saddle in front of the cameras, Randy Scott and I found a disabled car on Highway 89 and discovered in it, of all things, seven of Billy Rose's Aquacade nymphs on the way to the coast. The girls had a flat tire, and we took it off and put on the spare, but did the diving girls proceed to the coast? They did not. They're still here, to see how movies are made.
> Navajo Indians and squaws used in the picture receive $7.40 a day, the most money they have ever earned. Papooses are paid $5.20 a day. One Navajo, his squaw, two children, papoose, wagon, horses and sheep were used for one day. At the end of the day he had ninety-six dollars coming to him and he demanded it in silver dollars. The ninety-six silver dollars were given to him and he tucked them in his pockets, shirt, pants and hat and waddled toward his horse to return to his mud hogan. But he was so weighted down with silver he could not get aboard his pony. Rather than exchange the silver for paper money, he was boosted to the top of a boulder, the horse was led alongside, and he was oozed into the saddle. Silver, squaw, papooses, horses and sheep and all, he jogged into the sunset of the Painted Desert.
**Errol Flynn with Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Alan Hale in** _**Virginia City**_ **(1940). Under the direction of Michael Curtiz, these three actors perfected the "buddy" action film.**
>...In spite of the long hours, the hard work and the endless traveling back and forth we've all enjoyed it. The magnificent scenery—the Painted Desert, the Grand Canyon—in itself would be more than worth the trip.
Flynn took note of the elaborate effort and great expense that went into _Virginia City._ He expressed a dislike for being routed from bed at 5 A.M. for location shooting that changed daily. Naturally, he made a cantina tour in Flagstaff, held up production a few times due to tardiness, and maintained his devotion to Lord Byron's line that "pleasure's a sin, and sometimes sin's a pleasure."
Some exterior scenes were filmed at Sherwood Lake, the Vazquez Rocks in Antelope Valley, and Victorville, California. Exteriors were also completed at the Warner Calabasas ranch, using the Western street from _Dodge City._ A reconstruction of Virginia City's famous Sazerac Saloon included an opulent painting of a nude maiden reclining on a bower of clouds and daffodils. Legend insists that after a dozen drinks the customers could see her breathe. Warner Bros. hired a painter for $2,000 to reproduce the original reclining maiden. Prop experts then went to work on the painting, adding a rubber bladder that, when inflated with compressed air, gave the appearance of a person breathing.
The Hays Office objected to the nudity, and a draping sheet was added to cover the maiden's breasts and torso, but the simulated rise and fall of her diaphragm was allowed to remain. In the film, Alan Hale and Guinn Williams drink, hiccup, and ponder what the maiden can do next if they take yet another drink.
The film allowed composer Max Steiner opportunity to match the majestic vistas of the American West with lush and romantic themes. The musical score is glossed with snippets from _Battle Hymn of the Republic, Dixie,_ _Johnny Comes Marching Home, Bonnie Blue Flag,_ and _America._
These production details demonstrate the level of commitment Warner Bros. had for Flynn. _Virginia City_ was an ambitious undertaking and again, every effort focused on making it a blockbuster entertainment. This was "an Errol Flynn picture," a brand name now, easily recognizable and containing the heroic elements the public expected.
That _Virginia City_ was an extraordinary success was no surprise, but what remains fascinating are the varied opinions about it today. The fans, always a devoted group, generally love the film. The critics generally dismiss it. The divide between the public's taste and the critical view is profound.
There are two points on which everyone agrees: Humphrey Bogart and Miriam Hopkins were miscast. Bogart, however, does not hurt the film, while Hopkins does. Bogart does his best but never comes across as a convincing Mexican, but precisely because _he is Humphrey Bogart,_ he somehow makes it work. Bogart's performance as John Murrell is an example of a personality overcoming his material. Hopkins, on the other hand, is lacking the grace and beauty that Olivia de Havilland would have brought to the role.
Randolph Scott played a Confederate officer leading a band of Southern sympathizers on a trek to Richmond, Virginia, with a wagon train loaded with gold—enough gold to revitalize the Confederate cause. Flynn played a Union spy who wants to stop the gold from reaching Virginia. He is accompanied by the irascible Alan Hale and Guinn Williams who succeed in stealing every scene in which they appear. The trio of Flynn, Hale, and Williams struck a chord with audiences, and after _Dodge City_ fan mail arrived at Warner Bros. demanding additional teaming. Flynn, who spent considerable time off screen drinking with these two men, was eager to keep both of them at his side.
Randolph Scott added a touch of credibility to the Western. Scott began his career in 1928 and appeared in numerous melodramas. By 1940, it was clear he could draw audiences as a cowboy, and with few exceptions he starred in Westerns for the rest of his career. His contribution to the Western is as vital as John Wayne's, but Scott's films have yet to experience a revival. A shame, considering the quality of _Seven Men From Now, Wichita, Abilene Town,_ and _Ride the High Country,_ the latter being the preferred feature critics are willing to consider. Scott enjoyed working with Flynn and they had a friendly relationship, although little in common.
Flynn is believable and presents the brash heroics fans expected. He is lithe and daring, and in a few scenes offers a range of emotion most critics failed to appreciate. When he is threatened with losing his life at the hands of the Southern spies, Flynn expresses genuine fear and apprehension.
_Virginia City_ benefits from the remarkably skilled black-and-white photography of Sol Polito. His outdoor scenes have a particular beauty, especially the shots of the wagon train moving slowly across the vast landscape, sun and clouds high in the sweeping sky, all of which is punctuated by the lilting crescendo of Max Steiner's epic score which creates a visual nostalgia that has been mimicked by filmmakers ever since.
The press junket for _Virginia City_ was a duplicate of the one staged for _Dodge City_ a year earlier. Flynn drank excessively on the train, and the day after the main premiere in Virginia City they made a stop in Reno where Flynn's intoxication was apparent to anyone who came close to him. He was to mount a horse named Diablo and lead the parade through downtown Reno. Twelve-year-old Penny Porter, who was riding in the parade next to Flynn, vividly recalled the moment Flynn was thrown from Diablo: "Errol swung into the saddle and grabbed the reins. Diablo's ears went flat. His eyes bulged white. And the band erupted in a marching song. Diablo squealed, side-stepped, and humped in the middle. 'He's gonna buck!' I screamed. Errol Flynn paled. He clutched the saddlehorn and unwittingly dug his spurs into Diablo's flanks. Foam bubbled like suds down the long silver shanks of the bit, and with one violent twist of the back, the gelding pitched my love to the ground."
Penny Porter, like so many others, had been waiting for the magical moment when she would meet the hero of her dreams, only to experience disillusionment upon seeing him too drunk to ride a horse. "Errol got up on one knee and I felt something slipping away," she poignantly recalled. Looking small and frightened, Flynn did not attempt to remount Diablo. He walked the horse through the parade.
The incident differs from other tales of Flynn's drinking habits during this period, most of which recount humorous escapades. But he was becoming careless in public, and giving little thought to the impression he was having on others. His supporters today will say this was part of his non-conformist lifestyle, which is true enough, but nothing can sanitize the fact that he was increasingly out of control.
"I now enjoy parties," Flynn stated shortly before the premiere, "Big parties. Hollywood parties." Flynn lamented that he wanted more belly laughs in his life and felt that laughter was what the world truly needed. He had expressed these sentiments before, but by 1940 there is a hint of wistfulness in his comments. He had reached a turning point of some kind, perhaps instinctively recognizing the change, but wasn't quite comfortable with it.
He wished, he claimed, to learn tolerance for his enemies and acknowledged he enjoyed being pampered by Warner Bros. He said he'd be a fool to give up "this life of ease and plenty, to go after calluses instead of the silken cushions and the minions to do my bidding."
His friendships, poor as they may have been according to de Havilland and others, were important to him. He especially enjoyed the company of his cowboy friends. "Nothing I find upsets me more than being treated like a big shot. That's why I like doing these Westerns...Those cowboys don't give a damn for any of us."
Guinn Williams had been spending time with Flynn on the _Sirocco_ with Howard Hill and Buster Wiles, and made a positive impression on his Tasmanian friend. Said Flynn: "I have Big Boy to thank for an awful lot. He's a wise old so-and-so, right down to earth, is Big Boy, another Will Rogers in his salty, sane philosophy."
**Errol Flynn dueling with Gilbert Roland in the classic** _**The Sea Hawk**_ **(1940).**
Filmmaking is a collaborative art that requires the concentrated effort of hundreds of people working in harmony to achieve a common goal. Each plays an integral part in the final product, from the carpenters and electricians, musicians and make-up and wardrobe staff, through the sound technicians and secretarial pool who play a role behind the camera in creating a celluloid entertainment. The Warner Bros. house style was as much a brand name as was Errol Flynn, and with the new decade the studio operated at peak effectiveness.
Flynn and Curtiz followed _Virginia City_ with _The Sea Hawk,_ a film that rivals _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ as the prime example of the swashbuckler _par excellence_ in film history. _The Sea Hawk_ had been in the planning stages since Flynn's success as _Captain Blood,_ and the first screen treatment was completed shortly after _Captain Blood_ premiered. Also based on a novel by Raphael Sabatini, _The Sea Hawk_ had been made as a silent in 1924 and starred Milton Sills.
The silent version followed Sabatini's story about a Cornish gentleman, Oliver Tressilian, who is falsely accused of murder and eventually takes to the seven seas as Sakr-el-Bahr—the Hawk of the Sea. The 1940 version would have Sabatini's title for inspiration, but little else. The script would go through at least nine versions with four writers. Robert Neville wrote the first treatment, followed by Delmer Daves, Seton I. Miller, and Howard Koch. The final version is credited to Miller and Koch.
Originally, slated to begin production after he completed _The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex_ , Flynn objected to the strenuous schedule. An additional postponement was due to the construction of a new "maritime" soundstage 21 on the Burbank lot. The stage could be filled with water and crews went to work constructing two full-length ships, a Spanish galleass of 165 feet, and a British man-of-war of 135 feet.
With Olivia de Havilland resisting co-starring in another Flynn picture, Warner Bros. cast Brenda Marshall in her second film. Alan Hale, Claude Rains, Henry Daniell, Flora Robson, and a menagerie from the Warner Bros. stock company rounded out the cast. Filming commenced in February with Michael Curtiz, the only director Warners thought could manage a film of such an epic scope.
With all traces of the Sabatini novel erased from the story, the synthesis of the Miller and Koch scripts relies on a thinly disguised version of Sir Francis Drake to tell its story about court intrigue, dashing cavaliers, and the threat of the Spanish Armada. Hal Wallis understood that Sabatini's name ensured brand name recognition and he wanted to retain Sabatini's name for the advertising. Sabatini initially refused use of his name after reading the script. There was nothing of his novel in the proposed film. Eventually, Warner Bros. and Sabatini agreed upon a sum and henceforth his name has appeared in all related advertising for the film.
There are flashes of historical accuracy, but these are mere points of trivia. Francis Drake becomes Captain Geoffrey Thorpe played by Flynn, loyal to Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson). Thorpe is a sea raider and uses his personal charm to elicit the unofficial blessing to raid a Spanish gold caravan on Panama. His objective is fueled by a need to build a fleet to protect England from the threat of the Spanish Armada. The Spaniards learn of Thorpe's plan and he is captured in Panama with the surviving members of his crew and sentenced to life as a slave on a galley bench, where he is subjected to daily cruelties. Naturally, Thorpe and his men escape and sail for England with documents that prove the Spaniards are intent on building an armada to attack England.
The Panama episode was filmed near the Burbank studio after the 500,000 square feet of property were converted to a jungle. The brief footage of Thorpe and his men emerging from the jungle was shot at Point Magu, northwest of Los Angeles. Some early releases featured the Panama sequence tinted yellow to simulate the sweltering heat of the jungle. This is the version that is available on video today.
_The Sea Hawk_ is a film that truly deserves the label of classic. This movie epitomizes the Warner Bros. style of filmmaking. All of its disparate ingredients are combined to make a film of visual splendor and high drama. Consider the many indelible scenes: sailors waving their cutlasses in battle, the _Albatross_ under full sail across the moonlit sea, Captain Thorpe and his men struggling to escape the Spaniards' trap in the stifling hot jungle of Panama, the cruelty and despair of the slaves' galley, and the climactic fencing sequence between Flynn and Henry Daniell that set a new standard in swashbuckling excellence.
**As Captain Geoffrey Thorpe in** _**The Sea Hawk**_ **, Errol Flynn embodied nobility, justice, perseverance, and charm.**
**Rare production still of Michael Curtiz (left, in dark hat) directing Errol Flynn and Brenda Marshall in** _**The Sea Hawk**_ **. (Paul M. James collection.)**
Fred Cavens choreographed Flynn and Daniell as they fenced their way through the palace, from Lord Wolfingham's sitting room to a balcony, down an expansive corridor, and into the main hall. Flynn was doubled in some of the long shots by Don Turner, and Daniell was doubled by both Ralph Faulkner and Ned Davenport. Unlike Basil Rathbone, Henry Daniell was clumsy with a sword, which necessitated the extensive use of doubles. But he made an effective villain and was appropriately menacing in the close-ups while crossing swords with Flynn. Curtiz followed the blueprint he had created with _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and staged the battle to include overturned tables and crashing candelabra as the huge shadows of the opponents fell across the palace walls.
Sol Polito's photography is a prime example of the true beauty attainable with black and white. Polito knew precisely how light attaches to a woman's hair, and accentuated this ingredient in the rose garden scene where actress Brenda Marshall would never again look so lovely in a film. In a gentle, romantic scene (perhaps the finest of its kind), Captain Thorpe says to her: "Doña Maria, in the garden of a convent in Peru there's a beautiful statue. The Spanish nuns call it Nuestra Señora del Rosario...This is how I'll remember you...as my lady of the roses." With this moment, Thorpe and Doña Maria become lovers without having touched each other. Their emotional connection adds a motivating balance to the action that follows.
**Errol Flynn runs through Henry Daniell in the final moments of** _**The Sea Hawk**_ **.**
There have always been actors who can dominate a screen with a brilliant characterization, and others like Errol Flynn in _The Sea Hawk,_ who dominate the movies because of that tangible feeling we call "star quality." In _The Sea Hawk,_ Flynn's physical presence is hypnotic. Combine this with a topnotch production and the result is pure excitement.
_The Sea Hawk_ further benefits from the superb sound quality that became something of an unofficial trademark for Warner Bros. during this period. A Warner Bros. film is easily recognizable by its soundtrack, a distinctive sound-sequence that complemented so many films with its tactile familiarity: the creak of the _Albatross_ swaying on a gentle wave, the explosion of muskets, and clash of sabers all provide _The Sea Hawk_ a depth of audio motifs. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's magnificent score matches the grandeur of the sets, action, and personalities that distinguish _The Sea Hawk_ from all other swashbucklers.
_The Sea Hawk_ was reported to have been a deeply moving experience for Winston Churchill. The film's premiere coincided with the commencement of the Battle of Britain as Hitler ordered an increase in raids against the beleaguered British. On August 1 Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to destroy the RAF just as the first shiploads of supplies were arriving from the United States. The British were facing a grave danger in the summer of 1940. _The Sea Hawk_ offered millions an inspiration that lasted long after the film's initial release.
The film's final scene featured a stirring speech by Robson's Elizabeth: "We have no quarrel with the people of Spain or of any other country. But when the ruthless ambitions of a man threaten to engulf the world, it becomes the solemn obligation of free men, wherever they may be, to affirm that the earth belongs not to any man, but to all men...."
As she concludes her speech the camera pans a fleet of galleons and dissolves into a shot of modern warships as Korngold's majestic score swells to a close. The scene was cut from American prints but remained in the prints released in Britain. The comparison of Elizabeth's struggle against the Spanish and Britain's resistance to Hitler's maniacal intentions was a palpable reminder of the pro-isolationist/interventionist sentiments that still divided Americans.
Flynn's problems with Curtiz were escalating with their third 1940 feature, _Santa Fe Trail,_ released in December. The script by Robert Buckner played fast and loose with history, incorporating several American historical figures in a series of adventures involving abolitionist John Brown, brilliantly played by Raymond Massey.
_Santa Fe Trail_ is the first of several historical pictures starring Flynn to come under attack from critics. The historical inaccuracies were so blatant, and the heroics so far removed from the truth, that reviewers have always had a difficult time finding merit in the film. This seems a little harsh considering Warner Bros. never intended to make a fact-filled historical documentary. They had altered history for the sake of entertainment in _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and _The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex,_ and few complained.
Kate Holliday, granddaughter of Kit Carson Holliday, published an article about the historical inaccuracies in the film shortly before the premiere. In "Fact or Fantasy," Holliday says, "The story as you will see it on the screen will be exciting, inspiring, and tender. But it is not history. Warner Bros. have chosen condensation rather than fact." Holliday's principal concern is the inaccurate characterization of her relatives. One of the characters, Charles "Bob" Holliday, played in the film by William Lundigan, was still alive (he was in his eighties) in 1940 and living in Sacramento, California. (Warner Bros. was quick to state the Lundigan character was a fictionalization. In the film's publicity materials the character's name is spelled "Halliday.") Holliday details the inaccuracies carefully, but concludes that she can see "the necessity of giving the public a good story. I can see that much of that story could only be created at the expense of history."
**Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, and Ronald Reagan in** _**Santa Fe Trail**_ **(1940). Reagan and Flynn made an enjoyable screen partnership.**
Apparently, the controversy has not abated in sixty years. Most of the numerous books for home video aficionados feature thumbnail reviews that invariably mention the liberties taken with history.
_Santa Fe Trail_ is noisy and Curtiz crammed more action into the film than in _Virginia City._ He had Flynn riding his horse at a breakneck speed. Flynn as Jeb Stuart is caught in a burning barn, almost lynched, escapes on horseback with his hands tied, and participates in numerous gun battles. He is joined again by Alan Hale and Guinn Williams, whose best moment comes when they crash an officer's soirée and attack the punch bowl. Olivia de Havilland plays Kit Carson Halliday, a strong-willed, independent woman who falls in love with Jeb Stuart, played by Flynn. Her role is well defined but she is used sparingly, perhaps because the focus here is all on the action.
**Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland during the press junket for** _**Santa Fe Trail**_ **(1940). This photograph is published here for the first time. (Courtesy of Mike Mazzone.)**
Flynn had approved the casting of a popular newcomer, Ronald Reagan, in the role of George Armstrong Custer. Reagan has little to do here other than exclaim, "Aw, Jeb!" a lot, but he made a nice foil for Flynn.
Reagan found Flynn to be problematic and told interviewer Tony Thomas: "Errol was a strange person, terribly unsure of himself and needlessly so. He was a beautiful piece of machinery, likable, with great charm, and yet convinced he lacked ability as an actor. As a result, he was conscious every minute of scenes favoring other actors and their position on the screen in relation to himself. He was apparently unaware of his own striking personality."
Reagan would acquire first-hand experience with Flynn's lighthearted approach to filmmaking. In one scene, where they were required to mount their horses in unison and gallop away, Reagan was thrown from his horse after the saddle had been surreptitiously loosened by Flynn. The sight of Reagan lying dazed in the dust amused Flynn who enjoyed seeing his fellow actor struggling to keep his composure.
Flynn's relationship with Olivia de Havilland also suffered. She admitted she was tired of him, bored to tears by his egotism and rudeness. Working with him had stopped being fun, and de Havilland craved better roles.
During filming of one of the night scenes, when everyone was exhausted and ready to go home, and with Curtiz demanding one last shot, Flynn suddenly announced, "Good night, boys. I'm going home." De Havilland was flabbergasted by his rudeness after having to spend over two hours late at night preparing for the scene. She approached Flynn and said, "Couldn't you possibly manage to finish this one setup, so we won't have to come out again tomorrow night?"
Flynn refused, possibly believing she had been sent as a goodwill emissary by Curtiz. De Havilland became determined then not to work with Flynn again. When the picture was completed she told him, "I'm bored to death with you, Errol, and I don't want to work with you again. Nothing personal, you understand. I'm sure you feel the same way about me. It's bad for us to work together. Sooner or later it's bound to show up on the screen."
Flynn agreed with her, and according to de Havilland, both informed producer Hal Wallis of their decision. As an epilogue, however, during the press junket to Santa Fe, New Mexico, de Havilland was forced to re-evaluate Flynn yet again, for he was gentlemanly, polite, and courteous. She was quite surprised by this, and began to understand the complex nature of the man with whom she had so recently been infatuated.
_Santa Fe Trail_ is the source of an especially perplexing legend. The rumor persists that in the opening sequence, when Robert E. Lee and Phil Sheridan are observing a West Point graduation, the automobile zooming into view in the background was driven by Flynn. Always the merry prankster, he was out to ruin the shot for Curtiz. If this is true (and Flynn was capable of it), the prank seems not to have worked, because inexplicably the scene remained in the final print. Anyone watching the film can plainly see the automobile shooting down a tree-lined road. This is probably nothing more than another myth, but we shall never know if it was Flynn actually sitting behind the wheel of that automobile, grinning as he gunned the car into view.
With some free time available just before the _Santa Fe Trail_ premiere, Flynn again decided to travel. This time his destination was South America. With Johnny Meyer as his traveling companion, Flynn flew to Brazil. They had a five-room suite at the Copacabana-Palace in Rio de Janeiro where the pink champagne flowed in volumes and Flynn learned to dance the samba with Mrs. Regina Sarmanho, wife of the Brazilian ambassador to Cuba.
From Rio de Janeiro they traveled to the island estate of Darké de Mattos, a Brazilian potentate. The de Mattos estate has been described as a fairyland with "pink marble buildings, marble swimming pools; private race track; perfume-scented air; music always coming from somewhere—a dream of a place."
Here Flynn met a girl he described as "one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen."
He engaged her in a conversation about books and promptly sent away for a copy of _Gone with the Wind_ and gave it to her as a present. But Flynn later reported he failed to seduce the girl because the competition with the knowledgeably romantic Latin-American men was too much to overcome, even for someone with his practiced skill. "Those Latin-American guys know so much, too," he complained. He added the girl was successfully wooed by a handsome Latin man.
While in Buenos Aires, Flynn made it a point to see Arturo Toscanini at the El Teatro Colon. Always a lover of great opera music, Flynn appreciated Toscanini, the Italian conductor who is considered the unrivaled interpreter of Verdi, Beethoven, and Brahms. In 1937 Toscanini became conductor of the National Broadcasting Company Symphonic Orchestra and his series of radio broadcasts brought him considerable acclaim. Flynn's tour also placed him in contact with numerous powerful Brazilian politicians and, according to most reports, their wives.
Beautiful Latin women, wealthy politicians and dictators vying for his autograph, the finest champagnes and cuisine prepared by the world's acclaimed chefs, with Toscanini providing a musical interlude, Errol Flynn was _cause célèbre_ in South America.
Perhaps he suffered a genetic disposition that compelled him to shadow his hedonistic revelries with controversy. During the six-week flying tour that took him through 21 Latin-American countries, Flynn once again involved himself in politics. He claimed he was motivated by a desire to help the Brazilians stem the growing tide of Nazi infiltration in South America.
One Santiago newspaper, _El Pampero,_ printed less-than-flattering remarks about Flynn's acting ability, which initiated a heated response from him. Believing the editor to be pro–Nazi, Flynn said "Your articles are like those of Goebbels." Flynn then challenged the editor to a fight. "Come into my room, we will lock the door," he is quoted. "If you open it before I do, I'll kiss the ground three times before your office. If I leave first, then you can publish in your paper that for once a Nazi hero had the courage to meet a contender on an equal basis."
He provided a handwritten statement to Santiago's _Defensa_ newspaper: "To the Defensa, with every hope for your success which, from your anti Nazi policy, should be of great importance to every lover of liberty."
Another statement, to the Santiago _Standard,_ drove the point home:
> I felt somewhat a stranger when I arrived today in the Argentine Republic—but when I suddenly saw all around me hundreds and hundreds of happy smiling faces with a welcome written in plain letters, it struck me even more strongly how important Pan-Americanism is in the world today—perhaps the very hope for the world's future.
> When today all our ideas of Right suddenly seem subjugated to those of Might, when the tramp of the invader stamps underfoot every preconceived notion of decency, Pan-Americanism, a strongly united North and South America, might show the rest of the world a light, a beacon, to guide it back to those principles of democracy without which I personally would not want to live.
Upon his return, Flynn said: "The United States is still in a dream and has not awakened to the grave dangers small organized minorities are precipitating. I made it my business to investigate fifth column activities. The danger for America is very near."
Flynn's comments angered those in favor of isolationism. He had gone out on a limb with his unpopular view and felt the immediate backlash. And he gave no indication that he cared what people thought of him. He said and did as he pleased. He could speak of international political matters with frankness, or he could spend hours discussing the romantic poets.
The FBI had taken notice of Flynn in 1937 when he traveled to Spain with Dr. Hermann Erben. The FBI considered Erben a potential espionage agent with strong Nazi ties, and when Flynn was in Buenos Aires he was interviewed by the staff of Ambassador Norman Armour regarding his friendship with Erben. Flynn was also interviewed at the Warners Burbank studio in September 1940. The report is generally factual, although Flynn erroneously told the FBI he met Erben in the early thirties when Flynn was heading an Australian expedition for the Rockefeller Institute. Flynn never worked for the Rockefeller Institute, but it probably appeased his ego to avoid mentioning he was a beach bum.
Flynn was but one of many celebrities Hoover had under surveillance, although Flynn's FBI file is one of the more extensive ones. J. Edgar Hoover was attracted to the glamorous world of Hollywood. He counted many stars, gossip columnists, studio executives and various personnel among his friends and informants. He was particularly attracted to the seamy side of Hollywood. The SAC (Special Agent in Charge) of the Los Angeles and San Diego field offices provided him with confidential reports detailing which celebrities were having affairs, suffered from drug or alcohol problems, and were involved with underage or promiscuous women. The FBI files on other male celebrities are not much different from Flynn's. Many movie actors and their escapades are documented in Bureau files in the same formal, repetitive manner.
J. Edgar Hoover was largely responsible for transforming the FBI into a first rate organization of law enforcement, but he had a dark side as well. Hoover was a man who often abused his station in government through blackmail and coercion. His patriotism, however, is not in question; only his ethics and moral character fall apart under scrutiny. Hoover was a lifelong bachelor obsessed with the sexual habits of the wealthy and famous. His private file on the sexual antics of various celebrities seems to have provided him with much pleasure.
One of the earliest FBI documents available for review that mentions Flynn is a memorandum dated February 1940. The memo was in reference to an FBI investigation of a possible violation of the White Slave Traffic Act and Flynn's name appears several times in the document. A portion of the document reads:
> On February 21, 1940, an informant telephonically advised special agent in charge R.B.Hood that two girls were living at 2951 West _illegible_ Street in the lower apartment and that if an agent came there right away several people prominent in the movies business could be located there; that these girls were supposedly from Detroit, Michigan and are prostitutes and the informant could tell who was supposed to have brought them here.
The next section of the document is not legible. Then follows:
> It was ascertained that a Cadillac car bearing license No. SU-925 has been parked at this place almost constantly, and it was checked and found to belong to ERROL FLYNN, movie actor...
On the following page there appears a paragraph detailing the incident where the FBI informant discovered the automobile was registered to Flynn:
> She further related that a big black Cadillac sedan bearing license No. SU-925, 1940 California, was parked in front of this apartment every day between the hours of three P.M. and five P.M.; that on one occasion she had crawled on her knees across the pavement to the driver's side of the automobile and by using a piece of wire which she inserted into the left front door window, she succeeded in opening the door and examined the registration card on the steering wheel. She related that this card was made out to ERROL FLYNN, 601 North Linden Drive, Beverly Hills, California.
Later in this document the FBI determined that Flynn had apparently loaned this car to an acquaintance and that Flynn was not involved with these women, as evidenced by the following passage:
>...advised that upon arriving in the city with the 1940 Cadillac from Detroit, he immediately turned the same over to ERROL FLYNN, who in turn released his old 1936 Cadillac over to CENSORED and that he had been driving this old Cadillac since. He further related that he had driven this car to the Ninth Street Apartment on numerous occasions while the girls were living there, that ERROL FLYNN at no time to his knowledge visited this place....
Several arrests were made in this case, with at least one woman providing information on "call house" activities. Flynn's name once again appears in the FBI synopsis of the woman's statement:
> Victim also said that she and the subject intended to get married in Tulsa and that she was in love with the subject. She admitted that she received $250.00 on a two-day house party at ERROL FLYNN's place in Hollywood. She said she did not turn a trick at the party, but had to be ready at all times. She asked the agent if they found her little red address book in her suitcase. Upon being advised that agents did find it, she remarked: "The names aren't bad, are they?" She said she could not recall how much money she made hustling in Hollywood. She further admitted that CENSORED had brought marijuana from Los Angeles to Tulsa in his automobile.
While chasing women was a fundamental source of entertainment for Flynn, he balanced this with a strong literary output. The years 1935 to 1940 see Flynn in a superfluity of activity, a crowded lifestyle that included heavy reading. He professed that his favorite authors were James Cain, E. M. Delafield, Compton Mackenzie and admitted to reading James Joyce's _Ulysses_ (but didn't understand the book at all), and favored Walt Whitman above all other American authors.
Flynn devoured the world's best literature with the same eagerness he applied to swimming, drinking, and sex. Reporters often appear confused by his complexity. One moment Flynn could be discussing his belief that all men were descended from simians, and in the next instant offer a pointedly archaic view of women in modern society: "I am old fashioned. I have no use and no understanding of this modern equality idea between men and women. Men and women are not, to my way of thinking, equals at all. It is going against nature to pretend that they are. A hundred years from now, when women have had time to prove what they will do with their economic independence and general enfranchisement, it may all be different. But I shall not be here a hundred years from now. And no matter how the balance between the sexes works out eventually, I must be head of my own house now."
Adding that he believed a woman's place was subservient to men, Flynn said, "Women are more spiritual than men. More religious. That's because they are weaker, need something or someone to lean on so they turn to solace and strength of religion."
His beliefs were not unusual for the era. Throughout most of the world, women were subservient to men, sexual playthings and considered intellectually inferior. Australia, like Britain and the United States, was a society drenched in chauvinism, and Flynn was doing nothing more than emulating typical male behavior. Not all of his views, however, fell in line with accepted thinking. Flynn said his religion was the here and now, and that he held that "a man can attain the 'Kingdom of Heaven' within his own heart or make earth a hell."
We see here in these long-forgotten comments the seed of a spiritual crisis that would plague him later. There is a playful openness and candor in his early interviews, all the more poignant for scholars studying his life when faced with the task of considering his tragic disintegration.
"I know that this is the time. I know that right here and now I am most keenly capable of zestful enjoyments, vivid excitements. I'm having them. I get everything I can out of each present moment."
These haunting words, spoken to a journalist in 1937, punctuate Flynn's fateful inclination for self-awareness. He was consistent in his beliefs and never flinched from what he viewed as the cold facts of life: "It is said we must all pay for our good times, that there is a law of compensation which operates inevitably. If this is so, my times have all been good and I must have a lot of retribution in store for me. Lili often tells me that I will 'pay and pay.' Well, when that time comes I can only hope that I will pay without squawking, decently grateful for the good times I have already had."
The 1937 interview captured the core of Flynn's philosophy. Critics, rhapsodizing on his wasted talent, are too quick to dismiss his philosophical yearnings and the moral dissolution of one acquainted with his own annihilation. The image of a cravat-wearing playboy smoking with a silver cigarette holder is more appealing than a character study of a man who struggled with the polemics of Aristotle and Plato and read Thomas Mann's _The Magic Mountain_ by the light of a hurricane lamp. But these elements are visible in the scrapbooks of his life, scattered though they may be like elusive pieces of a puzzle.
By the end of 1940 Flynn had published numerous magazine articles and one book, all in fewer than six years. His articles were an insider's view of Hollywood, humorous yet laced with a hint of cynicism, and filled with astute observations of people and places. The generally favorable critical reaction to _Beam Ends_ provided him a taste of creative acknowledgment that would rapidly slip away. He tried getting published in the prestigious _New Yorker_ magazine in February, but was summarily rejected within a week. We know from Flynn's letter to the editor that he had submitted a human interest story about Hollywood, perhaps similar to the pieces he wrote for _Photoplay,_ but the editor returned it immediately with an unsigned form letter.
These were Flynn's glory years. Of the films he made during this period, _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and _The Sea Hawk_ are the two that people remember best. These films have been re-discovered by subsequent generations, first with the 1948 theatrical reissue of _Robin Hood_ , and a 1956 reissue of both films followed closely by their television debut. In the decades since, _Robin Hood_ and _The Sea Hawk_ have become a popular staple of television's afternoon matinee and late night viewing slots.
Part of the fascination Flynn holds for people also stems from the contradictory nature of his character. He was capable of superior creative accomplishments, but his success was tainted by egotism and self-destructive flamboyance. He despised the Hollywood phonies that swarmed over the studio like bees on a hive; but in like fashion, he also mastered the role of charlatan and created a legendary reputation for publicity stunts. That he preferred a quiet evening of reading at home belies his self-created image of a playboy dashing from party to party.
Of the many ironies and allegories in the tapestry of his life, perhaps none is more poignant than his desire to travel the seas. When the make-believe dramas had been completed, he left the soundstages to follow his yearning for adventure. This he found with his mistresses and drinking buddies, but never more so than when he was at the helm of a ship, holding a steady course and cutting a path across the sea.
## ☆ THREE ☆
### The War Years, 1941–1945
The sea offered a temptation no sailor can resist. We know that Errol Flynn embraced the sea's allure, studied its folklores and legends, yet ultimately chose to ignore the time-worn superstition that it is unwise to name a ship after another vessel. Thus we have the second _Sirocco,_ masthead and insignia carrier for his collection of yachts and boats, a doppelgänger ship in name and spirit.
Although it can be fairly said he was the architect of his own destruction, he surely never planned such a rapid demise. The stage was set and all the players in place, including faithful Arno, who by now had acquired all of his master's personality in the eyes of the press. Arno had taken to jumping overboard in pursuit of flying fish, and when he was successful Flynn would pull his dripping pet from the brine with a fish still clamped between his jaws. This was Arno's best trick: a growling leap as the fish cut the surface, arcing along the _Sirocco's_ bow as Arno descended upon his prey.
The _Sirocco_ was a common sight, sailing a loop that carried Flynn from Santa Catalina, around the Channel Islands of Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa, and then south to San Nicolas Island and eventually back to a berth in Santa Monica bay. There were few islands along the coast that Flynn did not explore. There are reports of him stopping at Santa Barbara Island and San Clemente Island, showing up in seaside saloons for a drink, always smiling and always ready with a story for those with time to lend an ear. Catalina Island was a popular destination for the yachting Hollywood crowd. As it lay just over twenty miles from the coast, Flynn made the trip frequently, as did dozens of yachting enthusiasts from the Hollywood community. His schedule provided him with time to appease his appetite for exploration.
His hard-drinking cowboy friends joined him, a hand-picked crew that often consisted of Mexican boys, friends from the studio and various acquaintances. The young women (often, girls in their late teens) were also a common fixture. Such willing girls were in abundance and Flynn invited them along with careless abandon.
The global political climate had changed by 1940 and Warner's felt the pressure to produce pro–American films espousing the virtues of fair play and hard work. American involvement in Britain's fight against Germany appeared imminent. Many actors in Hollywood, particularly the British, were committing to aid the United Kingdom in its fight against the surge of Nazism. Flynn's close friend David Niven left for service soon after completing work on _Raffles._ The Russians attacked Finland in 1939, adding to the instability in Europe. Hitler's tactics now included the bombing of British cities, and throughout 1940 the British weathered the relentless attacks of the Luftwaffe. Britain stood alone against Germany although pro–British sentiment was growing in the United States. By early 1941 it was appallingly clear the war would not be resolved soon, and not without enormous effort.
Flynn was assigned a modern comedy, partly because he insisted on a change of pace. Warners played up the idea of Flynn in a modern setting in their advertisements:
> His first MODERN adventure in 3 years!
> •
> Loaded with molls... murder... merriment...
> Here's Errol in an ultra modern romance!
The photo captions lightly poked fun at his heroic image: "Flynn facing the steel of new enemies" featured him mugging in a barber's chair; "Flynn at bay but still unconquered" had him in the clutches of a floozy blonde.
Olivia de Havilland's continued refusal to work with Flynn sent Warners looking for a compatible co-star. Brenda Marshall was chosen with Flynn's approval after her sweet performance in _The Sea Hawk._ She was a capable actress and looked pretty on film although she lacked the depth of characterization de Havilland could manage with any role.
_Footsteps in the Dark_ was a romantic comedy pretending to be a mystery. Flynn plays Francis Warren, head of an investment firm, who writes mystery novels on the sly. He decides to branch out into amateur detective work, keeping his activities secret from his wife, Rita (Marshall), and his mother in law. Growing suspicious of his absences, they begin keeping a close eye on him. Meanwhile, Warren has begun investigating the mysterious death of an underworld figure. The police are skeptical and soon suspect Warren himself of murder. Eventually, Warren catches the real murderer and clears himself with his suspicious wife.
The film borrowed elements from the William Powell and Myrna Loy _Thin Man_ series but Flynn never possessed Powell's ease at handling the _faux_ sophistication necessary to render a white-collar role with believability. In one embarrassing scene (the blame for which must lie with director Lloyd Bacon) Flynn hams it up with a dreadful interpretation of a Texas accent. On the positive side, it maintains the flavor of the popular screwball comedies and comes across as breezy and lighthearted. Flynn has a few good scenes with which to demonstrate his comedic ability, and the supporting players are among Hollywood's best: Ralph Bellamy, Allen Jenkins, Lucile Watson, William Frawley, and Turhan Bey were all familiar to audiences. _Footsteps in the Dark_ was a moderate success and played in theaters in March and April while the German army moved south through Yugoslavia and into Greece.
**Flynn aboard** _**Sirocco**_ **in the early 1940s.**
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Flynn's next feature returned him to the heroic mold that audiences preferred. Co-starring Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy, and Alexis Smith, _Dive Bomber_ told the story of physicians conducting research in flight medicine and the development of pressure suits to counter blackouts at high altitudes. Alexis Smith was a newcomer to the film industry, having made only brief appearances in a couple of pictures. Flynn cultivated her, although Smith always denied a romantic relationship. He insisted on her casting and claimed he wrote her scenes into the picture. He spoke glowingly of her before the premiere: "There's a lady in the picture you'll be hearing a good deal from—and soon. Her name is Alexis Smith. I think you might describe her as vaguely Grecian in appearance. There's talent there—lots of it."
Flynn was constantly late on the set, and often failed to show up at all. Director Michael Curtiz was infuriated and harangued Flynn mercilessly. When Flynn went missing, tracking their star down was not difficult. More often than not, they found him on the _Sirocco._ Taking his yacht for a cruise was infinitely more enjoyable than enduring the long hours setting up a scene on a stifling soundstage where he was given dialogue that had no resonance for him. After _Dive Bomber_ premiered in August, Flynn refused to work with Curtiz again.
Despite the friction between star and director, _Dive Bomber_ is enjoyable. Flynn's interpretation of a dedicated flight surgeon is far cooler and less brash than his previous roles. Made with the cooperation of the Naval Air Corps, some exterior scenes were filmed aboard the aircraft carrier _Enterprise,_ at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, and at the Naval Air Station in San Diego. The aerial photography is splendid and the public reception was moderately enthusiastic.
**Poster art for** _**Dive Bomber**_ **(1941). Flynn effectively made the transition from swashbuckler to cowboy and war hero.**
**Errol Flynn began the 1940s as Hollywood's favorite glamour boy. He would be at the top of his game for only a few more years.**
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With their relationship strained, Curtiz occupied himself making _Casablanca_ (1942) _,_ the film for which both he and Humphrey Bogart would be remembered. After _Casablanca_ he directed a host of quality films that included _Yankee Doodle Dandy_ (1942) with James Cagney, the perennial favorite _White Christmas_ (1954) with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, and _King Creole_ (1958) with Elvis Presley. Shortly before his death Curtiz completed _The Comancheros_ (1962) with John Wayne. From time to time Flynn and Curtiz would see each other and reportedly got along quite well once they were no longer working together.
Flynn made no public mention of his decision to abandon his professional relationship with Curtiz. He told reporters it was all business as usual, turning the conversation to familiar territory. "I'm a very misunderstood soul," Flynn lamented with his tongue in his cheek. "I'm taken to be all manner of coxcomb but actually I'm a shy nobody who'd like to be able to earn his daily—well, shall I say crepe suzettes—and is more than willing to let his fellow man earn what is near and dear to his heart. Pin me down to a philosophy and I'd have to admit that mostly I'm in favor of gathering roses while they're still in season. Pleasure is fleeting, the wise men tell us, but what point is there in clutching a pleasure to your manly bosom from now until Gabriel?"
When asked if there was something closer to his heart than acting, he replied, "Writing is too close to be comfortable." In fact, Flynn continued writing his second novel during the filming of _Dive Bomber._ He told people it was a tell-all about Hollywood and that he had an attorney review the manuscript to protect himself against libel suits. The book had no official title, but press reports list the potential titles as _Charlie Bow-Tie Comes to America_ or _Charlie Bow-Tie Goes to Hollywood._ Flynn insisted the book was pure fiction, unlike _Beam Ends,_ which he continued to refer to as autobiographical, but there were enough caricatures of actual Hollywood personalities to help maintain interest.
His other interests were consistent. He spent time at Chasen's where he partook of a Finnish bath before dinner. The Finnish baths at Chasen's had become a status symbol in Hollywood. Only special guests were invited by David Chasen to enjoy his luxurious baths, and Flynn's friendship with Chasen, as with most of the nightclub and restaurant proprietors in Los Angeles, was cultivated with the aim of securing favors. Flynn is reported to have enjoyed Chasen's private Finnish bath while reading the latest issue of the _New Yorker._
Flynn's leisure-time activities now included drag-racing in his new $6,000 Cadillac roadster, a sport that kept him in competition with his rowdy male friends. He enjoyed taking long drives up the coast, often to San Francisco, sometimes stopping in taverns, inns, or roadside diners for a quick meal and drink. Sometimes too, he pulled over to investigate the glow of campfires he saw from the road. That he recognized in the hoboes the wanderlust that plagued him still is a fair assumption; and the image of this tall, striking Tasmanian approaching a group of drifters huddled about a campfire is intriguing. He enjoyed conversation and the camaraderie of sharing his experiences with fellow travelers. Buster Wiles and Flynn also spent considerable time skiing up at the Sugar Bowl Lodge near Reno. Flynn had taken a passing interest in slalom skiing, but sailing was his preferred pastime.
"I'm insistent on the attitude of live and let live." Flynn said at this time. "I am a great believer in the rights of the individual which, thank God, would make me a bad fascist. I have no intention of suggesting how my fellow man should live. For myself, I prefer to maintain a humorous and nonchalant attitude toward life. And I think I do."
**Flynn as George Armstrong Custer in the classic Western** _**They Died with Their Boots On**_ **(1942).**
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George Armstrong Custer continues to fascinate us with his image as the braggart who led his troops to doom. This thin, spare man with reddish-blonde hair has been portrayed in the public's mind as a golden-haired idol. The plateau where he fell has been transformed as well; the rolling hills of this beautiful terrain have become flat and emotionless, a dusty place in the mind's eye where Custer was surrounded and massacred by an uprising of Native Americans. Custer shares with Flynn a lionization that is misleading.
They shared a talent and interest in writing, were impatient, moody, and possessed of an arrogance that caused both much grief. In death, they became larger than life, symbols of both heroism and foolishness. The similarity in their personalities is academic fodder but misses the point that an important aspect of their lives was the perpetuation of their legends by the press. They turned a journalist's ink into a colorful concoction of anecdotes and tall tales.
Custer's bones had not yet bleached under the sun when he was resurrected by the dime novelists as a golden-haired champion of Manifest Destiny. They portrayed him as a giant of manliness, like a Viking invincible in Valhalla. Dustin Farnum played Custer in _Flaming Frontier_ in 1926, fifty years after the calamitous events in the Little Big Horn basin. John Miljan played the doomed leader of the seventh opposite Gary Cooper in _The Plainsman_ in 1936. Custer was portrayed as a dashing soldier by both actors. Ronald Reagan's 1940 _Santa Fe Trail_ version of Custer, as noted, fell into the "Aw shucks" variety due to a poor script.
Warner's publicity staff went to work drawing comparisons between Flynn and the dashing General Custer, although they made it clear this version was fictionalized for the sake of entertainment. "Guess Flynn's got a part that really suits him this time," an anonymous Warner's staffer said, adding that Flynn's rebellious antics had made him one of Hollywood's "most colorful Figures."
Screenwriters Wally Kline and Aeneas MacKenzie researched their subject for three months and turned in a script titled _They Died with their Boots On._ It was a good script and Warners sent it to Olivia de Havilland. She admitted the script was good but reiterated that she and Flynn agreed that they shouldn't work together again. She was surprised to learn that Flynn had asked for her because he felt she was the only one who could handle the role. Flynn also pointed out to the Warners executives that the fan mail continued asking for a Flynn–de Havilland vehicle. Flynn maintained _They Died with their Boots On_ was appropriate for de Havilland's talent.
When de Havilland met with Flynn and thanked him for his kind words he said, "Oh that. They were just facts. Are you going to do the part? I'm glad."
Flynn may have been ready to work with de Havilland again, but he harbored no such feelings for Michael Curtiz. Raoul Walsh was given the assignment to direct _They Died with their Boots On._ Walsh was a self-assured, crusty working man who began his career as an actor and director in silent films. An accident on the set of _Old Arizona_ (1929) cost him his right eye. Sporting an eye-patch and favoring cigars, he gave the impression of a corsair or buccaneer from a Fairbanks picture (in fact, Walsh directed Fairbanks, Sr., in _The Thief of Bagdad_ in 1924). Yet another born storyteller who influenced Flynn's legend with the anecdotes he wove in his 1974 autobiography, _Each Man in His Time,_ Walsh told stories with the same tendency for exaggeration that made Flynn's stories so appealing. Flynn called him "Uncle" and Walsh called Flynn "The Baron," possibly after Baron Munchausen. Taken together, they comprise an example of Hollywood masculine portraiture, circa the 1940s.
The first collaboration of Flynn and Walsh was far from routine. Polo player Jack Budlong, who had taken a role as an extra in the film, was mortally injured during one of the spectacular battle scenes. Flynn, on horseback, was waving his saber and galloping across a prairie shouting "Onward, men! Onward!" The cavalry followed in unison but the horse carrying Budlong stumbled. Budlong was thrown and impaled on his saber. He was rushed to a hospital, but the injury was too severe. Recalled Buster Wiles: "Errol phoned the hospital every day to inquire about Jack's progress. Unfortunately, complications set in, and Jack died August 5."
Flynn later wondered why such a promising young athlete should lose his life while he was allowed to continue his cavorting. Such philosophical musings were very much a part of Flynn's nature, although it was a side of him the public never saw.
The showman in Flynn went on with his business. Arno, Flynn claimed during this period, had fallen in love with a wirehair that belonged to a studio staffer. Arno, like his master, was insistent in his amorous efforts until finally the wirehair's owner, tired of Arno's constant attention, doused his pet with skunk oil to deter Arno's advances. Thus, bearing the scent of his olfactory rebuke, Arno returned to Flynn's side on the soundstage. The scent of skunk oil soon filled the air. The smell distracted the crew who believed a skunk had entered the building. A search was organized to locate and remove the skunk. Flynn, knowing that Arno was the cause of the smell, quietly had his dog bathed. He later enjoyed describing the complicated search that never produced a skunk. Flynn (so the story goes) is said to have looked at Arno and commented on how funny the incident was. Arno, Flynn claimed, winked.
**Lobby card from** _**They Died with their Boots On**_ **depicting Custer's final battle at the Little Big Horn, one of the more prized collectables for both Custer and Flynn aficionados.**
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Iron Eyes Cody, hired as an uncredited extra on _They Died with their Boots On,_ attested to Flynn's heavy drinking during the production: "I think this was his gin period, and he'd guzzle the stuff like orange juice first thing in the morning, continuing throughout the day. Every day. By the time we got to this last crucial scene, he was staggering about, bleary-eyed and dazed, waving his saber recklessly. He was the perfect Custer, half-crazy from battle fatigue, rallying non-existent troops in a hoarse, gin-soaked voice."
Cody also documented one of the few times Flynn lost a fight. Cody's protracted description makes it clear that Flynn was intoxicated but he adds that Flynn "never staggered about drunk. Rather, you could tell he'd just polished off about a quart of gin from the dancing, madman look in his eyes, that swashbuckling sabre-wielding, crazy-bent-on-destruction-for-the-fun-of-it look. He gave Jim [Thorpe] a little poke from behind, which caused him to dribble his beer."
Flynn did not fare well in his subsequent battle with Thorpe. When it was over, Flynn was on the ground. "Flynn gingerly felt his jaw, and for a few seconds the two of them were locked in a stare war," Cody recalled. "For a minute I thought he was going to be crazy enough to continue. 'Too bloody much!' He dragged himself to his feet, staggered a little, and shook his head again. 'What a punch!! Bartender, set 'em up for Jim Thorpe, a _real_ man!' That was Flynn for you. His ways were so winning. He just waltzed up to Jim, put his arm around his shoulder, and acted like they had been buddies for life. The old smoothie could be brawling with you one minute and charming you the next."
The Cody story is emblematic of Flynn anecdotes; it illustrates his alcoholism and defiant attitude, his skill at disentangling himself from unsavory circumstances, and the sheer joy people took from being in his presence.
Punctuating his success in saloon brawling, _They Died with their Boots On_ met with instant acclaim. Flynn's performance as Custer is one of the integral roles of his career.
Once again positioned as the champion of justice, Flynn's Custer is vain and overbearing but possessed of such a good-hearted nature that it is impossible not to like him. Central to the film's charm is Custer's relationship with his wife, Elizabeth Bacon (de Havilland). Meeting her for the first time while serving guard duty as a West Point cadet, the smitten Custer gushes: "I can't imagine, ma'am, if I may say so, any pleasanter journey, ma'am, than walking through life with you beside me." The look on de Havilland's face speaks volumes—an example of what a truly gifted actress can do with body language—and we know by her look that Custer has said precisely the right thing.
This highly fictionalized version of Custer's life follows him through West Point, the Civil War, and his final command as leader of the doomed Seventh U.S. Cavalry. The Civil War sequences were handled as a montage, accelerating the pace. Some of the overdubs are a little too obvious, and the battle of Little Round Top owes a great deal to the final battle in Michael Curtiz's _The Charge of the Light Brigade._
Flynn has several memorable scenes. In one, after confronting a schemer named Ned Sharp (Arthur Kennedy), Custer orders the bar closed and explodes in anger. Flynn easily conveys the flashpoint of violence that some have said he also possessed off-screen. By contrast, his final scene with Olivia de Havilland is a study in warmth and inner strength for them both.
"I only hope the real life General and Mrs. Custer were half as romantic as Flynn and I are in this picture," de Havilland said at the time. "History tells us that they were an extremely devoted couple."
Custer, knowing he is facing certain death, tells his wife before leaving for The Little Big Horn, "Walking through life with you, ma'am, has been a very gracious thing." It's a tender moment in the film and strong evidence that Flynn had greater depth as an actor.
It turned out to be the last time Flynn and de Havilland worked together. De Havilland later said: "I had this curious feeling in the farewell scene. It was the most extraordinary thing as if this was actually a real farewell. Of course, that is exactly what it turned out to be, but I didn't know it at the time."
There is a touching footnote to this. Tony Thomas reported that in 1978, at a film retrospective in Los Angeles where they screened _They Died with their Boots On_ , the actress was unable to sit through the farewell scene. Overcome with emotion, she walked out to the lobby and wept.
Time has not diminished her affection for her Tasmanian friend. In a special correspondence to the author, she offered this assessment of Flynn the actor: "He was a most charming man and a superb performer in the adventure films for which he is celebrated. That he was capable of more complex work I, like you, have no doubt."
They Died with their Boots On played to audiences in the wake of the Australians' withdrawal from Tobruk and the Russian counterattack around Moscow. British civilian casualties were growing; and in Japan the Imperial Command approved a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
One weekend during the filming of _They Died with their Boots On,_ Flynn took the _Sirocco_ from Wilmington to Newport Harbor and sometime during the night Arno disappeared. Flynn didn't realize Arno was missing until he reached Newport. He notified the Coast Guard and called all of the beach stations.
Three days later the harbormaster at Newport found Arno's body washed ashore. Jim Fleming, Flynn's stand-in, took the call and reported the details. Flynn's eyes welled up with tears and he said, "Poor little chap. I hope you're happy wherever you are." Fleming explained: "Arno was more than a dog. To Flynn he was a friend. A loved companion that never failed or crossed him. Errol could not bear to see the ravaging effects of three days in the ocean on his pal."
The press had already allowed themselves a friendly duplicity in creating Arno's personality to match the _joie de vivre_ of his Tasmanian master. But Flynn had his detractors, and they would jump at an opportunity to make light of him in any context.
Gossip columnist Jimmy Fidler reported: "Flynn always made such a fuss over his dog. But he wouldn't bother to go down and identify him."
Flynn was infuriated, but he had additional reasons to be angry at Fidler who also hosted a radio version of his column. On September 19th, Fidler included the following item in his broadcast: "When Toumanova, the ballet dancer, left for New York this week, a mystery man took her to the plane. To escape recognition, he wore dark glasses. His hat was pulled down and his collar turned up. The man was Errol Flynn."
Tamara Toumanova made her debut in the Paris Opera in 1928, when she was only nine years old. Later, she joined the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, which had been founded by Sergei Diaghilev. In 1936 she danced for choreographer George Balanchine before appearing on Broadway in the late thirties. She danced in popular musicals such as _Stars in Your Eyes_ before returning to classical ballet in 1941 when she appeared in _Balustrade._
Little is known of her relationship with Flynn, but we know that he was tired of gossip columnists reporting on his private life. Flynn had made public his dislike for gossip columnists and radio comedians who poked fun at him or pried into his private affairs. Flynn had been spotted in New York nightclubs with Toumanova at his side on several occasions and they were photographed dining together.
**Errol Flynn with Bruce Cabot after the scuffle with Jimmy Fidler on September 20, 1941. Flynn is demonstrating the slap heard around Hollywood. Mrs. Fidler stabbed Flynn with a fork and blood is visible on his ear and shirt collar. (Paul M. James collection).**
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To compound the matter, Fidler had recently testified before a congressional investigation of the film industry where he said he felt that Hollywood films were intentionally building pro-war sentiments. He also intimated there was pressure on him to give positive film reviews on his syndicated radio program. These statements made Fidler unpopular with the film industry.
On Saturday, September 20, Flynn and Bruce Cabot entered the Mocambo where Fidler was dining with his wife, Bobbe. Upon seeing Fidler, Flynn went up to him and said, "You are no good. You told the Senate one lie too many."
A remarkable scene ensued with Flynn reaching for Fidler, and in the scuffle, slapping the columnist with an open hand. Flynn later said, "A slap is more insulting than a punch." Fidler later claimed Flynn used his fist. The absurdity of the uproar is punctuated by reports of Jean Gabin attempting to escort Marlene Dietrich, whose leg was in a cast, away from the increasingly violent exchange. Flynn and Fidler were grappling over the table while Lupe Velez stood on a table brandishing a catsup bottle. Bandleader Phil Ohman cued the musicians to play _The Star Spangled Banner_ as Flynn and Fidler were separated. During the scuffle, Flynn's diamond cuff-links were either ripped from his suit or popped loose and he was further agitated by their loss.
**Errol Flynn shaking the hand of Judge Cecil Holland. He promised never to strike gossipcolumnist Jimmy Fidler again. (Paul M. James collection).**
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There is a reported lull of approximately ten minutes where Flynn glared at Fidler from his table while the guests and waiters settled back into a normal routine. Flynn then entered the dance floor with an unidentified woman, and passing Fidler's table said: "Haven't you gone yet? Someone ought to run you out of Hollywood." Flynn then accused Fidler of stealing his diamond cuff-links.
Press reports make it clear this is when Flynn slapped Fidler again and Bobbe Fidler punctured Flynn's left ear with a fork. They scuffled and were separated again, and Flynn and Cabot were ushered from the Mocambo followed by a crowd of reporters, friends, and onlookers. They made their way to the Scheherazade Restaurant where Flynn was besieged by admirers asking for details of the encounter. Word had spread quickly that Flynn was brawling in Hollywood. This is the point in the evening where Flynn was photographed, hair disheveled, wearing a grey suit with a polka-dot bow tie, a carnation in his lapel, and blood splattered in his ear and running down his neck to pool on his collar. Smiling, he raised his hand to demonstrate the slap that was heard around Hollywood.
Fidler pressed charges and maintained that Flynn struck him with his fist (reports vary, some witnesses indicating that Flynn slapped Fidler twice and struck him with his fist once). Flynn appeared in court before Judge Cecil Holland. Fidler was absent from the court appearance and left it to Judge Holland to chastise the actor. Holland made Flynn promise never to punch Fidler again. The event concluded with Flynn shaking Judge Holland's hand for photographers. The actor's prestige had grown among the Hollywood crowd and his popularity was commensurate with his box-office appeal.
Flynn's success spawned imitators and sent other studios searching for actors to fill the roles in competing adventure films. Ronald Coleman made an engaging Francois Villon in _If I Were King_ (1938), and Louis Hayward shone in a string of swashbucklers: _Anthony Adverse_ (1937), _The Man in the Iron Mask_ (1940), and _The Son of Monte Cristo_ (1940). But Flynn's primary competitors were Tyrone Power and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Power's role as Don Diego de le Vega in 20th Century–Fox's _The Mark of Zorro_ (1940) was a milestone owing much to _Captain Blood_ and _The Adventures of Robin Hood,_ including the casting of Basil Rathbone in another magnificently villainous role.
Fairbanks, Jr., had resisted the swashbuckling roles offered him, but in 1937 he was too enamored of Anthony Hope's novel _The Prisoner of Zenda_ to turn down the choice role of Rupert of Hentzau. Fairbanks, Jr., having reconciled differences with his father, asked the elder Fairbanks for career advice. His father instructed him to accept the role immediately. "I considered the possibility of inadvertently copying certain mannerisms of my father," Fairbanks, Jr., recalled, "So I made a special effort to avoid comparisons. I was conscious of that danger so I did my best every time to avoid that."
Fairbanks, Jr., had always chosen his roles carefully and turned to adventure films relatively late in his career (he appeared in over fifty films before 1940, primarily dramas). _Gunga Din_ (1939) was an instant success, and a film that Fairbanks, Jr., always considered his favorite. _Green Hell,_ a jungle adventure co-starring Alan Hale, appeared in 1940, but the film received negative reviews. He followed with the classic _The Corsican Brothers_ in 1941. When asked by the author if he felt he had been competing with Flynn and Power for an audience, he replied: "No. They felt that way, I didn't. I did it my own way and they did it their own way."
For Fairbanks, Jr., his way included leaving Hollywood after making _The Corsican Brothers_ for service as a newly commissioned naval reserve officer. The actor held a great fondness for Britain and was vocal in his support of the war effort. Several of his comments brought into question America's future in the growing conflict. Fairbanks, Jr., went out of his way to initiate support for Britain at a time when the American majority favored isolationism. A great deal of that isolationist sentiment dissipated in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
With countless diversions, it's remarkable that Flynn maintained his literary output at all. The deluge that began with "I'd Rather Play Tennis" in 1936 culminated in his eighteenth article, "The 10 Most Sensational Women I've Met," in November 1941. He had help with most of these articles, primarily from journalists William Ulman and Carl Schroeder, who provided minor editorial polishing.
Throughout his career, Flynn positioned himself near the literary community that had flocked to Hollywood in pursuit of large salaries and trappings of comfort otherwise unavailable to them. He made contact with these authors more from curiosity than for literary advice, or perhaps just for the thrill of rubbing elbows with authors he admired.
F. Scott Fitzgerald found Flynn "very nice though rather silly and fatuous," and Hemingway, as we know, despised him. Henry Miller, returning from his self-imposed exile in Paris, received admiring notes from Flynn. Flynn was familiar with _Tropic of Cancer,_ which was banned in the United States due to its explicit sexual descriptions.
John Steinbeck, William Saroyan, and William Faulkner all connected with Flynn at some point. At the periphery of Flynn's acquaintances at this time we also find Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Aldous Huxley. Flynn appears not to have made much of an impression on most of these writers, but it's notable that he made a consistent effort to meet the best writers of his time. Flynn cited P. G. Wodehouse as one of his favorites, and he briefly dated Liza Maugham, daughter of Somerset Maugham.
Flynn's eclectic literary tastes became apparent to a young Warner Bros. messenger, Stuart Jerome, who once snuck into Flynn's dressing room with his friends expecting to find pornography.
"As would be expected, there was a well-stocked wet bar," Jerome later wrote. "There were also bookshelves, crammed with hundreds of volumes of history, poetry and the classics. One of us, certain that Flynn, above all, would have the definitive collection of pornography, once combed through his entire library and was both amazed and disappointed to find absolutely nothing of a prurient nature."
By late 1941 Flynn had moved into his new home in the hills overlooking the San Fernando Valley. He called the place "Mulholland Farm" and joked that he planned on building a wall to block the view of the Warner Bros. studio, visible in the distance as a patch of beige and umber.
Flynn liked the hilltop location immensely. He had surveyed the mesquite and chaparral hillside a few years earlier. A winding roadway had led him up to the spot, located near a Boy Scout camp. The property had a commanding view of the valley that stretched and faded into the smoggy blue San Gabriel range. His initial investment was about ten acres. He had the property fenced and a small caretaker's house was built, followed by stables.
He wanted a working farm with a house, saying he "would make of it a playhouse, a spot for rest, recreation, good living, romping, roistering, and cultured living too."
Flynn's Mulholland Farm was white frame and stucco with French doors and big windows. The interior had spacious rooms with several fireplaces. "She snuggled on the side of the hill," Flynn recalled. "Inside, in most of her rooms, there were mirrors that brought the beauty of the valley into the house."
**Flynn at his Mulholland Farm. He would experience some of the best and worst times of his life while living in his hilltop home. (Photograph courtesy of Mike Mazzone.)**
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**Flynn at his Mulholland Farm with his beloved Gauguin painting. He loved the impressionists and his home was decorated with fine art, antiques, knick-knacks and ephemera.**
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Flynn also recalled: "And, of course the bar. Fancy a house in Hollywood without a private bar. On the wall behind it was a very special painting of a Mexican bullfight." The pool, he recalled, "was almost inside my living room." The pool area would be the site of many fondly remembered parties. The bullfight painting by John Decker allegedly included Raoul Walsh and several other friends painted into the crowd of spectators.
The farm held a favorite room for Flynn. "But I think I liked my den best of all," he said. "Here was my desk next to a window where the California light streamed in. There I sat often on weekends, when I barred the doors and I wrote or tried to write. Nearby was a fireplace and wood was on the hearth; and when it was cool the logs burned and the room was aglow."
The farm was soon populated with ducks, geese, pheasants, guinea hens, peacocks, cats, dogs, pigs, cows, and horses. He had a riding ring with jumps installed for the horses. Flynn's favorite horse, Onyx, a black stud, was stabled here, too. A menagerie of dogs of various breeds, including a pair of Rhodesian lion hounds, poodles and bloodhounds, and several Alsatian hounds.
The interior of Mulholland Farm was as carefully planned as the gorgeous exterior: paneling of warm, natural wood; bear and lion skin rugs, a fireplace with horsehead andirons of brass; chintz furniture. Flynn's growing collection of record albums was stored near the built-in radio and phonograph player: Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Cugat's tangos, Rachmaninoff.
The master bedroom was decorated with light blue wallpaper and a blue rug. In the hall outside his bedroom was a framed picture of a ship, and engraved on the frame's brass tab was a verse from American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox:
> _One ship sails east, the other west,_
> _By the selfsame winds that blow._
> _It's the set of the sails—and not the rules—_
> _That decides the way to go._
As an example of his appetite for ideas, the Mulholland house was filled with fine art, antiques, knick-knacks and ephemera: a Chinese chest, Persian milk jugs made into lamps, Goya tiles set into one wall of the den, ship's models in glass cases, a ship's clock and barometer, ancient flintlock rifles, and books on art, history, philosophy in addition to a supply of general fiction.
Something of Flynn's colonial streak can be seen here as he presided over a household and career that elevated him to the upper echelon of society. A French cook named Marie prepared him his favorite foods, reportedly roast chicken, cold cracked lobster in the summer, the finest cuts of steak, and omelets, fresh fruit and tea in the morning. A Russian butler named Alex Pavlenko maintained the general operation, and aspiring actress Mary Ann Hyde served as his secretary during the early days of his residency at Mulholland.
For inspiration, Flynn sat at his leather-topped desk and worked on _Charlie Bow-Tie Comes to America._ Posted above his desk was an inscription from British writer Thomas Burke:
> _The only worthwhile people are those_
> _who are always beginning again_
Journalist John Franchey, writing for _Modern Screen_ in July 1942, visited Flynn at Mulholland and offered this observation: "His great ambition is to write a book that stenographers would enjoy reading. He would like on his tombstone, 'They read my stuff.'"
For visitors, perhaps the most interesting feature of the Mulholland Farm was the two-way mirror on the ceiling above the bed. The mirror was accessible from the attic by lifting a trap-door. Initially, only select individuals were aware of the mirror's purpose, but as time passed word spread that Flynn had other secret mirrors and peepholes secreted throughout the house. Other than the one in his bedroom, none of these other peepholes have been confirmed.
Flynn was happy at Mulholland Farm. He achieved at least a semblance of domesticity while Lili Damita was preparing divorce proceedings. Commenting on his return to a bachelor's lifestyle (not that he ever recognized anything else), Flynn said, "It's truly marvelous to have arrived at a state of mental equilibrium."
With his divorce from Lili in its final stages, his soon to be ex-wife gave birth to a son, Sean Flynn, on May 21, 1941.
Actor John Agar once told me: "I used to just love it when I'd go on a movie set. Acting is a different part of living. And something used to come alive in me that was lying dormant when I wasn't acting, which made me feel really great."
Agar expresses the feelings another actor, John Barrymore, certainly experienced during his troubled life. Barrymore is one of those notable rogues who continued the charade off-screen. Flynn met Barrymore soon after his arrival in Hollywood and struck up a friendship with the aging, alcoholic idol.
Barrymore was a matinee star of the stage and one of the first superstars of the silent cinema. Having risen to prominence as a stage actor in _Peter Ibbetson_ and subsequently becoming the jewel of the New York theater with his performances in Shakespeare's _Richard III_ and _Hamlet,_ he secured a film contract and fled New York for Hollywood. Most biographers agree that the move to Hollywood marked the beginning of Barrymore's decline. But some of his silent films are a worthy lot: _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ (1920), _Sherlock Holmes_ (1922), _Beau Brummel_ (1924), _The Sea Beast_ (1926), and _The Beloved Rogue_ (1927).
His penchant for boozing, brawling and wenching; his affairs and broken marriages; and incidents of public buffoonery added to his fame while Flynn was still knocking about New Guinea. By the late 1930s, Barrymore's star had dimmed considerably. His drinking depleted his health and a great deal of his thespian ability, but he was still much loved by those who knew him. When asked what he liked best about his old friend, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., replied: "His bawdy humor, for one thing. His versatility as an actor, his unique mannerisms; and certainly unique is the word to put to all the faces he did. Also, he was a hell of a nice guy. His modern comedies were just as good as the classical."
Barrymore's mannerisms often appeared to be exaggerated vaudeville mugging: the widened eyes and cocked, quizzical eyebrow; the flowing hand gestures. Flynn acquired these mannerisms from Barrymore and they began creeping into his film performances; but the extent to which he copied Barrymore would not really become evident until late in his life.
**Rare photograph of Flynn with John Barrymore in the early 1940s. His life paralleled Barrymore's in many ways.**
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Barrymore and his admirers met often at 419 North Bundy Drive, the home of artist John Decker. Flynn referred to this group as "The Olympiads." This was a diverse and fascinating group that included actors W. C. Fields, Anthony Quinn, John Carradine, Norman Kerry, Roland Young, Alan Mowbray, and Thomas Mitchell; screenwriter Gene Markey; novelist and journalist Gene Fowler; and poet and critic Sadakichi Hartmann. Flynn admitted later he thought this group tolerated his presence. He was far from the center of attention.
Gene Fowler, the best of the group's writers, recalled: "That brown-beamed studio was a place of meeting for still-lively survivors of bohemian times, an artist's Alamo, where political bores never intruded and where breast-beating hypocrites could find no listeners. The men seen most often at the Bundy Drive studio had been, or now were, persons of mark; yet never long-haired nor precious nor hoodwinked by false prophets who fed upon weeds of the sea. These men lived intensely, as do children and poets and jaguars."
The centerpiece of these regular and often impromptu meetings were the characters of John Decker, John Barrymore, W. C. Fields, and Sadakichi Hartmann. They were the nexus upon which the gatherings focused. Most of their meetings involved heavy drinking, prankstering, and competition in exaggerated storytelling. However, some witnesses to the meetings harbored a different view than that expressed in Fowler's rose-tinted nostalgia. Elaine Barrie, Barrymore's wife, referred to this group as "perennial undergraduates," "unhappy creatures," "a group of sodden children," "senile delinquents."
Offering his recollection late in his life, Flynn said: "I think we thought of ourselves as essentially philosophic, what characterized us was the range of personal experience which we each had, physical or mental; something unique or special. One or two might even be abysmal mentally, or bawdy; but outstanding in some particular way."
There is undoubtedly some truth in all three assessments of the Bundy Drive group. Flynn gravitated toward Barrymore and Decker. He found in them companions of coarse humor, and a shared tendency toward self-destruction carried on with an intentional determination lacking in self-pity or remorse.
Decker was, in Fowler's words, "childlike; he was talented at the easel and a superb cook. This unpredictable fellow disliked sunsets and his dead mother. There was much mischief in him but no malice. A creature of caprice, he had a most generous heart. He was overfond of gold trinkets, unsalted butter, brass artifacts; of Van Gogh's canvases, maroon dinner jackets, and spirited comrades. John Decker was no Saint, nor were his cronies."
The artist endeared himself to his visitors with his sketches, paintings, and scribbled caricatures. Decker created a painting of W. C. Fields as Queen Victoria, resplendent with a bulbous-veined nose, puffed cheeks, wearing a necklace and a white bonnet and brandishing a Victorian fan. The painting, one of several of Hollywood personalities created as imitations of the old Renaissance masters, became a cult favorite. Restaurateur David Chasen, among others, demanded a copy. For a while, Decker was kept busy producing duplicates. Upon seeing the painting for the first time, W. C. Fields proclaimed, "Sabotage! Decker has kicked history in the groin."
Decker was also adept at creating splendid forgeries. He relished selling his forgeries to the haughty crowd of producers and executives from the film studios, all of whom he viewed as snobs. The bacchanals on Bundy Drive were rife with anecdotes of Decker's duplicity and criminal sales. His output of pornography, including a sketch of a vagina that when viewed from a certain perspective became a caricature of Eleanor Roosevelt, was equally popular. Flynn acknowledged Decker's influence, and it was through Decker that Flynn came to appreciate the paintings of Van Gogh and Gauguin.
The eccentric Decker found his equal in Barrymore, Fields, and Hartmann. Fields ran the tide with a string of popular films in the early forties: _You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939), My Little Chickadee (1940), The Bank Dick (1940),_ and _Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)_ , all now considered the capstones of a remarkable career that began in 1915. But various illnesses, compounded by his excessive drinking, would prevent him from working steadily after 1941.
The Bundy Drive group respected each other the way siblings compete for attention. Sadakichi Hartmann was, in the view of W. C. Fields, "A no-good bum"; and Barrymore made it clear he thought Hartmann was "a living freak presumably sired by Mephistopheles out of Madame Butterfly." Fowler, the group's self-appointed chronicler, described Hartmann as a "magnificent charlatan," "living gargoyle," "irascible critic," and "evangelist of dissent," among other epithets and nicknames.
Hartmann appears to have struck a chord with those he encountered in his long life. Born in 1866 or 1867 (sources vary), he was half German and half Japanese. At a young age he became a disciple of Walt Whitman. In 1895 he published _Conversations with Walt Whitman_ and embarked on a literary career that included art criticism and translations of Japanese poetry. At the turn of the century he published numerous critical essays on the art communities he witnessed in New York and Boston. His books reflected his love of beauty: _Shakespeare in Art (1901), Japanese Art (1903),_ and his acclaimed novel _The Last Thirty Days of Christ (1920)._ In 1924, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., gave Hartmann a cameo in _The Thief of Bagdad._ There is enough interest in Hartmann today among bibliophiles to demand steep prices for first editions of his books. He was well-known, if not infamous; a decadent aesthete who proclaimed himself King of Bohemia.
Flynn was in the company of men whose experiences surpassed even his adventures in the South Pacific. He did not feel that they took him seriously, particularly when he spun a tale about his youth in New Guinea. But the gab sessions appearin all accounts a raconteur's competition, played out with enthusiasm by all participants.
Barrymore's loyal audience kept a record of his buffoonery. These stories have become part of Hollywood legend. During one celebrated evening at a nightclub, an intoxicated Barrymore accidentally wandered into the ladies' washroom. One woman, startled by the actor's intrusion, barked: "This is for women!" Barrymore, calmly appraising the situation with a raised eyebrow, retorted, "And so, Madame, is this," and pointed at his crotch.
At silent film actor John Gilbert's funeral in 1937, Barrymore noticed an elderly mourner among the crowd at the cemetery. Barrymore confronted the aged gentleman and asked his age. Upon learning that the man was eighty-four, Barrymore wryly commented, "It hardly pays to go back to town, does it?"
David Niven recalled the time Flynn asked Barrymore what he saw in the unpopular Elaine Barrie, to which Barrymore replied: "You want to know what I see in my wife? Well, I'll tell you! You put it in, and it goes right through the main saloon and into the galley; then the cabin boy comes down a ladder and rings a bell... In other words, you stupid bastard, IT FITS."
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., recalled attending a meeting of the Women's Press Club of New York. When the club president inquired if she could interest him in a drink, the actor (already intoxicated), rose from his chair before an audience of worshipful women and stated, "Madam, wouldn't I be a fine horse's ass if you couldn't."
David Niven noted: "I never quite understood Errol's hero worship of John Barrymore. Still of blazing talent and unquestioned, if somewhat blurred profile, he seemed to go out of his way to shock and be coarse: he was also conspicuously unclean and often smelled highly." The allegations of unseemliness would cross over in the posthumous reporting on Decker, Fields, and, finally, Flynn himself.
In fact, the Bundy Drive boys were an unhealthy group. W. C. Fields suffered from severe arthritis and various skin problems. Often, the aging vaudevillian would feign intoxication rather than reveal his illness. So it was widely believed that Fields' increasingly debauched features were the result of his drinking; in truth, his drinking only worsened the visible deterioration caused by his illnesses. Sadakichi Hartmann was asthmatic and wore a truss for a hernia. Gene Fowler had cardiac problems. Barrymore had ulcers, edema, a cirrhotic liver, kidney and intestinal inflammation, and an unspecified skin rash. All of them, including Flynn, often suffered from venereal disease, were heavy smokers and drinkers, and didn't give a damn for doctors.
Death had not long to wait. Barrymore went first, on May 29, 1942. Sadakichi Hartmann died November 21, 1944. John Decker died June 7, 1947. The group was in disarray with Barrymore's demise, and their meetings acquired a different tone with Decker now the central figure of interest for Flynn.
It is Barrymore's death, and the subsequent myth of his body being stolen by Raoul Walsh, that has become another Hollywood legend. Flynn claimed in _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ that he returned home to find Barrymore's corpse in his Mulholland Farm den, a drink propped in his stiff hand. Walsh embellished the story in his memoir, _Each Man in His Time._ Actor Paul Henreid stated in his fanciful memoir, _Ladies Man: An Autobiography,_ that he was complicit in the corpse-stealing (along with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre). Each version differs in details and should be regarded as entertaining fiction.
Buster Wiles told the truth behind the alleged Barrymore corpse-stealing in an interview published in the _Seattle Post-Intelligencer_ in 1977. "The night Barrymore died, Flynn, the director Raoul Walsh and I were invited over to George Burns and Gracie Allen's house for dinner. Jack Benny was there with his wife and there were two or three other people whom I can't recall. While we were having dinner, the telephone rang and Mr. Burns answered it, and came back saying that Barrymore had just passed away.
"I suggested we all go out on the porch and have a drink to him. While we were out there, I said, 'Mr. Barrymore would really love it if we would steal him and really get loaded.'
"And they said, 'Yes! Let's do that!' But I told them all the churches would ban their pictures and that it would be a very bad thing to do. But the story got out from different sources that Mr. Walsh and the rest of us had bribed a guy over at the mortuary and we had taken him up on the farm and seated him in a chair in the living room, and that Mr. Flynn came in later, saw Barrymore, and ran and hid in the bushes. Flynn wouldn't have run and hid if there were forty stiffs sitting there."
There is no reason to doubt Buster Wiles, who also pointed out an integral part of Flynn's personality: "He was one of the toughest men I've ever known." But Wiles was never able to effectively put the myth of Barrymore's corpse-stealing to rest. Many still believe the fiction created by Raoul Walsh. In fact, after Barrymore's death, Gene Fowler and his son spent the night with his corpse at the Pierce Brothers Mortuary. Barrymore biographer John Kobler claims there was only one visitor, a local well-known prostitute, who "knelt and prayed and continued on her way in silence."
On June 22, 1942 J. Edgar Hoover drafted a letter in response to a newspaper article stating Flynn was deferred by the draft board because of a heart condition. Like many others at the time, Hoover wondered why a seemingly healthy Flynn was not enlisted. Flynn's image by this point was etched into the public mind as a man of action who conquered all adversity and won the hand of the prettiest maiden. It seemed incongruous to many that such a stalwart film hero would not find a way into the service. David Niven, Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, and Robert Taylor were all wearing uniforms, so why not Flynn? Few people believed the story that Flynn suffered from a heart condition.
> June 22, 1942
> Special Agent in Charge
> Los Angeles, California
> Dear Sir: Re: ERROL FLYNN
> SELECTIVE SERVICE
> The following excerpt appeared in the column, "THESE CHARMING PEOPLE," by Igor Cessini, and was published in the Washington Times Herald on June 19, 1942.
> "Errol Flynn, who was deferred by his H'wood draft board because of a heart condition. Funny that this should happen to the hero of the greatest screen battles, to the tennis champion of the movie colony, to an ex-boxer and to the greatest athlete of all Hollywood. Flynn's friends, however, say that he's burned up about criticism and that he wants to get into the army at all costs. We'll see. Errol looks healthier to us than many men they take every day. If it's his heart that is weak, Flynn should have been buried a long time ago."
> It is desired that you immediately check the records of the local Selective Service Board covering the residence of Errol Flynn and review Flynn's Selective Service file. You should furnish the Bureau with the complete facts concerning Flynn's deferment within seven days.
> This inquiry should be conducted in a very discreet manner so that the fact it is being made will not be publicized.
> Very truly yours,
> John Edgar Hoover
> Director
There is obvious antagonism toward Flynn in the Cessini article, and this type of reportage went far in promoting an adverse portrait of the actor. The truth behind Flynn's draft deferment would be made known to the FBI by the 26th of June, 1942. The issue of Flynn's deferment was closed when agent R. B. Hood filed a report dated July 7, 1942 (excerpt):
> The subject's Selective Service file was obtained from Mr. CENSORED and it reflected that on February 2, 1942, the subject was disqualified for military service by reason of "tuberculosis, pulmonary, chronic reinfection (adult), type in the right apex." His physical examination was signed by JOSEPH P. SZUKALSKI, Major M.C., examining physician.
> Photographic copies were made of the subject's Selective Service file, and two copies are being forwarded to the Bureau. One photographic copy of this file and the negatives are being retained in the instant file in the Los Angeles Field Office. Subject's file was returned to Local Board No. 246 on July 1, 1942.
> In view of the fact that there appears to be no violation of the Selective Service Training and Service Act in the subject's deferment, no further investigation will be conducted unless requested by the Bureau.
The fact that Flynn suffered from tuberculosis was a carefully guarded secret on the Warner Bros. lot. Only Flynn's closest friends and associates were aware of his condition. But the damage was done, and by 1942 the public perception of Flynn was undergoing a metamorphosis with each unsavory news article. Soon the image of the incredibly handsome swashbuckling hero would be seen to contain flaws. Flynn's desire to serve in the Armed Forces in some capacity was heartfelt.
Flynn was a very ill man. Reportedly, doctors informed him in late 1942 that he would not live out the decade unless he curtailed his excessive lifestyle. He also suffered from recurring bouts of malaria which he contracted in New Guinea, as well as sinusitis, and a heart murmur. Around Hollywood, Flynn privately scoffed at the idea of entering the armed forces. He maintained he would sit out the war safely at his Mulholland Farm. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., recalled hearing about this from actor George Sanders. This may have been a defensive stance by Flynn to hide from his peers the fact that he was ill, but ultimately it would make no difference.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that destroys the lungs, and Flynn's excessive smoking contributed to his severe condition. Many tubercular patients suffer from fatigue, anorexia, or low-grade fevers that persist for many weeks. Characteristically, there is the onset of a cough, which slowly progresses to become more frequent. The coughing is often accompanied by a recurring dull, aching pain in the chest. Flynn's coughing fits are documented in the recollections of his friends. The treatment for tuberculosis was enhanced with drugs in 1945, but by this time Flynn was ingesting other drugs at an accelerated rate and his medical treatments would increase from this point on.
Flynn was an admirer of President Franklin Roosevelt and in early 1942 he wrote Col. William J. Donovan of the Office of Strategic Services requesting the opportunity to serve the United States during the war as a foreign diplomat. Flynn proposed that he be designated as a type of Ambassador to Ireland: "It seems to me that if Uncle Sam were to put me in an American Army uniform and send me over there I could be of value to your department." Flynn's five-page letter is sincere and offered a detailed account, paying close attention to his father's academic prestige as Dean of the Faculty of Science at Queen's University in Belfast. Flynn made his case that he could easily acquire information useful to Washington. "I could work as well, perhaps better, than most to this end, and while the Eire government might possibly see in me an instrument of American propaganda I feel I could eventually manage to achieve something, particularly toward helping mold the public's opinion to a more favorable view of the Irish base question."
Flynn's letter naturally contained some anecdotal humor: "When last there it was a constant source of astonishment to me that while Bridgett O'Toole had only the foggiest notion whether the Panama Canal divides America or Africa, she did know without a shadow of doubt that Clark Gable cherishes a marked antipathy for striped underwear and that Hedy Lamarr wears a false bust." Donovan and President Roosevelt's interpretation of this is unknown, but one can safely assume they enjoyed a hearty laugh before filing the letter. Flynn's request for diplomatic service was ignored but he did receive an autographed photo from the President which he counted among his prized possessions.
Flynn enjoyed his days most when the sea was calm and he could take _Sirocco_ for a cruise. His crew would have _Sirocco_ prepared for sailing in the morning before the sun burned away the mist and the coastal harbors and quays became noisy with activity. On a fateful day in 1941 the _Sirocco_ set sail with Flynn, Buster Wiles, Peter Stackpole, a few crewmen, an underage girl named Peggy La Rue Satterlee, her sister Mickey June Satterlee, and another girl named Elaine Patterson. Stackpole was invited in order to shoot a series of publicity photos for _Life_ magazine. Buster Wiles later said the girls were present to "enhance the atmosphere." There is some confusion as to whether this was the trip where Arno fell overboard and Peter Stackpole took the photograph of Flynn on the _Sirocco's_ mast, but the events certainly happened within several months of each other. The _Sirocco_ trip with Satterlee would become part of an extortion campaign against Flynn.
The Los Angeles district attorney's office began investigating allegations that Flynn was having sexual relations with underage girls. Their investigation began with a report that Flynn had intercourse with a girl named Betty Hansen who had recently arrived in Los Angeles from Nebraska to visit her sister. She was not in Los Angeles long when she was reported missing. The police found her with seemingly little effort in a Santa Monica motel. She claimed she had an amorous evening in Bel Air with Errol Flynn. The district attorney's office looked into the allegations but failed to return an indictment against Flynn. However, although the matter was officially dropped, members of the district attorney's office started a private investigation into the matter. They discovered that Peggy Satterlee's mother had recently complained that her fifteen-year-old daughter had been violated by Flynn on his yacht. The sheriff's office investigated but found no merit in the charges and this matter was dropped as well.
But there were political machinations at work here and it wasn't long before the district attorney determined that there was something to both claims after all. Subsequently the district attorney's office combined the charges into a single complaint. Newspapers across the country ran banner headlines: ERROL FLYNN CHARGED WITH RAPE.
The complaint, filed on November 20, 1942, charged Flynn with three counts of rape. The first count reading that "Errol Flynn on or about the 27th day of September 1942... did willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have and accomplish an act of sexual intercourse with and upon one Betty Hansen, who was then and there a female person under the age of eighteen years...."
The second and third count alleged that Flynn had intercourse twice with Peggy Satterlee on the _Sirocco_ on August 3, 1941.
On November 2, 1942, a preliminary hearing gathered the testimony of Betty Hansen and Peggy Satterlee. Flynn's attorney, Jerry Giesler, was suspicious and quickly decided "the two busty ladies listed as complaints [ _sic_ ] against him were not as unversed in the ways of the world as the district attorney's office would have the public believe." Giesler's intuitive opinion formed the basis for Flynn's defense.
Betty Hansen claimed to have met Flynn at a Bel Air party in September, a week after her seventeenth birthday. She attended with her friend, Armand Knapp, with the intention of soliciting Flynn's help in beginning a movie career. At the preliminary hearing, Deputy District Attorney Thomas W. Cochran established the basis for Hansen's complaint. Hansen had gone upstairs with Flynn, ostensibly to take a nap, with Flynn guiding her to a room.
Thomas Cochran: Tell the court what transpired from that time on, and what was said.
Betty Hansen: Well, Flynn took me in there and sat me down.
TC: Where?
BH: On the twin bed, the first one.
TC: All right.
BH: And I believe he told me to lie down, and I told him I did not want to take a nap, I could go back downstairs, and I do not know what he said or anything. He went out and locked the door and came back.
TC: He went and locked the door?
BH: Yes.
TC: All right. Then what happened?
BH: I had an act of intercourse.
TC: Before you had this act of intercourse, was anything done about your clothing or his?
BH: Yes.
TC: Tell the court what was done in that respect.
BH: He undressed me and then he got undressed.
TC: How were you dressed on that occasion?
BH: I had slacks on.
TC: What else?
BH: That is all.
TC: Did you have panties?
BH: Yes.
TC: When you say he undressed you, what of your clothing did he take off?
BH: All of them.
TC: And his clothing, what was taken off?
BH: Everything except his shoes, I believe.
TC: I did not hear that.
BH: Everything except his shoes.
TC: You stated you had an act of sexual intercourse with Mr. Flynn there on that bed.
BH: Yes.
Having read the hearing transcript in the newspapers, audiences laughed during a scene in the recently released _They Died with their Boots On._ Custer is delivering an impassioned speech and says: "A regiment has an immortal soul of its own. Well, the way to begin is to find something that belongs to us alone. Something to give us pride in ourselves and to make men endure, and if necessary, to die with their boots on...."
Flynn was arraigned before Judge Edward R. Brand and Deputy District Attorney Arthur L. Veitch on November 23, 1942. Journalist Florabel Muir, who gathered with a group of reporters and observed Flynn being charged, later said: "If Errol was panicky, he managed to conceal it. He was courteous and dreadfully serious while he was being fingerprinted, and above all, he was so much the gentleman that all the police officers having to do with him unwittingly mimicked him and became gentlemen, too."
Flynn was accompanied by his attorneys Jerry Giesler and Robert Ford. Flynn entered his plea as "Not guilty as charged in the information." He was charged with three counts of rape, a felony. Flynn posted $1000 for bail and was released. The trial date was set for January 11, 1943.
Mexico was alluring to Flynn. Hot and greedy, the country offered pleasant diversions far from the arrogant world of Hollywood. He went spear fishing in Acapulco and attended the bullfights in Mexico City or visited the spa in Cuernavaca where Charles Lindbergh romanced Anne Morrow. Sometimes he explored the castle which had been constructed on orders from the conqueror Cortez in 1519. Flynn flew to Mexico every weekend possible and took in the bullfights. His acquaintances included Antonio Jarza, hailed as Mexico's greatest bullfighter, and Silverio and Manolete, the popular matador stars. Flynn was a favorite among the growing number of _gringo_ celebrities and his presence elicited cheers from the crowd. He usually sat on the shady side of the ring near the judges to applaud the matadors.
Flynn's visits to Mexico established a familiar pattern: the bullfights, the brothels, drinks in the cantinas, and swimming, boating, and fishing. He was always surrounded by a menagerie of hangers-on. One of his conquests was a voluptuous girl with reddish-brown hair, a lithe and sensuous body. This was Blanca Rosa Welter, the daughter of Gerard Welter, a Dutch oilman, and Blanca Rosa Villalobos, a matriarch of a family that owned copper and silver mines. Blanca Rosa Welter was educated, headstrong, and highly creative. She also wanted to be an actress and become famous in Hollywood movies. Flynn began his affair with her in Acapulco where he stayed at the Hotel Riviere. He humored her, bedded her, and soon afterward brought her to Hollywood. Flynn agreed that Welter had the talent and looks to become a successful actress and intimated he would use his connections to help her find work.
Welter arrived at Mulholland Farm shortly before Flynn was charged with rape. She complained that Flynn was trying to keep something from her and was uneasy with her new circumstances. She sensed that something was wrong from the start: "There were endless business conferences with different men who streamed in and out of the house at all hours, and occasionally I would hear Errol's voice raised in anger."
The ramifications of the charges against Flynn sent a shockwave through Hollywood. Peter Stackpole revealed to the author the politics behind the charges against Flynn:
> He (Flynn) said he was being shaken down. It was politics, largely. The District Attorney's office, a fellow named Dockweiler. Anyway, there were two people running for District Attorney and one was backed by Warner Bros., the studio Flynn worked for, and the other was Dockweiler, who won the election. He wanted to get even with Warner Bros. so that's how they found a chance to get at them, by picking up a streetwalker in downtown Los Angeles, a girl named Hansen who happened to have Flynn's phone number. And based on that they started getting more and more evidence against Flynn. Finally they came to court.
Charlie Einfeld, the head of Warner Bros. publicity, went to work deflecting the stories and rumors that were piling up around their brightest star. John F. Dockweiler was warned that he was destroying his political career, but the District Attorney refused to back out of his vendetta to get Flynn. Warners hadn't backed his bid for re-election and Flynn was the designated scapegoat. Flynn later told Peter Stackpole he was being blackmailed for $5,000.
The autumn of 1942 marked the beginning of Flynn's decline in popularity and his transformation in the public eye into an unsavory figure. His success as a matinee idol was at its peak when _Desperate Journey_ was released in September, followed by _Gentleman Jim_ in November. The ticket sales of both films were aided by the publicity of his pending trial.
_Desperate Journey,_ another collaboration with director Raoul Walsh, is a boy's version of wartime adventures. The Warners publicity department fabricated a double-edged advertising campaign that personalized the plot for the families of servicemen:
> _When your Johnny comes marching home_
> _these are the stories he'll tell..._
They played up Flynn's popularity with full-page ads:
> CONGRATULATIONS
> ERROL FLYNN
> for your very, very best Warner Bros. Picture!
> What a list of hits he has behind him!
> Yet for excitement unsurpassed, for pace
> unparalleled, for action beyond compare—for
> everything that makes an adventure-picture a life-long
> adventure for moviegoers, the top of the list is
> DESPERATE JOURNEY
>
>
>
**Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn and Arthur Kennedy in the wartime adventure** _**Desperate Journey**_ **(1942).**
**
**
The plot: When a Hudson bomber crashes in Germany, five of its surviving crew make their way across the country, sabotaging and gathering intelligence information. The crew symbolizes the Allied effort with Australian Flight Lt. Forbes (Flynn), American flying officer Johnny Hammond (Ronald Reagan), Flight Sergeant Kirk Edwards, an RAF veteran of World War I (Alan Hale), Canadian flying officer Jed Forrest (Arthur Kennedy), and Englishman Lloyd Hollis (Ronald Sinclair). One anonymous newspaper reviewer summed up the action as "feats that would put both Superman and the Rover Boys to shame."
Arthur Kennedy enjoyed working with Flynn. He later recalled: "There was a lot of drinking done on Saturdays. Actors felt the whole country—except us—had the day off. We'd gather in Errol's dressing room, where he had a case of bourbon. All the drinkers were there: Errol, Raoul Walsh, Alan Hale, yours truly, and Ronnie Reagan." Kennedy added that Reagan would dump his whiskey into a cuspidor when he thought no one was looking.
_Desperate Journey_ is enjoyable only in the context of fantasy-adventure, and palatable because of the engaging performances of the cast, particularly Flynn and Reagan. Flynn campaigned to have Reagan cast as his co-star because he felt the actor's personality complemented his own. It was a wise choice and Flynn's decision to ask for Reagan underscores his understanding of the dynamics of screen acting. After the production wrapped, Flynn invited Reagan up to Mulholland Farm for cocktails and dinner. An anonymous magazine writer documented Reagan's reaction for _Photoplay_ :
> Reagan stared about in amazement. Here was no swashbuckler's eyrie but the home of a man of quiet culture. Books on philosophy, adventure, the best fiction; trophies that bespoke travels in foreign lands; a musical library of the best symphonic records for the radio-gramophone; everywhere the evidence of taste and thoughtful living.
> Omnipresent was Flynn in his eagerness to serve the comfort of his guest, with his special gift of making one feel completely at home. Reagan mentally revamped his idea of Errol. Here was a man with a capacity—and a need—for friendship.
_Desperate Journey's_ popularity can be attributed to Flynn's appeal; no one has ever pretended the film was a classic. The escapist fantasy, built on propaganda, did little to appease the grim war news. In late August, the Japanese landed at Milne Bay, just southeast of Port Moresby, an area of New Guinea that Flynn knew well. We know from his letters and diary entries that he followed the war news with interest. In early September, the Australians engaged the Japanese and drove them from Milne Bay. Fighting continued at Guadalcanal. On the European front, fierce fighting took place in Stalingrad; British commando raids began on Benghazi, Barce and Tobruk, and Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery began a second thrust for victory against the Germans at El Alamein in North Africa. Civilian casualties were growing; from August through October over 900 British civilians perished from Luftwaffe bombing with an equal number injured.
_Gentleman Jim,_ released in the wake of _Desperate Journey,_ was an instantaneous success. Flynn took on the role of prizefighter James J. Corbett with zeal. Corbett won the boxing championship when he knocked out John L. Sullivan in 1892. Corbett capitalized on his success by turning his handsome features and pugilistic expertise into a commodity: many of his later fights were filmed, thus becoming some of the first commercial sportsreels; he charged women high fees to watch him skip rope and attack the punching bag; and he marketed plaster-cast paperweights of his fist. No stranger to female adulation, Corbett even traveled to Paris, appearing at the Folies-Bergère. He toured England in a play, "Gentleman Jim," written especially for him. The play and tour were a smash and Gentleman Jim Corbett became part of the modern pantheon of matinee idols.
Flynn's role as Corbett was one of his favorites and the film is one of his best. The bio-pic focuses on Corbett's early life in San Francisco where he worked as a bank clerk. The film treats Corbett's victory over Sullivan with magnanimity, wisely ignoring the fact that both men despised each other (in fact, for the rest of his life, Sullivan claimed he would have beaten Corbett if only he had trained properly).
Alexis Smith played Corbett's love interest, and Alan Hale, Jack Carson, and Ward Bond added their talents to a film that evokes nostalgia for an 1890s America that was undoubtedly less neighborly than presented here, but good films have a way of making the past appealing. Flynn's appearance as a physically eloquent and graceful boxer is an illusion created with skillful choreography and sharp editing. Although he looks to be in good shape, Flynn had difficulty filming the grueling boxing sequences. But he had advantages; his youthful boxing experiences in Tasmania gave him a much-needed edge.
**Errol Flynn in** _**Gentleman Jim**_ **(1942), another of his great performances directed by Raoul Walsh.**
**
**
Warner Bros. called in Mushy Callahan to work with Flynn. Born Vincent Morris Sheer in 1905, he was a tough Jewish kid from New York who went on to become a welterweight champion. Anti-Semitism had prevented Sheer from participating in boxing events, so he changed his name to the acceptably Irish "Mushy Callahan." He was the Junior Welterweight Champion in 1926 and 1927, and again in 1929 and 1930. When his boxing career ended he operated a haberdashery in Hollywood. Occasionally he moonlighted as a technical advisor for the film industry until Warner Bros. employed him to coach their stable of stars in physical fitness.
Callahan and Flynn had been boxing together for several years when production began on _Gentleman Jim._ Flynn worked earnestly but there are indications he was embarrassed by his lack of stamina in the ring. He possessed grace and flair and was an excellent boxer, but lacked the endurance for long bouts. His chain-smoking and drinking had caught up with him. Surrounded by dozens of extras, crew, and production staff, Flynn couldn't disguise the fact that after a few minutes he was gasping for breath. He was the recipient of more than a few jeers and snide comments from the crew. Walsh, who already had the reputation of a no-nonsense director who sometimes liked to rush through his films, pushed Flynn through his paces. Flynn viewed the Corbett role as an opportunity to escape the heroic image of Robin Hood and General Custer. He cooperated with Walsh and Callahan, fully aware that he was portraying a national sports icon.
Flynn's performance can be viewed as Mushy Callahan's interpretation of the famed Corbett style, replete with the dodging, dance-like tactics later popularized by Muhammed Ali. The edited choreography presents a solid, hard-punching Flynn. Flynn's Corbett is at ease in the ring, gliding, feinting with a left; but his left is a ruse, a trifle that he lets dangle in his opponent's face, all the while waiting to unleash his haymaker right. _Gentleman Jim_ is one of the best examples of a great Flynn performance. He is everything the role demands; brash, boyish, enthusiastic, and when he needs it most, a gentleman.
Flynn collapsed during one of the boxing sequences and was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital. He was diagnosed as having experienced a mild heart attack. He was then flown to Baltimore and admitted to the Johns Hopkins University Hospital where physicians conducted a thorough physical examination. Their assessment was grim. They reportedly told Flynn his lungs and heart were in poor shape and that he would not last long, given his unhealthy lifestyle. His reaction was typical: he smiled, laughed, and went on with the business of having fun. The public was never informed of his heart attack. Instead, the Warner Bros. publicity people said only that their star was suffering from fatigue.
With his trial looming, his reputation was already marred by the scandal. Audiences laughed loudly during _Gentleman Jim_ 's final scene when Flynn says to Alexis Smith: "Darling, that gentleman stuff never fooled you, did it? I'm no gentleman!"
By late 1942 Errol Flynn was a target for opportunity seekers, cranks and con men. This fact is made clear in a letter Flynn received on November 13, 1942, in which Flynn's life is threatened unless he sent ten thousand dollars in cash to a San Bernardino address. The letter was turned over to the FBI. Special Agent R. B. Hood sent this teletype to J. Edgar Hoover:
> FBI Los Angeles 11-16-42
> Director
> On November thirteenth last ERROL FLYNN, film star, received letter threatening his life unless he sent ten thousand dollars cash to a San Bernardino, California, address by November eighteenth in letter postmarked San Bernardino November tenth. Appropriate investigation being conducted. Hood.
A teletype from J. Edgar Hoover to the Los Angeles Bureau dated November 17, 1942, reads:
> unknown subject, ERROL FLYNN, victim, extortion. Re wire sixteenth instant press investigation vigorously. Take precautions to avoid premature publicity and keep Bureau advised of developments. Hoover.
Flynn was waiting for his trial for rape to begin at the time he received the extortion letter. A copy of the original letter is included in the file, along with a transcript:
> Dear Mr. Flynn
> If you value your life and career send ten thousand dollars wrapped in a small package addressed to Jack Gelstrom CENSORED to _illegible_ Malt Shop 383 E. St. Your phone will be tapped and you will be followed so make no attempt to call police CENSORED
> P.S. A hint—this concerns Betty Hansen and Peggy Satterlee—Have it there by Nov. 18 or something will happen.
This excerpt can be found in R. B. Hood's report dated November 25, 1942:
> Surveillance of malt shop maintained by Bureau Agents and San Bernardino PD. BILLY SEAMSTER called for package on 11/19/42. In signed statement SEAMSTER, age 13, admits writing extortion letter. Facts presented to Assistant DA RUSSELL E. LAMBEAU, Los Angeles, who declined prosecution due to subject's youth. Decision regarding juvenile delinquency preceedings being held in abeyance. Subject's photograph and fingerprints obtained.
Seamster went on to tell the FBI he'd admired Flynn for as long as he could remember, then adding "I wanted to see if the things they had been printing in the paper were true." Seamster was released to the custody of his parents. The news of the extortion attempt reached the media and was reported in the _Los Angeles Daily News_ on November 20, 1942, in a small column beneath the headline: EXTORTION NOTE TO ERROL FLYNN BRINGS ARREST.
Flynn's image as a swashbuckler was being revised in the public eye. He was now viewed as a little less heroic, someone slightly more lecherous and inclined to pursue sexual gratification. Under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover the FBI was determined to keep tabs on various celebrities with a reputation for such indulgences. This policy would continue until Hoover's death in 1972. The FBI's impression of Flynn is pointedly summarized in the following memorandum:
> G.E.N. New York City
> Nov. 24, 1942
> ERROL FLYNN
> MORAL TURPITUDE
> PUBLICITY, LIES
> AND WHAT HAVE YOU?
> Errol Flynn, movie actor, was held for trial on two charges of rape, after hearings in Hollywood. One of the accusers said she was 15 when Flynn raped her on his yacht; the California law protects children by making the age of consent 18.
> Behind the news: In 1937 Errol Flynn came to Madrid, saying he was bringing a large sum of money and the good will of the movie colony to the Loyalists in their fight against Hitler, Mussolini and Franco, the Axis. This was a falsehood.
> One night Flynn disappeared. Next morning he left for Valencia. The same day the entire American press front-paged a thrilling story of how Flynn was wounded in the frontline trenches of Madrid.
> This story was a lie. Madrid censor, Constancia de la Mera, stated officially that Flynn had filed an innocent-looking telegram to Paris, that this telegram was the tipoff to release the news and that the hoax was one of the most foul and callous actions ever admitted by a Hollywood actor to gain publicity at the expense of the fight against world fascism. Associated Press, United Press and other news agencies phoned their man in Valencia who confirmed fact Flynn was there without a scratch.
The preceding memo is perhaps the most damaging public document regarding Flynn. At the risk of sounding like an apologist, we must remember that this negative viewpoint constitutes one person's opinion which was based entirely on gossip and hearsay that was solicited from paid informants. In fact, we now understand from his published diary excerpts that Flynn was influenced by Hermann Erben to undertake his trip to Spain. The FBI file never captures the essence of Flynn's character, for certainly he possessed qualities to admire, _i.e._ , his curiosity, his courage, and his zest for living.
By now he was involved with Blanca Rosa Welter and Mary Ann Hyde, his primary female companions in the months preceding, and following, the rape charges. Mary Ann Hyde had the unenviable distinction of becoming known as Flynn's girlfriend shortly before his divorce from Lili Damita was finalized. She stayed often at Mulholland but never lived with Flynn. She provided secretarial services and found herself in a whirlwind romance. Flynn dined with her at the Mocambo, danced with her in nightclubs along the Sunset Strip. She would not last long. The competition for Flynn's affections was fierce. Often when they were dining together she became but another pretty face in a crowd of admiring females who besieged Flynn at his table, vying for his attention.
Errol Flynn stood trial for rape commencing Monday, January 11, 1943. The trial would last twenty-one days, with weekends off where Flynn retreated to Mulholland Farm with Blanca Rosa Welter and Buster Wiles, who was now living in a guest room. He had his butler, cook, and several caretakers and animal handlers taking care of the upkeep on the busy farm. He kept the press at arm's length as best he could, and conferred with his attorneys daily. Ticket sales for _Desperate Journey_ and _Gentleman Jim_ were strong, and _They Died with their Boots On_ continued its profitable run. Jack Warner and his executives waited anxiously to see if their top star would land in prison.
Peter Stackpole's statement to the author mirrors the testimony he gave at the preliminary hearing and trial:
> I got mixed up in the Flynn trial when he was accused of the delinquency of a minor. I was out on his yacht when he had this young girl on board and I very carefully avoided keeping her in our pictures until Flynn asked me if I'd be a sport and photograph her on a roll of film for him, which I was happy to do. We were supposed to go sailing, and the reason he was up on the mast, we were looking for photo opportunities, but we didn't do any sailing because there wasn't enough wind. So that night we powered back to Long Beach where he kept his boat. I was on deck the whole crossing with Flynn's stand-in, Buster Wiles. Buster had a girlfriend who was also on deck. Flynn was below deck and so were his crew, with the girl. And I think they only came up on deck once before we came into the harbor. Flynn wanted to stay on board and asked me if I'd mind driving her home, which I did. I guess I got her home around midnight. But anyway, a couple of years later I was with my youngest daughter on the beach when some men came and had a subpoena for me. The District Attorney's office wanted me to be a witness against Flynn. So there was the big Flynn trial. It made headlines all over the country.
The public was split on Flynn's innocence or guilt, and the topic made for popular conversation. Very soon the phrase "In like Flynn" came to epitomize a man's sexual success with a woman. Each development was greeted with speculation, shock, and even laughter. Excerpts from the trial transcript would be reprinted in newspapers from coast to coast.
Jerry Giesler: And in talking about playing up to Flynn, did he say anything about intercourse?
Betty Hansen: No, he did not.
JG: He did not mention intercourse at any time?
BH: No, he did not.
JG: Now, then, for the purpose of refreshing your recollection, Miss Hansen, I will ask you, do you recall, do you remember your testimony you gave before the grand jury up on the fifth floor, or down on the fifth floor, of this building?
BH: Yes.
JG: That was some little time ago?
BH: Yes.
JG: I show you your testimony—page twenty-four, Mr. Cochran, parts of the page, referring back to line eighteen. We are talking about Armand Knapp. That is the same young man?
BH: Yes.
**Flynn leaving the Los Angeles courthouse after being charged with rape. He is accompanied by his attorneys Robert Ford (left) and Jerry Giesler. (Photograph courtesy of Rick Dodd.)**
JG: (reading) "Did he say anything to you about going to introduce you to Errol Flynn? Answer: He said how I should act and play up to him. Question: Tell us about that? Answer: He said play up to him and drink with him and even said to have intercourse with him." Do you remember so testifying? This is your—
BH: No, I don't.
JG: So there won't be any mistake, your name is Betty Hansen, and you start over here over on page one and the next witness after you is on page twenty-five, and I will show you page twenty-four, line five.
Mr. Cochran: Will you go as far as twenty-five?
JG: (reading) "Did Mr. Knapp tell you to have intercourse with Flynn? Answer: He said to be sociable and do anything he asked me to do." That is true?
BH: Yes.
JG: And so you testified—what you testified to is true, then?
BH: Yes.
JG: As a matter of fact, you did say it, didn't you?
BH: Yes, but I might have meant something else.
JG: You think you might have meant something else about what you testified to here today?
BH: No.
JG: Well, now, after having talked with Mr. Knapp along that line, you still went on out to the house, did you?
BH: Yes, I did.
JG: And you had hopes by doing that, meeting Mr. Flynn and being nice to him, he might get you a job, isn't that true?
BH: Yes.
JG: You knew he was in pictures, didn't you?
BH: Yes.
JG: And you liked him in pictures, didn't you, before this Sunday, didn't you?
BH: No, I never did.
JG: You never did? In Lincoln, did you go and see his pictures?
BH: Once in a great while.
JG: And back there, did you kind of like his acting?
BH: Not so good. He don't act like a gentleman, I will tell you.
JG: I move to strike that as not responsive.
The Court: Motion granted—the last sentence.
Coming as it did in the wake of the popular _Gentleman Jim,_ Hansen's comment that Flynn "don't act like a gentleman" brought howls of laughter from courtroom spectators.
JG: Miss Hansen, the act itself lasted about how long, please?
**Flynn never publicly acknowledged the presence of his accusers during the trial. Here he keeps his back to Betty Hansen. (Paul M. James collection.)**
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BH: About fifty minutes.
JG: About fifty minutes?
BH: Yes, that's right.
JG: And during that entire time he was on top of you?
BH: That is right.
JG: Did it pain you?
BH: Yes, it did.
JG: You did not scream?
BH: I did not.
JG: You did not cry at that time?
BH: I did not.
JG: Did it hurt you very much?
BH: No.
JG: Did you take part in the performance of the act yourself?
BH: Explain that some to me, please.
JG: I am asking you if you took part in the performance of the act yourself. Did you respond to him in his performing the act with you?
BH: I did.
JG: During the time he was having the act with you, did he say anything to you?
BH: Yes, he did.
JG: What did he say? Do you remember?
BH: I do. He said I have a nice pair of breasts.
JG: Anything else?
BH: Yes. And I had a nice fanny.
JG: Anything else?
BH: Not that I recall.
Hansen tried to play the role of a sweet, innocent girl for the jury, but her performance lacked conviction. The trial photographs reveal a curly blonde clown mugging for the camera, rolling her eyes heavenward and assuming a prayerful pose. Giesler's strategy to discredit Hansen and Satterlee's testimony proved to be easy to accomplish. In Giesler's words: "The California Supreme Court had decided that where rape is alleged to have been committed by force, even though the girl is under eighteen, evidence of her prior acts of unchastity is admissible for the purpose of showing the nonprobability of resistance on her part and—under certain circumstances—the probability that the crime was not committed at all."
Hansen's unconvincing testimony created a circus atmosphere that prevailed until the trial concluded. Spectators frequently burst into laughter as Hansen spoke in a slow, midwestern drawl. Her apparent joy at being photographed, and her clowning for the camera, did not go unnoticed by the jury of three men and nine women.
Giesler challenged Hansen on every statement. When she claimed Flynn rubbed on some hair oil in the bathroom after the sexual encounter, Giesler had Flynn claim not to use hair oil; when she claimed Flynn locked the bedroom door in Freddie McEvoy's Bel Air residence where the rape allegedly took place, Giesler had the door unhinged and brought to the courtroom where he and Deputy District Attorney Thomas Cochran made a show of examining the lock with the intensity of Sherlock Holmes. Giesler had an expert locksmith testify that the lock was broken and consequently Flynn never could have locked himself in the room with Hansen.
**Flynn and Jerry Giesler during the trial. The girl wearing suspenders behind them is Peggy La Rue Satterlee. (Photograph courtesy of Rick Dodd.)**
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The courtroom dramatics reached a fever pitch when Lynn Boyer, a socialite and nightclub singer called as a witness for the prosecution because of her testimony that she overheard Flynn and Hansen talking in the bedroom, threatened to jump out of the courtroom window. Apparently overcome by the idea that her testimony might result in Flynn's conviction, a sobbing, hysterical Boyer (who was also aware of the publicity she was getting as photographers closed in on her) flung herself into the arms of Cochran's assistant, Deputy District Attorney John Hopkins.
Throughout these shenanigans, Flynn maintained his composure. He wore either a navy blue or gray suit each day and carried a hat. Each day he passed through a crowd of fans at the courtroom doors and each day he stopped and signed autographs. He did not smile. He was polite, courteous, and thoughtful when responding to questions. Since photographers were allowed access to the courtroom, he was photographed daily as he signed his autographs or sat at the large wooden table with his attorneys. When there was a recess of a few minutes he read the newspapers. He scribbled notes. He played solitaire. He whispered instructions to Giesler and Ford, or nodded attentively as they instructed him.
Often, after an afternoon's testimony, Flynn took his dinner at Duco's restaurant, across the street from the Hall of Justice. The restaurant was crowded with reporters and Flynn, along with Giesler and Ford, handled the endless barrage of questions well. Flynn's theme was consistent: he harbored no ill-will toward the girls. He maintained they were pawns in a plot to blackmail him. "I really feel sorry for them," he repeated. "They can't really hurt me. I'm sure I'm going to be acquitted, but their lives are ruined. A girl doesn't survive things like this. I wish I could do something to help them. I really do, and don't smile at me in that cynical manner. I'm not just talking. I mean it."
Peggy Satterlee was another matter. She claimed Flynn raped her twice on the _Sirocco._ Peter Stackpole testified to photographing her on the boat. The cruise was leisurely as Flynn, Stackpole, Buster Wiles, and the girls enjoying spear-fishing and watched aquaplane races. Eventually, according to Satterlee, Flynn lured her into a room under the pretense of getting a better view of the moon through a porthole, and raped her.
Jerry Giesler: Now, then, we are coming toward home, after dinner Sunday night. How far out were we from shore when you spoke about the moon?
Peggy Satterlee: It wasn't too far, because—
JG: I do not know how far too far was, but how far out were you, in your judg-ment?
PS: Well, after we got up it was about thirty minutes before we came to shore, that is before we went down.
JG: About thirty minutes?
PS: Yes, sir.
JG: And you were on deck, were you?
PS: When I was talking about the moon?
JG: Yes.
PS: Yes, sir.
JG: Whom were you talking with?
PS: Mr. Flynn.
JG: Who else was up there?
PS: I don't remember.
JG: Was anyone else up there?
PS: There probably was.
JG: You were the one that volunteered about the moon, were you?
PS: Yes, sir.
JG: Was the moon back of you or in front of you?
PS: Naturally, I was facing it.
JG: I appreciate that, but where was it? Going ahead or back of the boat?
PS: I don't remember.
JG: Was it a full moon?
PS: I don't remember that either.
JG: You do not know whether it was full or not?
PS: No, sir.
JG: And you referred to the moon, and he said it looked better from the porthole, did he?
PS: Yes, sir.
JG: Did he carry you downstairs?
PS: No, sir.
JG: Did he pull you downstairs?
PS: No, sir.
JG: Did he then take hold of your arm and lead you downstairs?
PS: He might have taken hold of my arm on the way down the steps, but I do not remember that he pulled me.
JG: Did he tell you where he was going to take you?
PS: No, sir.
JG: Do you know where the portholes were down there?
PS: Yes, sir, he went in first.
JG: And you went in?
PS: Into Mr. Wiles's room.
JG: When you went around that boat, you had seen that same cabin?
PS: Yes.
JG: Did you follow him in?
PS: Yes.
JG: Why?
PS: Because I wanted to see the moon through the porthole.
PS: So, then you wanted to see the moon through the porthole?
PS: Yes, sir.
Giesler contended that it was impossible to view the moon through a porthole on the _Sirocco._ Giesler later said, "I delved into such heavenly matters as the position of the moon in relation to the yacht when Miss Satterlee said she had been rudely surprised while gazing at it. The tide and the way the vessel swung at its anchor had everything to do with whether she could have seen the moon from the porthole in that particular cabin at that particular moment."
Giesler and his team had an architectural chart of the _Sirocco_ introduced and used the chart to counter Satterlee's claim of viewing the moon through a porthole. Flynn appeared on the stand and meticulously confirmed the location of each room and various positions on the ship.
The trial had reached another level, with each revelation sending reporters scrambling for a telephone to call in their story. Giesler was working at discrediting Satterlee's reputation and established that she had hitch-hiked across the country, from California to Texas and on to St. Louis with her mother and sister, June Satterlee. He was building a case that the moral fiber of the Satterlee family should be considered by the jury, which was permissible under California law. He painted a portrait of them as drifters, unscrupulous and greedy. Satterlee was a fringe player in Hollywood, having recently secured uncredited roles as an extra in _The Bells of Capistrano_ and _Arabian Nights._ She made her living as a nightclub dancer.
But the greatest shock came later, when Giesler intentionally mentioned the name of a forty-two-year-old Canadian flyer named Owen Cathcart-Jones in his cross-examination of Satterlee. Giesler had received an anonymous telephone call instructing him to visit a Los Angeles funeral parlor where the attendant had a story about Satterlee and Owen Cathcart-Jones. Satterlee had accompanied Cathcart-Jones to the funeral parlor and into a room where cadavers were kept and where she "had frolicked about, pulling sheets from the naked bodies and peering at them."
Giesler had mentioned Cathcart-Jones in the context of a close friendship with Satterlee. Giesler admitted a few years later he wanted to trick the prosecution into calling the Canadian as a witness vouching for Satterlee's moral character. Deputy District Attorney Thomas Cochran took the bait and Cathcart-Jones testified on behalf of Satterlee. Giesler was now in position to cross-examine:
Jerry Giesler: Well, you also were with her down to a mortuary down here in Los Angeles, were you not?
Owen Cathcart-Jones: Yes.
JG: And she was kind of playing hide-and-seek around the corpses, wasn't she? Do you remember that night?
OCJ: Yes.
JG: Do you remember she showed you—opened it up and showed you—the body of an elderly lady?
OCJ: Yes.
JG: And pulled the sheet down in the mortuary on a Filipino who had been crippled across the center?
OCJ: I remember that.
JG: And then went back to where they inject the veins of corpses and there opened and looked down at an elderly man lying there, and her head was pushed down against the man's face. Do you remember that?
OCJ: Yes, I remember that.
The Court: Keep them quiet out there, Mr. Bailiff.
The shock value of the Cathcart-Jones testimony was not lost on the jury, which Giesler scrutinized. "During this part of the testimony the jury's faces were a study," Giesler said. "Especially those of the women jurors. I saw them wince and I knew I had them. It was plain to everyone in the courtroom that the jury had made up its mind about the quality of the 'innocence' Miss Satterlee might have had while studying the moon through a porthole in Flynn's yacht."
**Rare photograph of Flynn on the witness stand during his trial. Attorney Robert Ford is pointing to a chart of the** _**Sirocco**_ **. Flynn's testimony helped prove it was impossible to view the moon through a porthole. (Paul M. James collection.)**
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But Giesler wasn't quite finished with his character assassination of Satterlee and Hansen. During the preliminary hearing the previous autumn, Satterlee presented herself wearing a girlish dress and pigtails in order to appear chaste before the public defender. At the trial, Giesler presented Satterlee with a photograph of her appearance and Satterlee burst into laughter, averting her face from the jury. Satterlee's priggish attitude undermined her allegations and her laughter went far in revealing her true intentions. For her trial appearances, she chose modest apparel: a long, dark skirt and flowered suspenders over a white blouse. Her dark hair was brushed back from her shoulders—a conservative look that did nothing to help her in light of the Cathcart-Jones testimony. Giesler also managed to shock the court yet again when he induced Satterlee to admit to having undergone an abortion long before she met Flynn.
Judge Still read the jury instructions that made clear the ramifications of Satterlee's actions:
> You are instructed that every woman who submits to an abortion is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in state prison in California.
> If you find from the evidence in this case, or if you entertain a reasonable doubt therefrom, that the witness Peggy LaRue Satterlee has been guilty of committing such an offense, or believes that she has, then it will by [ _sic_ ] your duty to consider such circumstances in determining the effect, if any, on the state of mind of said Peggy LaRue Satterlee as a witness in the giving of her testimony on this trial and to give such weight to the same as you believe it entitled to.
"It was too bad we had to bring out all that stuff about Peggy," Flynn said from his table that afternoon at Duco's restaurant. "I'm glad it wasn't necessary to name the man who was involved in that illegal operation of hers. He's married, and his wife is a swell girl, and she loves him devotedly. It would be terrible to disillusion her."
The blonde Betty Hansen, having admitted she wanted to use Flynn as a means of breaking into the movie business, put great efforts into smiling and posing for the cameramen. Hansen's testimony and clowning come across as foolish. Thomas Cochran, who coached both girls on handling themselves in cross-examination, could do little for Hansen whose courtroom swooning defies common sense. Giesler uncovered the fact that Hansen had bragged about having sexual relations with several teenage boys who worked around the studio. Two of the boys, Morris Black and Joseph Geraldi, admitted to having sex with Hansen. Hansen's poor grammar was also the cause of merriment in the courtroom. When Giesler asked, "Did you object when he tried to take off your slacks?" Hansen replied, "I didn't have no objections," and the court observers howled with laughter. Florabel Muir, writing in _Movieland_ magazine after the trial, said: "The girls involved were pathetic just because they were so young and stupid."
Again, in his instructions to the jury, Judge Still left little to the imagination regarding Hansen's sexual encounters:
> You are instructed that any person who participates in the act of copulating the mouth of one person with the sexual organ of another is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in state prison in California.
All of Flynn's testimony was carefully constructed to refute, in the simplest terms, the allegations of rape. He refuted Hansen's tale of rape in Bel Air:
Jerry Giesler: At any time that night did you see Miss Hansen upstairs?
Errol Flynn: No.
JG: Did you go into the room and undress her?
EF: No.
JG: And thereafter did you lock the door?
EF: No.
JG: And thereafter did you get into bed with her and have and perform an act of sexual intercourse?
EF: No, I did not.
JG: Thereafter did you go into the bathroom with her?
EF: I did not.
JG: Do you use hair oil?
EF: Very little.
JG: Do you use it at all?
EF: I try to avoid it. I do not think I use it. No, I am not sure—sometimes they put it on out at the studio, but I do not use it myself.
JG: That's what I had in mind. Did you that night use any hair oil?
EF: No.
JG: Did you at any time or place, Mr. Flynn, ever have an act of sexual intercourse with Betty Hansen?
EF: I never at any time had an act of sexual intercourse with Betty Hansen.
JG: Did you at any time or any place have an act of sexual intercourse with Peggy Satterlee?
EF: I never did.
During the month of January 1943, President Roosevelt asked Congress to approve a war budget of $100 million. Roosevelt and Churchill traveled to Casablanca for a conference that would determine the strategy needed to win a global conflict. Roosevelt soon announced that the Allied goal was the unconditional surrender of the Axis. The Australians began an offensive in the Sananander sector of New Guinea, forcing the Japanese to retreat. The Eighth Army engaged in heated battles outside of Tripoli, North Africa before taking the city on January 23rd. In late January the Russians took 52,000 German prisoners after bloody fighting outside of Kursk. The U.S. Eighth Air Force made its first bombing attack on Germany, attacking Wilhelmshaven. As Flynn's fate was being debated by the jury, the Eighth Army fought its way into Tunisia.
A swashbuckling movie star seducing young girls on his yacht; a witness threatening to jump from the courtroom window; a morgue rendezvous that bordered on necrophilia—a public already weary from a military conflict that would last years found these allegations a welcome distraction.
Blanca Welter recalled that one day Flynn decided to take her to Chasen's for dinner and then to the Mocambo nightclub. It was unusual for him to participate in nightlife during the trial, preferring to retreat each day to the seclusion offered at Mulholland. Welter later wrote in her autobiography:
> I didn't realize that he was putting himself to the test of facing those who were his friends before the trial. He had weathered days of cruel testimony and wanted to know what his peers were thinking. During the evening I watched Errol's facade as he posed for photographers with an almost belligerent grin, and clowned and played the fool with his intimates. "Always give the audience what it wants," he murmured to me, and I caught his glances around the crowded room, as he seemed to be measuring the response. He had been going through a public humiliation and his answer was defiance. Then suddenly his mood snapped and the gaiety was gone. "Let's go," he said abruptly. "The game is over."
> Driving home he said not a word, and spent the rest of that night slumped in a chair near the bar, drinking steadily and muttering as if to himself.
> "They're out to get me, Blanca. Giesler is a genius, but even if I win I lose."
On February 6, 1943, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on all three counts of rape. The verdict was recorded by Forewoman Ruby M. Anderson and entered as part of the official court record as Flynn let out a jubilant cry of relief. Some spectators claim he jumped to his feet and shouted a thank-you at the jurors.
The jury had deliberated a full twenty-four hours before clearing Flynn, although there was little debate among the jurors. Jury member Nellie S. Minear said afterward, "We knew Flynn was not guilty all the time, but we didn't want to come out too soon because we wondered what the public might think if we did."
The mood in the courtroom was conciliatory. Prosecutor Thomas Cochran immediately told the press, "I most certainly have no complaint." An ecstatic but reflective Flynn said, "I know now that 'Hall of Justice' is a misnomer. I know that an innocent man armed only with the knowledge of innocence isn't always sure of getting justice. I appreciate, now that it is all over, what a dangerous spot I was in."
Superior Court Judge Leslie Still thanked the jury and said, "I have enjoyed this case and I think you have."
Upon hearing the verdict, Betty Hansen's mother said, "Oh, well, nobody got hurt. I have no hard feelings toward Mr. Flynn. Betty is the cutest little thing that you ever saw—a clean little Christian girl."
Peggy Satterlee, however, was distraught by Flynn's acquittal: "I hate him more than anyone else in the world," she said. "I think it's horrible. I knew those women on the jury would acquit him. They sat there and looked at him adoringly just like he was their son or something. They never did believe he was guilty. I don't know what I'm going to do now. I'm just two days less than seventeen and I feel like a broken old woman. I wish those police had left me out of this altogether. I was working and minding my own business."
Hansen returned to Nebraska and lived quietly and without controversy. Satterlee was not so fortunate. She moved back to Applegate, California, and re-enrolled in high school. In 1944 her father, William C. Satterlee, who publicly decried that Errol Flynn had degraded American womanhood, was charged and convicted of sexually molesting two underage girls.
Flynn's euphoria resulted in a rambling statement before reporters only a few hours after his acquittal. "My confidence now has been justified in essential American justice. I really mean it." Then Flynn added as an afterthought, "I've got to get my health back. Then I've got a military mission in Europe. Nope, I can't tell what it is all about."
Several reporters noted the excessive amount of alcohol suddenly available on the ninth floor of the Hall of Justice where a sumptuous banquet and celebration was immediately underway. Flynn's cryptic statements, however, cannot be dismissed as intoxicated babbling brought on by the excitement of his acquittal, although that may have been a contributing factor. There was no military mission, but it's likely that Flynn believed his request for diplomatic duty was being taken seriously by President Roosevelt and his staff. The devastating effect of the trial on his career and reputation was not readily apparent to him. That would come in time.
To celebrate Flynn's acquittal, Agnes Underwood, city editor of the _Los Angeles Herald-Express,_ hosted a farewell party for him at her home. Flynn attended with Buster Wiles. A photographer dressed up as Peggy Satterlee begged Flynn for a seduction. They staged a mock trial, with Buster Wiles prosecuting, and found Flynn guilty. Florabel Muir described the festivities: "We all sang 'Shine on Harvest Moon' as the jury found the actor guilty and sentenced him to a life sentence on his yacht in the custody of twelve beautiful eighteen-year-old girls...."
Peter Stackpole found the experience unpleasant, although his testimony did nothing to hurt Flynn, and the two remained on friendly terms. Johnny Meyer, however, neglected to support Flynn during this period. Buster Wiles believed this is why Flynn promptly severed the friendship, leaving Meyer to ply his trade with the reclusive Howard Hughes. The FBI began keeping tabs on Meyer once he was associated with Hughes. The documents in Meyer's FBI file lend credence to the supposition that it was Meyer who initiated the blackmail against Flynn.
"If you give a guy enough women, he will hang himself," Meyer is quoted in an FBI memorandum. This excerpt, which describes his employment with Flynn, is from a memorandum dated May 9, 1945:
> When MEYER originally associated with Errol Flynn he was given a pass to the Warner lot and frequently brought young girls to Flynn on the set. It was well known in Los Angeles that Flynn was having relations with these girls at the Warner's Studios and Jack Warner personally instructed Flynn to cease this practice since it had become so notorious. MEYER'S general reputation during this period was that of a personal pimp for Flynn. About 1939, Flynn had MEYER placed on the Warner Bros. payroll in the publicity department. However, his principal activity continued to be the obtaining of girls for Flynn and for movie executives and producers.
An additional memorandum sent to J. Edgar Hoover further details Flynn and friends' scandalous behavior (excerpt):
> Los Angeles California
> April 27, 1945
> MEMORANDUM FOR THE DIRECTOR
> In 1938 MEYER was placed on ERROL FLYNN'S personal payroll. Just prior to that he had been working on one of the gambling ships owned by CENSORED off the coast of Santa Monica. He had acted as master of ceremonies and saw that lone men and women gambling on the ship became acquainted. When he was first associated with FLYNN he was given a pass to the Warner lot and frequently brought young girls to FLYNN'S set and it was well known that the actor was having relations with these young girls at the studio and it finally became so notorious that it is reported JACK WARNER personally instructed FLYNN to cease bringing these girls on to the studio property. It is alleged that when a private train of Warner Bros. personnel proceeded eastward for a premier showing of a film believed to be "Santa Fe," MEYER allegedly gave CENSORED a Mickey Finn following which she was raped by ERROL FLYNN. FLYNN allegedly made bets with certain friends on the train that he could accomplish this feat and as a result the actress attempted to commit suicide and had to be flown back to Los Angeles for hospitalization.
Meyer's reputation with the FBI is remarkably worse than that of Flynn. In a secret memorandum summarizing Meyer's character, the report notes that, "At times, Meyer was reportedly in possession of large sums of money which he could not have earned through his salary and a number of individuals were of the opinion that he arranged 'shake-downs' by compromising certain men and then collecting payoff money. He allegedly provided these men with girls for their entertainment and they, the girls, received a certain percentage of the payoff. This rumor reportedly was widely discussed in Hollywood, California, circles. One individual who was well acquainted with the activities of Meyer stated that Meyer 'deals essentially in sex and flesh is all he knows. He doesn't know anything else.'"
Meyer's criminal record is notable for a suspected kidnapping and extortion scheme that almost landed him in prison. A much later document ties him to Peggy Satterlee when an informant discussing Meyer stated: "Johnny Meyer operates out of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I know Johnny having worked for Warner Bros. and Errol Flynn, and about the yacht case with the little girl in pigtails. Johnny is a pimp."
It is highly probable that Meyer worked in collusion with Dockweiler and other corrupt Los Angeles officials in blackmailing Flynn. Meyer was probably the contact who solicited Peggy Satterlee, although this is speculation based on the circumstantial evidence. In any event, the FBI file makes his capabilities clear. Meyer is described as "entirely disreputable and a schemer and respectable persons do not trust him and regard him with the same contempt that they would any procurer and blackmailer."
Meyer's absence during the trial may have been the best thing for Flynn after all. But the damage had been done. Peter Stackpole reflected on the trial's aftermath and its effect on Flynn:
"All this press about him (Flynn) being a womanizer and going after young girls made his box office much, much bigger. People went to see his films in droves. He had a choice to make, he could walk the straight and narrow or play the part. Well, he played the part. He played the part and people were mighty interested in him, particularly young teenagers, and when he was in a crowd he'd be in danger of having his shirt torn off."
The cultural effect of Flynn's trial manifested itself in this ditty, repeated with variations by schoolgirls around the country:
> Let down your nighties,
> and lock yourselves in,
> it's just that virgin, Errol Flynn
>
>
>
> Twirl my nightie, tuck me in,
> Here comes Mr. Errol Flynn
>
>
>
> Off with your nightie, he wants in,
> that daring devil Errol Flynn
Flynn never liked being the target of comedians, but they were after him now with a vengeance. Milton Berle quipped, "Youth will have its Flynn." Flynn's name was being tossed about so much, that he was sometimes confused with New York politician Edward J. Flynn who was campaigning for the post of Minister to Australia. An anonymous writer for the Parent Teachers Association and Woman's Club of Olyphant, Pennsylvania wrote to her senator: "We think Edward Flynn did seduce the two girls. Why try to send him as a diplomat? It looks as if the Senate didn't care about character."
Edward Flynn, as it turned out, had used city-owned paving blocks to landscape part of his home, which helped prompt this stanza from Denver's _Rocky Mountain Herald_ :
> Flynns Errol, Ed, confuse my head.
> I'm daft with yachts and paving blocks;
> I'm all mixed up on right behaving,
> (Who's without Flynn can throw the first paving)
> I'm all mixed up on women and wine,
> (To Errol's human, but to Flynn divine!)
Flynn was also the target of several paternity claims. Shirley Evans Hassau, who had filed a paternity claim against Flynn in 1940 when she was eighteen, renewed her claim and asked for additional money. Flynn originally settled with Hassau for $2000 with the stipulation that he was relieved of all further claims. With the rape trial making headlines, Hassau filed a new suit on behalf of the child she claimed was Flynn's. He always denied the child was his but settled with Hassau for an additional $3000.
Flynn's plight had been followed avidly by the public. In the South Pacific, Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, leader of the acclaimed Black Sheep Squadron, recalled listening to the radio during Flynn's trial: "The actor Errol Flynn was having a lengthy session in court concerning his amours at the time with some young things aboard his yacht. And a blow-by-blow account of the trial was woven into these newscasts. I'll never forget those few hundred lonesome lads under the coconut trees at Espiritu, chanting as one, 'Get that God-damn war news off the speaker! We want to hear about Flynn.'" Boyington's recollection is similar to that of thousands of servicemen to whom Flynn had become an idol. "I wonder if Flynn realized how much entertainment he was providing the troops overseas. Anyway, I give him a vote of thanks for this, and for that expression that still stands, 'You are in like Flynn.'"
Adding to the surreal circumstances of the trial, John F. Dockweiler, the District Attorney responsible for pushing the statutory rape charges against Flynn, dropped dead from a heart attack. Shortly thereafter, Flynn sent out invitations for a party at Mulholland. He wanted to celebrate his acquittal and return to the gaiety that had distinguished his life. Nobody showed up and he later said he had attempted a social comeback too soon. Flynn also claimed the rape trial caused him to suffer enormous depression, so much that he sat on the edge of his bed and held a loaded gun to his head but was unable to pull the trigger.
Blanca Welter had come to the realization that Flynn didn't truly love her and wanted to end the relationship. Before she packed her belongings, however, Flynn kept his promise and assisted her in making contacts that would further her film career. Flynn also came up with a new name for his mistress. He chose Linda Christian, taking Fletcher Christian's surname. Blanca Welter now had a name with marquee potential. Flynn asked her to stay, claiming he loved her, but she later claimed it was obvious he harbored no true feelings for her. She had been living with Flynn for less than two months.
**Flynn dining out with Bruce Cabot and Blanca Rosa Welter who had recently changed her name to Linda Christian at Flynn's suggestion. (Photograph courtesy of Mike Mazzone.)**
**
**
Her career blossomed modestly, but Christian never became one of Hollywood's superstars. She was better known, perhaps, because of the men she slept with. Within a few years she was involved with Tyrone Power, and when they wed in January 1949 Flynn said incredulously, "He's marrying _her_?"
Flynn was tired and wanted to keep out of the public eye. Living at the Mulholland Farm was enough to keep him busy. He had everything he needed and requested more time off. He wanted to cut back on the business of picture making. He had his pick of women, and continued his seductions. Buster Wiles recalled: "He preferred romancing them, the candlelight bit. They used to walk the three miles from Sunset Boulevard up to Mulholland House, climb over the fence and then peek in the house, hoping we would invite them in. If they weren't too awful, we might."
The public's interest in Flynn remained constant and he began receiving letters of support. Flynn responded to some of these with brief messages, touched by the fact that strangers would take the time to write to him. "Many thanks indeed for your message of encouragement," Flynn wrote to one admirer. "It's difficult to say just how much a word like that can mean. But it certainly is a wonderful feeling to know that you have a friend here and there who's pulling for you—even though you don't happen to know that friend personally."
During the trial Flynn had noticed a pretty young woman working at the cigarette and cigar stand. This was Nora Eddington, the daughter of Jack Eddington who worked as a secretary for Los Angeles County Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz. Buster Wiles had gotten to know Nora during the trial and there are conflicting reports that Flynn sent Wiles to arrange an introduction. Wiles denied this in his autobiography, stating that "Flynn never asked me to get him a date with Nora or anyone else." That may be true, but Nora Eddington's version makes it clear Wiles was functioning as Flynn's intermediary. After the trial Wiles and Eddington ran into each other at a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. Nora gave Wiles her telephone number. "For the next four days I could almost set my watch by the regularity of Buster's calls and he always asked the same question: 'I'm at Errol's. Could you come and have lunch with us? I'll send a car to pick you up," Eddington said in her autobiography. "My answer was unvaried: no. I wouldn't have minded lunching alone with Buster but I had no desire to meet his friend, Errol. Besides, I was pretty sure Errol had no interest in meeting me."
According to Florabel Muir, Wiles was Flynn's "Man Friday" but claims that Nora herself arranged for an introduction with _Examiner_ reporter Howard Hertel and _Herald-Express_ reporter Barney Bernard. Muir also claimed that Nora only pretended to work at the cigar and candy booth in order to position herself near Flynn. None of the versions of the beginning of the Flynn-Eddington romance seems plausible, but each contains a grain of truth. The subterfuge was certainly necessary, and each participant stuck to their version throughout their lives. Nora did not wish to appear to be pursuing Flynn and never admitted that she was interested in him before they met. Flynn was paranoid and deeply concerned about the ramifications the trial would have on his future. He may have even known he was under surveillance. He had cooperated with the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department in their investigations several times and was familiar with the lead agents in Los Angeles. He was also aware now of the fact that his enemies would stop at nothing to damage his reputation.
Flynn proceeded cautiously with Nora Eddington. Throughout February and March they saw each other frequently. She visited him at Mulholland with a girlfriend, went to dinner with him, and visited him on the set of his newest picture, _Northern Pursuit._ Photographs of the two dancing or dining together began making the papers and magazines. Some of the early blurbs referred to her as "Nova" but it didn't take the press long to correct themselves:
> Errol Flynn has a new girlfriend, too. They are seen together constantly, but Errol refuses to let the camera boys get close to her. We've heard her name is Nora Eddington, although Errol just calls her "beautiful."
The FBI had continued to keep tabs on Flynn. They intercepted a telephone conversation between Flynn and Freddy McEvoy, one of his closest friends, on March 16, 1943:
> Mr. McEvoy asked Mr. Flynn if he was going to Mexico definitely. Mr. Flynn said he would go via Pan American Lines. Mr. McEvoy asked about the case. Mr. Flynn said that a warrant had been issued for Mr. McEvoy's arrest but he, Mr. Flynn, had succeeded to have it withdrawn and a 500 dollar bond was necessary.
> Mr. McEvoy said he had received a telegram from Mr. Lane dated March 12th. Mr. McEvoy added he would wait to hear what the repercussions of the case would be and then would decide whether to sue the hotel or not for the late delivery of the telegram. Mr. Flynn asked Mr. McEvoy not to worry about it as it would be fixed one way or another.
> Mr. McEvoy said he would reserve four seats for the bull fight on Sunday; he asked Mr. Flynn how long he would stay. Mr. Flynn said he had plenty of time and the only thing which would prevent his going would be the draft board, but he believed he had the matter under control.
> Mr. McEvoy asked Mr. Flynn to bring 2 guns and his painting. Mr. Flynn asked Mr. McEvoy if he knew where his (Mr. Flynn's) naturalisation papers were. Mr. McEvoy said he had them. Mr. Flynn asked him to send them by air mail at once because he could not leave the country without them. Mr. McEvoy said he would send them tonight. Mr. McEvoy said he was anxious to hear what the repercussions of his case would be and added he could not leave for another month.
> Mr. McEvoy asked Mr. Flynn to wire advising him of his arrival in Mexico so he could meet him at the airport.
It was not unusual for Flynn to intercede on behalf of friends who found themselves in an adverse circumstance. McEvoy was also under surveillance and his FBI file describes him as "an international pimp who is interested in his own well-being and probably not engaged in activities detrimental to the interests of this country." Both McEvoy and Flynn were in the habit of recklessly associating with unsavory characters. Their poor judgment in choosing their friends was sufficient for the FBI to conduct ongoing surveillance.
Flynn's name appears in numerous documents involving FBI probes of other individuals, including his friends Freddy McEvoy, Pat (Pasquale) de Cicco, former husband to actress Thelma Todd who died under mysterious circumstances (De Cicco later married Gloria Vanderbilt). Another acquaintance, Charles Barclay, who went under the name Prince Youka Troubetzkoy and had appeared in a handful of motion pictures, notably _His Glorious Night_ (1929) with John Gilbert and _Chasing Rainbows_ (1930) with Jack Benny, was under investigation by the FBI for suspected espionage. Flynn's friends and acquaintances were a group of opportunists, con men, and glorified pimps. A heavily censored report dated March 31, 1943, again summarizes the FBI's assessment of Flynn's character (excerpts):
> ERROL FLYNN is well known to all sources contacted during the course of this investigation. His recent trial was highly publicized in local papers, and FLYNN is described as a highly-sexed individual, who is frustrated in his normal desires; very attractive to women. He has an active case of tuberculosis at present and is reported to have been classified 4-F by his Draft Board for this reason. He is regarded as a person of low moral character, with absolutely no regard for women, who has had affairs with every woman with whom he has been associated in motion pictures. The statement was made by CENSORED that FLYNN has had an affair with every woman who has ever worked on the Warner Bros. lot "from grandmothers on down." He has been known to entertain women in his dressing room while on the set. He has frequently boasted of his powers of conquest, and has openly made bets that he would seduce certain women who have appeared difficult.
> For general information, it can be stated that Warner Bros. expected a certain amount of adverse criticism of FLYNN due to his notoriety, but that they have been agreeably surprised by the reaction of film audiences since his vindication.
> CENSORED said that to his knowledge Warner Bros. had millions of dollars invested in FLYNN "in the cans" which is a Hollywood term for describing pictures not yet released, but completely finished.
> FLYNN was characterized by CENSORED as a man perverted in his sexual desires, and one who ultimately will cause Warner Bros. a considerable amount of difficulty "if he doesn't kill himself in the process." FLYNN at present is in Mexico City, where it is reported that he is attempting to forget his recent trial before beginning a new picture at Warners. It was noted that no individual contacted in the course of this investigation had anything good to say about FLYNN, describing him in some instances as a "perfect heel" and using other expressions which cannot be stated in this report.
Some of the FBI memoranda have been widely disseminated and have helped to foster the prevailing negative view of Flynn. This is unfortunate for several obvious reasons, not the least of them being that they illuminate only a very small facet of a very complex man. Even so, these memoranda are useful because they contain references to his self-destructive lifestyle and highlight some of the pitfalls that come with fame. Flynn's film career certainly evokes admiration—he was the ultimate hero; but as we explore his life we often find ourselves dismayed, perhaps even horrified, by his all-too-human weaknesses.
The FBI file is a reflection of the growing public sentiment regarding Flynn. Guilty or innocent, the gutsy Tasmanian who had survived the hard years knocking around the South Pacific and arrived to conquer Hollywood had become a subject of derision. His reputation was seriously damaged by the revelations of his hedonistic lifestyle and his continued association with unsavory characters. He had become a one-line joke for comedians and an object of scorn for saloon brawlers.
Flynn was in the middle of filming _Edge of Darkness_ under Lewis Milestone's direction when he was charged with rape. At the time of his acquittal, filming was near completion with only minor shots remaining. Jack Warner was worried that Flynn's box office appeal would slip no matter what the trial's outcome would be. A sense of trepidation prevailed on the Warners lot with the impending March release.
**Errol Flynn with Walter Huston in _ **Edge of Darkness**_ (1943).**
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**
A far more serious war film than _Desperate Journey, Edge of Darkness_ was based on the novel by William Woods, which Flynn made a point of reading when the production was on location in Monterey, California. The Warners press kit struggled with the approach to selling the film. The result was a clichéd campaign. Blurbs such as ADVENTURE! ROMANCE! THRILLS! and MIGHTY AND IMPORTANT FROM WARNERS! gave no indication of the film's seriousness. As always, it would be Errol Flynn's name in bold letters that would sell tickets.
Flynn starred with Ann Sheridan with whom he had remained friends since they met while filming _Dodge City._ The press sometimes hinted that Flynn and Sheridan were romantically involved, but this has never been substantiated. In fact, Flynn's platonic friendships have befuddled gossip columnists and biographers who prefer to believe that he had sexual relations with all of his female co-stars. Contrary to the gossip in the FBI file, Flynn did not always seduce his leading lady. He had no trouble finding bed partners. He took pride in his platonic friendships, among them Rosalind Russell, Alexis Smith, and Nancy Coleman, offering his support and encouragement throughout their careers.
_Edge of Darkness_ misses being a great picture by a narrow margin and is given little attention by film scholars today. Flynn's performance is adequate, but in several key scenes he fails to deliver his lines with conviction, a trait that plagued him in several roles. In _Edge of Darkness_ he delivers the line, "I could kill you," without sincerity. These flaws in his acting are barely noticeable in the context of an exciting adventure film.
Flynn was cast as Gunnar Brogge, a Norwegian fisherman who becomes involved in the underground movement against the Nazis. The film captures the complexity and danger of life in an occupied town during wartime, and features another ensemble cast that included Walter Huston, Judith Anderson, Nancy Coleman, and Helmut Dantine. The heroics are born out of necessity for survival and a dedication to freedom without overplaying the idealism, much to the appreciation of the critics who generally praised the film.
Flynn's best scenes are with Ann Sheridan. She is headstrong and independent, clearly not a woman to be trifled with. This is the basic ingredient of Sheridan's screen persona. The sensitivity she demonstrates is natural to her gender, but she is a modern, educated woman with the brass and savvy needed to get her through difficult situations. As a screen couple, Flynn and Sheridan brought experience, strong egos, and mutual respect to their roles. _Edge of Darkness_ was the first major pairing of the two stars (there would be one more pairing in a feature film and a minor television appearance) and this is their best work together.
Flynn received another extortion letter a few weeks after his trial ended. This letter also made reference to his rape trial. Flynn's attorney, Robert Ford, contacted the Los Angeles FBI office and prompted an investigation. The following are excerpts from a document dated May 5, 1943:
> ROBERT E. FORD telephonically advised the Los Angeles Office on 4/29/43 that he was in possession of a threatening letter addressed to ERROL FLYNN. _Illegible_ letter was postmarked Quincy, Massachusetts 4/23/43 and unsigned, but instructed FLYNN to place a note in the BOSTON DAILY RECORD to indicate that he had received the letter and awaited further instructions. FLYNN and pertinent individuals interviewed in regard to receipt of extortion letter.
The letter was originally sent to Flynn at 601 North Linden Drive in Beverly Hills but by now Flynn was living in his new home on Mulholland. The May 5th document continues:
> On the flap of the envelope itself was written the word, "Beware."
> It is also to be noted that this letter was subsequently sent to the Beverly Hills Post Office where it was postmarked April 26, 1943, 1:30 P.M and given the new address of 7740 Mulholland Highway, North Hollywood, California.
> The letter itself reads as follows:
> "Mr. FLYNN!!!
> If you know what is good for you you will pay attention to them girls you raped. I know you did it. You cannot fool me so you better fork over some dough."
There were further instructions and threats in the letter. The FBI quickly apprehended two suspects, a married couple, who are described as "screwballs" in a subsequent document. Once again the negative publicity surrounding Flynn's trial resulted in a manifestation of aberrant behavior among the public.
Although Flynn's name is not mentioned in the following letter, a copy was placed in his file. It's obvious the FBI considered Flynn an immoral person. This letter, transcribed here in its entirety, summarizes the FBI's interest in the movie industry:
> FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
> UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
> WASHINGTON, D.C.
> July 27, 1943
> MEMORANDUM FOR THE DIRECTOR
> With reference to the recent news comment concerning the situation in Hollywood, California, wherein it is alleged that 300 or more girls each month disappear, and the story of vice existing there, the Bureau has had no directed activity toward this condition. White Slave Traffic Act violations have been sporadically reported in the area. They do not appear to be tied in to any pattern in the movie colony.
> Action to be taken:
> In view of the article, we are requesting the Los Angeles Office to furnish the details with reference to the news item and the cases which have been recently brought to their attention which may tie into Hollywood vice. It does appear from the article that these girls come from all sections of the country and end up in the Hollywood colony, and because of reverses and failures to obtain employment they turn to vice. This is not in violation of the White Slave Traffic Act but does reveal, if true, an aggravated condition and a failure on the part of local law enforcement to properly perform its duty.
> Respectfully,
> A. Rosen
On the lower left hand corner of this document, presumably in J. Edgar Hoover's handwriting, is the response: "I do think our L.A. office ought to be particularly alert. H." Enclosed with the letter was an article clipped from the _Washington Times-Herald_ on July 27th. The article by Marcia Winn was headlined: REPORTER FINDS HOLLYWOOD LIVES 'OUTSIDE THE LAW.' The article recounts the events surrounding Charlie Chaplin's well-publicized interest in very young girls, as well as Flynn's. The article does not shed a favorable light on either Chaplin or Flynn. The FBI was sufficiently moved by this piece to increase its surveillance efforts.
Los Angeles was not a pleasant city in which to be living in the spring and summer of 1943. Racism and social discontent manifested itself in a series of bloody riots between the Hispanic community and white residents and sailors. The Zoot Suit Riots, as they were called because of the style of dress favored by some of the Hispanics (broad-brimmed hats and tapered pants and wide-shouldered coats), cast a pall over the city. The war news was increasingly grim and not even Flynn's lighthearted action films could dispel the sense of gloom that hung over the city.
Flynn was writing continuously, trying to get his second novel into shape. He asked Nora to help him and she functioned as his secretary. Mary Ann Hyde was now completely removed from Flynn's life. She had joined the ranks of the many heartbroken women who discovered they could not have Errol Flynn all to themselves. Nora found herself surprised that Flynn had broken off his relationship with Hyde: "I met Mary Ann Hyde," she recalled. "This girl was simply ravishing. 'How can Errol ever want to date me?' I thought. Alongside of her figure mine doesn't seem to belong to a woman. Only my hair could match hers, and that was hardly enough to place me on an equal basis."
Nora helped Flynn work on his book. He still had not decided on a title. "He'd dictate and then I'd read back to him trying to use as much expression as possible," Nora said. "He'd make changes—rewrites as they are called—and I'd read it back again. He was a perfectionist at writing."
Flynn told Nora, "Writing is a labor of love."
The press followed Flynn and Eddington on their dates, photographing them, and asking for details about their relationship. Flynn did his best to keep them at bay.
The ensuing romance would lead to Nora Eddington becoming Flynn's second wife (they wed precisely a year later, in August 1944). This romance resulted in one of the most extensive sections of Flynn's FBI file. In August 1943 Flynn and Eddington went to Acapulco, Mexico for a much needed vacation. It must have seemed that Flynn was blatantly defying the law as he became involved with this beautiful young woman. The fact that she only recently had been employed as a cigarette girl in the very courthouse where Flynn stood trial for rape could only add to the FBI's obvious amazement, as did the irony that Nora Eddington's father was secretary to the sheriff. Flynn and Eddington's trip to Acapulco in August set off an FBI investigation to determine if Flynn had violated the White Slave Traffic Act. A memorandum dated August 27, 1943, reads (excerpt):
> Re: ERROL FLYNN, NORA EDDINGTON,
> Victim, WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT
> SAC Hood by telephone on August 17, 1943, informed that he had discussed the possibilities of this case with the Director at Los Angeles and was instituting an investigation. The facts are that Flynn had taken a trip to Mexico with Nora Eddington and was living at the home of CENSORED.
> The newspapers had previously given some attention to this trip of Flynn's and had interviewed the mother of Nora Eddington at Los Angeles, who stated that the girl had gone to Mexico with Flynn with her permission. She described the relationship between Flynn and Eddington as entirely platonic and friendly.
> The Bureau files maintain fragmentary information in connection with National Defense cases which attributed to Flynn a rather depraved character. Information in these files reflect that he is generally regarded in Hollywood circles as a "wolf" who delights in achieving intimacies with young innocent girls.
> You will recall that the press throughout the country gave considerable attention several weeks back to the statutory rape trial in which he was the subject which involved two juveniles who had attended parties with him and had taken trips to his yacht.
An additional memorandum dated September 23, 1943, details the August surveillance (excerpt):
> CENSORED told CENSORED that during the time that NORA EDDINGTON was in Acapulco she and FLYNN were together almost constantly. He said that there were many occasions when the two of them would cruise the neighboring _illegible,_ fishing and swimming. They traveled in FLYNN's motor boat "Sirocco." On most occasions they took with them a Mexican boy, who tended the anchor and did the menial tasks aboard the boat, and on a few occasions they were accompanied by some of FLYNN's acquaintances mentioned above. According to CENSORED FLYNN and EDDINGTON were attentive and affectionate to each other. CENSORED told CENSORED that on several occasions she had gone cruising in the boat with NORA and FLYNN. She stated that she had gone with them in the waters of Acapulco Bay and also in Puerto Margues, which is several hours distant from Acapulco. She said that subject and victim were intimate but she knew of no instances of misconduct.
> CENSORED related of his own knowledge that FLYNN spent most of the time that he was in Acapulco cruising in the motor boat, swimming and fishing. He said that the motor boat "Sirocco" had capacity for eight passengers and that it was anchored in the Acapulco Yacht Club on those occasions when FLYNN was not in Acapulco. He had seen the boat in the vicinity of Los Angeles Beach and Caletilla Beach _illegible_ during the time that FLYNN was there. Subsequent to the departure of EDDINGTON he had gone fishing in the boat. He said that FLYNN enjoyed fishing very much with a small harpoon propelled by air which could be used under water, and that he owned a makeshift diving helmet which he used in fishing. On one occasion, according to this informant, FLYNN was reported to the police for using water skis from his motor boat off Las Hernos beach, but the charges were not pressed.
> CENSORED stated that FLYNN and a girl answering EDDINGTON's description, visited the bar at the bath house above Caletilla Beach, almost daily during the time that they were in Acapulco. He said that FLYNN always signed for his drinks, and that the day of his departure it was necessary to take the bill to Hotel La Riviera and to have it added to his hotel bill. On no occasion did he see FLYNN intoxicated...
> CENSORED said that FLYNN visited the bar of the Hotel La Marina on quite a number of occasions during his August visit, and that sometimes he was accompanied by a girl answering the description of the victim. In contrast to FLYNN's visit during the past winter, on which occasion he was reported to have become drunk numerous times. Informant had heard no rumors of excessive drinking by FLYNN during his August visit.
The FBI went to great lengths to determine Flynn and Eddington's activities during their stay in Acapulco. They further determined that Flynn paid for Eddington's trip to Mexico. There are a number of memoranda and teletypes concerning this matter, including a teletype from J. Edgar Hoover who requested updates on the investigation. Flynn was constantly receiving calls during the Acapulco trip from journalists inquiring if Flynn and Eddington had married. Flynn denied all the rumors.
So great was the FBI's interest in this matter that their file contains a travel brochure for the resort Flynn visited. There are also several newspaper clippings concerning the trip. The FBI was meticulous in its effort to learn if Flynn had violated the White Slave Traffic Act. They took statements from numerous informants in their attempt to discover if Flynn and Eddington had sexual relations in Mexico.
A year later, they returned to Mexico to be married. Nora was pregnant and Flynn decided if the baby was a girl they would name her Deirdre, from an Irish ballad he had heard, probably _The Song of Deirdre._ Nora should have been happy, but she had discovered that her future husband was taking narcotics: "I found a hypodermic syringe, a bent spoon, blackened on the bottom, and a vial containing white crystals. Whatever this was I knew there was only one answer: he was taking dope." Eventually Flynn admitted to her that he was accustomed to cocaine, marijuana, opium, and morphine. His opium experiments began after reading Thomas De Quincey's _Confessions of an English Opium-Eater._ He tried writing while under the influence of opium but admitted this experiment failed.
Leaving Nora in Los Angeles, Flynn returned to Mexico on a trip with Dennis Morgan and _Northern Pursuit_ co-star Julie Bishop, who the press referred to as Flynn's "current love," ignoring the fact that Flynn was now married. In fact, Flynn's marriage to Nora Eddington was public knowledge among some members of the press, but not all of them acknowledged the marriage in print. Flynn, apparently, also continued his affairs, a fact that would cause Nora much grief in a short time.
Mexico offered Flynn a place to let loose and they visited the floating gardens in Xochimilio. While watching the festivities, Flynn studied the dancers and after a few moments of contemplation, he jumped up and danced with the group. An unidentified girl who witnessed the event later told reporter Cynthia Miller: "He wasn't really expert, but anything that Errol does has a certain grace, a flair and a wholehearted gusto that make him look awfully good."
It is Cynthia Miller, writing in _Modern Screen_ magazine, who created the thematic blueprint for biographers investigating Flynn years later. Her article, which describes waiting for Flynn on a movie set, concludes with the now-familiar theme:
> Then he walks on the set. He jokes. He is so blithe and handsome and open-faced. He has such charm. Suddenly you know that no matter what he does, he is so much fun and so attractive that nothing else matters. You like him in spite of yourself. You think, "He's really a very simple, unpretentious person.' Then you correct yourself. You think, 'Perhaps he is the most complex human being I have ever known."
> Enigma is the word for Errol.
Flynn signed on to do a song-and-dance routine in _Thank Your Lucky Stars,_ an all-star musical that included skits from Humphrey Bogart, Eddie Cantor, Bette Davis, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Dinah Shore, Alexis Smith and Jack Carson. All of the stars donated their salary to the Hollywood Canteen. Flynn wanted to do something different and proposed the idea of playing a braggart after enjoying the cockney stories of Judith Anderson on the set of _Edge of Darkness._ Screenwriters Norman Panama, Melvin Frank, and James Kern drafted a skit with Flynn being carried on the shoulders of his fellow bar patrons who are singing, "Hurrah, he's won the war!" while Flynn sings "And I won the one before!" The result is a spry, humorous sequence where Flynn successfully sings, dances, and in general makes light of his heroic image.
His next feature returned him to the stereotype that fans demanded. _Northern Pursuit_ is a sub-standard chase feature with Flynn playing a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. _Northern Pursuit_ was accurately described by some reviewers as a pale imitation of _The Forty Ninth Parallel_ (1942). Flynn handled the heroics with accustomed ease. He chased the Nazis across the snow-covered wilderness, facing them in a life-or-death struggle with stoic determination. Helmut Dantine made a convincing Nazi leader and Julie Bishop made an attractive prop for Flynn both on and off the screen. Their romance was followed diligently by the press regardless of the fact that Flynn was married.
_Northern Pursuit_ is a minor Flynn adventure film. It suffers from a pedestrian script and far too many process shots using rear-screen projection. Although some location shooting was done in Sun Valley, Idaho, in order to use real snow, the Burbank sets are painfully obvious. Near the conclusion, the actors' shadows are visible against the painted backdrop.
_Northern Pursuit_ is the first film that intentionally lampooned Flynn's reputation as a sexual outlaw. At the conclusion Julie Bishop asks, "Am I the only girl you ever really loved?" Flynn replies, "But of course, darling!" Then after a moment's pause he looks straight into the camera and exclaims, "What am I saying!"
One reviewer remarked: "The closing remark of the scenario is a leering tribute to his lechery, (and) constitutes the worst example of bad taste released by Hollywood in 1943."
After _Northern Pursuit's_ release in November 1943, Flynn retreated to his Mulholland Farm with Nora and prepared for an upcoming USO tour that would take him to Alaska.
When Flynn found himself fearing something, he made an effort to embrace that fear and conquer it. He was kept out of the service because of his poor health, and his request for diplomatic service had been ignored. He had the luxury of the Mulholland Farm as a sanctuary from the gossip columnists and hangers-on who never let him alone, but even this wasn't enough. He could not escape the fact there was a war on. The fact dug at him and he clearly dwelled on his smeared reputation. His notice of availability was accepted by the USO Victory Committee and Flynn was on his way to Alaska to confront his fear of rejection by the armed forces. He was accompanied by actress and singer Martha O'Driscoll, guitarist Jimmy Dodd and his wife, singer Ruth Carrell, and magician Harry Mendoza.
**With Julie Bishop and Helmut Dantine in** _**Northern Pursuit**_ **(1943).**
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Flynn was petrified at the idea of appearing before a live audience of armed forces personnel. He later reflected in an interview: "For the first time in my life I had gotten a defeatist feeling. And that trip was a life-saver to me. I'd begun to feel, well, you know the way a man feels when he can't do his share. Everybody else was in this up to their necks, and I hadn't been able to find anything to do. No place to fit in. Nothing that I felt would do anybody any good. I don't mind telling you that I was a little scared at the idea of facing those fellows up there. I was sure that I could only come out wrong on the thing. Here I look like a guy who could carry a couple of guns, or at least a shovel or two and, well, you can imagine...I just knew I couldn't win, no matter what I did, or tried to do...They'll be out for blood. I thought I'd probably get Spam thrown at me everywhere—inside the cans!"
The troupe flew to Seattle where Flynn decided he didn't like the scripted material Warner Bros. had provided. The jokes were lame and there was no punch to it. He re-wrote his own material and they flew to Anchorage, Alaska, for the first show.
Flynn was nervous. He was already a laughingstock with the general public, and anything he did here could reflect poorly on him. He took the advice that John Barrymore had given him: "A few slugs of Bourbon sends you out in the proper to-hell-with-it spirit."
Martha O'Driscoll later reported that Flynn pulled it off beautifully. "The more he kidded himself, the better they liked him," she said. "I never saw anyone so scared as he was that first night, but he never had to be scared again. They went crazy over him."
The program began with Flynn walking onto the stage (often makeshift and hastily constructed by the GIs) and greeting the crowd. Flynn would then say: "It's wonderful to be here, of course, but I don't think I'll ever forget the send-off I got back in Hollywood. The airport was crowded with people seeing me off. There must have been 500 of them—all of them my lawyers."
The GIs roared with approval. Flashing his smile, Flynn was at ease. He pulled a slip of paper from his jacket and announced that he wanted to read a poem he was fond of, _The Shooting of Dan McGrew_ by Robert W. Service. A deadpan Flynn would begin reading:
> A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
> The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune...
After a few minutes Martha O'Driscoll would peek out from behind the curtain, causing the GIs to erupt in catcalls and whistles. Flynn, pretending he believed they admired his reading of the poem, would say with mock astonishment, "Well, I had no idea you guys went in for the higher things. But since you're such a good audience, I'll read a few more verses."
> Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat dangerous Dan McGrew,
> And watching his luck was his light-o'-love, the lady that's known as Lou.
Once again O'Driscoll peeked out and the GIs began clapping and cheering. Flynn acknowledged their appreciation and continued reading. The routine continued for several minutes until Flynn finally caught on that it was Martha they wanted and so he called her onstage.
Joined by Jimmy Dodd and Ruth Carrell, O'Driscoll sang for the troops. "They did a lot of vocal numbers that were appreciated," Flynn said, "but which were totally unnecessary, as far as the boys were concerned. They were starved to death for the sight of a woman, and it was enough for those boys just to see them."
O'Driscoll and Ruth Carrell sang _White Christmas_ and _I'll be Home for Christmas_ over and over again, but the servicemen never tired of it. "On one occasion when Martha had finished singing, the boys kept yelling for more," Flynn said. "So I told them 'Fellows, she doesn't know any more songs.' To which the boys replied, 'Just bring her out and let us look at her again.'"
Magician Harry Mendoza took to the stage and began a routine with Flynn where he handed Flynn a summons. Flynn and Mendoza bantered back and forth about Flynn's trouble with young girls, much to the amusement of the servicemen watching.
"I finally got a chance to cut loose with acts I've wanted to do all my life—pantomime and broad burlesque," Flynn said. "I was an Indian mind reader who couldn't speak English, and I came out dressed in a wild Indian dress and wearing a huge mustache. I looked like a cross between Mahatma Gandhi and Jerry Colonna."
Flynn contributed another gag to their routine. When Martha O'Driscoll had finished singing, Flynn would emerge from the wings causing Martha to shriek, "Errol Flynn!" and rush offstage screaming, "Oh, Mother! Mother!" Flynn would saunter to center stage, and with a grin point a thumb at the fleeing actress and quip: "You lads have to take it up here, but brother, what I've been taking down there!" The GIs roared their approval.
They also staged a piece where some young girls would approach Flynn and ask, "May we touch you, Mr. Flynn?" To which the actor responded, "Touch me..." and after a pause followed by a raised eyebrow, "But don't tell your lawyers!"
From Anchorage they took the act to the Aleutian Islands, making stops on Adak, Amchitka, Attu, and Dutch Harbor where they visited a submarine. After touring the Aleutians, they flew to Fairbanks, Alaska, each time drawing huge crowds. Flynn made a habit of visiting the men in their bivouacks, swapping stories with them. During these visits he would pull a new bottle of bourbon from his parka and pour himself a thimble. "It's against regulations to pass out alcoholic beverages," Flynn would tell the men. "But I don't know of any regulation that prohibits a man from accidentally leaving a bottle behind, do you?"
The soldiers enjoyed talking with Flynn, and when asked, as he often was, by a soldier, "Say, Errol, what have you got that I haven't?" Flynn would reply, "A lawyer, pardner, a lawyer." Or sometimes his reply would simply be, "A porthole." Flynn felt comfortable with the servicemen and often pulled snapshots of his baby son, Sean, from his billfold.
Flynn and his fellow performers were besieged with requests for autographs, and they obliged by signing dollar bills, the most readily available paper carried by the soldiers.
Flynn was touched by his reception and grateful for the enthusiastic response brought on by his lampooning himself. He said afterward: "What small moments we brought of pleasure, of forgetfulness of the tough monotony of their daily lives was indeed trifling. They gave infinitely more."
He was also struck by the lack of complaining among the servicemen: "Out of the thousands of guys we met up there, not one made any remark to me or anybody in the troupe that seemed out of the way. No griping. No bitterness. Nothing but gratefulness and being so happy just to see us."
Some of the GIs gave Flynn a little blue fox which he quickly named Tundra Lil. They also shared their Japanese trinkets, taken from the captured or killed soldiers. And always, Flynn later recalled, the simple request to tell people to write more often. He would also vividly recall the unrelenting cold and barren stretches of windswept land that stretched unbroken to the horizon.
And so it went. The success of the tour was a pleasant surprise. "I was under the impression that people had read enough about me not so long ago to last them for the rest of their lives." But the public hadn't shut him out, which had been a possibility that worried Jack Warner, and Flynn's popularity remained high. "I don't know why the misadventures of 'Huckleberry Flynn' should interest anybody," the actor said shortly after the USO tour ended.
After the USO tour, Flynn returned to Mulholland Farm and attempted to live a domesticated life with Nora. He continued work on his novel, _Charlie Bow-tie Comes to America,_ which was temporarily re-titled _The Eye on the Stump._ Flynn reconsidered the new title, however, explaining that it "misled my friends into thinking it was an autobiography. I dare 'em to identify me with an eye on a tree stump."
His reading included _Lost Weekend_ by Charles R. Jackson, a book he claimed gave him the chills to the point where he actually recommended the book to some of his hard-drinking friends; the Richard Hughes classic _A High Wind in Jamaica,_ a book Flynn enjoyed so much that he read it several times; the ballads of Australian folk-singer Banjo Paterson, author of _The Man from Snowy River_ as well as the popular song _Waltzing Matilda._ He also devoured Gauguin's journals. He was using local booksellers with increasing frequency, asking them to hunt down rare titles and out-of-print books that interested him.
Flynn was making every effort to move ahead and put some distance between himself and the rape scandal. He gave no outward indication of the deep depression we now understand him to have suffered. He gave reporters all of his optimism: "Life sticks out a foot to trip us all up now and then," he said reflectively. "But I have no time for bitterness. I'm much too grateful for the good things—the kindness and friendliness of people I'd never have known except for dark periods. When I wake up in the morning and see a beautiful day and the green grass and know that I have friends, the rest doesn't matter."
He did not stay long at Mulholland. Soon he was off to Louisiana for a bond-selling tour with Buster Wiles. Flynn went through the hectic pace in New Orleans with his usual grace and candor. Smiling, waving at the crowds that lined streets to catch a glimpse of him, he conducted himself with dignity. His extracurricular activities, which sometimes involved a trip to a prominent bordello, were conducted with customary charm. Years later, Buster Wiles said, "Flynn was always the perfect gentleman, even in whorehouses in New Orleans. He didn't have to get rough, push them around or force them. They didn't give him a chance."
Flynn wanted to be taken seriously as an actor and felt let down by the lukewarm reception from critics and audiences to some of his attempts at comedic roles. He watched for interesting scripts and read everything the studio sent him. Among the stacks of scripts he finally found one that he liked. Written by Laszlo Vadnay and famed Western writer Max Brand, the story, set in France during the recent Nazi occupation, took its title from Shakespeare's _Two Gentleman of Verona,_ act one, scene three:
> Oh, how this spring of love resembleth
> The uncertain glory of an April Day;
> Which now shows all the beauty of the sun,
> And by and by a cloud takes all away!
Flynn said of his role in _Uncertain Glory_ at the time of its release in April 1944 that it was "the best I've ever had." Flynn plays a French thief, Jean Picard, who escapes the guillotine during an air raid. He is pursued and captured by a detective, Marcel Bonet, expertly played by Paul Lukas. While returning to Paris their train is derailed by a saboteur and the two are forced to spend time in a small French village where the Nazis are holding hostages and demanding the surrender of the saboteur. Picard has a brief romantic interlude with a local girl, played by Jean Sullivan, and does his best to resist involvement in the underground effort to thwart the Nazis.
Flynn loved his role as Jean Picard and it shows in his performance. Picard is unscrupulous, desperate, and lacking in any moral commitment. Beneath Picard's amoral personality, however, is the ever-present charm and intelligence that endear him to people. Ultimately, Picard redeems himself but not before deceiving Lukas (and the audience) into believing he possessed sincere intentions. Picard's redemption occurs only after every semblance of honesty has been stripped away and the audience has come to believe him to be a thief and a liar. His willingness to sacrifice himself comes as a pleasant surprise and Flynn carried the moment beautifully.
Writing in _Movieland_ magazine, Barry Starr pointed out the story's appeal for Flynn:
> There isn't a swashbuckle in it, and a bare hint of romance. No dashing adventures as in 'Robin Hood' and 'Captain Blood.' No sword play, no elopements, no super-heroics. Just a simple, moving story of a non-entity who seizes one moment in an obscure life to atone for his sins. Very un–Flynnish, but Errol picked it out himself.
But Flynn's excellent performance, perhaps the best of his career, received little attention from critics. The film did brisk business but was far from the mega-success of his adventure films. _Uncertain Glory_ was the only Flynn film released in 1944.
Flynn began working on _Objective, Burma!_ in the late spring of 1944. Location filming took the production to Whittier Park where Warner Bros. recreated the Burmese jungle. Additional outdoor footage was shot at the Warner ranch in Calabasas, the Lucky Baldwin ranch in Santa Anita, Palm Springs, and the Providencia ranch. Director Raoul Walsh wanted realism. He pushed Flynn and the cast through days of strenuous work, lugging around 65 pounds of paratrooper equipment. The heat was stifling and aggravated Flynn's acute sinusitis. Flynn was irritated, although he maintained an amicable relationship with Walsh. He believed in his role as Major Nelson, the leader of a group of American paratroopers who drop into Burma with the mission of destroying a Japanese radar station. Walsh's relentless effort at achieving realism, however, prompted this response from Flynn: "He (Walsh) gets producer Jerry Wald to set up eight different locations, each one resembling—in some obnoxious way—a part of Burma. The script calls for water up to our necks. So what do we get? Water up to our necks. In another place it calls for a couple of guys to eat raw fish. They tried everything, but there was only one thing that satisfied Walsh. That's it—raw fish. It's going to be a swell picture. And I only hope I live to see it."
The film would become one of Flynn's favorites, and none of the participants would forget the hard work it took to make the film. "Without doubt," Buster Wiles later wrote, "It was one of the most physically exhausting productions I ever worked on."
Flynn had purchased a new schnauzer, one he claimed had a temperament like Arno. He named the dog Moody and brought him along on location in Palm Springs. Moody and Flynn delighted the photographers who were allowed to follow them around. When the heat was too much to handle, Flynn dipped Moody in a stream. Moody followed Flynn everywhere. Flynn was upbeat, but continued his modest griping about the working conditions. "I'm not complaining," he said. "But some things happen to actors, too, that shouldn't happen to a dog."
**A scene from** _**Objective, Burma!**_ **(1945), a gritty study of men in conflict. It is another unheralded classic, and one of the best films about war that was made before the end of World War II.**
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Finally, one afternoon after a day working under the scorching heat, Flynn discovered his clothes had disappeared along with his dressing room, which was nothing more than a tent. He composed a now legendary letter to Warner's production chief, Tenny Wright, on August 12, 1944. Flynn pointedly complained about the nature of his dressing room: "My dressing room, as we laughingly call it, had certain novel features. I counted as many as ten holes in the canvas sides through which I found some children examining me in the act of robing and disrobing. One other quite noticeable feature was the floor. At Whittier, for instance, it consisted of a thin strip of moth-eaten matting, much torn and ratted. It only covered a minute portion of the dressing room, the rest was solid cow-dung. This undoubtedly explains the fascination the room held for ten million assorted insects."
**Errol Flynn leads his men into battle in** _**Objective, Burma!**_
Flynn went on to describe the poor conditions and general filth that he encountered and that the theft of his clothes one day was enough to have him finally complain. He concluded with a postscript for which Warner Bros. had no argument. "Without wishing to draw envious comparisons between my own plight and that of others consider Miss Bette Davis. When Miss Davis goes on location, even for a day, her dressing room is loaded on a truck and sent along with her. Miss Davis is thus accorded a double-edged advantage, for Nature is on her side too. If, reluctant to enter the nauseating precincts of the canvas structure marked 'WOMEN,' she seeks fragrant solace of the California shrubbery, there is little chance of her acquiring a dose of Poison Oak upon those hanging appendages with which Nature has endowed the male of the species."
Shortly, Flynn's dressing room conditions were improved.
_Objective, Burma!_ turned out to be the best of Flynn's war films, a gritty study of men in conflict. It is another unheralded classic, and one of the best films about war that was made before the end of World War II.
Flynn was never given much credit for his acting ability, but in _Objective, Burma!_ he showed what he was capable of when he believed in his material. He played the role with a grim, determined energy. Flynn's Major Nelson shares with his men a fear of death. They plod through the Burmese jungle with the knowledge that death could be waiting behind every tree. And the fear shows in their faces. In fact, most of the paratroopers are killed, and the few that survive are changed forever. In the end Major Nelson holds the price of their mission in his hand: a thick bundle of dog-tags.
When a wounded soldier, who had been tortured by the Japanese, begs Nelson to kill him and end his suffering, Flynn conveys the anguish of a man who is emotionally conflicted. This scene is the key to understanding Flynn's characterization. His Major Nelson is a man who feels what his men feel, without losing the leadership quality that distinguishes him from the common grunt—very much like an older brother or trusted uncle. This trait is part of all of Flynn's best roles, of course, but in _Objective, Burma!_ there is a lot more at stake. The Burmese jungle is a long way from the Technicolor fantasy of Sherwood Forest. James Wong Howe's black-and-white photography added a documentary style to the life-and-death struggle of soldiers outnumbered a hundred miles behind enemy lines. Major Nelson handles their mission with a grim determination to keep his men going and somehow to survive.
What little humor can be found occurs in the beginning. A nervous journalist (Henry Hull), about to make his first parachute jump, asks Major Nelson, "Wait a minute! What happens if my chute doesn't open?" Without batting an eye the Major blithely responds: "You'll be the first one on the ground."
The film was timely and based on actual events, but Warner Bros. stuck to their habit of fictionalizing history for the sake of providing good entertainment. Two years earlier, the British commando force known as Wingate's Raiders crossed into the Burmese jungle to destroy Japanese communication centers and gather intelligence for a planned counter-offensive. Although the film accurately recreates the type of combat and devastating attacks weathered by the British commandos, the British were not mentioned in the film. Many British reviewers were outraged by the implication that Americans were responsible for winning the Burma campaign. After the January 1945 premiere, a cartoonist for the _Daily Mirror_ depicted Flynn sitting in a canvas studio chair while a British soldier's ghost said: _Excuse me, Mr. Flynn. You're sitting on my grave._
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**Flynn examining some of the artwork in the Flynn-Decker Art Gallery. (Photograph courtesy of Rick Dodd.)**
As the highly visible and now controversial star, Flynn took the brunt of criticism. He was surprised by the virulent nature of the negative backlash directed toward the film.
"We weren't out to prove that the United States won Burma," Flynn said. "We just wanted to tell a simple story about guts."
_Objective, Burma!_ was withdrawn from British theaters, the only time this would happen to one of his films in England.
"I've always been fascinated by Gauguin the man, always wanted to own one of his paintings."
Flynn said this to a reporter and explained how his friendship with John Decker had fired his interest in art collecting. It was Decker who took Flynn to art exhibitions and put him in contact with the dealers who owned the Gauguin and Van Gogh paintings he finally purchased.
His interest in art culminated in the opening of the Flynn-Decker Art Gallery just off Sunset Boulevard. Flynn had recently purchased Vincent Van Gogh's _The Man Is at Sea_ (commonly known as _Woman with a Child Sitting by a Hearth,_ which is a copy from a painting by Virginie Dermont-Breton, one of several made by Van Gogh), one of Manet's portraits of _Marguerite de Conflans_ (now generally known as _Marguerite de Conflans with Hood,_ painted in 1873), and Paul Gauguin's _Promenade au bord de la mer,_ painted in 1902. He was proud of these acquisitions and went out of his way to invite people up to the Mulholland Farm to see them. The art gallery offered a public venue and Flynn solicited a high-profile crowd that included Hollywood's elite.
He gushed with pride when talking about his Van Gogh: "It was smuggled out of Holland just before the Nazis moved in. Dr. Gachet—you remember, the physician who treated Van Gogh—his son had a devil of a time getting it out. Goering was after it and young Gachet literally took it out the back door as Goering's crooks came in the front. He carried it by roundabout methods to South America and then it was brought into this country. It's quite a thing to have—even if it's only loaned. Oh yes, I saved my pennies and bought it right enough, but things like that—you don't really buy them. They're just loaned to you to enjoy for your lifetime. Just like dogs—they're only loaned to you for a time."
The FBI had also taken note of the Van Gogh acquisition, documenting in their files that Flynn paid $48,000 for the painting.
It was also Decker who found the site at 1215 Alta Loma Road, near the Mocambo nightclub. Decker had long dreamed of owning his own art gallery, and with Flynn's help, it finally came true. Decker's financial situation was tenuous, although he lived comfortably, and Flynn used his own funds to start the gallery. The Flynn-Decker Art Gallery was a partnership in name and spirit. They were thrilled, almost childlike, in their enthusiasm for the gallery. Flynn said, "You can look at pictures without going way downtown."
They invited Hollywood's well-known art aficionados to the opening. Michael Curtiz showed up and spent an amiable afternoon with his former nemesis, smoking and talking like old friends. Erich Von Stroheim examined some of the sculptures on display. Faye Emerson chatted with Flynn in front of the gallery. Nora attended with her husband, having survived their first year of marriage. She beamed proudly, dazzling and impressing everyone she met.
The opening was successful, probably not taken seriously by most, but affording Flynn and Decker one of their most enjoyable accomplishments. Flynn told Decker before the opening: "Whatever happens, I'll never stop being grateful." Among the Impressionist paintings and modern sculptures on view were also some treasures very close to Flynn's heart. Mounted on the gallery wall were several framed and autographed photographs of John Barrymore.
After _Objective, Burma!_ Flynn made it clear to Jack Warner he wanted less heroic roles. By now this was an old argument between them, and the result was always the same. The heroic costume pictures made the money and suited Flynn best. But given Flynn's strong insistence, Warner relented and allowed Flynn his comedies and dramas.
"There is hardly a country I haven't invaded in my pictures, and I would like a few to be left," Flynn said. "Warner's promised me that I could do adventure pictures from now on. The next probably will be _Don Juan._ I love escape—fantasy—allegory."
But before Flynn could make the _Don Juan_ picture, a film that Warners had in the pre-production phase, there was another Western tailored to Flynn's brand-name heroics.
_San Antonio_ is another example of Flynn's effectiveness as the hero in a Western. He never appreciated the fact that he was skilled in this type of role. But after the rape trial his attitude had changed. He was resigned to the fact that his Westerns were popular. The egomaniac who had caused delays during the filming of _Santa Fe Trail_ had been replaced by a courteous professional. Flynn let his carefree personality carry him through the drudgery and long hours of filmmaking. His co-stars, the extras, and the always cynical Warner Bros. crew now looked forward to working with him. And never mind those rape stories. He shrugged it off with a smile and a knowing wink. He was constantly poking fun at himself. In the tightly controlled world of a Hollywood movie, Flynn was the embodiment of optimism; but privately he was cut to pieces by self-doubt. His creative impulses, which helped make such a magnificent display in _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and _The Sea Hawk,_ were now permanently dulled by his alcoholism.
**Flynn gunned down former matinee idol Tom Tyler in** _**San Antonio**_ **(1946).**
Far from a masterpiece, _San Antonio_ is an archetype: colorful, noisy and charming, it is decidedly a brand-name Errol Flynn adventure. The screenplay, by Alan Le May (the famed Western writer who wrote _The Searchers_ ) and W. R. Burnett, pits Clay Hardin (Flynn) against the kingpin of a cattle-rustling syndicate. Alexis Smith returned as the love interest and she added her blend of ladylike composure which always seems to be on the verge of dissolving in Flynn's presence.
_San Antonio_ is lacking the male camaraderie of Alan Hale and Guinn Williams. But Flynn's male co-stars were a capable group. Victor Franchen and Paul Kelly made effective villains and S. Z. Sakall provided comic relief. Flynn's role is a comic-book caricature of his performances in _Dodge City_ and _Virginia City._ The action is perfunctory: gunfights, brawls, and chases on horseback. Early in the film, Flynn guns down former matinee idol Tom Tyler whose star power had dimmed since his heyday in the early thirties. The film's strong point lies in its style as a Warner Bros. trademark vehicle for Flynn. Max Steiner reprised his title theme from _Dodge City_ effectively. The Technicolor photography, lavish sets, and Calabasas Ranch exteriors combined to add an audio-visual depth that was lacking in the script.
_San Antonio_ was popular but its familiarity worked against it. Audiences had seen it all before. Released in December 1945, it had arrived after five brutal war years that ended with the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th, followed by a second atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th. In the wake of such world-changing events, _San Antonio_ was a mild diversion indeed.
Although Mulholland Farm was his sanctuary, Flynn found little peace in his hilltop kingdom. He was experimenting with opium and increased dosages of heroin. Nora tried to exert her authority but found it impossible to domesticate her Tasmanian devil. Flynn continued writing. He held parties and attended parties. He commissioned John Decker to paint his portrait.
Flynn hung the painting above his fireplace and took pleasure in showing it to his friends. Ben Hecht, writing in _Esquire_ magazine shortly after viewing the painting, noted some obvious truths in Flynn's character: "In his portrait of Flynn, Decker has done one of his subtlest biographies. The handsomeness is there, to the last perfect curve. Decker has added to it the story of a troubled and ennuied soul peering out of weary eyes. Under the analytic Decker brush, the pugilistic Flynn chin grows gentle, the mouth whose smile has enchanted millions grows full of fretfulness. It is not a glamor boy who looks from the canvas, but a tormented fellow with a dislike for himself and the world."
Sounding uncannily like a description from Oscar Wilde's _The Picture of Dorian Gray,_ Hecht had struck upon Decker's unveiling of the dissonance in Flynn's personality. Hecht was a prolific screenwriter, but always cynical. As a young man he honed his flinty journalistic skills in Chicago, a period in his life that provided the basis for _The Front Page,_ his best known work. He was always vocal in his feeling that Hollywood was occupied by idiots. Hecht did not dislike Flynn, but unlike most people who knew him at the time, he refused to view the actor through rose-tinted glasses.
**Flynn with the portrait of him painted by John Decker. Author Ben Hecht saw in this image "a troubled and ennuied soul."**
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Flynn gave the outward appearance of charm and culture, when, in fact, he was disintegrating before their very eyes. For Dorian Gray, his dissolution was plainly evident to him, and so to for Flynn. It is no stretch to imagine Flynn hanging his painting at Mulholland, and like Gray, stepping back to consider the portents before him. In the words of Oscar Wilde: "The bright dawn flooded the room, and swept the fantastic shadows into dusky corners, where they lay shuddering. But the strange expression that he had noticed in the face of the portrait seemed to linger there, to be more intensified even. The quivering, ardent sunlight showed him the lines of cruelty round the mouth as clearly as if he had been looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful thing."
The FBI continued to be keenly interested in any scandal involving Flynn. By the mid-forties the actor was entrenched in an admittedly hedonistic existence that delighted journalists but was viewed contemptuously by the FBI. A heavily censored semi-annual report covering the period from October 1944 to August 1945 once again features Flynn's name (excerpt):
> PRINCIPAL CENTERS OF PROSTITUTION
> IN LOS ANGELES AND VICINITY
> HOLLYWOOD AND BEVERLY HILLS
> CENSORED was quoted recently in the Los Angeles Herald-Express, that thousands of girls from surrounding states are lured to Hollywood and vicinity each year by the "bright lights" and visions of fame and fortune in the cinema, radio and modeling professions. About 500 per year are lost and many are found as waitresses, clerks and stenographers in the Los Angeles area. CENSORED and others admit this to be true but specify that most of the girls are located in the subterranean recesses of commercialized vice.
> CENSORED reiterate that legitimate fronts like CENSORED, Hollywood, turn out the disillusioned young beauties as prostitutes in the following manner.
> After several legitimate jobs, this agency sponsors private modeling shows at the Hotel Knickerbocker or their own quarters. Movie stars like ERROL FLYNN, CENSORED and CENSORED attend. The potential prostitutes are wined, dined, flattered and promised careers until gradually demoralized. Then ripe, they are developed into obscene models and from there "party girls" and finally down the ladder of prostitution and immorality to Skid Row and Central Avenue dives.
Although Errol Flynn willingly—and one might add, happily—employed the services of prostitutes until the time of his death, he was certainly not the only actor to participate in Hollywood's flourishing prostitution trade.
The main biographies of Flynn point to the rape trial as the turning point that pushed him to the edge and signaled his doom, but this is too easy a conjecture. He was already on the road to alcoholic self-destruction well before 1943, although the rape trial certainly pushed him beyond the point of no return.
The public record of his life from 1941 through 1945 is overwhelmingly negative. The public Errol Flynn was a hedonist, a lecher, and a stereotyped actor. The private Errol Flynn was a man fragmented by conflict and uncertainty. Bored with Hollywood but unable to give up the wealth his fame had brought him, he reveled in Flaubertian excess. His many kindnesses and strong friendships pale in comparison with the antagonistic portrait in the FBI file.
The small measures of lightness we find during this period lie in a handful of films and in his relationship with Nora Eddington. _They Died with their Boots On, Gentleman Jim, Edge of Darkness, Uncertain Glory, Objective, Burma!_ and _San Antonio_ are the best films from the war years, although they marked the conclusion of his peak as a box office draw. Nora Eddington was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise muggy and increasingly debauched life. His spirits were visibly lifted by her smiling presence and simple beauty.
Flynn was happy with Nora, perhaps more so with her than any other woman he would know. There were moments of quiet tenderness, leisurely days where they lived almost as would an average couple: shopping, taking care of the baby, sharing opinions on world events, handling the daily household chores, and organizing parties.
She had endured much because of her love for this tragically flawed man. She was nobody's fool. Nora Eddington knew what she had gotten into. She summed it all up in one remarkable instance where she blurted to a reporter the depth of her feelings:
> He can't help it. He doesn't want to be tied down. He loves excitement. And he just isn't the type to settle down and be the conventional married man. I knew this from the beginning. I knew what I was getting into from the start—so I have only myself to blame. No woman alive can hold him. Why should I expect to be the one person who could arouse a constancy he has never felt before in his life?
Flynn was also in love with his children. He did not squander an opportunity to pull a photo of Sean from his billfold. He showed off snapshots of Sean with a pride he had not known before. Little Deirdre evoked the same response. He fussed over the child, kept her as close as he possibly could. "She's the most beautiful little baby I ever saw," he said. "From the minute she was born she wasn't all red and shriveled up. She is really a little beauty. And don't think she can't turn the charm on and off at will."
Flynn was looking ahead, trying to keep it together. He may have been tired of Hollywood, but he still made an effort to steer his career in a profitable direction without sacrificing his creative integrity. "Just recently, we had a conference to decide whether or not I'd do nothing but costume parts in the future," Flynn said. "Like all actors, I've shied away from this angle. We're all afraid of being typed. But after it was pointed out so strongly that the general public seemed to want it that way, well—that was it. Beginning with _Don Juan,_ I'll be in costume from then on—waving so many swords I'll look like an asparagus patch on a windy day."
Flynn's relationship with the press changed noticeably after the rape trial. His once revealing comments, so often laced with references to art, literature and poetry, now involved a cynicism and disdain for his image as a playboy. He often set out to shock the press. He made fun of himself and included the press in his practical jokes. Buster Wiles pointed out that, "He would go to any length and expense to pull a gag on somebody."
One of his famous practical jokes involved two cigarette girls from John Perone's El Morroco nightclub in New York. At a press conference in his hotel suite on the third floor of the Ritz Towers, Flynn had one girl go topless and the other bottomless. He stationed them at opposite ends of his suite and never mentioned the girls as the reporters took their places. Flynn enjoyed their amazement as the press contingent did its best to keep the topic on film acting.
A 1944 feature in _Screen Stars_ magazine described him as the "Master of Mulholland Farm," and so he was. From his hilltop kingdom he could look down past Mulholland Drive where the distant glow of a wandering hobo's campfire might catch his eye. The San Fernando Valley was alive with twinkling lights but in the foothills around his house small deer still lingered among the bougainvillea. Sometimes coyotes would lope out of the mesquite. His farm was rife with the voices of peacocks and chickens, the whinny of horses in the stables, and always a dog barking here and there at moving shadows. He surely felt his place in Hollywood history without caring for it. The public wanted him always as the gallant, Arthurian figure with a ready lance to fell his enemies. The fact that he was a hero to millions could never fill the void he felt upon waking each day. Nor could the pursuit of women, the drink, or even the drugs. Errol Flynn in 1945 was condemned to be a loner surrounded by people who ultimately cared little for his well being. He was more like a latter-day Gatsby, staring out at a blinking light that represented everything he desired, that distant beacon a constant reminder that he had tipped his lance too low, and the contest could not be won.
## ☆ FOUR ☆
### Don Juan, 1946–1949
Flynn made the most of his free time with trips aboard _Sirocco_ and to the casual observer presented an impression of Olympian health. He even took Nora for a cruise, but he had lost interest in the ship because it had become the symbol of his presumed lechery. He expressed a desire for a new ship. Flynn's reputation could not lift the weight of his personal albatross, and he would learn in time that changing ships could not ease the heaviness of that destructive burden following on his heels.
Flynn sold the _Sirocco_ and in early 1946 he learned that the _Zaca_ , a well-known schooner, might be up for sale. Wallace Berry, who was seventeen when he first met Flynn, told me the circumstances that led to Flynn's purchasing the _Zaca_ : "I told my mother I had heard the _Zaca_ was for sale up in Oakland. My mother was managing the Army-Navy Club in San Francisco, and she in turn told some people, including Joaquin Garay at the Copacabana Club, that _Zaca_ was for sale. Apparently Flynn was over at the Tennis Club for a few days and heard about the _Zaca._ Well, one day I got a call. It was Errol Flynn. He said he understood the _Zaca_ was for sale and did I know anything about it. This is about the point where soon after I met Jim Fleming, Flynn's gopher—you know, 'go for this and go for that.' There was an occasion a little later where we jumped into a car and drove over to Oakland to the shipyard. The boat was a mess; a lot of gray paint, no topmast, it was just a mess. Well, the boat had been sold so we went to the owner's house and Flynn negotiated a sale. He came out with a satisfied smile and said, 'I got the boat.'"
Flynn knew that the _Zaca_ was a prize worth having. He had read Templeton Crocker's 1933 memoir, _Cruise of the Zaca,_ a recounting of his year-long trip and explorations from San Diego to various points in the South Pacific, and back to the western Mexican coast before returning to California. Crocker's book is a true-life adventure memoir undertaken as a scientific expedition. Ironically, Crocker sailed the _Zaca_ to Port Moresby, New Guinea, about the same time Flynn was struggling to make a profit with his tobacco plantation. There is no known evidence that Flynn became aware of Crocker or the _Zaca_ at that time, but the coincidence is intriguing. Crocker's book was read widely in academic circles, and later the explorer William Beebe took the _Zaca_ on an expedition of his own. Beebe's adventures were told in his 1938 book, _Zaca Venture._ Flynn would take inspiration from these books for a trip he planned to film, but first _Zaca_ had to be re-fitted. He knew he was dealing with a ship that had a fascinating history, and the people involved with _Zaca_ held a connection, no matter how tenuous, to his past.
Flynn later stated that _Zaca_ was a Samoan word meaning "peace," a mis-statement that his detractors used to ridicule him. There is no such word in the Samoan language. Flynn was simply mis-quoting Templeton Crocker who wrote in _Cruise of the Zaca_ : " _Zaca_ is an Indian word meaning 'peace.'" Crocker was probably right. _Zaca_ almost certainly derives from Chumash Indian, but unfortunately Chumash is a dead language and the etymology cannot be conclusively verified.
Flynn spent approximately $15,000 (the figure varies depending on the source) to have the _Zaca_ restored. But even the purchase of a new ship was not without its problems. Robert Keefe, historian for the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, points out an incident that forced the Warners publicity department to fabricate a cover story for their enthusiastic star:
> There arose a situation one night in the yacht club where Flynn had considerably too much to drink. He was essentially the owner of the _Zaca_ by that time, and when he left the yacht club he went down onto the dock by the _Zaca_ and he fell off the dock. So he had fallen into the water at midnight or so and he was yelling his head off with very few people around. But a man named Henry on another yacht called the _Shawnee_ heard this yelling and so he got up and took a look around. He found Flynn in the water and the water in San Francisco Bay is cold then, about fifty-seven degrees. But Henry couldn't get Flynn up onto the dock because his clothes were sopping wet and heavy and Flynn was a big man and Henry was a little Portuguese type boat keeper. So then Flynn's yelling and Henry's yelling trying to get some help. It was fortunate that some firemen came down and pulled Flynn up out of the water. But because the fire department got involved and the incident was somehow logged into the official fire call, the next day there was a little article in the newspaper about Errol Flynn and his yacht. The public relations people in Hollywood immediately went to work on this because the last thing they wanted was a report in the papers that a drunken Flynn had fallen off the dock. So they worked it out so that a famous columnist named Herb Caen who was the social upscale gossip columnist for the _San Francisco Chronicle_ wrote a piece along the lines that Flynn was in town to purchase Crocker's _Zaca_ and that he had been down at the St. Francis Yacht Club and that he hadn't made up his mind whether to buy the boat or not. The story then goes that Flynn went to the dock to get a good look at _Zaca_ for himself, took off his clothes and dove into San Francisco Bay and swam under the _Zaca_ to personally inspect the condition of her bottom. So Herb Caen came to the rescue. But what the story demonstrates is the capacity of these PR people to take a disaster and turn it into a love story or something.
Wallace Berry would also learn first-hand how facts could be manipulated by a willing press. Berry was born in Dayton, Ohio, on May 12, 1929, and grew up in Hawaii. Berry's grandfather and father made their living in the construction industry and were both involved in the building of Hickham field. The Berry family owned a waterfront home on Hilo Bay and young Wallace had his first experiences sailing by the age of nine.
Wallace Berry was hired that summer in anticipation of an expedition. Says Berry: "That night Flynn came down and we had a conversation and it was really the only time he really talked about an agenda, about what he wanted to do in the next year or so. He wanted to go to the south of France. He asked if I would like to come along. We discussed this, and in my youth then I was very concerned about my standing as an amateur sailor and I guess I must have had thoughts about the Olympics and that kind of stuff. So Flynn said, 'Well, if it's alright with your parents, I'll give you a little pocket money.' I thought that was a valuable idea. It turned out to be seventeen dollars a week up until the time I left."
Flynn had been planning a scientific expedition from the start and with the _Zaca_ re-fitted he set his agenda in motion. Initially, he planned on sailing down through the Panama Canal and across the Atlantic to France. He invited Humphrey Bogart along but Bogart declined quickly. He invited his father, Professor Theodore Flynn who was then dean of the faculty of science at Queen's University at Belfast, Northern Ireland. Professor Flynn readily agreed. He also invited Carl Hubbs from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Flynn envisioned an expedition similar in scope to the journeys of William Beebe and Templeton Crocker. But Flynn would film his journey, perhaps taking his cue from John Barrymore's little-known 1926 two-reel travelogue _Vagabonding on the Pacific with John Barrymore_. Nora brought Flynn's pet dachshund and his cat, joining John Decker who was in charge of rendering their scientific specimens into quality sketches. Journalist Carl Schroeder provided initial publicity for the hungry press.
In June 1946, Berry went to work handling the daily activities aboard _Zaca_. "It was taken for granted that he realized I was a very good sailor and my cohorts would have said that I was a very good sailor. So that wasn't a problem," Berry said. "The day to day activities consisted of things like working the outer boat, repairs, skiffs, and handling some navigation chores. I handled the medical supplies, the chronometer, and made sure the charts were up to date."
Flynn prepared his trip carefully. He wanted to mix business with pleasure. This was a ship that carried an entirely different image for him than the one resulting from his escapades aboard the _Sirocco_. "Don't call it a yacht," Flynn said at the time. "It's not a pleasure craft. It was used by the Navy during the war and before that it was used on scientific expeditions to study marine life." He wanted to distance himself from the scandalous image associated now with the _Sirocco_. Neither Berry nor many of the crew were given much notice on the actual start date. Berry recalled how he learned the expedition was underway:
> Late one evening strange people started showing up. Hollywood stage-hand types, bit actors. I had a feeling something was up. There was no advance warning. These people just started showing up, Jerry "Alabama," Bernie Sells, and so on. This was the middle of the night about the 10th or 11th of August and we motored up to Santa Monica pier. We had the press aboard. That's when Nora Eddington showed up with Professor Theodore Flynn. Ostensibly, I was very upset because directions that I gave were not always listened to and some were overshadowed by Flynn counter-ordering and so on. Now remember, I was just a kid. Somehow we got settled in and had these people come aboard. There were various little humorous incidents, such as having Hedda Hopper holding state on the deck. The next morning we took off under power to San Diego.
>
>
>
**Flynn with Nora Eddington, John Decker and Professor Theodore Thomson Flynn aboard the** _**Zaca**_ **in 1946. (Photograph courtesy of Rick Dodd.)**
Bernie (Bernard) Sells, another of Flynn's hangers-on, never made much of an impression in Hollywood. He appeared in a handful of films as an extra— _Destination Tokyo_ (1943) and _Four Jills in a Jeep_ (1944) and a few other films throughout the early 1950s. He apparently shared an interest in yachting, or perhaps just an interest in having a good time. Either way, his relationship with Flynn benefited both these interests.
Shortly, there resulted an incident that has been misrepresented by the press ever since. "We were coming up the channel under sail because Flynn wanted to make a good show," Berry recalled. "I was on the wheel when the bow lookout yelled, 'We've got a boat out here in the channel.' I was curious because under full sail you have a tendency to move along rather quickly. I wanted to know the distance and bearing of this other boat. We had given the guy in this boat a shaking up. His anchor had pulled up and he had drifted into the channel. He was enjoying some fishing and drinking some beer. Well, this turned out to be Wallace Beery. Without realizing who he was we invited him up to the yacht club for a drink because we had shaken him up. That's how the confusion began over Wallace Berry and Wallace Beery. All of that nonsense in the press derived from that little bit of tomfoolery. In several published references I became confused with Wallace Beery, Jr., a fabrication Flynn was happy to go along with."
**Errol Flynn on the** _**Zaca**_ **in 1946.**
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The confusion over Wallace Berry and Wallace Beery, Jr., continues to this day.
Several biographies of Flynn mistakenly refer to young Berry as "Wallace Beery." Later, Flynn opted not to correct Earl Conrad when they collaborated on his autobiography, and so in _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ Berry is Beery yet again.
Additionally, either due to a lack of research skills or to intentionally present a negative view of the expedition, Flynn's crew has also been misrepresented in various publications. Some of the crew responsible for assisting in the restoration left due to salary disputes. They were not, as has been reported, amateurs. Flynn respected the nautical experience of his crew and there are no reports that he mistreated any of them. Howard Kingsley, the original captain hired by Flynn, was let go after the restored _Zaca_ was moved from San Francisco to Newport. Kingsley, who had also served as captain for Flynn on _Sirocco_ , was replaced by Captain Wicklund. Generally, Flynn hired a seasoned, experienced crew. The exceptions to this were his friends, such as actor Bernie Sells. Some of the original crew that had assisted in moving the _Zaca_ to Newport eventually departed, temporarily leaving Wallace Berry as the sailing master. With Wicklund aboard, Berry's role changed. Recalled Berry: "He was the senior man now and the best I could do was wind up the chronometer. Wicklund used a sextant in the good old way. He was an elderly gentleman who didn't intrude on anything. He came and did his sun lines because we were going north and south, his mid-day sights, his evening shots where you identify certain stars on the horizon. In general, he was a pretty good navigator, but that was about the extent of what he did."
They sailed _Zaca_ to the San Benitos islands, a group of three small islands populated by a colony of seals. Flynn had the seals photographed here and at Cedros Island, fifteen miles east, he photographed a colony of northern elephant seals. According to Wallace Berry, the trip was uneventful. "Everything was going along fine," Berry said. "Even John Decker was being a good old fellow. Teddy Stauffer and John Decker shared a cabin. Wicklund was in a quarter cabin. Nora and Errol were in the starboard stateroom. Carl Hubbs and Papa Flynn were in the other starboard side quarter cabin. Decker apparently smelled a little bit. The poor man probably had a little uremic problem. In the books they keep writing about him as being unclean and so forth, but I think the man simply had a problem with his system. I'm guessing it was uremic dysfunction. Howard Hill may have been sleeping in the salon, and we were all up in the crew area, which as it turns out was probably the coolest spot. In those days ships like the _Zaca_ didn't carry air-conditioning so it was a little warm back in the salon. In the crew area we were able to take those big canvases and use them as wind-catchers and so we were fairly comfortable in the forward section."
Flynn and his crew were enjoying themselves. Sailing on a schooner in fair weather is highly enjoyable, and Flynn was pleased to have his father with him. The expedition seems to have had a positive effect on the professor, and father and son obviously did some male bonding in the early weeks of the trip. "Day by day we went ashore and Carl Hubbs collected specimens," Berry recalled, "and they photographed various things, and they brought the specimens back to the ship. But nothing really outstanding."
The first leg of the journey down the coast of the Baja peninsula provided some good color photography by Jerry Courneya. They set out for Socorro Island with plans of proceeding through the Panama Canal.
Every main biography on Flynn has misrepresented the details regarding Wallace Berry's participation on the _Zaca._ To further exacerbate matters, the circumstances involving Berry's foot injury have been erroneously reported. This has caused Berry (who is a patient, kind-hearted man) no small measure of consternation. Often, Berry and his crewmates have been made to appear amateurish or irresponsible. Nothing could be further from the truth. What follows is Berry's firsthand account of the circumstances regarding his foot injury:
> From Cedros Island we sailed down to Socorro Island which is a steep, very pretty island surrounded by a sort of reef. That's where my problem occurred. Almost everybody went ashore. Howard Hill was trying to line up a goat and get dinner using his archery equipment. Everyone else was just walking around enjoying being on land again and enjoying the peace and quiet. That afternoon I had sharpened one of those spear guns that had a detachable head. Later, I slipped over to the port side to have a look at the prop. I was concerned about it because we had been using dynamite a day or two earlier. Some of these guys had thrown dynamite a little too close to the ship. They were lighting up the dynamite for sport. There were some whales around, and of course this was all before we had environmentally friendly organizations monitoring these things. So they had gotten a little carried away and I was concerned about the propeller. The spear-gun was for protection and also could be used in case I happened to see dinner swim by. If you visualize the _Zaca_ bow forward, I'm down the left side, down near the rudder, and the low afternoon sun is on the starboard side. When I came around the bottom of the rudder I remembered there were hammerhead sharks down there. Howard Hill had put together a water tight steel box that he was dying to use with a 16mm camera inside. He was trying to keep the damn thing from leaking. The idea was to go down and shoot some shark footage. Anyway, that's when I realized a spear had gone past me. I had thought to keep my own spear-gun trailing behind me, but when this spear went past me I took a quick lunge with my flippers and the spearhead from my spear-gun and my ankle engaged. I was down about twenty feet and looking up toward the sunlight. I had felt the sting. When you're that deep you don't get much of an impression. You get a bit of a shiver and a bit of a sting and you know you've been injured. I looked down and the spearhead on the shaft was gone. I saw the dark purple water which I realized was my blood and I knew I was in trouble. Bearing in mind the sharks, I thought an immediate departure from the water was necessary. On the deck I examined the wound and found my right foot, not the left as was reported, the right foot above the metatarsal had been penetrated by the spearhead. The blade had wedged itself between the metatarsal bones and had to be cut out. Since I was the guy who knew where the medical kit was, I started hollering, "We've got an injury here!" People started coming aboard and soon I discovered that Flynn had a copious supply of Fleischmann's gin. Teddy Stauffer's eloquent imagination later had me screaming in agony and all that, when in fact I was able to communicate instructions very well. I had a pronounced ache but was still able to tell them, "The bottom drawer in the port quarter cabin has got the medical kit and sutures and ether and compression bandages." Then I remember taking a few slugs and I remember Nora looking at me while I'm saying rude things like, "Oh, there's old Nora!" and things like that which she didn't want to hear. It was because I had a fair amount of the gin. I was a young man who didn't drink. So the gin had a good effect on me. Bill Ferguson, the engineer, had been an anesthesiologist during the First World War, and if they'd asked, he would have known what to do, but instead I was left with two ichthyologists, Carl Hubbs and Theodore Flynn. They decided to incise the area of penetration and attempt to get the spearhead out. The distance from Socorro Island to Acapulco was about a four day trip and they considered gangrene the principal problem. After I had gone into la-la land from the gin, they found the ether. They didn't bother with the sutures because I guess they didn't know how to use them. In any case, that and a pair of pliers would do it for them. After I passed out, they put a towel over my head and poured the ether on the towel. This was a mistake because ether burns. So I had quite a livid face when I woke up. I had more discomfort from the ether burn than from the spear wound. Ferguson later told me I probably would have died if they carried on with the ether much more. In any case, they got out the spearhead with the pliers and cast about for something to stitch me up with. They wound up using sail twine and a triangular sail-making needle, rather than sutures. It was another mistake because the twine made a large entry hole. They had dipped the sail twine in brandy and closed the wound with three or four stitches. They did use a compressed bandage with sulfanilamide which was freely available as a surplus item after the war. I was put up on top of the navigator's cabin near the wheel. It's cool back there and I remember waking up that evening and they told me what happened after I had been blasted out of the world with the ether. So that's the true story about what happened. There were reports a shark snapped at me, or that I was harpooned by somebody else, but the truth is that I was merely ducking somebody else's shot when I was injured.
**A thoughtful Errol Flynn on the** _**Zaca**_ **in 1946. His picaresque life as a sailor on the seas of fate; his ability to find adventure amidst the mediocrity of daily living; his courage in facing his adversaries, both on and off the screen, all make for an intriguing portrait of a man who lived life to the fullest.**
Berry was eventually transported to a hospital in Acapulco while the expedition pressed on. Flynn enjoyed exploring various islands they encountered. They sailed to Cocos Island, an island that held fascination for Flynn. Some have speculated the island, lying three hundred miles off the Costa Rican coast, was the inspiration behind Robert Louis Stevenson's _Treasure Island_. Pirates allegedly used the island to hide tons of gold and jewels in small caves in its rugged hillsides. The island is covered by luxuriant jungle and its topography includes sparkling waterfalls and precipitous cliffs.
Cocos Island is sometimes called "island of the sharks" because its waters are home for white-tip reef sharks, whale sharks, and hammerheads. Clearly an island such as this is a Siren for an adventurer and Flynn heeded its call. He knew that a legend persisted here that a tribe of Maya, isolated for generations, still lived on the island. Flynn had _Zaca_ anchored in a sheltered cove so he could explore the island. He later claimed that upon their arrival he experienced a sense of foreboding but that he would continue by keeping in mind his lifelong credo: "Do what your crawling flesh shrinks from doing—especially if you're risking your neck." They went ashore and found no sign of the Maya and instead were "welcomed only by the breaking of the surf, by the gossip of birds, and by the old, old wind moving dreamily amid the treetops."
Later, they circled the island and found an enormous rock, which according to current hydrographic charts, should have been under nineteen fathoms of water. Flynn surmised the rock was an intrusion resulting from a violent earthquake. They established the rock's position and named it _Zaca Rock._
The scientific accomplishments of the expedition are still debated. According to Professor Theodore Flynn, they captured and catalogued over four hundred specimens of fish. One of the new species they discovered they named _Gibbonsia erroli._
At a stop in Acapulco Flynn was approached by Orson Welles who wanted to use the _Zaca_ for his film, _The Lady from Shanghai_. Welles was directing from his own script and starring in the film along with his wife, Rita Hayworth. Welles later claimed that it was with Flynn aboard the _Zaca_ that he first tried cocaine. The resulting film is a classic of _film noir_ , but contrary to popular belief, Flynn does not appear in the film. The _Zaca_ , however, is featured prominently, and Flynn's pet dachshund and cat are visible in several scenes. Numerous sources and reference books state that Flynn is visible as an extra, both in and out of disguise. A close analysis of the DVD version has failed to prove that Flynn is discernible in any of the footage. It may be that he is one of the indistinct figures in the background, but if so, it cannot be proven.
The press began reporting trouble in early September. United Press ran an article titled: A HERRING NAMED FOR NORA; TO CREW, SHE'S CAPT. BLIGH. The report alleged that John Decker left the expedition at Acapulco because Nora took over the ship and turned into a "female Captain Bligh." According to comments attributed to Decker, Nora decided to alter the planned route through the Panama Canal and on to Europe. Where she intended to take the _Zaca_ was not reported. "After Nora got her sea legs, she kind of took over things," Decker said. That was on September 9. On September 21 United Press ran a follow-up article titled: COLD WATER DASHED ON TALE THAT NORA RAN A HELL-SHIP. Here, Professor Theodore Flynn came to Nora's defense and stated that "Nora's job was to watch the galleys. She conducted herself like a perfect lady." The arguments stemmed from Decker's prolific use of ice which he later explained was necessary because he was diabetic and he kept his insulin stored in ice.
The September 9 article ran a photo of Nora looking rather embarrassed, holding a palm to her cheek. The caption read: "MRS. FLYNN. _She took over_." The September 21 article used the same photo and changed the caption to read: "MRS. FLYNN. _Fish named for her_." In fact, according to Professor Flynn, whose flattering comments indicate he may have had a crush on his son's wife, Nora was honored in the same fashion as Errol, with a new species of fish called _Gibbonsia norea_ , which he believed was a type of smelt.
This comedy ran several more weeks before the press dropped it altogether. Nora's departure wasn't simply because she disliked John Decker. Much later she revealed that Flynn was taking narcotics heavily during the expedition. The departure of Nora, John Decker, Carl Hubbs, his father, and a few other crewmen doesn't appear to have deterred Flynn in his quest for excitement.
He went on to the Panama Canal and spent several weeks in Panama City. It is no surprise here that every report about Flynn in Panama City indicates that he enjoyed himself tremendously. The party-going was non-stop and after several weeks Flynn was exhausted. His alcohol intake was at its usual high level. He gave no indication of slowing down. Frank Casella, who later wrote a rather hackneyed account of Flynn in Panama, recalled that Flynn was surrounded by bodyguards who were nothing more than goons. Casella asked Flynn why he had such people around him. Flynn said, "I know they're a damn nuisance but I've been threatened so many times by complete strangers that I can't afford to be without them. If I get into a brawl I'll be sued. Also, if I get my face messed up I'm out of a job."
Flynn and his crew took the _Zaca_ through the Panama Canal and set sail for the Caribbean. They encountered a ferocious storm and Flynn later claimed the storm blew the _Zaca_ off course and that when they finally spotted land it turned out to be Jamaica. It is unlikely that Captain Wicklund would have lost track of the _Zaca's_ location, but saying they were lost made a good story better. Jamaica was probably their pre-arranged destination after exiting the Panama Canal. Flynn had been to Jamaica before and was familiar with the streets of Kingston. No matter, Flynn felt a renewed interest in Jamaica.
Back at Mulholland, Flynn held court with the press. He was long past the time when his interviews were laced with discussions on art, literature, and world events. He told tall tales and kept a straight face. When he was finished, he would spin even taller tales with such conviction the press often reported his stories as fact. Upon returning from the _Zaca_ expedition he spoke fondly of his many pets: a Siamese cat named Bes-Mudi (sometimes referred to as Besnovitch), a dachshund named Chula, a ring-tailed monkey, and a parrot. Flynn claimed his parrot spoke fluent San Blas Indian.
"I picked him up on an island inhabited entirely by San Blas Indians," he said with sincerity. "That's why the bird speaks only the native language." He then launched into a tale about a priest on the island who performed double-duty as clergy and dentist. One day the dentist swam to the _Zaca_ and asked to borrow a pair of forceps. The dentist had with him a native girl who kept pointing at her tooth and moaning painfully. With Flynn's borrowed forceps he extracted the molar. The girl fled and returned shortly with a second girl. They soon realized the dentist had extracted the correct tooth from the wrong girl. It was the younger sister who had the toothache. According to Flynn, the dentist lamented, "If only I spoke the language!" while tossing an envious look at the parrot.
It's a typical Flynn tale. He enjoyed engaging people in conversation and assessing their reactions as he wove a masterful story. He had heard all of the jokes about himself and laughed along with everyone else: "Hey, did you hear what happened to Errol Flynn? He drowned in Veronica Lake!"
The truth was that Flynn was tired of Hollywood and really didn't know what to do with himself. He thought about quitting acting before he was washed up. "I just can't picture myself a broken-down actor running around begging for jobs," Flynn said in 1945. "No sir, when I feel I'm through I'll be on my way, without regrets. I'm not sure what I'll do if that time comes. Maybe I'll just sail around for the rest of my life, stopping whenever and wherever the mood strikes me. It's a big world and there are lots of parts of it I haven't seen yet."
Flynn spent a great deal of time on the _Zaca_ in 1946 and 1947. He continued shooting footage for his film. Don Kincaid, a sailor in the Coast Guard, was one of the crewmen hired by Flynn for some of the shorter trips he took on weekends. Kincaid recalled that Flynn seldom talked about women around the crew. When Kincaid asked Flynn how many girlfriends he had, Flynn said, "Nowhere near the number that people talk about." Kincaid also asked Flynn how he liked Hollywood. Flynn replied: "I hate it." But according to Kincaid, Flynn admitted, "But it's a good life. I get good money and I'm able to do this. I'm able to do things that I want to do. I'm getting kind of old to play derring-do roles and they don't want to put me in anything other than that. Maybe it'll work out and maybe it won't. I've been thinking seriously of just telling them to screw it and go sailing."
Kincaid also noticed that Flynn was surrounded by hangers-on. Kincaid states that Flynn was aware that he was being exploited by many of his friends and acquaintances. "They were just con artists," Kincaid said. "They were there for what they could get, a fast buck. He'd loan money, and he did this, and he never saw it again. He said to me you find out who are twenty dollar men and who are two hundred and who were a thousand. He said you get off light the sooner you get rid of them." But Flynn never completely rid himself of these groupies. Although the individuals often changed, the type of person following him was consistently unsavory and remained part of his life until the end.
Any contentment he found came when he was aboard _Zaca_. Wallace Berry remembers Flynn this way: "Later on I read Flynn's autobiography, and that part where he says he was never more at home than when he was at sea—that's basically the way I saw him. He viewed the _Zaca_ as an escape from the realities of life, the hard Hollywood scene, which I've heard repeated by other people."
The _Zaca_ expedition was enjoyable for Flynn and re-discovering Jamaica provided him with a sanctuary far from Hollywood. He set to work assembling the footage for a proposed film, but this process would drag on interminably. Flynn had made the switch from actor to documentary filmmaker and scientist, adding another facet to his résumé. The effort to create _Cruise of the Zaca_ was tedious. The months slipped into years. Initially, Carl Hubbs was excited to participate in an adventure with a Hollywood star, but as the months dragged on his view was tempered by the delays. By December of 1947 and January of 1948, Hubbs was still involved in the production. His letters to Flynn recount the arrangements they were making to film the grey whales from a helicopter. These are probably the sequences that were eventually used in the film. The tone of the Hubbs letters changes in March when he wrote Flynn informing him that there were some unpaid bills requiring attention. Hubbs wrote: "I have been disappointed in not receiving a letter from you and reimbursement on the expenses, as both Jerry and Allan told me that they knew a letter had been prepared and check made out." Hubbs wrote several detailed letters in March outlining his expenses. Flynn wrote to Hubbs in April with an apology. He was finishing up production on _Adventures of Don Juan_ and admitted his inability to concentrate on other matters. In October Hubbs wrote to Flynn again, stating: "I am somewhat embarrassed on receiving a letter from Al. Fernandez Aponte in which he indicates that his Latin American dignity has been considerably ruffled by his not having received payment for the services he rendered the expedition last February." Such passages show a problematic side of Flynn's nature, his stinginess in handling financial matters, which likely can be attributed to a youth spent conning for pennies to procure a slice of veal cutlet. Hubbs also contacted Flynn's business manager, Al Blum, requesting the account be settled. A month later, Hubbs wrote to Flynn again and quickly received the payment which Hubbs transferred to Aponte. Flynn eventually paid his debts and Hubbs was satisfied. In May 1950 Al Blum requested from Hubbs a statement in writing necessary to satisfy an inquiry by the Internal Revenue Service regarding a donation listed on Flynn's income tax as a contribution to the Scripps Institute. Blum wrote: "The Treasury department is now questioning this particular item and I would like to have for Errol's files, an expression from you on behalf of the institute setting forth that this was a scientific expedition and not a pleasure trip..." Unknown to Flynn and Hubbs was the fact that Blum was indiscriminately spending Flynn's money as fast as the actor made it. In May 1950 Hubbs wrote to Flynn: "I have often wondered, naturally, what progress if any was being made on the whale picture. It has been rather embarrassing at times to have to admit that I have never even seen the pictures myself."
Flynn eventually sold Warner Bros. the exclusive distribution rights to the film. When _Cruise of the Zaca_ was finally released in 1952 it was unfortunately brief, running a scant twenty minutes. It boasts the usual quality production values of Warner Bros., including music by Howard Jackson and a script by Owen Crump. The script was narrated by Flynn and resembles the short travelogues and wildlife films Walt Disney had begun producing for Buena Vista. It begins with Flynn leaving the Mulholland Farm in a Paul Mantz helicopter and flying to La Jolla to meet Carl Hubbs. A staged sequence follows in which Flynn and Hubbs track some grey whales off the coast, resulting in Flynn's falling from the helicopter into the ocean. When the _Zaca_ set sail they cruised to Guadalupe Island before traveling to San Benitos Island to photograph the elephant seals. After crossing the Panama Canal the _Zaca_ is painted "pirate's black from stem to stern." The remainder of the film takes place in Jamaica where Nora Eddington makes a fetching appearance in a white bikini. She is seen with her husband on a bamboo raft floating down the Rio Grande River and traversing the beautiful waterfall of the Ocho Rios. The footage includes a traditional Jamaican dance and one telling shot of the flag atop _Zaca's_ mast. The insignia is a question mark inside a circle. During an introspective moment after the rape trial, Flynn sketched a question mark that he wanted customized for his wardrobe. He soon considered the question mark appropriate as a symbol for his wondering nature. This was his way of questioning himself or perhaps as a challenge to himself, and he had the monogram stitched onto his suits, on his neckties, and his handkerchiefs.
_Cruise of the Zaca_ concludes with footage of _Zaca_ again under full sail as Flynn narrates: "Once again the sails of the _Zaca_ caught the wind and her black bow with a bone in her teeth made foam of the Caribbean. Beyond the horizon there were other waters within whose depths lived the mysteries of the sea which we were still to explore."
Despite his poor health, sporadic schedule, and countless diversions, Flynn again remained true to his desire to write a worthy novel. When it was finally completed, it is alleged to have been over six hundred pages. It was finally published in 1946 under the title _Showdown_.
_Showdown_ is not a very useful title and conjured for the public an image of Flynn from the recently released _San Antonio_ , six-shooter spitting lead in a cinematic showdown. The Western-style title worked against the book's potential. Flynn had settled on _Be Good, Sweet Maid_ and then _The Show-Off_ and _Charlie Bow-Tie Proceeds_ as the title, but it was inexplicably changed, undoubtedly at his publisher's insistence. The final published version ran 308 pages and is comprised of twenty chapters. It is a detailed and dense novel, and decidedly un-heroic. As a psychological portrait, it offers a wellspring of insight into Flynn's personality. _Showdown_ is pure fiction, but like any skilled writer, Flynn decorated his plot and characters with pastiches from his life.
The book is set in New Guinea during the early part of World War II when "this agitator Hitler... was shouting for the return to Germany of her colonies." The book's central character is a young Irishman named Shamus O'Thames, a conservative but romantic drifter. O'Thames is well-mannered and possessed of a Byronic idealism. He is a complex character, educated and literate, perhaps even slightly old-fashioned in his view of women. In the novel's opening sequence he falls in love with a Catholic nun named Sister Ganice who, for Shamus, would "remain forever the symbol of a bright perfection to him, all the loved intangibles of life compressed into a vision of beauty and purity—but not to be touched, never to be known, not to be possessed."
O'Thames possesses a sexual conservatism that stemmed from his reading of Viennese psychologist Otto Weininger, author of the briefly popular _Sex and Character,_ published in 1906. Flynn drew on his negative relationship with his mother for his portrait of O'Thames:
> Weininger's easy and rigid division between the mother and the prostitute, his idealization of the one and degradation of the other, his arbitrary statement that when a man takes a woman—save for the purpose of making her a mother—he destroys her will and so is as guilty of murder as the man who destroys her life, and his defensive statement that when a man really loves a woman he does not need or greatly desire close physical association with her—all of these seemed to Shamus to fit into his desperate loneliness for his mother, his secret sense of guilt for never having loved her....
Throughout the book O'Thames is obsessed by his romantic desire for Ganice and his desire for an actress named Cleo Charnel (short for "Cleopatra"). Cleo is everything her name implies: arrogant and knowledgeable in sex, she is the female counterpart of the hedonistic actor that Flynn had become in the public eye. Flynn's choice for her name was no mere afterthought. Cleopatra embodies classical beauty while Charnel is the derivative of "carnal" and the sensuality associated with Cleopatra's sexual prowess.
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**Flynn the writer at work in the mid–1940s. His second book,** _**Showdown**_ **, received moderate reviews, but Flynn had hopes for stronger critical acceptance.**
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_Showdown_ has the same energy and sweep of _Beam Ends_ , but is a more awkward novel. Flynn's writing resounds with lush imagery and pastoral beauty, but at times there is a clumsiness to the scenes that detracts from the book's finer points. The plot follows O'Thames as he leads a movie producer named Joel Swartz on an expedition to shoot location footage for his next film. Included on the journey are Cleo and Jodo, an oriental assistant addicted to drugs. Jodo is a stereotyped oriental character, an evil schemer lacking in loyalty. O'Thames's ship is named _Maski_ , a name Flynn lifted from one of the vessels he encountered in his youth. In _Showdown_ , _Maski_ sinks and the survivors are cast upon a jungle landscape where they are forced to endure an encounter with savages. There is little traditional action in these scenes, at least not in the heroic sense that most associate with Flynn's screen image. O'Thames is a cerebral protagonist and he prefers using his experience and intelligence to extract himself from dangerous situations.
As can be expected, the descriptions of nature and details regarding ships, swimming, and exploring are fully realized. The characterizations, however, are shallow, although Flynn establishes the contrast between the conservative O'Thames and the haughty Cleo Charnel with skill. Cleo refers to O'Thames disparagingly as Charlie Bow-tie because of his conformist manner. Fragments of Flynn's satire on Hollywood survived the massive editing, such as the parrot named Hedda because of "her beady eyes and raucous prattle [that] reminded him of a lady whom he knew back in Hollywood," an obvious dig at gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. In one passage he refers to the moon as looking "phoney—like too much money's been spent on it—like a Warner Bros. moon." The novel's point of view belongs predominantly to Shamus O'Thames but Flynn wisely allows himself the freedom to explore the thoughts and sensibilities of the other characters as well.
Flynn was willing to take chances and explore new ideas, which is a notable quality in any writer, but _Showdown_ suffers from unevenness in its execution. Still the effort resulted in some admirable surprises, such as the characterization in chapter sixteen of Anitok, the pygmy ruler of the Great River. The sequence with Anitok was another of the stories Flynn had learned while in New Guinea.
_Showdown_ received moderate reviews but the book was not given serious consideration by most critics. Most reviews devoted as much space to Flynn's reputation as a womanizer as they did to the book. Flynn was deeply troubled by the lack of critical response. Tony Thomas believed that the lack of critical acceptance devastated Flynn and effectively put an end to his literary aspirations. Flynn dedicated _Showdown_ to John Decker. Here in Flynn's mind was a man who lived by an artistic creed and remained true to his ideals. Decker was as important to Flynn as John Barrymore had been. Decker was an _artiste_ , a man who created beauty from the intangibles of his existence. His paintings were his creative statements and Flynn wanted very much to demonstrate his own creative fire. _Showdown_ was his _Bildungsroman_ , his masterpiece to show the world that he was a serious writer and not a flash-in the-pan hack.
It is unfortunate that Flynn never wrote another novel. Despite its unevenness, _Showdown_ is an interesting book and offers substantial evidence of the author's command of language. It is notable that both _Beam Ends_ and _Showdown_ sold well in paperback and were reprinted several times. The paperback edition of _Showdown_ played up the romantic angle, depicting a man and a woman in bathing suits embracing on a beach with the roiling surf behind them. The cover blurb read: "A dashing, turbulent novel of passion and exotic adventure in the South Seas."
_Never Say Goodbye_ was Flynn's only 1946 feature, a pleasantly diverting romance that paired him with Eleanor Parker. They play an estranged couple brought together again by their daughter, Patti Brady. With his natural sense of humor and sharp wit, it's a shame Flynn wasn't cast in quality comedies. He aspired to become a comedic actor in films of the type that Cary Grant excelled in, or a dramatic actor like Barrymore, his fallen idol. His adventure films demonstrated his comedic ability with scenes written specifically to highlight this talent, but by 1946 he was already lampooning himself. His last full-length attempt at comedy, _Never Say Goodbye,_ was released in October. Ten months had passed since his last film.
Flynn plays Phil Gayley, recently divorced but still in love with his wife. He sets out to win her back, and the film becomes a set piece of slapstick routines, with varying degrees of success. A restaurant scene where Flynn is coordinating two dinner dates on opposite sides of the restaurant seemed clichéd even in 1946 (this type of scene had been a staple for many silent comedies). In another scene Flynn, dressed as Santa Claus, mimics the actions of Donald Woods, also dressed as Santa, who believes he is looking into a full-length mirror. Flynn also sings and pretends to be a gangster. His character is well known as a painter of pin-up models and he spends a great amount of time rendering bathing suit models like Peggy Knudsen onto canvas. The satire on Flynn's image as a womanizer was obvious to all. This is no virtuoso performance, but the effect is mildly pleasing and the Christmas setting lends the film a necessary cheeriness.
However, the critics regarded it as a generally lukewarm film, often taking shots at Flynn. One critic noted: "It is understandable that Mr. Flynn would have to have a yacht around as a retreat from his professional life when he is put through such paces as these. Of the cast, let it be said that Patti Brady is beautiful, as all little girls are, without seeming too precocious; that Forrest Tucker does a nice job as the Marine giant who is no mental giant; that Miss Parker has even features, and that Mr. Flynn apparently will do anything for a few thousand a week. Of their efforts as a whole, we can only say that "Never Say Goodbye" cannot compare with the rack or the thumbscrew as an instrument of torture; it hardly leaves any scars at all."
Flynn welcomed the birth of his second daughter, Rory, in March 1947 with smiles. He immediately told the press, "Oh, she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Rory, like Deirdre before her, helped instill in Flynn a semblance of domesticity. He fussed over his baby girls and proudly showed them off to the press. These years up on Mulholland with Nora and the two baby girls were generally good times and Flynn reveled in his role as proud father.
Suddenly Flynn was everywhere at once. Although he gave few interviews, the press still hounded him wherever he went. He was photographed constantly. By his own admission, he was a restless man, and he explored the social circuit with the same curiosity that had taken him across the sea on a schooner.
He was spotted dining with Bruce Cabot and Lorraine Dora at the Hollywood Turf Club; smiling for the press at the West Coast Tennis play-offs; at Romanoff's with Major Bill Howard; nightclubbing with Francis Robinson and Mary Astor; clowning with Xavier Cugat at Club Ciro's star-studded opening where Flynn played guitar and sang a few songs; having dinner with Doris Duke; relaxing with John Garfield and Virginia Christine on the Warner's back lot; at a restaurant with Sally Bernheimer; with Morton Downey at El Morocco; with the breezy starlet Dolores Moran; playing tennis with Bill Tilden at New York's 17th Regiment Armory; with Linda Darnell, Sterling Halloway, Barbara Stanwyck, June Allyson, and Dick Haymes at a rehearsal for radio's _Command Performance_ ; with Jimmy Durante and Jack Benny celebrating the seventh anniversary of the opening of Earl Carroll's Theater Restaurant; chatting with Van Heflin or Jack Haley; with Lana Turner; with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall; with Basil Rathbone at a party hosted by Cobina Wright; with starlet Flora Hall and Bruce Cabot; with Ida Lupino at the Masquer's Club; with Rita Hayworth; with Dorothy Lamour; with Howard Hughes; with Gary Cooper and Dennis Morgan; with his wife Nora, Frank Sinatra and gossip columnist Walter Winchell at the Mocambo; at a restaurant with Jimmy Stewart; and at a nightclub with Anita Colby.
**Flynn with his second wife Nora Eddington in the mid–1940s.**
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The kaleidoscope of faces and places evokes several feelings. Some of these faces are nostalgic because of their association with Hollywood's Golden Age, but they are also shallow and relentless, and they provide a sense of Flynn's constant moving about. There is a feeling here, too, that Flynn was trapped in a social merry-go-round and he exulted in its dizziness and allowed himself to be swept along by forces he could not control. Quite often he was seen with Bruce Cabot at Ciro's, the Mocambo or at the race-track betting on the horses. Cabot shadowed Flynn, clung to him and exploited Flynn's good-hearted nature for his own benefit. Flynn considered Cabot to be something of a brother. On the social circuit, Flynn was the star attraction. He was sought out by veterans of Hollywood and unknowns, all wanting to bask in the flood-lamps of fame that Flynn brought with him.
Ten months after Flynn's last film, Warner Bros. released _Cry Wolf,_ a psychological thriller that provided Flynn and co-star Barbara Stanwyck with choice roles. Stanwyck arrives at the gloomy fog-shrouded Caldwell mansion claiming to be the widow of the recently deceased James Demarest (Richard Basehart), nephew to Mark Caldwell, played by Flynn. Caldwell is a scientist whose mysterious demeanor leads Stanwyck to believe he murdered her husband in order to gain control of his inheritance. Snooping about the mansion, she encounters a demanding and cruel sister-in-law (Geraldine Brooks) who later commits suicide, and eventually she believes she is hearing her dead husband's voice. The mood is tense but the plot uses too many intriguing devices: a scientist's private laboratory, voices in the night, and a deeply hidden family secret involving an active streak of hereditary insanity all lend the film a quality of strangeness. The story plays like a modern gothic romance, with good performances from everyone involved.
_Cry Wolf_ received fairly reasonable reviews, but the film did mediocre business. A long time had passed since Flynn had a truly substantial box-office success, and in that time the world had changed dramatically. _Cry Wolf_ is the closest Flynn came to making a _film noir_ style of movie and on that level it fails to deliver. It does at least succeed as a moderate thriller. Any potential the film had was partially negated by an absurd advertising campaign that must have irritated Flynn at a time when he was working hard to put the effects of the rape trial behind him. One photograph used in publicity had Flynn choking Stanwyck and carried the caption: " _Oh, you wouldn't!" Cries our Babs. Oh, yes he would!"_ Warner Bros. chose to play up Flynn's reputation as a womanizer with such headlines as: THE HOWL IN THE NIGHT IS THE VOICE OF DANGER!—CRY WOLF!
_Cry Wolf_ slunk into obscurity as the summer of 1947 drifted to an end.
Jack Warner claimed that he felt Flynn began to slow down by the mid–1940s. "Flynn, who started out making four or five big pictures a year because he had a tremendous personal appeal, began to slow down as early as 1946, when he was only thirty-seven years old," Warner said. "Errol was chronically broke because he lived like a star and, like the shark carrying pilot fish, he always had six or more parasites sucking at his cash resources. He entertained expansively, maintained a luxurious home on a mountain top, and used a helicopter as an aerial taxi to take him to and from his swimming pool."
The desire for better non-heroic roles was a strong issue in many of Flynn's conversations with Warner. Flynn wanted to take some chances and tackle dramatic roles that would demonstrate his range as an actor. Flynn was attracted to the role of composer Sebastian Dubrock in _Escape Me Never_ for the same reasons he was attracted to his roles in _Never Say Goodbye_ and _Cry Wolf_ : all of these roles offered a change from the standard hero mold and hinted at the subtleties and ironies of his artistic temperament. He found the change refreshing but the movies failed to satisfy Flynn's ambition to demonstrate his artistic inclinations.
The almost-stifling mediocrity of _Escape Me Never_ is disappointing because of the breadth of talent and characterization Flynn might have given with a better director and better script. But he works hard with what he has and there are flashes of depth and insight. Flynn loved classical music, and that point alone inspired him to tackle the project with vigor. He had wanted to work with the talented Ida Lupino for some time, and induced Eleanor Parker to join the cast as well. Surrounding himself, as he often did, with the finest talent should have nurtured a creative environment, but sadly it seldom did. Too often the end result was tepid. _Escape Me Never_ is sluggishly paced and edited, and features an obvious and unconvincing use of rear screen projection and uninspired sets, particularly with the scenes set in the Alps. The film's best quality is the splendid music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Following _Cry Wolf_ by three months, _Escape Me Never_ seemed like an invitation to critics to reprimand Flynn for his film choices. Typical of the reviews was this comment from critic Tom Donnelly writing in the _Washington Daily News,_ November 22, 1947: "The world needs _'Escape Me Never'_ the way it needs a new brand of canned peas."
Flynn took an active interest in his next film, even though it was another Western. He believed he had found a good role and so he threw himself into the role with a renewed sense of purpose. _Silver River_ featured Flynn as Mike McComb, a man who turned to riverboat gambling after leaving the Union army. He carried the flame for Georgia Moore, wife of his best friend. When Georgia's husband was killed, Mike courted her and asked Georgia to marry him. They lived happily together, but as time went on Mike built a career as a robber baron. Eventually, she became disillusioned with his hard-edged attitude and suspected him of playing a role in the death of her husband. Mike's interest in gambling and banking made him a powerful figure, as well as enemies. In the final reel, he must redeem himself, win back his wife's love, and work in the interest of his fellow man rather than for his own personal gain.
Flynn is excellent as McComb, easily conveying the sinister aspects of a man consumed by greed. His performance is similar in range to that of his role in _Cry Wolf,_ but he has the benefit here of working with Ann Sheridan. Flynn took the role seriously and said at the time, "As you have probably heard, I play a cross between a rogue and a heel. Sort of a self-portrait you might say." He was only half joking. He wanted the press to take the film seriously and made it clear that even though _Silver River_ was a Western his role as Mike McComb wasn't typical: "It might interest you to know that _Silver River_ is the only picture I've ever enjoyed making and, for a change, I don't merely walk through it. This time I'm actually giving my all—more or less. Maybe it'll even register on the screen...."
Flynn was gracious in his praise for Ann Sheridan: "I hurry to point out she was never lovelier or, I might add, more desirable." When pressed if he was romantically involved with Sheridan, Flynn bluntly told the truth: "We are friends, and could never be serious together. If we tried, we'd probably break out laughing in the middle of a kiss."
But the excellent performances of Flynn and Sheridan couldn't salvage the pedestrian script. The story is heavy on dialogue, which can obviously be a good thing when the dialogue is worth speaking. _Silver River_ tells a good story, features excellent performances, but accomplishes less because the script is mediocre. Like so many of Flynn's recent films, it was not a bad movie by any means; it simply lacked that creative spark that might have lifted it above the mundane. Raoul Walsh directed and this was his final teaming with Flynn. They would remain friends but there was a rift between them now, possibly the result of Flynn's increasingly bizarre behavior. Walsh, like so many others, knew that Flynn drank too much and dabbled with narcotics, and he distanced himself from Flynn's troubles.
_Silver River_ was released in May 1948 but made little impact.
Flynn's next picture would temporarily revitalize his popularity and capture those heroic elements of his screen persona the public enjoyed, but with a noticeable difference. _Adventures of Don Juan_ (without a definite article of "The" in the title) returned him to the swashbuckling action genre that had made him famous. Preparations had been underway for several years and Flynn was eager to start the picture. Vincent Sherman explains something of the process that Warner Bros. put into their star vehicles:
> The process at Warner Bros. was as follows: people would submit plays, novels, magazine stories, all to the story department which was headed by Walter McKuen. Walter would go through all of this stuff, and if he felt it would make a good picture he would recommend it. It would then go to Trilling and from Trilling to Jack Warner. Then they would kick it around to see if any producers liked it. Usually, if Walter liked it and McKuen and Warner liked it, they would buy it. Then they would figure out which producer to give it to. And the producers were cast the same way that actors and directors were cast. One producer was good for a certain kind of story and another producer was suitable for another type. When the script was written they would see which director fit that type of story. It was typecasting all the way down. Things were cast on the basis of accepted personalities fitting into a type of story.
Sherman was given a script which he read immediately.
> I read the script and it was very nice. It was written by George Oppenheimer who had been an experienced writer at MGM before he came to Warner Bros. In fact, he came into my office when he heard they'd given me the script and he said, "You know, this is not a typical Flynn picture. This is like a fairy tale." And I said, "Yes, that's what the trouble is." It was a sweet little story but nothing like what an action film should be. There wasn't enough conflict or action and it was like a child's fairy tale. So I said that it needed work. But George, who was a very nice man and very talented, was reluctant to do any changes. I want to point out that Flynn was no longer the young dashing guy from _Robin Hood._ He was getting on in years and I felt that we should take advantage of the fact that he was older. So I was able to get another writer who was an old friend of George named Harry Kurnitz. Harry had a droll sense of humor and I felt if we opened up the picture in such a way to have Flynn laugh at himself for his Don Juan ways it would help. That's what Harry added to the script. He gave us that wonderful opening when the narrator is talking in a very stentorian voice about the progress in various countries in the world, and we cut to Flynn climbing ever higher up the balcony. That gave me the satirical quality I wanted that made fun of his dashing younger days.
As it turns out, Vincent Sherman was an excellent choice to direct the film. Born in 1906 as Abe Orovitz, he was raised in the small town of Vienna, Georgia, and at an early age took an interest in writing and theater. In the early 1930s he performed in numerous productions with the Theater Guild in New York. In 1933 he acted in the film _Counsellor at Law_ starring John Barrymore and directed by William Wyler. By the late 1930s he was employed by Warner Bros. writing scripts, notably two of Humphrey Bogart's best from his "gangster" period— _Crime School_ (1938) and _King of the Underworld_ (1939). Sherman directed his first film in 1939, the cult horror film _The Return of Dr. X_ starring Bogart in his most unusual role. He followed this with _Saturday's Children_ (1940) starring John Garfield and Anne Shirley, one of the many neglected classics from this period. By the time he started _Don Juan_ he had directed fourteen films, among which are some of the finest Warner Bros. movies: _All Through the Night_ (1942, with Bogart), _The Hard Way_ (1942, with Ida Lupino), _Old Acquaintance_ (1943, with Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins), _In Our Time_ (1944, with Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid), _Mr. Skeffington_ (1944, with Bette Davis and Claude Rains), and _Nora Prentiss_ (1947, with Ann Sheridan).
The screenwriters on _Adventures of Don Juan_ had ample material from which to choose. The character of Don Juan is a folk legend that originated in Spain. He is characterized as an unrepentant libertine who seduced the daughter of Seville's military commander. Don Juan engaged the commander in a duel and killed him. Afterward, Don Juan invited the funeral statuary to a feast at which point the statuary jumped from its pedestal and dragged Don Juan into Hell. The play _El burlador de Seville_ ( _The Libertine of Seville,_ 1630) by Tirso de Molina is generally considered to be the first major literary work dealing with the Don Juan character. Another version was the verse play _Don Juan tenorio_ ( _Don Juan the Rake,_ 1844) by José Zorrilla y Moral.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, writing under the pseudonym Molière, published his five-act play _Don Juan_ in France in 1665. For Molière, Don Juan is a corrupt character who refuses to repent for his sins and so justly dies in a clap of thunder and lightning that opens the earth and engulfs him in the flames of hell. At its heart a morality play, Molière's _Don Juan_ concludes with the satisfaction others take in Don Juan's death: "By his death everyone else is satisfied; Heaven he offended, laws he set at defiance, girls he seduced, families he disgraced, parents he outraged, wives he ruined, husbands he drove to distraction. Everyone is content."
**Publicity portrait for** _**Adventures of Don Juan**_ **(1948). No actor in film history had more in common with the legendary lover than Errol Flynn.**
But it is Lord Byron's _Don Juan_ , published in installments between 1819 and 1824, which proved to be the nucleus for the Don Juan that Hollywood created first with John Barrymore in the title role, and eventually with Flynn, who still seems the perfect match for the complex role of scoundrel and lover. Byron borrowed freely from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's two-act opera, _Don Giovanni,_ which made its debut in Prague in the fall of 1787. _Don Giovanni_ portrayed Juan as a tragicomic hero, destroyed by his obsessive search for the ideal woman. Byron may also have been influenced by Ernst Theodore Hoffman's _Don Juan_ , published in Germany in 1813.
Byron plays fast and loose with various versions of the folk legend but managed to capture the essence of Don Juan and, by extension, Flynn:
> Man, being reasonable, must get drunk;
> The best of life is intoxication.
> —Canto II, stanza 179
> Pity he loved adventurous life's variety,
> His was so great a loss to good society.
> —Canto III, stanza 41
Byron used his epic poem as a means of satirizing British society and, along with _Childe Harold's Pilgrimage,_ _Don Juan_ is considered among his finest accomplishments. Flynn was fond of Byron, and his contemporaries in poetic romanticism, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats. Flynn is said to have committed passages from Byron and Keats to memory, sometimes surprising people with his accurate recitals. Perhaps Flynn recognized more than a little of himself in what became known in literary circles as "the Byronic hero," i.e., the wanderer torn by emotions he is unable to control.
John Barrymore's _Don Juan_ , released by Warner Bothers in 1926 and directed by Alan Crosland, was the first Warner's film with a fully synchronized musical score. Screenwriter Bess Meredyth used the Byron poem as inspiration. Seldom seen today, the 1926 _Don Juan_ is a boisterous cloak and dagger affair. It would have a direct impact on the story line for the version Vincent Sherman was to direct. Production on _Adventures of Don Juan_ began in 1946 but numerous delays wreaked havoc on the schedule. The film would not be released until late 1948.
Flynn had embraced the belief that the public was the best judge of what was entertaining, and if the public wanted him as a populist hero, then he would play the role with relish. But he was only as good as his latest hit. The lack of critical acceptance for his roles in _Never Say Goodbye_ and _Escape Me Never_ disturbed him. All the same, he was determined to put on a good show. This ethos sprang from his need for an audience to accept him. A storyteller's greatest dilemma is to find himself bereft of an audience—a trace, perhaps, of Flynn's roots as a neglected child who never experienced the bonding of parental love.
_Adventures of Don Juan_ is the ultimate Flynn swashbuckler. It is a decorous companion to _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and _The Sea Hawk_. The film's power lies in Flynn's performance with its combination of anger and eloquence. Flynn's Don Juan has a _savoir faire_ and worldly experience laced with a cutting anger. "Have you read the reviews for _Escape Me Never_?" Flynn asked Vincent Sherman, "They really let me have it." Even with the vodka as an obvious crutch, he persevered, almost as if by will power alone he knew could rise above the negative reviews.
Screenwriter George Oppenheimer felt that the implementation of the film had to be "handled delicately, like a piece of Venetian glass." Vincent Sherman agreed and felt the use of Technicolor would add the depth he saw in the story. "Sol Polito, a wonderful cameraman and who had worked with Flynn before, was assigned _Don Juan_ ," Sherman told me. "But after a few days he was pulled off. I don't know what happened. Another cameraman was assigned, 'Woody' (Elwood) Bredell, who was very fast and had worked with Mike Curtiz. I asked him how he did things so fast and he said that with black and white you have to do modeling, but with color, the colors themselves do the modeling for you. All you have to do is put flat lighting on it and the colors jump out." They worked on the script, tailoring it to fit Flynn's personality as well as his legend. Sherman did not know Flynn very well when filming began, but in the coming months (and years) he would come to know Flynn much better. "Flynn was a lot of fun to work with and he realized he was getting older and could no longer have that kind of excitement all of the time in his life. He was a very complex man and complicated in many ways."
Flynn took an active role in the making of the film. His participation went beyond just showing up for work and reading his lines, although this is the commonly accepted view of him, an effect that is attributable to his often lazy attitude. Vincent Sherman remembered:
> Errol would always make little suggestions about the script, but never any major changes. He would always embroider a scene a little bit, but it was always good and it was always in character. He was delightful to work with. He wanted to do _Don Juan_ for years because Barrymore had done it. Three sets of writers and two directors had worked on it before I got it. It had been around for several years. I was surprised I got it because I had never done an action picture like that before. I found out later that Flynn asked for me because Ann Sheridan recommended me. She had worked with Flynn and they liked each other very much. At the time Flynn was angry with Raoul Walsh. Flynn had a history, and the man who really discovered him was Mike Curtiz with _Captain Blood_. He became a big star as a result of that one picture. He did something like six pictures with Curtiz, all big successes. He felt that Mike had double-crossed him and so he was tired of working with Mike. So then he teamed up with Raoul Walsh, and he did several pictures with him, but then he felt that Walsh double-crossed him with the front office. But I don't think that Walsh double-crossed him and neither did Mike. But when Jack Warner would scream about the time it was taking to shoot a scene with Flynn, they would say, "Look, what can we do with him?" They wouldn't blame Flynn but they would say, "We have to go along with him." Warner called me five or six times and said, "You tell that bastard so and so." Or, "You tell that son of a bitch so and so." Finally, after the sixth call I said, "Mr. Warner, I work with Errol and we have to get along together and you're the one who pays him, so you have to be the one to discipline him, that's not my job." And Warner said, "Don't worry, I'll talk to him. I'm not afraid of him." I said, "I didn't say you were afraid of him." He said, "Goddamnit!" And when he got on the phone with Errol they would just insult each other. I always felt that Jack Warner was jealous of Flynn. He liked his free ways of living. I think Warner would have liked very much to have been like Flynn. He called Flynn "The Baron." But when it came to money, that's when Warner got angry. Flynn caused several delays, and that set Warner off, but Flynn's pictures did good business and that's why he was at Warner's so long.
**Director Vincent Sherman (in trench coat) instructing Errol Flynn and Jerry Austin during the final battle sequence for** _ **Adventures of Don Juan**_ **.**
As time went on, Sherman saw more and more of Flynn's self-destructive nature. "He had that ambition to be a writer but we didn't talk about that too much. At the end of a day's work he'd go home and have a few drinks and sometimes he'd have more than a few drinks. But I must say he didn't drink on the set too much. He behaved himself well but in the late afternoon toward four or five o'clock he'd take a drink. Then he'd go home at night and drink more. When he came into the studio in the morning his eyes would be half closed and he'd say, 'What are we doing today?'"
Jerry Wald produced and scheduled Max Steiner to create the music. Perc Westmore handled the make-up, Fred Cavens coordinated the elaborate fencing sequences, and Leah Rhodes and Marjorie Best were among the costume designers. The costumes were rich, colorful, and perfectly suitable for the lavish Technicolor production and enormous, intricate sets. Flynn, always prepared to poke fun at himself while giving his audiences what they wanted, made one notable alteration to his costume. Recalls Sherman: "When Flynn first came in and tried on the costumes, the jacket came down below his crotch, and he had the jackets shortened to reveal his crotch." Shortening the jackets, however, presented them with the problem that Flynn's crotch protruded noticeably when viewed from the side. Sherman recommended that Flynn pull up his member and tape it against his abdomen before donning the jock-strap. To this Flynn replied: "My dear boy, I've done many things for Warner Bros. over the years, but I'm dammed if I'll tape up my cock for them."
The casting was completed and joining Flynn were Viveca Lindfors as Queen Margaret, Robert Douglas as Duke de Lorca, and Alan Hale as Leporello. Other cast members included Romney Brent, Ann Rutherford, Robert Warwick, Jerry Austin, and Mary Stuart. The budget was set at $2 million, but the film would suffer from excessive delays, causing the production to run over budget very quickly. Not all of the delays, however, can be blamed on Flynn. A union dispute with the set designers delayed the production at the onset, and the continuous re-working of the script contributed to the numerous delays. Filming began in October 1947, but shortly thereafter Flynn went off on a prolonged bout of drinking, complemented by short trips on the _Zaca_. When he finally settled into a routine where he was available long enough for filming, Sherman realized the effects of alcoholism had marred Flynn's features. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was puffed from alcohol abuse. It would fall to Perc Westmore to salvage what he could of the actor's disintegrating profile while cinematographer Woody Bredell staged the shots to best accentuate Flynn's close-ups.
Sherman found Flynn cooperative and interested in the project and he has made it clear that Flynn worked hard in making _Don Juan_ an enjoyable film. Ultimately, Flynn enjoyed himself off-camera as well. Repeated often, Sherman's now-famous anecdote is printed here because it captures the fun-loving side of Flynn's personality:
> He had a great sense of humor by the way, a tremendous sense of humor. I'll never forget it when I said to him one day, "Do you do much reading?" And he said, "Every day." And I said, "Well, what do you read?" Flynn said, "Law books." I asked, "Why law books?" And he said, "To see how I can screw Warner Bros." But he was also like a little boy at times playing tricks. One day the assistant called me and said, "Mr. Flynn wants to see you in the dressing room." So I went in and he was sitting in a chair in the nude except he had a small towel over the lower part of his body. He began talking about a certain scene and what I thought about it and so forth. Little by little he removed the towel and when I looked down I was startled because what I saw was a thirteen inch penis! He'd had Perc Westmore in the make-up department make a false plastic penis. And when he saw the look on my face he roared with laughter. Then he said, "Let's get Alan Hale in here." So we called Alan Hale in and Flynn covered himself up again. Alan was standing in the doorway and Flynn said, "Alan, Vince and I have been talking about this scene we're going to do this morning and we were wondering if maybe we could do it one way or we could do it another way, and do you have any ideas about it?" And little by little he had removed the towel again. Alan looked down and without blinking an eye he said, "I'll take a pound and a half!" Well, Flynn roared with laughter. That was his fun for the day. But he had a great charm about him. He was a much more complex character than people think.
The story touches on the homo-erotic tendencies that have lent themselves to the rumors that Flynn led a secret life as a homosexual. This is highly unlikely, but in addressing that issue the final word should belong to Sherman who says: "He has been accused of being bisexual and having affairs with men, which I doubt. But if he did, it was only because he was ready to try anything once. True, there is in the Don Juan character an incipient homosexuality, but he was certainly not a practicing homosexual."
Flynn's image and attitudes were cultivated to express the aristocracy that had eluded him. He carried a sword cane and smoked his cigarettes with a silver cigarette holder. He often began his conversations with salutations such as, "My dear boy," "My dear sport," or "Old boy," which many of the rough-and-tumble people around him misunderstood for affectations of homosexuality. Little did they know he was merely emulating the characters from the G. K. Chesterton novels he had read during his youth.
In comparison to this, there is the equally famous anecdote where Sherman was invited to Flynn's dressing room to partake of two young prostitutes. Sherman declined, but asked Flynn how he could muster the strength after a long day at work, to which Flynn replied, "Oh, I just lie there and read the trades while they work on me."
Flynn was also visited by a physician from Glendale who administered unknown stimulants to the actor. This was probably some type of amphetamine taken to counteract the effects of his drinking and morphine usage. Often, during a prolonged fencing sequence, he suffered from a shortness of breath and wracking coughs that forced him to stop the filming. Combining alcohol, amphetamines, and morphine or cocaine was extremely dangerous and it is remarkable that he survived as long as he did.
Like most addictive personalities, Flynn cleverly found ways to nurture his habits in relative secrecy. Perc Westmore had known Flynn from the time they worked on _Captain Blood_. Of all the famous Westmores, Perc has been described as the one with "clear eyed virtue." Flynn, who had enjoyed countless evenings drinking with Perc's brother, Ern, once asked the make-up man: "Don't you ever do anything bad?" To which Westmore replied flatly "No." Flynn took to calling Perc Westmore "Mr. No."
According to Frank Westmore, Flynn found ways to keep alcohol near him on the set. "For sheer ingenuity, Flynn was the all-time champ." Flynn's methods included malted milk shakes that were actually gin fizz drinks made from nine parts gin and one part beaten egg white. Often he substituted Scotch and bourbon for bottles of skin cleanser and hair preparation in his make-up case by making new labels for the bottles. Perc Westmore became adept at detecting Flynn's alcoholic substitutes because he had trouble keeping his various make-up assistants sober. Flynn, according to Frank Westmore, "was determined to come up with a gimmick that not even the dogged Perc could detect."
Eventually, bowls of oranges began appearing in Flynn's dressing room. Initially, both Perc Westmore and Jack Warner were encouraged by Flynn's nutritional choice. Warner thought the vitamin C would help Flynn maintain his energy for his athletic role. But during the long afternoons Flynn would become bleary-eyed. Frank Westmore recalled how his brother uncovered Flynn's method: "Knowing that Flynn was getting drunk somehow, despite all his precautions, Perc slept one night in one of his department's make-up rooms. Very early the next morning he hid himself in the bathroom adjoining Errol's dressing room, and he was there when a fresh crate of oranges was delivered. Soon Flynn arrived with a heavy briefcase clanking with bottles. My brother watched as Errol began using a hypodermic syringe to inject the oranges with vodka. Finally Perc couldn't help himself; he burst out laughing. So did Flynn."
While the Westmore anecdote shows the humorous side of Flynn's drinking, Nora found his habits far less appealing. Flynn denied to Nora that he knew anything about heroin, but he admitted "Opium, cocaine, and morphine I know pretty well." She thought that "He was so frighteningly casual about it." As time went on, Nora saw Flynn deteriorate. She wanted him to seek treatment but found her husband was unwilling to admit he had a drug problem. According to Nora, only she and Freddie McEvoy made any effort to help Flynn kick his drug habit. "I've never been so disappointed in a man in my life," McEvoy told her. McEvoy was not around enough to be of much help, although Nora credits him with assisting her in confiscating and destroying some of Flynn's drugs at Mulholland. She later speculated correctly that most of Flynn's friends knew of his drug habits and did nothing to help. "Now that I think it over I believe that some of Flynn's friends must have been aware of it. Jim Fleming surely, and Buster Wiles and John Decker."
It was under these conditions that Vincent Sherman coaxed his _Don Juan_ star into a performance that would rank among his best. During a pivotal scene with Robert Douglas, Flynn was too hung-over to remember his lines, forcing Sherman to shoot and edit with Flynn saying lines one at a time rather than as a continuous sequence. The previous night's alcohol had also disoriented Flynn, and originally the scene was staged with Flynn standing and Douglas sitting. Sherman reversed it, preferring to keep Flynn seated to avoid the likelihood of a misstep. There is no indication in the scene that Flynn was suffering from a long night and it remains a suspenseful moment in the film. The evil Duke de Lorca (Douglas) is attempting to coerce Don Juan into a conspiracy that angers the legendary swordsman. With Juan refusing complicity, de Lorca cuts at Juan's shoulder with his sword. Flynn conveys the smoldering anger that would set up the final deadly duel between the two men. The scene remains a testament to Sherman, who found a way to turn a potentially disastrous situation into an effective piece of filmmaking.
On another day, Sherman had Flynn and Alan Hale astride saddles propped on ladders and was completing a sequence where they are talking together on horseback. But Flynn and Hale had been tipping a few too many drinks. In order to keep the two men in their saddles, Sherman positioned a prop man on each side to hold their legs in place and prevent them from falling. Again, there is no overt evidence of their intoxication, although astute observers will recognize the elevated gleam in both men's eyes, and perhaps a slight flush to their cheeks.
**Robert Douglas with Errol Flynn in _Adventures of Don Juan_. Director Vincent Sherman skillfully staged the scene in order to avoid a potential disaster.**
Once, Sherman visited Flynn at the Mulholland Farm: "I went up to his Mulholland Farm once and I'll never forget it," Sherman said. "I took my wife up there because we were all going to have dinner. He was still married to Nora Eddington at the time and we were all going to Ciro's for dinner. So we went up there and he gave us a drink and we were sitting there talking when his little daughter Deirdre came into the room. She was about three years old. Flynn said, 'Hello darling, meet Mr. and Mrs. Sherman. He's directing daddy's picture.' The little girl said, 'Hello.' She was an adorable little girl." Flynn then made an inappropriate comment. "My wife said, 'Errol!' He laughed and said, 'Oh, she doesn't mind.' But he was playful like that, charming and handsome. My God! He was a beautiful looking man. There were times when it was painful to work with him. Sometimes he'd come in and he'd been drinking a little too much the night before and he had a hangover, and that was difficult. It was sad in a way. Very sad."
Flynn had not fenced on film since _The Sea Hawk_ and went into rehearsals with Fred Cavens and his son Albert. "I don't know how to fence, really," Flynn said. "I've done a lot of sword fighting in films. I'm fighting five duels in my current film, _Adventures of Don Juan_ , but that's acting. Those fights are all worked out in routines and I just make a good stab at it. If I had to engage in a real duel, I'd be dead in a minute."
Sherman would tell Flynn how well he handled a sword and that he wore his costumes as if he really belonged in them, but Flynn never saw the value in any of this. "So what? What's that got to do with acting?" Flynn said. Sherman says he came to realize that more than anything, Flynn wanted to be considered a fine actor, but that he pretended his career meant nothing to him. Sherman felt that Flynn's devil-may-care attitude was a protective device.
The script offered several humorous moments, the better of which played off Flynn's image as a seducer. When Don Juan is caught in the company of an engaged woman, the outraged man exclaims, "You're caught!" To this Don Juan simply shrugs and explains, "The story of my life!" The dialogue is tongue-in-cheek. At one point Don Juan says, "An artist may paint a thousand canvases before achieving one work of art. Would you deny a lover the same practice?" Perhaps the most romantic line in the film occurs when Don Juan proclaims to a young woman, "I've loved you since the beginning of time!" To this the girl says, "But we only met yesterday." Quick with a response, Juan says, "And that's when time began." Lines such as this, considering Flynn's rape trial, bolstered his image as a rakish lothario.
The lush Technicolor photography and expansive sets helped the film to achieve a colorful palette. The bright storybook images are the equal of those in _The Adventures of Robin Hood_. In fact, a scene of Robin Hood's escape from Nottingham Castle was inserted as part of the sequence where Don Juan is fleeing from an angry mob. A snippet from Essex' return from Cadiz from _The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex_ was also used to save money. Using stock footage from other films has long been a standard practice when keeping the budget under control was a concern. Stock footage of cattle at the Calabasas Ranch used in _Dodge City_ found additional use in _San Antonio_ and _The Lone Ranger_ (1956) with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels.
The climactic battle, with Don Juan joining forces with students from the fencing school, shows a darker side of the Don Juan character. Flynn plays the scenes with a grim but determined anger. The anger shows in his eyes and in his body language. His gestures are forceful and dynamic. In Flynn's best moments during any action sequence, he moved with the stealth of a panther. Jerry Austin provided comic relief as a midget swashbuckler. In one dramatic scene a large drapery catches fire and Don Juan pulls it down onto the attacking castle guards. His final battle with the Duke de Lorca on the grand staircase concluded with Don Juan taking a flying leap down the stairs onto his opponent. This was a remake of the climactic duel from the Barrymore film, but Flynn wasn't capable of such an energetic leap so stunt man Jock Mahoney took his place.
The conclusion is marred only by some dialogue between Don Juan and the Queen who asks, "Where will you go?" and Don Juan replies, "I don't know—oblivion perhaps—wherever legends go." This stilted and forced romantic interlude with the Queen is quickly forgotten after Don Juan departs with Leporello (Hale). Vincent Sherman remembered that they came up with a better conclusion: "It concluded with that wonderful bit at the end where Flynn and Alan Hale are leaving Spain. Flynn is saying no more romance, no more adventure, no more intrigue, and he's going to devote his life to study. Then a stagecoach comes by and a young lady leans out and asks, 'Is this the road to Madrid?' We had Flynn's wife, Nora Eddington play that part. Flynn sets out after the coach and Alan Hale says, 'What about all the studying?' And Flynn says what I thought was the perfect line: 'There's a little bit of Don Juan in every man, but since I am Don Juan, there must be more of it in me.' It was the perfect ending to the picture."
Shortly before filming wrapped, Flynn was visited by Sean, who had arrived from Paris with Lili. Flynn and Lili avoided each other, but Flynn was delighted to see Sean. He presented the boy with a replica of his Don Juan costume and had the make-up department draw a pencil-thin mustache across his upper lip. Sean was then given a prop sword to complete the costume. Father and son happily posed for photographs.
Sherman screened the film with Flynn and noted the actor's response: "Flynn was pleased with the picture when he saw it. He thanked me and was very pleasant about it. The picture opened in New York and got some pretty nice reviews. They weren't great reviews, but they were respectful reviews. People enjoyed his performance and I think he was pleased with the whole thing. But he went downhill after that. He gave me a beautiful cigar cutter afterward and I showed it to Raoul Walsh and Raoul said, 'You mean, he gave you a present?' And I said, 'Yes, he did.' Raoul was surprised because he said Flynn was tight with money and chintzy as hell."
_Adventures of Don Juan_ reached theaters in December 1948. Warner Bros. had recently re-released _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and _The Sea Hawk_ , both of which made great amounts of money. While _Adventures of Don Juan_ was not a blockbuster success, it turned a profit, which appeased Jack Warner somewhat. It was clear that Flynn was still popular and more importantly his films were profitable. But he was past his heyday now, and that was apparent too. From this point on, Jack Warner would not be willing to cast Flynn in a big-budget production. The delays due to Flynn's tardiness and his drinking problems couldn't be tolerated in light of the diminishing returns.
After filming wrapped on _Adventures of Don Juan_ , Flynn and Nora went to Jamaica for a vacation. By now Flynn owned Navy Island, which he had won in a poker game. _Zaca_ dropped anchor in a secluded cove and the ship was their temporary home. Here, Flynn participated in the sports that he loved best – fishing, swimming, and water-skiing. This was an idyllic interlude, one of the last really enjoyable times Nora would experience with him. According to Sara Hamilton, Nora's friend who accompanied them and later wrote about the trip for _Photoplay_ , they often dined on the deck and listened to the voices of the calypso singers across the water. Nora and Errol enjoyed walking about the island's seventy acres, sight-seeing among the large population of sheep and peacocks or sometimes simply resting in the shade of the banana or coconut trees.
In early December 1948, Flynn traveled to New York and made the rounds of the nightclubs. He spent an evening socializing at the El Morocco nightclub and was returning to his hotel when his taxicab driven by Henry Brinkworth was stopped by patrolman Joseph Bergeles. Flynn was with his friend, Warner Bros. press agent Graham R. Wahn. Officer Bergeles apparently recognized Flynn immediately and said, "Say, you're Errol Flynn the movie star. Don't cause any trouble!" Bergeles had been on the lookout for a stolen taxicab when he spotted the cab carrying Flynn and Wahn. It was after two A.M. and Flynn and Wahn were intoxicated and tired.
**Errol Flynn demonstrated a panther-like agility in action scenes such as this one from** _**Adventures of Don Juan**_ **.**
When Bergeles ordered Brinkworth to show his driver's license Flynn and Wahn climbed out and confronted the officer. They exchanged words. A fight ensued and Flynn claimed, "Somebody rabbit-punched me in the back of the neck. I don't know who." The pair were hauled off to the 51st Street station. As Wahn was being booked for disorderly conduct, Flynn turned and kicked officer Bergeles in the shins and referred to Bergeles as a "Keystone cop," which added insult to injury. Flynn was charged with assault. He posted bond and went home, but was scheduled to return and appear before a judge that very morning. Flynn overslept and missed his court appearance and the judge confiscated his $500 bond.
Roused from sleep, Flynn showed up several hours later. He was hounded by the press. "This is the worst public appearance I ever made," he told reporters. "The reason I didn't keep my appointment this morning was because I didn't go to sleep until nine A.M. because of this occurrence."
Regardless of his apologetic tone, Flynn was infuriated over his treatment at the hands of the New York police. "This is like the Gestapo," he told the press. "This could happen in Germany or Russia. I've been framed."
Flynn paid his fines and was photographed leaving the court as he was passing a sign that read "Prison Pen." The photo of a somber looking Flynn was transmitted to news agencies across the country with the caption describing him as "wearing a crumpled brown hat, a wrinkled gray suit and un-shined brown shoes." The headlines went for low comedy: KEYSTONE KOP KICKER and BARKING UP THE WRONG SHIN! The incident struck a chord with journalists who were by now eager to print any unsavory tidbit about Flynn. The incident was not forgotten and was repeated in Flynn's obituaries over a decade later.
Flynn continued expressing optimism about his marriage. "We have no formula for happiness, no special recipe for bliss, no occult wisdom that we would like to pass on to the world," he told John Franchey. "We swim, read books, loll around in the sun and behave like normal married people. And, like normal people, we even get bored at times. On those rare occasions, we discuss the coming atomic age with our children who, of course, are the smartest little tykes in the world."
But Flynn's continued use of narcotics was out of control. Nora was distressed by this and several times attempted to convince her husband to kick the habit by entering a sanatorium. Flynn reacted negatively to all of her pleas. He often threatened her and on several occasions he struck her. This portrait of Flynn is understandably unpopular today with the ranks of his fans that idolize him as a true-life adventurer and film hero.
On a trip to Jamaica, Nora found Flynn aboard _Zaca_ with another woman. As she tells it: "Errol and the girl were facing each other. Her eyes were dreamy and she seemed ready to swoon at his touch.... His eyebrows were raised quizzically and her expression was very willing."
Nora had seen Flynn go through withdrawal too often and the stress of living with him had taken its toll. She felt that he was brave to a fault. Because he feared nothing he would try anything and accept the consequences. Too often he locked himself in the bathroom and injected himself with morphine and amphetamines. Her efforts to get him checked into a sanatorium had failed. His friends were generally useless in assisting her in stopping him from taking drugs. It was heartbreaking for her to watch this man she loved so much destroy himself.
Once, she encountered him as he held a hypodermic needle in his hand. He had injected himself in the bathroom and according to Nora had emerged with the intent of injecting her as well. "His eyes were completely glazed; his contracted pupils showed," she said. "This man wasn't even related to the man I married. Here was a madman. The love I had been holding for him drained away. I just stood there quivering and waited. My limbs had turned to marble. Words were worthless now." In his drug-induced delirium, Flynn attacked Nora and beat her, dislocating her thumb. Although he hadn't succeeded in injecting her with his drugs, he had accomplished something equally as damaging; he had lost the woman he loved.
Nora saved herself by leaving Flynn. She indicated in her autobiography that she was suicidal. Her depression would not abate until she met singer Dick Haymes (ironically, Haymes was one of Flynn's acquaintances) and fell in love again. Her departure from the Mulholland Farm was the only thing she felt she could do to save herself. It was a necessary and justified action on her part, but one that devastated Flynn. It did not take him long to realize what he had done. He was regretful, pleaded with her to stay, but without success.
**Flynn emerging from a New York jail in December 1948. The press hounded him and capitalized upon his misfortunes. (Paul M. James collection.)**
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With the divorce underway, Flynn had custody of Rory and Deirdre, and to the surprise of many Nora's mother, Marge Eddington, moved into Mulholland Farm to help care for the children. She liked Flynn immensely and was eager to help maintain as normal an environment as possible for the children. As a nursemaid to the children and part-time secretary and housekeeper for Flynn, she found life at Mulholland interesting. "There is a rare quality about Errol Flynn," she said. "I don't know how to explain it other than that though he may do the most usual thing, the way he does it always lends a flair that makes it something very special. However hard he tries to fit an ordinary pattern, he always succeeds in being a surprising human being."
For Flynn, a good part of filmmaking was mundane and uninteresting but he had to make a living. He now had two divorce settlements to contend with and his cash resources were fragile at best so he signed on for a cameo in a musical. _It's a Great Feeling_ was a comedy starring Doris Day, Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson. Released in August 1949, it's an interesting film because of the many cameos by prominent Warner Bros. stars. Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Sydney Greenstreet, Danny Kaye, Patricia Neal, Eleanor Parker, Ronald Reagan, Edward G. Robinson and Jane Wyman all make appearances. Even directors David Butler, Michael Curtiz, King Vidor, and Raoul Walsh show up. The story, which takes place predominantly on the Warner Bros. lot, tells the clichéd story about a waitress (Day) who is talked into playing the lead in a forthcoming film directed by Jack Carson (playing himself). Day's character is engaged to Jeffrey Bushdinkle, who is waiting for her back home. When she becomes disenchanted with Hollywood, she returns to Wisconsin, followed by Carson and Morgan who are trying to convince her not to give up on the picture. In the film's final seconds, she weds Bushdinkle. When the groom turns around to face the camera we learn that Bushdinkle is played by none other than Errol Flynn, much to the dismay of Carson and Morgan, Flynn's real-life friends. The set-up is effective and mildly funny. Clearly intended as a spoof of Flynn's image as a womanizer, _It's a Great Feeling_ is a typical 1940s musical, with spry orchestrations by Ray Heindorf and the requisite hammy acting. Running a brief eighty-five minutes, it did nothing to hurt the careers of those involved, and Flynn probably saw the benefit of an easy paycheck for a few hours of work with a cast and crew made up entirely of his friends and acquaintances.
With Nora's departure, Flynn sank into a depression that continued throughout the winter of 1949. It was painfully obvious that his box-office appeal was fading and he no longer had the creative energy that had sustained him before. But he would never surrender to his depression. Instead, he smiled and decided to hold a party that coming February. He was true to form in creating a dazzling event to overshadow his fears and uncertainties.
He decided his party would be a black tie affair resplendent with gowns and glimmering jewelry. He announced his party as a means to celebrate his divorce from Nora. The press referred to it as his "coming out party" which in the context of modern argot has a different meaning than it did in 1949. Flynn's coming out party was to both celebrate his divorce and announce his availability as an eligible bachelor. He enlisted Mike Romanoff to handle the catering which included floating lotus blossoms in the pool. The party would cost Flynn about $11.00 per guest with his final tab exceeding $5,000. Tables and chairs were set up around the pool and the grounds were dotted with tents that harbored special events such as mice races, a female impersonator flown in from San Francisco, a rumba band, and a trio of Russian singers. Judy Canova was enlisted to sing hillbilly songs.
Flynn sent out 350 invitations. A sampling of the guest list is a who's who in Hollywood:
> John Agar, Lew Ayres, Jack Benny, Joan Bennett, Bruce Cabot, Ronald Coleman, Dan Duryea, William Dozier, Cathy Downs, Howard Duff, Joan Fontaine, Ava Gardner, Clark Gable, Greer Garson, Alan Hale, Ray Heindorf, Jennifer Jones, Van Johnson, Joe Kirkwood, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lawford, Janet Leigh, Virginia Mayo, Ann Miller, Marilyn Maxwell, David O. Selznick, Mike O'Shea, Susan Peters, Mary Pickford, Walter Pidgeon, Louella Parsons, Rosalind Russell, Craig Stevens, Alexis Smith, Gloria Swanson, Robert Stack, Audrey Totter, Shirley Temple, Robert Young, Loretta Young, Raoul Walsh, Shelley Winters, Cobina Wright, Jane Wyman...
One anonymous news clipping colorfully stated, "You couldn't flick the ash off your cigarette without hitting a star." Flynn wore a dark blue brocade dinner jacket with a carnation in his lapel and "turned on the charm for guests and the press alike."
The party was a dazzling success. John Agar, who attended the party when his marriage to Shirley Temple was on shaky ground, said this of Flynn: "He made a lot of wonderful movies. I heard some things on television about him that weren't very complimentary about some of the things he did, but television gets too personal. I thought he was a nice guy."
John Agar spent a good part of the evening dancing with socialite Cathy Downs while his soon to be ex-wife chatted amiably with other guests. Forty years later, Temple recalled in her autobiography:
"Spurred by diffidence, boredom, or perhaps a desire to be clean, at midnight Flynn had retreated to his walk-in steam bath. There, clad loosely in a towel, he held court, waving a hazy welcome or adieu to those seeking their host. As Jack (John Agar) and I were departing, I opened the door a crack to say goodbye.
'Come on in, Shirley.' He gestured to the plank bench at his side. 'Just you.'
"Although Flynn's reputation was of never having spoken to a woman he didn't wish to seduce, I declined for even more practical reasons. 'Steam gets my hair frizzy. Just wanted to say goodnight.'
"Through the haze I could see his inviting expression turn scornful.
'So that's why the press voted you most uncooperative, eh? Good-bye, kid!' he said, and waved me away with a sweeping gesture."
Flynn's parties were already the stuff of legend, but it is probably this party that the attendees remembered best. A few newspaper reports stated that Flynn was hoping that Nora would make an appearance at his party. It was no secret that he wanted to reconcile with her. But Nora had enough of Flynn's hard drinking, drug usage, and infidelities. These were the three reasons she later claimed she could no longer stay married to him, although she still harbored strong feelings for him. So as Flynn's party wended its way toward midnight, the one woman Flynn loved the most was only a few miles away, down the hill at the Mocambo. Nora, relieved of her burden as Flynn's caretaker, had found happiness at last and spent the evening dancing with Dick Haymes.
Flynn negotiated a new contract that allowed him the freedom of making one film a year outside of Warner Bros. and he was eager to try something new with a different studio. For his first picture away from Warner Bros., he chose the role of Soames Forsyte in _That Forsyte Woman_. The film starred Flynn with Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young and Janet Leigh. Based on _The Man of Property_ , the first volume of John Galsworthy's _The Forsyte Saga_ , Flynn campaigned for the difficult role rather than one of the lesser parts. It was a wise choice given his desire to break free from the standard heroics of most of his films.
Greer Garson plays Irene, who is pursued by Soames, a man who believes in the principle of getting "value for your money," even in marriage. Irene marries Soames who appears to dominate her with his iron will and strong persistence. Irene finds no comfort with Soames; he is a man who hides behind a wall of silent masculinity, seldom romantic, always keeping his true emotions at bay. Flynn played Soames Forsyte as a man with a cold exterior, but beneath this unpleasant facade was a wellspring of passions and feelings, all imprisoned within his rigid attitude. Flynn has a scene where, after Irene has left him, he goes about the house winding the clocks, his face an emotionless mask, but by his actions and the subtlest hint in his eyes, Flynn captures the anguish of his character. Flynn turned in a beautifully understated performance and always maintained that the role of Soames Forsyte was one of his favorites.
Perhaps too little attention is paid this film. Its Technicolor photography and period sets automatically lend it a nostalgic tone. It is generally regarded as a minor film, but not without merit. Flynn is excellent, proving again that he was an actor with more talent than he had been given the opportunity to demonstrate. The role of Soames Forsyte was Flynn's best dramatic effort in a non-heroic part outside of his role in _Uncertain Glory._
Flynn turned his attention to Princess Irene Ghika, a Rumanian exile who had spent the last five years living in Paris. They met in Paris in May 1949, and the press followed their romance as they visited Cannes, Cap d'Antibes and Monte Carlo. Flynn announced that his princess would star with him in a film to be called _The Last Buccaneer._ Flynn was still reeling from the shock of losing Nora. When Nora fell for Dick Haymes, Flynn was shaken and guilt-ridden. He had loved her passionately and fully realized the break-up was his fault. Journalist Charles Norcross wrote: "Errol looked like a beat character when he left Hollywood for London last spring; he looked exactly what he was: a man who had lost at love."
At the London stopover Flynn was required to fill out health and immigration credentials. When asked to list his occupation he wrote: "Sex." When asked to list his sex he wrote: "Occupation."
Back in Hollywood, Flynn resumed his role as prankster. He had read too many untrue and unflattering articles about himself and he was particularly tired of Hedda Hopper's claim that he had brought Princess Irene Ghika back to Hollywood with him. In fact, the princess was still in Europe. Flynn hired a prostitute who resembled the princess and had her outfitted and made-up to better look the part of European royalty. He took his imposter to the MGM lot and introduced her to Greer Garson and director Compton Bennett. Then he took the girl around town and made sure they were seen together. Flynn was delighted to see that both Hedda Hopper and Sheila Graham reported in their columns that Flynn was squiring Princess Irene Ghika in Hollywood.
By November the press was reporting their marriage plans. The princess, who was nineteen years old and recently divorced, delighted the press with her broken English. When Flynn flew to London to see her she presented him with three dozen cooked and embellished snails, one of Flynn's favorite dishes. Flynn told reporters: "You might say that the love of snails led us to love. We discovered a mutual devotion of snails. From then on it was a natural."
But Princess Irene Ghika was another in a long list of pleasant diversions for Flynn. He went to Paris with Melvin Belli who recalled Flynn's interest in the legal profession. "I spent about three months with him in Paris." Belli recalled. "We used to sit around in a bar inventing legal cases, usually murders. I would accuse Flynn and examine him, and then he would accuse me. We drew quite an audience."
Flynn was now adept at jumping onto an airliner and flying to Europe. He was planning on making _The Last Buccaneer_ in France. Flynn enjoyed the Parisian nightlife but when in Paris he also visited the Louvre. He found it relaxing to walk through the rooms and linger among the world's greatest paintings. It was during this trip to Paris that Belli staged a prank that angered Flynn. "It was a hell of a hot month in Paris, August or September," Belli said. "And one afternoon to escape the heat Flynn took off all his clothes, turned on the fan and lay down on his bed for a nap. He was sleeping pretty soundly when I left him and went downstairs to the hotel bar. A friend of mine named Al Blum was down there, and there were a whole lot of women, Frenchwomen and tourists. Al and I circulated among the women and sold tickets. About an hour later we had a line of about twenty women sightseers tip-toeing through the bedroom at five dollars apiece, but some silly Frenchwoman started to giggle and yell 'Fleen! Fleen!' and he woke up. I don't know why he got so sore."
Perhaps in some way Flynn had come full circle. The depth of his experiences encompassed the provincial lifestyle of Hobart, the prehistoric civilizations of New Guinea, the wanderlust of a sailor who had traveled far but still yearned for adventure, to the lifestyle of a Hollywood superstar adored by millions but who could not find contentment in a world on the threshold of the nuclear age.
His many friends were dedicated to him, but he was a lonely master of Mulholland Farm. Jim Fleming, friend and stand-in, pointed out something of the complexity in Flynn's personality: "Flynn's nature is most friendly and his manner is generally that of a 'hail fellow well met' sort. But sometimes when you meet him he may stare you right in the face and pass you by with no sign of recognition—just because he's so preoccupied he really hasn't seen you. This causes him no little embarrassment when brought to his attention, and has also sometimes earned him the reputation of being a 'high-hat.'"
He had a mocking air of diffidence, an aloofness of manner, and a natural charm that both thrilled and angered people. But for most, he was impossible to dislike and it was exceedingly easy to forgive his frailties. Janet Leigh would certainly never forget him. Long after he was gone, she spoke highly of him. "Errol was a charming, bright, delightful person to be around," she recalled. "He was a very good actor and had tremendous appeal. And he was a gentleman! Certainly to me! My boyfriend and I used to have dinner with him and he was so entertaining."
The entertainer, the showman, the writer—that was Flynn's artistic signature. His purpose was to create: to write novels, to act out heroic roles, to tell stories, to sail the seas, to explore the world, to fabricate a legend about himself that was filled with both truths and lies. Flynn was an outsider, a trickster, a jester, and a raconteur. As Joyce Carol Oates points out in one of her essays: "The artist is born damned, and struggles throughout his (or her) life to achieve an ever elusive redemption, by way of art; a sense of one's incompleteness or inadequacy fuels the instinct for ceaseless invention, as in an extension of the very self's perimeters."
Here was a man who could be deeply moved by a simple painting of a father and his child. Gazing upon Gauguin's South Seas paintings he could appreciate the lightning flashes in the sky above the rolling sea and the gentle simplicity of family life among the palm fronds; and he understood the creative effort it required to render such beauty into oil on canvas. As a writer he was diligent in maintaining a journal and recorded astute observations and philosophical musings—and the torments of his soul. He was an astute observer with a remarkable eye for detail. His children adored him because he had a great imagination, and he told them marvelous stories. He was a devoted and loving father. He was protective of his children and staged wonderful parties, and he filled their days with enthusiasm and happiness.
In the end, Flynn had remained true to his creed. "All my life I've fought fear," he wrote in his article "Refuse to be Afraid," "because I believe it is the only real menace to a man's hopes and peace of mind." Although "Refuse to be Afraid" is one of his shortest articles, it speaks volumes. "If we believe in individualism and self-respect we should fight fear and dare consequences. By refusing to surrender to fear we can prevent our minds from being made up for us in mass formation."
Flynn's creative efforts resulted in some effective non-heroic performances but almost always these were received with little interest by the public and critics. Although many reviewers reviled him for his roles in _Never Say Goodbye, Escape Me Never,_ and _Cry Wolf,_ there were still those who mentioned Flynn's effectiveness in these roles. These films simply couldn't compete with the overwhelming fluidity and charm of films like _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and _The Sea Hawk._ But nothing that Flynn did after World War II was without interest, and often he demonstrated bursts of brilliant acting, but his decline was perhaps too painfully apparent as he metamorphosed on screen into a coarser, darker version of himself.
"I truly liked him a lot," Janet Leigh said when summing up Flynn's tragic life. "I'm afraid his sense of adventure couldn't be harnessed."
## ☆ FIVE ☆
### The Wanderer, 1950–1959
By 1950 Flynn had become the topic of cocktail-hour conversation among the glittering café society, the starlets and the Hollywood hopefuls. He was admired by hammy cowboys and jailhouse beatniks, all of whom scrambled to be near him. When he was back in Hollywood, returning from some European adventure, they sought him out, rubbed elbows with him, tried to catch his eye. He lamented that he no longer enjoyed going out to restaurants because "the waitresses all expect me to pinch their ass." By the 1950s he was in decline, and famous for his reputation as a libertine, a fact that disturbed him greatly.
The cultural changes stemming from World War II were indicative of a cautious, almost paranoid national mentality. The regimented suburban lifestyle became the embodiment of the American Dream. But this was a dream tainted with visions of a terrible atomic holocaust. The specter of The Bomb was omnipresent. Schools routinely conducted air-raid drills, and bomb shelters became a symbol of both suburban affluence and national paranoia. The Korean War and Senator Joseph McCarthy's campaign against suspected radicals instilled in many a sense of uncertainty, a feeling that perhaps our world was not as orderly as it once seemed. The Cold War had begun in earnest.
Movie audiences had changed. When Flynn began his career, audiences still reeling from the Depression years were content to put aside their troubles while watching _Captain Blood_. After World War II these same audiences cast a wary, cynical eye on Hollywood celebrities. They no longer believed in fairy tales. Hollywood was changing too. The old studio system was failing as independent productions proliferated.
An ever-growing number of hopeful thespians thronged to the studio gates in the post-war malaise that spawned McCarthyism. A new pantheon of stars had risen to thrill moviegoers. This was a tougher and meaner breed espousing the virtues of "Method" acting and who exhibited its passion for a devout and growing media. The matinee idols of the thirties and forties had been replaced by Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis. Perhaps all that remained constant was the never-ending supply of shapely girls turned actress. Flynn made an impact on this group, particularly Burt Lancaster whom he befriended, and Tony Curtis who admired him.
Flynn's age and hard living could no longer be hidden by make-up and lush Technicolor photography. The bags under his eyes were becoming more noticeable as the vodka was working its way through his remarkably resilient system. The wear and tear was evident: a slight puffiness in the jowls, a paunch around the middle. The charm was still there, more weary now, but irresistible, like familiar cologne.
He made a whirlwind tour of Europe with stops in London, Venice, Rome, Paris, and Barcelona. The representatives of the press were sometimes frenzied in their effort to file stories about him. At a stopover in Newfoundland, Flynn was booed by passengers on the airliner because they felt he was taking advantage of his celebrity status to elicit favors from the airline attendants. The paparazzi followed him into a Paris nightclub where he was photographed with a model named Annabelle Schwab de Lure. Flynn protested the intrusion and asked the photographer not to take any pictures. When the photographer snapped a photo anyway, Flynn lunged at him. A scuffle ensued but no charges were filed. He toured the French Riviera, took a gondola ride in Venice, always taking time to visit art museums when the opportunity presented itself. He was extremely popular in Europe where his films were always profitable.
But Flynn's career was experiencing a partial eclipse. His name on a marquee or colorful poster was no longer a guarantee of box office success in the United States. He began the decade with two Westerns, _Montana_ and _Rocky Mountain,_ and although there are fine moments in both films, they failed to capture large audiences.
_Montana_ was his last Technicolor Western and his last appearance with Alexis Smith. Directed by Ray Enright, a former gag writer and director of the silent Rin Tin Tin movies, the script was based on an original story by Ernest Haycock, the author responsible for the story that became _Stagecoach_ starring John Wayne. Borden Chase, who also penned the screenplay for _Red River_ , contributed to the screenplay by James R. Webb (who scripted some of the Roy Rogers films) and Charles O'Neal. All of this talent working on one film was routine business at Warner Bros., but unfortunately _Montana_ is not in the same league with _Stagecoach_ or _Red River_.
Flynn did not want to make _Montana._ His participation was due to his willingness to fulfill the obligations of his contract and because he needed the money. Flynn said later that he didn't want to be a "rich man's Roy Rogers" and he may have walked through this role in a partial alcoholic stupor. The final scene, where Flynn was too drunk to get to his feet, elicited Jack Warner's now infamous recollection: "Errol was so crocked during the last scene that he insisted on playing it flat on his back. He refused to kiss Alexis—and you can bet she was kissable—and I could not make him back down." The scene was re-shot, but in the final cut Flynn is still on the ground. They never got that romantic finale just right because Flynn was too drunk to carry on.
_Montana_ was put on the fast track as a standard Flynn vehicle with its typical glossy production. Filmed in Technicolor on Warner's 2,600-acre ranch in Calabasas, twenty-six miles from the Burbank studio, Warners imported several hundred sheep from neighboring counties to give the illusion needed for a story about the sheep and cattle range wars of the 1870s. The film is noticeably romantic, both in its depiction of the West and in its stock characterizations. But the finale works as it should: an example of assembly line filmmaking by a cast and crew who knew exactly what to do.
**Errol Flynn in** _**Montana**_ **(1950).**
**
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By comparison, _Montana_ is better than _Silver River_ , and enjoys popularity among Flynn's fans. Burt Kennedy, who saw the film upon its release, told me: "Nobody else liked it, but I did." Kennedy knew what elements made for an effective Western and perhaps he should be allowed the final word. He went on to write the screenplay for Randolph Scott's best film, _Seven Men From Now_ (1956), and directed _Return of the Seven_ (1966) _, The War Wagon_ (1967), _Support Your Local Sheriff_ (1969) and its sequel, _Support Your Local Gunfighter_ (1971).
_Rocky Mountain_ followed in November. Directed by Flynn's old friend, William Keighley, but shot in black and white to save money, _Rocky Mountain_ was Flynn's last feature-length Western. Filmed on location near Gallup, New Mexico, the film starred Flynn with a pretty blonde named Patrice Wymore, making her second appearance in a movie. Flynn took to Wymore immediately. Princess Irene Ghika was quickly forgotten, although the princess hadn't forgotten about Flynn. She heard about Flynn's on-the-set romance with Wymore from the press.
The princess was outraged and considered taking Flynn to court. She accused him of mental cruelty. The lawsuit never materialized. She finally issued a statement, delivered to the press by her mother, explaining that she was delighted Mr. Flynn had broken the engagement.
The cast of _Rocky Mountain_ included Guinn Williams, Scott Forbes, Slim Pickens, and Sheb Wooley. The mood during production wasn't much different from that of other recent Flynn pictures. Joviality and drinks were the catchwords of the day. One memorable afternoon, Keighley had Flynn and Wooley sitting on their horses. The two men had been drinking and when Keighley yelled "Action!" the horses thundered out from under the actors, leaving the two laughing hysterically in the dust.
Sheb Wooley recalled well the long days drinking with Flynn: "The first picture I made was called _Rocky Mountain_ with Errol Flynn. We were down in New Mexico on location and Flynn said 'I know you're new at this and I've been around about fifteen years, so if you want to ask me anything or run lines or whatever, we'll work on it at night if you want.' But I never could catch the time when we were both sober enough to work on it. We were out on location on the Indian Reservation and there was a favorite watering hole on the way where they sold a lot of beer and we'd stop and get tanked up and then forget about the rehearsals."
Wooley was an original Westerner, like Guinn Williams, whom Wooley has referred to as "a good ole boy." Born in Erick, Oklahoma, in 1921, Wooley was raised on a ranch. Guinn Williams was a star in the serials when Wooley was younger. Wooley always loved movies and favored the films of Tom Mix. "I was a front row kid from the start," he said. He started in Hollywood while simultaneously trying to break into the country music business. Working with Flynn on _Rocky Mountain_ would begin Wooley's long and varied career. "Flynn and I looked a lot alike, although I didn't realize it then," he says. "I was sitting in the bar one night about eleven o'clock and this lady walked up to me and said, 'Mr. Flynn, I never liked you until I read your book,' and I said (imitating Flynn) 'Well, thanks my dear.' So we talked awhile, and I'll bet to this day she still thinks she spent the night with Errol Flynn!"
Telling the story almost half a century later, Wooley's infectious laughter gives an indication of the prevailing sense of enjoyment he experienced on the set. Ultimately, _Rocky Mountain_ turned out to be a rather solid Western. Flynn played a Confederate officer named Lafe Barstow traveling through California with a small band of men hoping to recruit outlaws to form an alliance that will help the Confederacy control the West. Barstow and his men save a woman on a stagecoach (Patrice Wymore) from an Indian attack and later capture a Union patrol commanded by the woman's fiancé. In a chivalrous act, the Confederates under Barstow's command divert an Indian attack in order to save the woman and her fiancé. Barstow and his men are killed in a final battle that is reminiscent of Custer's defeat in _They Died with Their Boots On_. Flynn played Barstow in a straightforward manner and Wymore is effective in her limited role.
**Sheb Wooley (on horseback), Guinn Williams, Flynn, Slim Pickens, Patrice Wymore, Dick Jones and Rush Williams in** _**Rocky Mountain**_ **(1950).**
In the autumn of 1950, Flynn consented to serve as Master of Ceremonies for a charity event that would later be described as the "Friar's Club Frolic." Sean accompanied his father. Flynn was seeing much more of Sean now that he was older and they apparently enjoyed every moment they shared. The event was held at the Shrine Auditorium. Flynn hosted a series of slapstick comedy routines featuring Burt Lancaster, Broderick Crawford, Robert Mitchum, Van Johnson, Harpo Marx, Betty Hutton, George Jessel (whom Flynn hated), and Ed Wynn. Flynn sang a duet with Hutton who appeared dressed as Annie Oakley to help promote her film, _Annie Get Your Gun_. Burt Lancaster appeared in a skit dressed as a woman along with Broderick Crawford and Robert Mitchum. The sight of three obviously macho stars dressed as women was reportedly quite funny. Unfortunately, years later the photos of these men wearing women's clothing would appear in various mainstream and underground publications and helped foster the mistaken impression that they were secretly homosexual.
Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore were wed October 23, 1950, in the French Lutheran Church of the Transfiguration in Nice, France. Of Flynn's three marriages, this was the only one where arrangements were made in advance. Both Flynn and Patrice wanted a traditional wedding and Flynn made a point of telling people that he was content to honor Patrice's request for a church wedding. He was happy. He had found a woman who truly cared for him and he felt capable of getting on with his career. He was eager to try his hand again at producing and possibly directing. Since religious marriage ceremonies aren't legal in France unless accompanied by a civil ceremony, they accepted the invitation of Flynn's friend Prince Rainier of Monaco to be married in a civil ceremony in Monte Carlo.
Mobs lined the street outside the Church of the Transfiguration and cheered loudly when they spotted Patrice. With the church ceremony and civil ceremony soon completed, the couple held a reception at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. The Associated Press stated that newsmen from international media organizations outnumbered the guests.
While reports vary as to the timing of the crucial moment, it was sometime after the ceremony but probably before the celebration moved to the _Zaca_ that Flynn was presented with a summons from a local official. He was again being accused of rape and scheduled to appear before a magistrate. Initially, Flynn thought the summons was a joke. Flynn spoke French but wasn't proficient enough in the language to translate the document. His friends went about the task of clarifying what was happening. Flynn attempted to laugh it off but it was soon painfully clear to everyone present this was no ill-timed jest.
Sixteen-year-old Danielle Duvivier (some reports list her surname as "Dervin") charged that Flynn raped her in the shower aboard the _Zaca_ a year earlier. The allegation was met with a mixture of shock and incredulity. This was Flynn's wedding day and bringing such a charge at this time was an outrage. Flynn was infuriated.
On the first of November he appeared before a Monte Carlo civil judge to face the charge. Duvivier alleged that Flynn had been attracted to her the previous year when he noticed her on the beach in an attractive bathing suit and invited her aboard his yacht. Other reports state she was swimming near the _Zaca_ when Flynn noticed her in the water and invited her aboard. She claimed that he followed her into the shower and she attempted to resist his advances by clawing at him. Flynn offered the only logical response given the circumstances. He said the allegation was "Simple blackmail."
The primary evidence that the two knew each other was a photograph of them together on a boat. In the photo Duvivier is lying across Flynn's lap and plucking at one of her fingernails while looking up into his face. Flynn is obviously holding her in his arms. Duvivier was pretty although much later Flynn enjoyed saying that she had hairy legs and that hairy legs were repugnant to him. He insisted, as he did in his 1943 trial, that he had better taste in women than he was being given credit for. This was greeted with skepticism by the press.
Although he was quick to defend himself, his humorous quips to the press worked against him. By now he was rarely taken seriously. Flynn examined the photograph carefully and said it was taken aboard a friend's yacht. It had been a party with many young women in attendance, most of whom desired to have their photo taken with the man who had played Don Juan. A succession of girls had posed with Flynn that day. Flynn's story was probably true, but few believed him. Fortunately for Flynn, Duvivier's story fell apart when she was pressed for details. She could not describe the interior of the _Zaca_ satisfactorily and officials also determined that _Zaca's_ shower was too small for sexual relations to have occurred. Duvivier also claimed that Flynn had pressed an electric button and the shower door automatically swung shut, locking the two in the shower. No such electric button or gimmicked door existed on the _Zaca_ , although Flynn admitted he liked the idea. The charge of rape was dismissed in November and the magistrate expressed the opinion that Duvivier was attempting to capitalize on a casual relationship with Flynn.
**Errol Flynn at his Mulholland Farm in the early 1950s with his daughters Deirdre and Rory and his son Sean. He loved his children and staged wonderful parties for them.**
After an extended stay in Europe, Flynn returned to Mulholland Farm with his new wife. With Pat Wymore taking over the daily routine, Marge Eddington reluctantly gave up her residence at Mulholland. She had stayed almost three years to help Flynn raise his children. Where both Flynn and Nora had failed as parents, Marge Eddington excelled. She was by all accounts a splendid surrogate parent, clearly infatuated with Flynn and deeply disappointed that her daughter and Errol had not managed to reconcile their differences. Marge had seen Flynn up close and personal and in a magazine article she offered this assessment at the end of their familial relationship: "Errol has so many facets to his personality that each person who has met him is inclined to believe that he, and he alone, knows what manner of man Errol Flynn really is. And in all honesty, each one believes he tells the truth. Errol is complex. His interests are myriad and paradoxical."
Flynn signed up for another USO tour, this time for the troops in South Korea. At the Honolulu Airport, he put on an impromptu show with Jack Benny. Benny began a caterwauling routine with his violin, forcing Flynn to cover his ears. They repeated the gag in Tokyo, and finally for the thousands of troops stationed in Korea. Flynn performed a series of routines with other performers, similar to the self-deprecating comedy skits he performed during his first USO tour. The result was the same—the GIs loved him.
The desire to travel and to experience new parts of the world was a factor in Flynn's choosing _Kim_ as his second feature on loan for MGM. He reportedly considered taking the lead in _King Solomon's Mines_ (which eventually starred Stewart Granger) but chose _Kim_ because he wanted to visit India. Wanderlust was always a motivating factor in his life and so he traveled to India for principal photography. Flynn flew to Bombay after a command performance for the king and queen in London. His arrival was given full coverage by the Indian press. Flynn was sought after for social visits with various dignitaries, including a stay at a maharaja's palace where he was presented with a sumptuous feast. The dinner included curried fish and chicken. Flynn later happily reported to the press: "After awhile everything began to taste like curry, even the toothpaste!"
Flynn had this to say about his visit with the maharaja: "I found the maharaja exceptionally kind. He was a brilliant man who writes poetry in Hindu and composes excellent music. One of the last of the absolute rulers, he still has a big domain, though to him four palaces seem a mere few. Once we began talking I found the maharaja so charming that our allotted ten minutes had stretched to an hour and a half!"
Shortly, Flynn was on another whirlwind tour. He witnessed an elephant _khedda_ , a round-up of several dozen wild elephants, and observed panthers and crocodiles on an expedition riding a royal elephant. From Mysore he went to Bundi where he delighted in meeting the maharaja's children, Peter and Kitten. He visited the Taj Mahal, which he described as "the most emotional experience I've ever had—seeing the Taj Mahal under a full moon. It was deeply quiet, and there rose this great monument of white marble, the most beautiful edifice symbolic of man's love for woman."
**Errol Flynn in** _**Kim**_ **(1951)**
Location footage was shot in and around Bundi, some of which apparently was never used. Most of Flynn's footage would be filmed on a soundstage at the MGM lot. Based on the novel by Rudyard Kipling, Flynn's role as Mahbub Ali, "the red beard," is the most unusual of his career. Flynn was given top billing but Mahbub Ali is a supporting role. The film's star is thirteen-year-old Dean Stockwell who performed all of his scenes in California. _Kim_ is a minor film, shot in Technicolor and featuring the notable supporting cast of Paul Lukas and Robert Douglas. Flynn shaved his head and grew a goatee for the film. His costumes included silk jackets and a turban, all of which added to his imposing appearance. Altering his carefully cultivated image was risky and it's a shame _Kim_ doesn't allow him more room to demonstrate his acting ability. Mahbub Ali comes off as a caricature of Don Juan, leaping from balconies and surviving the stretches of dialogue with a bemused, Barrymoresque tilt of the eyebrow.
MGM followed the example set by Warner Bros. and capitalized on Flynn's reputation as a womanizer to sell tickets. Their 1951 magazine advertisements announced:
> ROMANCE! ADVENTURE! EXCITEMENT! SPECTACLE!
> Harem beauties tempt a bold adventurer!
At 113 minutes, _Kim_ is a dull film although all of the performers, particularly Stockwell and Flynn, are quite good.
Returning to Hollywood, he joined in a partnership with actor-turned-producer William Marshall, one of his co-stars from _Santa Fe Trail_. Marshall and Flynn made a film titled _Hello God_ with pointedly pacifistic sentiments. Flynn played a soldier who relates the story of four young men killed at Anzio who are about to enter Heaven. Flynn may have agreed with the pacifistic statements in _Hello God_ but he quickly had second thoughts about the film's quality and arranged to have the original print and negatives secured for him by a friend named Charles Gross. Marshall was reportedly infuriated by what he viewed as a double-cross by Flynn and harbored a grudge for the rest of his life. Marshall sued Flynn and Flynn counter-sued and the litigation dragged on for years. Marshall reconstructed _Hello God_ using outtakes and unused footage shot in Santa Barbara and at locations in Hollywood. There are reports the film was shown occasionally in Europe but it has never surfaced in the United States. Flynn had the negative and original print destroyed so Marshall's reconstructed version is all that remains.
To date, various high-profile collectors have searched for material from _Hello God_ to no avail. Neither footage nor production stills have ever been located although everyone agrees they must surely exist. It remains a confounding element in Flynn's career. If the footage is ever located, a practical analysis of _Hello God_ can settle the rumors regarding the film's quality.
The controversy over _Hello God_ was underway while Flynn was in France working again in collaboration with Marshall for Republic Pictures. Flynn had written a script based on the novel _The Fabulous Ann Madlock_ by Robert Shannon and called it first _The Last Buccaneer,_ then _Bloodline, The Towers of New Orleans,_ and _The Bargain_ before settling on _The Adventures of Captain Fabian_. Deciding on an effective title for the film was as arduous as his choices for his last book. Originally, he announced the film as a debut vehicle for Princess Irene Ghika. By the time filming began, Patrice Wymore was involved in another film and so Flynn and Marshall called upon their friends Vincent Price, Victor Franchen and Agnes Moorehead to play key roles.
_The Adventures of Captain Fabian_ is the least interesting of Flynn's swashbucklers. It is properly considered a bad film although in all fairness there are a few appealing elements. The film is un-ambitious and is more of a Vincent Price thriller than an Errol Flynn action film. In fact, the subplot involving Price committing murder and burying the corpse in a garden lends an eerie tone to the proceedings. The spooky musical accompaniment by René Clorec gives the film a distinctly _noir_ feel. Micheline Prelle, who married Marshall, is bright and flirtatious as Flynn's love interest, but even with these positive qualities the film is dull. Judging from _The Adventures of Captain Fabian,_ Marshall was lacking skill as a director and Flynn's writing skill didn't extend to screenplays. The script is ponderous and the direction flat, and outside of Micheline Prelle's obvious sex appeal, the best aspect of the film was the gaudy circus-style one sheet (27 x 41) poster which is now prized by collectors.
Flynn's brief business partnership with William Marshall fell apart with _The Adventures of Captain Fabian_ , which was fortuitous for Flynn, but his problems were far from over. Another business associate, Charles Gross, filed a legal action claiming he had worked on the script and was due money. Vincent Price also filed a suit against Flynn claiming he hadn't been paid. _The Adventures of Captain Fabian_ was an unmitigated disaster in every sense.
With the justifiably negative response to _The Adventures of Captain Fabian_ , Flynn had reached a turning point. Bad films like this sent a message in Hollywood, one that was heeded by producers and studio heads across town. Flynn had been in too many failed melodramas, and unprofitable ventures like _The Adventures of Captain Fabian_ made it clear the former glamour boy of the Golden Age was increasingly less bankable.
Flynn was familiar with the story of Pompeii and his writer's mind could easily imagine the details of that hot August day in 79 A.D. when Mount Vesuvius erupted sending a burst of hot stones hailing down onto the city. In seconds, the sky had been transformed into a belching wall of acrid, stifling smoke and ash. The scorching ash piled up quickly, choking and blinding the thousands of residents. Before long it had reached a level where it blocked doorways. The townspeople huddled in their homes, hoping the terror would pass. Soon the city was covered with the blistering ash. Some attempted to flee the city, hoping to escape to the nearby sea. Many succeeded in escaping, but at least two thousand people died that day. Most died in their homes, or in courtyards and hallways. Then the rains came, turning the ash into mud creating molds that encased the bodies where they had fallen.
In 1748 the German archaeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann began the first excavations. He set a team to work cutting away the centuries-old heaps of ash and cinder. In the mid–1800s, Giuseppe Fiorelli created a method of using liquid plaster to preserve the body molds. These are the bodies Flynn examined in the museum near Porta Marina, one of the gates of the city. We don't know how many times Flynn visited Pompeii, but his diary indicates he had visited the ruins several times. It was an easy drive south from Naples along the central Italian coastline to the volcano Mount Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii on the eastern shore of a bay that adjoins the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Flynn studied the bodies and wrote about the Pompeiians in his diary. They fascinated him. He studied the faces preserved by Fiorelli's plaster, beige ghosts of humans and animals alike, molded to their dying forms. He walked the avenues of Pompeii, captivated with thoughts about the daily life of the Pompeiians. He would wait, perhaps staying in the columned shadows of the Sanctuary of the Lares or amongst the cypress trees near the Arch of Tiberius. At six o'clock, the gates would be closed for the evening but Flynn would linger, palming a few lira notes into a grateful guard's hand in order to ensure his privacy. There were many more places for him to visit—all empty now, but in the fading light a remarkable sense of history would overcome Flynn and he felt the presence of those lost Pompeiians.
He had Pompeii to himself. The brothel, the bakery, the forum, the baths, and the house of Caecilius Jucundus were all to be explored. And the Amphitheater where twenty thousand spectators watched gladiators engage in fierce combat, or even the _venatio,_ where the gladiators fought the lions. From his vantage point near the Odeon and gladiator's barracks, Flynn could see the Lattari Mountains. This is a spacious area where all those years ago the spectators could rest in the shade of the plane trees. From here it was a short walk to the remains of the Temple of Isis. Flynn was well acquainted with the images found here. Pompeii's glorious art was his for the few moments left before the light faded completely. Venus Marina on her shell and surrounded by cupids, her nakedness an enticement even in the crumbling fresco of a dead city. In the house of Vettii all who step into the entranceway are greeted by a male god bearing an enormous erection that is held aloft by the strings of a scale. The walls of the city are alive with erotic and mythological symbolism. The god Mars, dressed in a warrior's uniform and feathered helmet, strokes the breast of Venus whose flowing tunic has parted for his searching hand. The gods frolicked happily in Pompeii. Perseus and Andromeda, Apollo and Daphne, Dionysos and Ariadne all loved again in colorful paintings. Hylas is overwhelmed again by nymphs. In the back kitchen of the Vettii house, perhaps the best known because of its sexually explicit scenes, a young man makes love to his female servant on a pillow and mattress decorated with bold red stripes.
Flynn stood here in Pompeii at sunset in early January 1952 and soon after recorded his impressions in his diary. A misty rain filled the gutters of the ancient chariot ruts and Flynn sought cover in the sanctuary of Corinthian pillars topped by a colonnade and decorative pediments. Flynn wrote that he loved Pompeii best at sunset when the shades gathered. He could imagine the twinkling of the oil lights as people made their way home after a day of hard labor, some perhaps wandering toward the many houses where pleasure could be found. Pompeii, Flynn wrote, was on its way to becoming a resort town when disaster struck. Regardless of the ghostly silence that he felt brooding over the city like a tangible thing, he was aware of the life that had suddenly ceased here two thousand years earlier. It was as if those lives were holding their breath and might begin breathing again at any moment. But rather than being filled with peace, Flynn was besieged by a sense of urgency. He recorded in his diary the desire to see more and feel more. He briefly paused and sat on the stone blocks near the gladiators' barracks and imagined himself as a small boy watching breathlessly as one of his gladiator heroes prepared to battle for his life. But overtaken by a sense of urgency, Flynn wondered if he had lost the capacity for dreaming because of the pressures of his chaotic existence. He felt that modern life was destructive to an individual's imagination. Groping his way down some stone steps near the baths Flynn wished then that he had lived with the Pompeiians. Again, he imagined himself among them, relaxing in a steamy bath house where the hypocritical premise of modern respectability could not deny him the pleasure of making love to a woman.
Eventually, he made his way to the museum which reminded him of a windowless subway filled with long glass cases and where the Pompeiians, preserved by Fiorelli's plaster, lay on display, contorted in their death agonies. Flynn took out his cigarette lighter and in the eerie flicker looked inside the glass cases and saw a dog. Flynn's diary contains his impression: "A large dog, this one, lean and whipcorded and you'd guess with short bristly hair, powerfully built, too, yet with long sinewy legs that could carry him swiftly on the chase. But it was his head, like a cheetah, that fascinated me. It was wide, much too wide and big for his body. In death the lips were drawn back in a snarl as if even in his last suffocating agonies he defied the unknown enemy that was killing him. The timing did him wrong except—poor guy—he might have escaped but that he had been chained up. The chain and collar were still on and I will never forget the wild stare in his fierce eyes, the savage bewilderment at this choking death."
Pompeii was just the type of place, lonely and beautiful in its solitude, which Flynn found appealing. His travels around the globe had put him in contact with sights that most could only dream of, all in his search for experience. Pompeii was a kind of sanctuary to keep him safe from the false premises he felt invaded and polluted modern thinking. True to his own philosophy, he went about the business of seeking new experiences. And so it is that we find him here after dark, in a long dead city, musing on the life of a dog lost in a volcanic eruption.
This is a moment worth pausing over because it illuminates a profound and heretofore little known aspect of Flynn's life. He was isolated and vulnerable, given to intense evaluation of philosophical matters. In the public eye Flynn had become a figure to be ridiculed and lampooned. He went along with this image of himself but he was ultimately deeply hurt and disappointed by the outcome. It is unfair to view him entirely by the parameters of the FBI file whose characterization excludes his loyalty to his friends, his compassion for humanity, and his search for spiritual significance.
There is every indication that Flynn felt a sense of loneliness in Italy, no matter that Patrice Wymore was with him. She could never be his savior. He told reporters that she was too good for him. As for Pat Wymore, every published account of her mentions her devotion, patience, and good will. She took care of Flynn where others had failed.
Returning to Hollywood, he continued arguing with Jack Warner over the types of roles he was given. His next film was a melodrama, shot in black and white to save the studio money. His co-star was the vivacious Ruth Roman, a talented actress known as much for her capacity to fill a sweater as for her acting ability, both of which were considerable. The film, _Mara Maru_ , featured a modern setting, a change of pace welcomed by the actor. The cast was rounded out by Raymond Burr and Paul Picerni. Burr played an unscrupulous character who attempts to coerce Flynn into helping him retrieve a cross laden with diamonds from the sunken wreckage of a PT boat in the China Sea. At a time when World War II was still fresh in the memories of the movie-going public, _Mara Maru_ was typical of films dealing with some type of unfinished business relating to the war. The diamond cross is a metaphor for the innocence and religious purity that was lost during the conflict. While the theme is evident enough, its impact is blunted by extended scenes filled with dull dialogue. Flynn's character, Gregory Mason, is torn by greed but his redemption as he returns the diamond cross to its place in a church is clichéd.
Flynn was effective in those scenes where he was able to demonstrate emotion, particularly when he is spurred by greed. He easily demonstrates a sense of desperation and anxiety required by the action. Like _Cry Wolf_ before it, _Mara Maru_ doesn't make the grade as effective _film noir_ , but like _Cry Wolf_ it works well enough as a post-war melodrama. But Hollywood was already churning out numerous tedious melodramas set in a post-war society still grappling with the ramifications of atomic power. The generally dreary tone of the film made it filler material for late night television in a few short years.
Paul Picerni never forgot working with Flynn on _Mara Maru_ :
> Errol Flynn is perhaps my favorite actor of all time, particularly of the actors I've worked with. And I'll give you an example of why: we were on the set one day doing a picture called _Mara Maru._ Gordon Douglas was the director. Anyhow, Errol and I were sitting outside the soundstage between takes and the messenger boy from the front office comes down and hands Errol an inter-office message. He looks at it, he smirks, and he hands it to me and says, "Take a look at this, Dago!" Well, at that time Errol's wife, Patrice Wymore, was in the islands, in Jamaica some place expecting a baby, so every day Errol would call her from the set on the studio phones. So I read the message and it said, "Dear Errol, it's been brought to my attention that your phone bill has exceeded five thousand dollars. Please take care of this as soon as possible, signed, Jack Warner." Errol flipped it over and he wrote on the back, "Dear Jack, I'm willing to forget about this if you are, love, Errol." And he says to the messenger, "Take this back to Mr. Warner." That was Errol for you
The year 1952 marked the tenth anniversary of the rape allegations and the intervening years had seen him transformed in the public eye from hero to profligate, an image he helped bolster with his escapades. He had become a comedic figure and his name was now linked forever to the image of a saloon warrior, a braggart, a brawler, a free-wheeling Casanova.
His friendship with Lou Costello resulted in one brief turn at television comedy. He did not often get the opportunity to display his comedic talents outside of saloons, but he certainly would have preferred becoming known as a skilled comedian rather than as the target for unsavory comics. It was a moment that illuminated his undeveloped potential; a moment that was quickly forgotten and lost among the aging kinescopes heaped like yesterday's newspapers in the storage bins of a soon-to-flourish industry.
_The Colgate Comedy Hour_ was devised by NBC as a showcase for the rotating talents of Bob Hope, Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, Jimmy Durante, Fred Allen, and Eddie Cantor. The Abbott and Costello segments (along with the Martin and Lewis segments) earned a reputation for originality. Loaded with physical comedy, puns, and sprightly musical interludes, this was an affectionate showcase for Abbott and Costello's skits and gags. The program was telecast live from the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. Abbott and Costello invited Flynn to join them with Rhonda Fleming and Bruce Cabot for the January 13, 1952, telecast.
Performing before a live audience, Flynn appeared in a Western skit wearing an oversized Stetson. Abbott and Costello encounter him with his head bowed sitting on a log. They ask him for directions to the B-Bar Boop Ranch and when he raised his face the audience recognized him and broke into thunderous applause. In what is clearly an impromptu moment, Flynn says to Lou Costello, "Pardon me, Mr. Costello, my public!" Flynn doffs his hat, striding forward and taking a bow for the cheering audience. Not to be upstaged by his flamboyant friend, Lou Costello wriggles in front of Flynn and takes a bow himself. When the applause faded they returned to their places and Flynn said, "Mr. Costello, shall we continue with the bit?!" and they picked up the skit where they left off.
**Errol Flynn with Ruth Roman in the post-war melodrama** _**Mara Maru**_ **(1952).**
**Errol Flynn dueling with Anthony Quinn in _ **Against All Flags**_ (1952).**
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Flynn proceeds to spin a tall tale about meeting a girl in college and falling in love with her only to have her run away with another man. Angered at finding himself jilted, he tells of tracking them down at Niagara Falls. Apparently, the encounter so devastated him that he cannot hear the words "Niagara Falls" without plunging into a violent fit. Naturally, Lou Costello utters the dreadful words thus causing Flynn to knock him silly.
This sequence is a variation on a vaudeville routine and is marred here by what appear to be gaffes by Flynn and Costello. There are pauses where one and subsequently the other appears to forget his lines. The interplay between Flynn and Costello is ripe with possibility but never realizes its full potential. Flynn is particularly jocular at the skit's conclusion.
The following segment has Bud and Lou working at the B-Bar Boop Ranch with Rhonda Fleming who opens the scene admiring an autographed photo of Errol Flynn. After the skit with Fleming and a skit with Bruce Cabot and several musical interludes (all continuing the Western theme), Flynn appears again as a Mexican bandit named "Black Pedro."
Lou Costello has inexplicably been promoted to sheriff and Bud Abbott goads him into confronting Black Pedro who has just shot one of Rhonda Fleming's paramours. During their confrontation, which includes a silly exchange about gumballs, Flynn's false bushy Mexican mustache droops and eventually falls off, much to Lou Costello's amusement. The conclusion again has Flynn tipping his hat, but the strap catches his chin and he exits the show with the hat hanging sideways from his head.
There is a certain charm to this hilarious display of missed cues and forgotten lines that can only be found in the surviving kinescopes from America's golden years of live television. Abbott and Costello were charismatic and their brief partnership with Flynn leaves one wishing for a feature-length collaboration that might have renewed interest in their careers. As it turned out, the early 1950s marked the decline for Abbott and Costello and their Tasmanian friend.
Flynn needed a film that cast him in the heroic mold that made him famous. He never liked the idea that people viewed him as heroic, but that image is what brought him paychecks and provided him with the means to make a living. It was obvious to him that these were the roles that were his bread and butter. After the legal problems he encountered with _Hello God_ and _The Adventures of Captain Fabian_ he welcomed a traditional swashbuckler. He signed on with Universal Studios to film _Against All Flags_ with Maureen O'Hara and Anthony Quinn.
Flynn had known O'Hara since her arrival in Hollywood in the late 1930s and she was a good choice for a co-star. O'Hara had starred in successful films with Hollywood's prominent leading men: _The Black Swan_ (1942) with Tyrone Power, _Sinbad the Sailor_ (1947) with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., _Rio Grande_ (1950) with John Wayne, and _At Sword's Point_ (1952) with Cornel Wilde.
Flynn played a naval officer named Brian Hawke who infiltrates a band of pirates in Madagascar under the leadership of Roc Brasiliano (Quinn) and Spitfire Stevens (O'Hara). Director George Sherman had worked on dozens of Westerns, notably with Gene Autry and later with John Wayne during his stint on The Three Mesquiteers series in the thirties. _Against All Flags_ can legitimately be viewed as a Western at sea. The characters are well worn caricatures of their screen personalities with O'Hara making a good show with her fiery Irish temper complete with flashing eyes and scornful looks. Flynn is capable as the heroic swordsman, dashing about and generally offering up his brand name charm. There are the requisite sea battles, duels, pirate orgies and escapades with harem beauties to satisfy fans of Flynn's classic adventure films.
_Against All Flags_ targeted an adolescent audience and is better than it should have been while still paling in comparison to films such as _The Adventures of Robin Hood._ O'Hara has noted in interviews that Flynn enjoyed his vodka and was usually too intoxicated to continue working by late afternoon. But he presented a sincere approach to the film and participated in the fencing sequences as best as his deteriorating health would allow. He was doubled extensively during the fencing scenes and broke his ankle during a routine on the ship's deck.
In early June 1952, the headless body of a woman was discovered in a cave on the rustic seashore of Anchovy, just south of Port Antonio. Rumors began circulating that Professor Theodore Flynn had arranged for the woman's murder in order to secure her head for medical experimentation. Eventually, Jamaican police determined that the body was that of a 37-year-old woman who had recently worked as a laundress at the Titchfield Hotel. The murderer was eventually caught and brought to justice. But Flynn's tarnished reputation made him and his family suspects in any crime or seemingly perverse activity.
Flynn and his father were well known in Jamaica, and they enjoyed the privilege that comes with fame and money. There is no doubt that Jamaicans treated Flynn and his family with diplomacy and tact. But there has always been an undercurrent of animosity in certain quarters of Jamaica, an animosity reserved for white people who reveled in their faux aristocratic superiority. Although they seldom voiced their opinion publicly, many Jamaicans considered celebrities like Flynn as nothing more than pompous Colonialists. That some Jamaicans would think little of the Flynns is not surprising. It probably never occurred to them that they were not entirely welcome in Jamaica. Certainly, Patrice Wymore, who still lives in Jamaica, has critics who feel this "blasted white woman" should have moved on when Flynn died some forty years ago.
On the other hand, Flynn did more to promote tourism for Jamaica than any other man in history. Even today, his name appears in every major Jamaican guide-book. Stories about Flynn abound in Jamaica. There is the afternoon Flynn drove a Cadillac into a large swimming pool and emerged from the sinking vehicle with his cigarette holder still clamped between his teeth; on another afternoon he procured a crocodile and took it with him to the town of Montego Bay and let the crocodile loose among the noontime shoppers. And always there are stories of his love affairs. Flynn was well known in Jamaica for his sexual appetite and his preference for young girls was notorious. Occasionally, he might dally with an older woman, but an older woman for Flynn was someone in her twenties or thirties. There are more than a few males named "Errol" in Jamaica today, whether as a tribute to the rakish Tasmanian or for hereditary reasons one cannot say. But over the years the tales of Flynn's bastard children has persisted and grown into a cult. Remarkably, there is no substantiated evidence that Flynn sired any others than Sean, Deirdre, Rory, and Arnella. With Rory and Deirdre alive to confirm lineage if they requested DNA confirmation, it appears probable that Flynn's illegitimate brood is the stuff of legend.
Flynn's paychecks were being depleted by his extravagant living as well as by the demands imposed by Lili Damita's divorce settlement. Flynn was aware that television was becoming increasingly lucrative. For some fast cash, he appeared on _The Toast of the Town_ on May 18, 1952. As was his custom, he made certain he was surrounded with friends. He appeared in a private eye sketch with Paulette Goddard, a friend from his earliest days in Hollywood. Also appearing on the show were Dorothy Dandridge and Sam Snead. Dandridge sang "Do What You Wanna Do" and "Just One of Those Things."
Flynn's next adventure was typical. Flynn had encountered a Canadian millionaire named Duncan McMartin in a hotel, and for unknown reasons the two engaged in a fight. It was apparently not one of Flynn's better exhibitions. It turned into a bloody brawl with Flynn taking a serious beating. McMartin was as tall as Flynn and in better shape. Flynn went down, suffering noticeable cuts and abrasions. Later they bumped into each other again in a night-club. Again, the two brawled and Flynn took another beating. He decided to sue McMartin for $30,000 in damages but settled for $14,000. His pride was intact but not his health.
Flynn flew from London to Rome to make arrangements for a film based on the story of William Tell. He was also considering a proposal from some Italian producers to star in another film version based on the Don Juan legends. In Rome one morning, he sat on the terrace of his hotel at five A.M. and wrote down his impressions. He recognized that he'd been the recipient of some lucky breaks in his life, and that he had squandered most everything that he had accomplished. He noted the sky was full of swallows. He commented on the flowers and the strange color of the sky.
Flynn had been stopped at the London airport by a customs inspector who indicated he believed that Flynn was carrying illegal narcotics. Flynn speculated that he had again been set up, which was probably true. Somehow, Flynn managed to get past the inspector without having his luggage searched, apparently by simply talking his way out of the predicament. He seems to have been conscious of his imminent downfall for several years. That Flynn, in the early summer of 1953, was already on the verge of ruin is a telling moment.
Flynn was tired of Hollywood and he was particularly tired of Warner Bros. He was obligated to make one more film for Warner's and it turned out to be his best film since _Adventures of Don Juan_. His old friend William Keighley, who had directed Flynn so competently in three previous films, was chosen to direct _The Master of Ballantrae._ Location shooting was scheduled for Scotland with Jack Cardiff handling the Technicolor photography. The script by Herb Meadow used only the general premise of the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Meadow altered the dynamics between the two brothers and softened the sibling rivalry in Stevenson's complex story.
Flynn's arrival in Scotland naturally generated excitement among his fans. The press followed him diligently. Flynn conducted himself reasonably well during the filming of _The Master of Ballantrae_. Cinematographer Jack Cardiff would later recall his surprise at Flynn's ailing appearance. Flynn managed to turn in a good performance and the film is the best of his 1950s costume epics. The plot is contrived but it did allow for some exceptionally well-staged outdoor sequences, while the settings in the Scottish Highlands at Dorie, Ballachulich and Glen Coe and the shipboard scenes near Sicily all provided Cardiff the opportunity for beautifully executed camerawork. In terms of overall content, it ranks as one of Flynn's better films; the combination of Technicolor photography, location settings that included some majestic vistas of Scotland, and handsome period costumes punctuated by a grand musical score by William Alwyn and conducted under the auspices of Muir Mathieson, all added to a relatively enjoyable feature. It is lush in its presentation although the film comes to a rather unsatisfying conclusion, with the two brothers reconciled but escaping, presumably to fight against King George II another day. The ending left open the possibility for a sequel but such a follow-up was never planned.
This was Flynn's last major production for Warner Bros. Jack Warner had arrived at the only practical conclusion—that Flynn was no longer a valuable asset. They argued bitterly, allegedly with Warner telling Flynn there had been too many years of tardiness and too much wasted effort and re-takes because of Flynn's forgetting his lines. They agreed to end their contractual relationship, which effectively meant that Flynn had been fired after seventeen years as one of Warner Bros.' top box-office draws.
Undeterred, Flynn was optimistic he could make films of a quality equal to those that made him famous at Warner Bros.
Flynn went to Naples in preparation for his role opposite Gina Lollobrigida in _Crossed Swords._ The paparazzi followed him incessantly, photographing him walking to his hotel and eating pasta in a restaurant. He had been ill and it was here that he learned the nature of his illness. Flynn's liver was deteriorating, clearly due to his daily input of alcohol. The fact that he was dying didn't worry him as much as the fact that he realized he should have been distressed by such dire news. Flynn's diary entry reveals his sometimes nonchalant attitude toward death: "[T]he Swiss doctor, a gay whimsical fellow full of good cheer told me my liver had stopped functioning and that atrophy had begun. I don't think I even lifted my eyebrows. Far from stunned, I felt only a mild resentment at my liver, an ingrate if I ever heard of one, undeserving of the good treatment I had always meted (never more than a bottle a day)."
A recovered Flynn went to Rome where he started rehearsals for _Crossed Swords._ While in Rome he encountered Orson Welles, who had gained weight since Flynn saw him last. Flynn recorded his observation in his diary February 10, 1953:
> The other day I saw Orson Welles: fat & bloated as Nero with no fiddle at his hedonistic best, but seemingly enchanted with himself. Possibly a front, this, but forthright enough. Intelligent, aggressive and no servant of bromides in life. He seems to me that fairly ambitious paradox, not at all uncommon: a man of large, perhaps great ability, able to dominate others, who is at the same time quite a bit of a fool. "La betise n'est pas mon forte," he seems to proclaim. The hell it isn't. Luckily no self-sanctity in Orson. But until he grows up mentally he is a fool. "La betise" is precisely his "strong point."
Production for _Crossed Swords_ moved to the picturesque eleventh century hillside village of Lauro, about fifty miles outside of Naples. Lauro was chosen because its appearance had changed little from the days of the Crusades. The village was dominated by an expansive castle occupied by Prince Lancellotti who consented after extensive negotiations to allow the use of his castle's interior and exterior for _Crossed Swords_. But Prince Lancellotti insisted on the proviso that he and his daughters were allowed to retain their residence during filming. With these arrangements finalized, Prince Lancellotti then instructed his daughters to stay away from the film crew. These facts were reported by the Italian press, the intimation being that Flynn's preference for young girls preceded his arrival in Lauro.
**Errol Flynn fencing in the Italian-made** _**Crossed Swords**_ **(1954).**
Flynn wrote humorously about Prince Lancellotti in his diary. Referring to him simply as The Prince, Flynn described him as having such a long, hooked nose that he thought it possible the nose might catch fire when the Prince lit a cigarette. Flynn had a production crew of upwards of 250 people on location in Lauro, a village that he said offered the prosperous look of a country village with its fat pigs and well-fed dogs. As for the daughters that Prince Lancelotti wanted to protect, Flynn saw three daughters and described them as each possessing a nose as aquiline as that of the father. According to Flynn, Prince Lancellotti had blue, animated eyes and was quite proud of the castle as part of his family history for seven centuries. Prince Lancellotti also had the habit of accidentally spraying spittle when he talked, a condition that Flynn attributed to the kind old gentleman's constant state of excitement. The prince was eager to see his castle in its Technicolor splendor as it must have appeared in centuries past.
The remaining descriptions involve the prince's driving the actor to a nearby farmhouse which Flynn was considering using in the film. It is quite funny, with the prince's animated personality resulting in another spray of saliva blinding Flynn and a slapstick drive across the Italian countryside to a farmhouse owned by Prince Lancellotti's cousin. The cousin, according to Flynn, was in prison because he had been caught smuggling a large amount of cocaine. Flynn wryly noted that enough cocaine was confiscated that the cousin's arrest resulted in a world shortage of the drug. Flynn never finished his character study of Prince Lancellotti. He may have intended it for publication as an article about making _Crossed Swords_ , or he may simply have recorded these observations for later use in his memoirs.
_Crossed Swords_ was titled _Il Maestro di Don Giovanni_ in Europe, from an original script by Milton Krims that borrowed elements from _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and _Adventures of Don Juan_. Flynn's swashbucklers remained popular in Europe at a time when his American audience was losing interest. Krims followed the tried and proven style of the Warner Bros. films and attempted to emphasize the action and Flynn's romantic image. The result is partially successful. _Crossed Swords_ is cumbersome but contains a good performance by Flynn although at times he looks to be either exhausted or ill. He was not in good health when he made the film and his physical deterioration was sadly obvious each year.
Flynn played Renzo or Don Giovanni, the Italian equivalent of Don Juan. Gina Lollobrigida and Cesare Danova appeared as the other principal leads. The film begins with a striking sequence that plays like _Comedia del arte_ , a smoothly choreographed piece with Flynn fencing outside a villa after escaping through the bedroom window of two women. Renzo is described as a "romantic grasshopper" and Flynn easily conveys the nonchalance and humor necessary to sustain interest. In addition to Jack Cardiff's splendid Technicolor photography, the film benefits from elaborate costumes, authentic location scenery, and a whimsical operatic musical score by Alessandro Cicognini and Gino Marinuzzi. Flynn plays the role entirely tongue-in-cheek. The dubbed dialogue is often distracting but most of the players spoke their lines in English which helped make the dialogue appear natural. When attempting to encourage his friend Raniero (Danova) to settle down and get married, he sounds as if he is trying to convince himself as well. Marriage, according to Renzo, "shouldn't be too bad, especially if you start young enough, like learning to eat olives."
Early on, there is a fight with quarterstaves in a courtyard, obviously inspired by the famous scene in _The Adventures of Robin Hood_. The fencing sequences are a continuation of the comedic style with Flynn laughing and smiling throughout. Some of the action borders on slapstick. The final prolonged fencing sequence has none of the flair seen in his Warner Bros. films but is sufficient for its purpose. One notable stunt had Flynn stepping into a chair and allowing it to fall backward as he strode forward, pressing his attack. Better editing and choreography would have elevated the entertainment value.
Audiences in 1953 had no trouble with an advertising campaign prominently featuring a buxom Gina Lollobrigida in a low-cut black negligee enhanced by such copy as: _"Give me a fortress to win and a wench to woo_ — _and I'll make history!"_
Gina Lollobrigida was billed as "Italy's Marilyn Monroe!" but even this enticement wasn't enough to draw large audiences in the United States. _Crossed Swords_ was released nationally by United Artists who had picked up distribution rights from Viva Films, the Italian production company that financed the project. Flynn felt that United Artists didn't do enough to promote the film but it is more likely that audiences stayed away because they weren't interested in seeing a run-of-the-mill swashbuckler from Europe. The film did not play in theaters for very long. Like most of Flynn's films, it was destined for late night television stations in need of filler material.
Italy was also his chosen location for a film he believed would establish him as a viable independent actor and producer. He chose as his subject the Swiss patriot William Tell. The most prominent written version of the legend appeared in the German drama _Wilhelm Tell_ (1804) by playwright Friedrich von Schiller. According to Swiss legend, Tell refused to salute the Austrian governor and as punishment he was ordered to shoot an arrow through an apple set on his son's head. Tell succeeded but was imprisoned for a time. After escaping prison he ambushed the Austrian governor, killing him. The governor's death ignited a Swiss rebellion that resulted in the unification of the Swiss nation. The story was the perfect vehicle to capitalize on Flynn's heroic image.
Flynn said he wanted to show Jack Warner a thing or two about making films. He originally approached producer Alexander Salkind and the two eventually made a deal to film _William Tell_ with Flynn in the starring role. Flynn engaged cinematographer Jack Cardiff to direct the production. A writer named Louis Stevens worked on the script at Flynn's request. After a few months Stevens was replaced by a writer named John Dighton. The final script would combine contributions from both writers with input from Flynn, but the extent of Flynn's participation in the script is unknown. Considering his disastrous experience working on _The Adventures of Captain Fabian_ , it is probable his input was limited. Stevens had worked on many low-budget Westerns and Dighton on several well-received films including _Kind Hearts and Coronets_ (1949). There is little to indicate the final script was anything more than a typical adventure story. What Flynn hoped would distinguish the film from his other recent films was the use of CinemaScope and the fact that he was playing a man in his forties, and a family man at that. His William Tell was a caring father and husband, reluctant to fight. The story was set in the fourteenth century with the Swiss suffering the oppressive rule of the Austrian emperor. In this regard, the script stuck to the acceptable device of featuring Flynn as a champion against an aggressive force.
Flynn hired his friend Bruce Cabot to play Captain Jost, Tell's nemesis. Cardiff, Flynn, Cabot and an assorted Italian crew shot approximately thirty minutes of footage in a scenic valley near Mont Blanc near Courmayeur in Switzerland. What money they had was put into building an authentic village. Filming began early in the summer and concluded in August of 1953. Flynn's Italian backers ceased funding the project, forcing the production to shut down. An attempt was made to continue, but the crew had only meager funds, and often had trouble finding enough money for food. The speed with which the production unraveled around him took Flynn by surprise.
Flynn was devastated and depressed. The worst blow came a few months later when Bruce Cabot filed litigation asking for unpaid wages. The legal action resulted in some of Errol and Patrice's personal belongings, including clothing, being confiscated by local authorities. Flynn had discovered at last the price of allowing hangers-on like Cabot a friendship and proximity that was entirely one-sided. Cabot had betrayed Flynn rather than supported him. If Cabot had any redeeming quality, it lies in his tacit silence afterward. He never publicly criticized Flynn and when encountering friends such as Buster Wiles, they avoided bringing up the subject of their mutual friend. Many years later Cabot offered a brief assessment of Flynn. Cabot felt that Flynn's drug addiction led to his poor judgment. "Dope is just like termites," Cabot said. "With Errol it was the saddest case I've ever seen." Cabot never explained why he chose litigation at a time when Flynn desperately needed help. He did, however, add this regarding the _William Tell_ venture: "Flynn's business judgment by then was very bad. The drugs had reached him to a point where he was his old self for only a few hours a day. His analytical powers were gone, and he picked people badly. Errol used to be a shrewd businessman. But in 1953 he wasn't thinking as clearly as in 1943. In those days he'd have fought a bear with a short switch. He used to read his contracts for loopholes to sting Warner Bros. for more money."
Flynn subsequently appeared on the BBC program _In Town Tonight_ in November 1953. He talked about the production and his desire to raise funds to complete the film and expressed disappointment at having shut down the film. He had gone to London to raise money for _William Tell_ but this effort was not successful and he spent much time drifting on the _Zaca,_ reading and writing. He restrained himself from going to see Cabot. Flynn later said he feared he would kill Cabot and this is an instance where he probably wasn't exaggerating. The two never saw each other again.
Today, over two dozen reels of footage from _William Tell_ , including tests and outtakes, lie in storage in the Special Collections department at Boston University. After Flynn's death, actor Roddy McDowall purchased this material from Flynn's estate and later donated it to the University along with boxes of similar material from _Crossed Swords_. Most of the material has never been publicly shown and there are no plans for any type of restoration.
Flynn and Patrice enjoyed the good life in Jamaica. Their days were spent in recreational events that must have seemed unending. On Navy Island, which Flynn had won in a poker game, they enjoyed charcoal broiled dinners with their many friends. Often, Flynn enlisted _Zaca_ crew members to assist in arranging an assortment of outdoor dinner parties. Meals were served on the beach with torchlights hanging among the coconut palms while calypso singers provided musical accompaniment. Doug Jones, a photographer for _Look_ magazine, captured some of these leisurely days. His photos show the fun-loving side of Flynn's nature; always grinning, he scrutinizes the progress of his grilled steak or watches with excitement as a dancer or singer entertains the guests. Flynn knew the native songs by heart and often sang along with the minstrels. One of his favorites, _Zombie Jamboree_ by Conrad Mauge, induced him to join in: _"Back to back, belly to belly/I don't give a damn, I done dead already,/Oho back to back, belly to belly/at the Zombie Jamboree."_ The _Zaca_ , photographed in a small cove off Navy Island in the moonlight, seems every bit the explorer's vessel and adventurer's home.
Flynn's expanding Jamaican property included the historic Titchfield Hotel which was occupied by his mother and father when visiting their wandering son. Marelle and Theodore often handled the daily routine at the Titchfield. Perhaps in some way he was trying to mend his fences and find a way to bond with his parents. If that was his intention, it seems to have failed. Marelle arrived with the requisite knowledge to handle operations at the hotel. She informed her son that Lady Allen recalled in her memoirs of staying in a primitive establishment on the very site where the Titchfield now stood. She also curtly reminded her son that the Titchfield was at the time the oldest and most respected hotel in Jamaica. Marelle lectured Flynn on Jamaican history. Flynn wondered: "What unfriendly planetary influences, I cried inwardly, or quirk of fate has led me to buy this goddamned accursed Christ-bitten hotel anyway? Was I spawned to become a saloon keeper?" Flynn may not have enjoyed running the hotel but he did enjoy having a place to relax and drink. He wrote, "In the carefree tavern which is my mind there are many empty bottles."
Marelle also admonished her son for his sometimes coarse language and attitude. She told him to reserve his coarseness for his father. Flynn apparently continued to horrify his mother, particularly when he announced he wanted to change the hotel's name to "Flynn's Inn." In his diary, Flynn refers to his mother as Lady Macbeth and describes her fear that he would carry out his plan to change the hotel's name. Marelle failed to see the humor in "Flynn's Inn" as a title. She told him his plans were a monstrosity.
Flynn's father is said to have been a man who would not pass a bar until he'd enjoyed a few swift licks of bourbon. It may be that father and son shared more characteristics than either was willing to admit. Flynn often left his mother and father in Jamaica to oversee his property while he traveled the world in search of both income and excitement.
Flynn was soon to learn that his business manager, Al Blum, had failed to pay the property tax on the Mulholland Farm. Blum, in fact, had bilked Flynn out of thousands of dollars. Flynn was being investigated by the IRS at the same time that Lili Damita was working to secure ownership of the Mulholland property. She accomplished this after paying over $50,000 in liens. Damita then sold Mulholland for a considerable profit.
With the loss of his beloved Mulholland Farm, Flynn lived at the Garden of Allah on Sunset Boulevard, an exclusive twenty-five-bungalow hotel which surrounded a lotus-shaped swimming pool. It was here that F. Scott Fitzgerald stayed during his final months in Hollywood. Flynn would live here intermittently during his last decade.
To make matters worse, Flynn was constantly behind in his alimony payments to Damita. Nora Eddington was also demanding child support payments. Flynn could not keep up with his creditors, his health was failing, and his career was stalled. The pressure on him during this period was enormous. With two ex-wives battling for his money, an unsteady film career, and failing health, it is to his credit that he remained optimistic.
With the collapse of _William Tell_ , Flynn was washed up as a Hollywood star. He had lost his career and two wives, and physicians predicted he couldn't possibly live but a few more years. He kept the _Zaca_ at Mallorca Island, the largest of the Balearic islands in the Mediterranean. The _Zaca_ continued to be his home but he also relied on his many European friends for lodging when he came to visit. While in Mallorca he sometimes visited with the English poet and novelist Robert Graves. Flynn admired his work and often read Graves' poetry for both pleasure and intellectual stimulation. _Zaca_ had made an incredible journey from her birth in the San Francisco shipyards and under Flynn's tenure she sailed to many locations in the Pacific and Atlantic. Flynn and _Zaca_ both had become seasoned world-travelers.
Flynn often went to Monaco and spent a great amount of time gambling in Monte Carlo. He won as often as he lost and thought little of it either way. Gambling was entertainment, like tennis or sailing. If he was low on cash resources, he asked for credit and often received it. He rarely gave the appearance of worrying about his financial responsibilities, at least not until he was forced to.
He had taken up the habit of toting around a small carrying case, like a medical satchel. Upon its side he had printed FLYNN ENTERPRISES. Inside was his ration of vodka and a few small glasses with which to imbibe. Vodka offered him the comfort that nothing else in his life could equal. He considered it a type of security. Wherever he went now, he took it with him. Nor was vodka his sole source of liquid inspiration. He would drink practically anything, and included Guinness Stout as another favorite. "It's good for the gonads," Flynn said—a potential advertising slogan the good people at the Guinness Brewery have avoided implementing.
Flynn sometimes generated income by lending his name and image for product endorsements that appeared in magazines. Many of these are sought after by Flynn collectors today, along with posters and lobby-cards from his films, and first editions of his books. Flynn and Patrice lent their images to Cigarillo tobacco with a fabricated quote from Patrice announcing: "I love to see a man smoke a Cigarillo." He also made dozens of radio appearances over the years. Notable of these was "The Modern Adventures of Casanova," a dramatic program capitalizing on his image as a womanizer.
He eked out a living with personal appearances, still believing that he could resurrect _William Tell_. Flynn consented to appear for a March of Dimes benefit in Frankfurt, Germany. He took the stage on February 9, 1954, and read passages from _Sexual Behavior in the Human Female_ (1952) by Alfred Charles Kinsey. _The Kinsey Report_ , as it is generally called, was a follow-up to _Sexual Behavior in the Human Male_ (1948). Flynn wore his reading glasses and slipped easily into a Barrymore style performance, lifting an eyebrow occasionally and wryly commenting on the book. He mentioned that he thought he had nothing further to learn about women but the Kinsey report taught him a thing or two after all. "In this book, sex isn't sex anymore," he said sadly. "It's arithmetic."
After _William Tell_ fell apart Flynn solicited the assistance of producer Herbert Wilcox in the hope of procuring funding to continue the film. Wilcox viewed the _William Tell_ footage but declined involvement in the project. But Wilcox, married to the popular actress Anna Neagle, offered Flynn a role in _Lilacs in the Spring_ opposite his wife. Flynn had just learned that Al Blum had died leaving him a note stating how sorry he was to have spent most of the actor's money. Losing almost half a million on _William Tell_ and the discovery that he was broke and virtually homeless save for the _Zaca_ came as a devastating blow. He accepted Wilcox's offer and remained in England to make the film.
_Lilacs in the Spring_ was a major feature for Flynn at a time when he needed the work. The critical reaction was typical for this type of film; they were amused and complimentary but most critics felt the film was padded with too much sentimentality. The film begins during World War II with Neagle as an entertainer who suffers a concussion and imagines herself first as Nell Gwyn, then as Queen Victoria, and finally as her own mother who is squired by a song-and-dance man named John Beaumont (Flynn) during the First World War. In this sequence Flynn performs a song-and-dance routine with Neagle and the sight of Flynn demonstrating another side of his talent is enjoyable. Although _Lilacs in the Spring_ must be regarded as a minor Flynn feature, it nevertheless has a great deal of merit. The film did reasonably good business at the box office in England, but in the United States, where it was released as _Let's Make Up_ , it suffered from limited bookings and disappeared quickly. Wilcox later said: "Errol Flynn was an outrageous personality." Adding to this he noted that Flynn's "love of living defeated his ability as an artist."
Recognizing that Flynn was no longer in demand with American audiences, the advertisements attempted to sell the film by offering a revised image of the actor. The American poster promised:
A NEW ERROL FLYNN—WITH THE SAME OLD MAGIC!
Nineteen fifty-five may have been the year Flynn was down on his luck, but he was determined to stay in the game. His next movie once again returned him to a production that accentuated his heroic image. He entered an agreement to star in _The Dark Avenger_ , a fictionalized tale about Prince Edward "The Black Prince" of England. This would be Flynn's last feature-length swashbuckler and his best film since _The Master of Ballantrae_.
His co-stars were Peter Finch and Joanne Dru. The weak plot introduced a simplistic venture by Prince Edward to rescue his beloved Lady Joan Holland from the evil Count de Ville, superbly played by Peter Finch. It was filmed on location in Hertfordshire, England, and Flynn is again aided by the high production values that have characterized the career of producer Walter Mirisch. Technicolor photography and a lavish musical score by Cedric Thorpe Davie evoked nostalgia for Flynn's classic Warner Bros. adventures. _The Dark Avenger_ was released by Allied Artists and 20th Century–Fox and is Flynn's best all-around adventure film made outside of Warner Bros.
Flynn had gained weight and his expanded girth and the coarsened appearance of his features, the obvious result of his alcoholism, contradict the youthful role. The swashbuckler film had experienced a modest revival during the 1950s and _The Dark Avenger_ was released during a period when audiences found such films only mildly interesting. The best of these, such as _Scaramouche_ (1952) with Stewart Granger, _The Crimson Pirate_ (1952) with Burt Lancaster, and three with Robert Taylor— _Ivanhoe_ (1952) co-starring Elizabeth Taylor, _Knights of the Round Table_ (1953), and _Quentin Durward_ (1955)—were enjoyable and profitable, particularly the Robert Taylor features. _The Dark Avenger_ is a shade less entertaining than some of these, but generally a well-conceived production. In fact, director Henry Levin used the same castle set on MGM's Elstree lot that had been used in _Ivanhoe_.
**A regal Errol Flynn prepares for battle in** _**The Dark Avenger**_ **(1955; U.S. title:** _**The Warriors**_ **).**
Flynn and Peter Finch enjoyed the camaraderie that comes with excessive drinking and the now-familiar legends abound regarding some of their late nights on the town. Christopher Lee made his first appearance with Flynn and suffered the distinction of being run through by Prince Edward's sword. Lee nearly had the little finger of his right hand lopped off while filming his duel with Flynn. But most of Lee's duel with Flynn was with the British Olympic saber champion Raymond Paul, who doubled for the ailing actor. Flynn and Joanne Dru reportedly got along quite well and had their broken marriages in common. Dru had been married to Dick Haymes and was unceremoniously left out in the cold when Haymes and Nora Eddington fell in love. As was so often the case with Flynn's recent films, _The Dark Avenger_ turned a modest profit in England but in the United States, where it was released as _The Warriors_ , it flopped.
Flynn teamed again with Herbert Wilcox for a screen treatment of Ivor Novello's play, _King's Rhapsody_. Shot in CinemaScope, the colorful costumes were wonderful to look at but unfortunately the actors wearing those costumes, particularly Flynn, are wooden and unconvincing. _King's Rhapsody_ is merely dull and although Patrice Wymore looks splendid and demonstrates as much acting ability as was possible with such a lackluster script, the proceedings are laced with painful stretches of weighty inactivity.
The plot is a disaster disguised as a screenplay. King Richard (Flynn), living in exile with Marta Karillos, returns home after his father's death to accept his rightful throne. He is forced to accept a contrived marriage to a woman who doesn't interest him, Princess Cristiane (Wymore). He doesn't realize until years later that he loves her, after a separation that sent him once again into exile. In the end, he decides his place is with his wife and son and after ninety-three minutes the end credits are a welcome relief. Anna Neagle, who was originally set to star with Flynn, found her musical numbers deleted from the film, reducing her role considerably. Undoubtedly, extensive editing didn't improve the quality and _King's Rhapsody_ was a catastrophe in every sense.
Flynn had reached his lowest point but still he pressed on. In March 1955 _Confidential_ magazine ran an article purporting that Flynn engaged in sexual relations with a prostitute on the night of his wedding to Patrice Wymore. Flynn was outraged. He always maintained that he acknowledged his peccadilloes and made neither denials nor apologies for his actions. But he would not tolerate fabricated lies. In fact, most of the allegations in _Confidential_ magazine were true and Flynn later decided to contest only those portions of the article he deemed fictitious. He denied the allegation of relations with a prostitute on his wedding night and the allegation that he had been involved in opium smuggling aboard his yacht. The other allegations were left untouched in the rebuttal by his attorneys, namely that he had engaged in sexual practices with prostitutes and watched couples having sex at his Mulholland home with the use of a two-way mirror in the bedroom ceiling; that he had once tricked a virginal male friend named "Dook" into visiting a brothel; that he had stood trial for rape in 1943. The basic ingredients of the article by author Greg Martin were in fact true, including the revelation that Flynn owed $800,000 in unpaid income taxes which he settled with the IRS for $410,000, and that he had gone into arrears on alimony with both Lili Damita and Nora Eddington. Flynn never denied these facts. What appears to have upset him was the general negative tone of the article. He was intentionally made to appear as a scoundrel, an image he felt upset his children. He wanted a million dollars in damages, a ridiculously high settlement that he had no chance of winning. When the lawsuit finally went before a judge in 1957, he settled for just under $15,000, most of which was taken by his several attorneys. But he had won a victory against the marketers of scandal that had shadowed him for years. This was a small victory, to be sure, but Flynn felt vindicated.
Flynn and Pat hung around the French Riviera. The future may not have looked bright but Flynn was pleased when Patrice told him she was pregnant. During the Cannes Film Festival, he staged a gathering with Gary Cooper and Bing Crosby and presented Patrice with a cake celebrating her four months of pregnancy. Over the next few days, he flirted with Brigitte Bardot on the beach and generally enjoyed himself. Flynn was a cult figure to many, and often his presence invoked aberrant behavior amongst the public. One night a group of young men boarded _Zaca_ and confronted Flynn. Flynn was initially polite and requested they leave the ship. When they refused, an altercation began that turned extremely violent. Flynn overcame his attackers but was seriously injured. One of the attackers had bitten Flynn on the arm and the wound became infected. Flynn went to Ibiza for medical treatment. Flynn also injured his back when he slipped on the _Zaca's_ deck and this injury would plague him for the remainder of his life.
On Christmas Day 1956, Patrice gave birth to their daughter Arnella. Flynn felt that he had fulfilled his biological destiny and made arrangements with a physician to undergo a vasectomy.
In retrospect, it seems only natural that Flynn would turn to television to improve his cash-flow problems. But there are other, more subtle factors at work in his decision to try his hand at television. Certainly, the monetary reward was of importance, but he was also tired of his battle with illness, creditors, and malicious gossip columnists. It must have pleased and refreshed the artistic side of Flynn's nature to work in a new medium.
He made his television dramatic acting debut on the anthology program _Screen Director's Playhouse_ for NBC on April 4, 1956. The film was titled "The Sword of Villon," another swashbuckler. Errol played medieval French poet François Villon. John Barrymore had previously offered a philanthropic portrayal of Villon in the classic silent film _The Beloved Rogue_ (1926). Both Barrymore and Flynn were in their early forties when they played the famous French folk hero. Unseen since its initial broadcast, 35mm prints of "The Sword of Villon" or video transfers remain highly sought-after collectibles.
"The Sword of Villon" was an obvious attempt to emulate both _The_ _Adventures of Robin Hood_ and _Adventures of Don Juan_ , the two films with which Flynn is most strongly identified. He appeared in a tunic, breeches and feathered cap all reminiscent of Robin Hood, although Villon's romanticized personality is all Don Juan. The film begins with an introduction by Hal Roach: "This is a tale of derring-do, of lords and ladies and scoundrels, too. Of swords and daggers and diverse things like tavern wenches and counts and kings. It happened, they say, in the long ago, so, ladies and gentleman—the show!"
The story unfolds at night outside a tavern in Paris in 1455 where two of the king's guards plan to capture Villon, the poet rogue with "witches blood." Villon's nemesis, known as "the count," has offered a reward for his capture. The guards detain a masked courier also seeking Villon who has been eavesdropping in the shadows. Villon overcomes the guards in a brief but decisive fencing match and takes the courier into the tavern where he gathers with his friends, including a wench named Velvet. Villon unmasks the courier, revealing the Lady Elaine who informs him the count plans to murder the king of France within the hour, framing her brother for the deed. The Lady Elaine also has a romantic interest in Villon, thus inciting jealousy in Velvet. The ensuing plot involves Villon's entering the castle and saving the king. Through subterfuge, Villon tricks the count's wife into killing him, thus foiling the plot against the king. Villon subsequently spurns the Lady Elaine who is last seen being pursued up a staircase by one of Villon's lascivious tavern cronies. In the final frame, a re-united Villon and Velvet are clutched in a passionate embrace.
All of this plays out in a quick 20 minutes. Flynn's natural charm and experience with swashbucklers adds a touch of flair to a generally flat production. He fences convincingly, whipping his sword at his opponents with self-assurance. Errol Flynn's presence in "The Sword of Villon" is clearly the highlight of the show.
Although he had been traveling between Hollywood and Europe with regularity, he had not been offered any substantial roles from any of the studios. Flynn's reputation and the public knowledge of his excesses had resulted in his becoming anathema. He was therefore pleased when executives at Universal Studios thought he would be effective in a remake of _Singapore_ , a 1947 film starring Fred MacMurray and Ava Gardner. Either from wishful thinking or poor communication, Flynn believed the film was to be shot in Istanbul, a location he had never visited. His interest in travel was high and he agreed to do the film because he wanted to travel to the Middle East. As it turns out, the film, now titled _Istanbul_ , would be shot entirely on the back lot at Universal Studios.
Flynn played an adventurer named James Brennan who purchases a bracelet and discovers it contains valuable diamonds. There is a concentrated effort by customs officials to recover the diamonds and Brennan hides them before he is deported. Five years later he returns to recover them. This elementary set-up is complicated by his wife's amnesia and her marriage to another man. Flynn's friend, Nat "King" Cole, appeared in the film and sang two songs. Flynn's deadpan delivery perhaps slows down the narrative and his heaviness of features was surprising to many of his fans.
Renowned poster artist Reynold Brown created the now highly prized poster and accompanying title card. The poster blurb read: _Where the passions of the East meet the sins of the West!_
As the decades following Flynn's death slipped past, _Istanbul_ became a staple for late-night television viewers. It is that type of leisurely paced film that lends itself to nostalgia when CinemaScope is reduced to a small TV screen. This leads us to a point connoisseurs of Flynn's films have argued well: with its splendid Technicolor and CinemaScope photography by William Daniels, _Istanbul_ looked fairly marvelous on the big screen in its original 35mm format. Of course, this can be said for most of Flynn's movies, both color and black and white. But CinemaScope was unique to the 1950s. It was an innovation designed to compete with other techniques, such as VistaVision and 3D, all of which were created to spark interest in films because studio heads feared the loss of audiences to television. Using an anamorphic lens, which compressed a wide image onto 35mm film, coupled with a projector that decompressed the image, the resulting film-strip was now viewable in a format twice as large as a standard screen image. The first film released in CinemaScope, _The Robe_ (1953), starring Richard Burton and Victor Mature, was an enormous hit and won a Golden Globe Award for best drama and Academy Awards for art direction and costume design. CinemaScope films were popular in their day and neither television nor video comes close to the experience of watching such films on the big screen.
The anthology format was best represented on television in the 1950s by _Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents._ Fairbanks acted as host and acted in an occasional episode. It was a format that seemed ideal to bolster Flynn's sagging career. Somewhere along the way someone suggested exactly that, and Errol Flynn's comeback would take the form of a weekly television program. Other stars such as Abbott and Costello, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had done well balancing television appearances with film work. But too many unpleasant memories awaited Flynn in Hollywood, and perhaps this is why _The Errol Flynn Theatre_ was filmed at Bray Studios in London.
That, and the fact he was now more popular in England than he was in the United States, must have contributed to his optimism for the project.
_The Errol Flynn Theatre_ remains his most successful contribution to television's Golden Age. Twenty-six episodes were filmed with Flynn serving as host. He acted in six of those episodes. _The Errol Flynn Theatre_ aired in syndication in the United States in May 1957.
Flynn did well as host for the series. In one memorable introduction the camera panned across a boat deck to settle on Flynn emerging from the cabin. He paused, glanced about. "Pardon me, folks," he began, "but I'm in hiding." Another perfectly timed pause as he slipped off his glasses, a bemused expression on his face. "From my wife!" The self-deprecating humor worked well with audiences and was the perfect staging device to introduce an episode.
Tongue-in-cheek references to Flynn's jaunts around the globe and difficulties with various wives were useful in his dealings with the public. He poked fun at himself, eyes twinkling, playing his best role as Errol Flynn the merry rascal. Few people knew that beneath this facade he nurtured a keen intellect and a compassionate— albeit complex—nature.
His episodic introductions for _The Errol Flynn Theatre_ often reflected a relaxed man reclining in a chair and calmly reading, an activity that very much reflected an important aspect of his life. His love for books was profound, and throughout his life he was often seen reading or writing, an image that seemed incongruous to many. The public perception of Errol Flynn was always at odds with the private reality. Seen today, these introductions seem almost poignant in their presentation of him as a type of armchair scholar, eager and willing to comment on literature, or to share his thoughts on marriage, travel, or current thinking in psychology.
**Errol Flynn with Patrice Wymore and his son Sean in "The Strange Auction," a television episode of** _**The Errol Flynn Theatre**_ **. This was the only acting appearance with Sean. (Photograph courtesy of Mike Mazzone.)**
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_The Errol Flynn Theatre_ has a decidedly literary flavor. Many of the episodes were adapted from the works of American and European writers. In an episode titled "The Strange Auction" Errol starred as Trace, an Irish drifter who is retained for three months' service on her farm by the widow Laura Brateman, amiably portrayed by Flynn's third wife Patrice Wymore. The story developed quickly with Trace striking a rapport with Laura's teenage son Shawn, played by Sean Flynn. Flynn appeared on film often with Patrice Wymore, but "The Strange Auction" was his only professional appearance with his son. The boy demonstrates the wanderlust and discontentment synonymous with youth and insists on leaving the comfort of his mother's farm. Trace, showing those compassionate qualities of fatherhood necessary for a happy ending, convinces the young boy to return home with him where the trio presumably lives happily ever after. Flynn's performance is adequate, although in a few scenes he appears somewhat tired and uninterested.
"The Duel" presented Flynn in the non-heroic role of Lord Henry Brandt, a wealthy, arrogant aristocrat. The tale places Brandt at odds with his ward, Anne, played by actress Ann Stevens. Lord Brandt is known locally for his superb marksmanship with a pistol as well as for his demanding, unscrupulous demeanor. Errol is excellent as Lord Brandt, playing the role with a smoldering disenchantment. As the episode begins, Lord Brandt discovers he is suffering from an unknown malady that blurs his vision and causes dizzy spells, hence jeopardizing his ability as a marksman. Flynn reels and stumbles, convincingly squinting and worriedly rubbing his brow in a short performance that foreshadowed his brilliant portrayal of the alcoholic Mike Campbell in _The Sun Also Rises_ and the long-suffering John Barrymore in _Too Much, Too Soon_. Lord Brandt's fate is decided when Anne's sweetheart, John, challenges Brandt to a duel. The two lock themselves in a study, facing off with pistols as a violent thunderstorm conveniently breaks out, adding a considerably eerie mood to the situation. At the climactic moment, Brandt's vision once again blurs. Flynn produced a chillingly effective death scene as he collapsed, jerking and shuddering, expiring from "apoplexy."
Actor Patrick Brock recalled working with Flynn on "The Duel." He found Flynn to be likable and amusing but ultimately a "sad, disintegrating actor." Brock affirms what so many have said about Patrice Wymore: "During these days I often saw the tall and beautiful Patrice Wymore, his third wife, go quietly along the studio corridors. She was blond, young, wore large spectacles, invariably carrying a tray with a mug of coffee and a sandwich, and giving an impression of a devoted, supportive wife, which I believe she was."
"Fortunes of War" was an effort to emulate the classic screen swashbucklers that made Flynn famous. Set during the French Revolution, the episode opens with a small garrison under attack from General Hamelin's troops. Gunfire reverberates on both sides, giving the appearance of well-armed troops in furious battle. But when the camera pans into the besieged building it's revealed that Count Henri de Dairval (played tongue-in-cheek by Flynn) has rigged a row of rifles to a cord. He can thus fire any rifle by pulling on the cord from his table where he's been happily eating and drinking. As he sips the last of his wine he laments "You ran out the same time as my ammunition!"
Once captured he's taken to the General's home. The story then pits Count Henri de Dairval against General Hamelin over the affections of Helene de Mailly, the count's former sweetheart. The conflict is resolutely resolved in a fencing sequence where the count disarms the general, but refuses to kill him. The principals were played convincingly enough by Flynn, Christopher Lee, and Lisa Daniely. Lee appeared in two additional episodes of _The Errol Flynn Theatre_ : "The Model" which co-starred Lee with Patrice Wymore, and "Love Token" starring Rosanna Rory. Christopher Lee later said of Flynn: "I liked him for his honesty, and without envying him, I found myself enjoying his stories about girls." Lee was only a year away from the international fame that would follow him after his chilling depiction of the famous vampire in _Horror of Dracula_ (1958).
"The 1000th Night of Don Juan" featured Flynn reprising his role as the legendary lover. It involves Flynn in a love quartet with the Marchese Luigi, the young Maddalena, and Henrietta. Flynn narrates the episode, setting the tone early on: "He's considerably older now," Flynn says of Don Juan, "but he's the only one that doesn't know it—yet!"
Henrietta refuses Don Juan's advances but confesses her concern for Maddalena who is being hotly pursued by Luigi. Henrietta (Jean Kent) wishes for Don Juan to demonstrate to Maddalena that Luigi is a bad influence. Determined to woo Maddalena, Don Juan sets out to convince her that a relationship with Marchese Luigi (Thomas Duggan) won't satisfy her. Wisely assessing that this will entail a duel with Luigi, his faithful friend Leporello (Reginald Beckwith) begs him to refrain from dueling. But Don Juan is stubborn, telling Leporello that dueling is "the only practical way to get rid of any troublesome men. Husband, brother or father!"
The script accentuated the humorous and romantic aspect of Flynn's screen personality, and he handled this with the practiced ease of a professional. In one of the best exchanges a tongue-in-cheek Don Juan professes to Maddalena: "Your hair, for instance, is a dark cloud of woven silk, and your eyebrows, the arch of them a bridge from which I personally would be happy to plunge myself into the dark, limpid pools of your eyes!" Not to be outdone by himself, Don Juan then adds: "As for your eyes, how they remind me of drooping wings of an angel!"
The inevitable duel between Don Juan and Luigi is scheduled to take place behind an inn because Don Juan says "Whenever I have to kill a man it makes me thirsty!" The plot culminates with Maddalena running off with another man, Luigi departing in disgust, and Don Juan reunited with Henrietta. A final humorous scene was staged where an eager Don Juan climbs the vines to Henrietta's balcony. Rushing to her lover, Henrietta flings open the door knocking Don Juan from the balcony. In the end, a weary Don Juan, pondering his advancing age, is finally reunited with Henrietta.
No actor in Hollywood had more in common with Don Juan than Errol Flynn. Even in this brief reprisal, his Don Juan is a charming characterization. He is weary yet admirable, lusty yet sad. He recites his purple dialogue tongue-in-cheek, eyes twinkling. Although the production is far from the standard set by the Warner Bros. 1948 classic, it still contains the ingredients that worked best for Flynn—a sense of flair and buoyancy.
"Rescued" told the story of Captain Morton's efforts to rescue Lord Alton who was captured by Major Tremaine, one of Cromwell's officers. Co-starring Jack Lambert and Andrew Keir, the story has Errol disguised as one of Cromwell's men. With cunning subterfuge he succeeds in rescuing Lord Alton. One of the least interesting episodes, "Rescued" is hampered by an uninspired script.
"A Wife for the Czar" once again teamed Flynn with Patrice Wymore. The story detailed the travails of Alexis Romanov, czar of Russia, in choosing a bride. Errol sports an aristocratic goatee and looks healthy and fit. Unfortunately, another dull script gives Flynn little to do. Set in Moscow in 1670 the story recounts the czar's effort to find a wife. He meets the young Natalia, played by Wymore, who doesn't recognize the czar. Naturally he falls in love with this spirited young woman. But after at first refusing his advances, Natalia succumbs and the story ends with her realization that she has fallen in love with the czar of Russia.
_The Errol Flynn Theatre_ was not a resounding success, nor was it a dismal failure. The program had several airings on both American and British television, playing in various time-slots. The _Variety_ city-by-city program chart for February 1958 lists the program still being aired twice a week in Washington, D.C., at 10:30 on Tuesday and competing with the enormously popular _Sea Hunt_ at 8:30 P.M. on Saturday. The _Billboard_ "Pulse Local Ratings" for February 1958 list _The Errol Flynn Theatre_ in fourth place for "Top Syndicated Films."
Errol Flynn's television work does not show him at his creative peak, but while these forgotten celluloid images are not the very least of his efforts, they encompass the best and worst of him. Sometimes his creative spirit would break free of the murkiness, and he would appear again briefly as a radiant figure. Flynn's stint on television was fictionalized in _My Favorite Year_ (1980) starring Peter O'Toole as Alan Swan, and turned out to be an enjoyable and touching homage.
Jamaica was his home now. He made a point of telling his family that he wanted to be buried in Jamaica. When he was in town the residents were generally pleased to see him. He had a loyal group of followers, and some of these were musicians who went by the name of "Errol Flynn's Swamp Boys." Flynn always took an interest in musicians and often invited them to entertain his family and friends.
Flynn's Jamaican friends included playwright Noel Coward and novelist Ian Fleming. Coward enjoyed the company of his celebrity friends and he often invited them to stay or visit him at his two-story villa overlooking the sea. Coward called his paradise retreat "Blue Harbour" and over the years a string of famous guests accepted the invitation: Sir Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Alec Guiness, Sir John Gielguld, Katharine Hepburn, David Niven, Patricia Neal and dozens of others. Ian Fleming had settled ten miles from Coward, on property in Oracabessa in a house by the sea that he called "Goldeneye." It was here that Fleming wrote the first James Bond novel, _Casino Royale._ Flynn and Wymore found their visits with Coward and Fleming to be relaxed, peaceful times, far removed from the snooping journalists and stalking paparazzi. They had much to do in the way of relaxing. Drinks before dinner, and then a sumptuous meal followed by a cigar or cigarettes and more drinks, and stimulating conversation involving literary matters, philosophy, discussions on poetry, and Flynn's tall tales which delighted them all. They had the sea to watch—an endless movement of color and fresh breezes with sunlight glinting off the surface and the occasional glimpse of a sail cutting the far horizon.
Flynn was undergoing a spiritual crisis and his diary reveals how deeply his lack of faith troubled him. He wrote: "Today, in my early forties I find myself in a state of tortured confusion where my every past action or experience, my daily movements are measured and appraised by one who does not seem to be myself; an alter ego who stands by with detached and contemptuous mien, sneering at the bumbling efforts of a human in search of a soul; a human daily more wrought upon and bewildered by the external questions: 'Whence do I come? What am I? Whither do I go?'"
Flynn admired those who find their strength and comfort in their faith and wished sincerely that he could believe in such things. He later wrote: "I am only one lost individual in a tortured universe." He had struggled with this religious quandary before and never came to grips with this constant search for meaning in his life. In his search for enlightenment he scrutinized Plato and Aristotle and plunged into the Bible. He studied the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius's _Meditations_ which related his philosophy of Stoicism, a belief system at odds with Flynn's Flaubertian approach to life. Stoicism stressed the virtues of moderation, something Flynn was never capable of achieving. Flynn's reading choices are crucial in understanding his lifelong search for purpose, his insatiable intellectual curiosity, and his high level of intelligence (which he too often insulted with his buffoonery).
**Errol Flynn was a lifelong, avid reader. He is seen here reading the paperback edition of Evelyn Waugh's** _**The Loved One**_ **in the late 1950s. Waugh's book was a satire on Hollywood. (Photograph courtesy of Trudy McVicker.)**
**Errol Flynn with Rossana Rory in** _**The Big Boodle**_ **(1957). His 1950s films are of varied quality but often he demonstrated flashes of brilliance.**
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He contemplated William Wordsworth's long poem _Ode: Intimations of Immortality_ (1807), which addresses Plato's view that the soul is immortal and exists separately from the body before birth and after death. Wordsworth examines the idea that with the loss of youth one also loses that freshness of perspective that is a universal part of the human experience. Flynn understood these elements in the poem quite well.
In addition to his philosophical and spiritual readings, Flynn consumed books dealing with historical, cultural, and scientific issues. Traveling and reading provided him with a way to touch upon the remarkable experiences that distinguished the lives of some of the authors he studied. His travels fulfilled the need for exploration and the new experiences he craved. By traveling he felt enriched and in touch with his life, and it helped him find the sense of purpose he needed to exist. The stories he told are akin to those told by sailors after a long voyage. By all accounts, when Flynn returned from a journey he enjoyed describing the wonders and dangers he encountered in distant lands.
His readings included William Hickling Prescott's _History of the Conquest of Mexico_ (1843), and Richard Hakluyt's three-volume _Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation_ (1600). Perhaps he hoped that by studying Hakluyt's tales of exploration he might uncover a blueprint for exploration, both mental and physical, that might lead him to contentment.
It is typical of writers to be curious about everything, and Flynn was no exception. Most writers are also voracious readers. Flynn sought out books during his travels and re-read those that he liked. Reading was both an intellectual and emotional pleasure that he reveled in. Books, like acting, offered a way for him to live someone else's life vicariously; a way for him to travel to places in the mind that he might otherwise never see. Reading provided a way for his mind to absorb new ideas and perhaps to help categorize and understand his own experiences. The poet Emily Dickinson said it best when she wrote: "There is no frigate like a book."
Flynn relished these intellectual challenges and his reading habits clearly exceeded the curriculum of an average American college student, even by today's standards, but for him some of this material was considered routine.
Flynn returned to Havana, always a favorite city, and filmed _The Big Boodle_. An odd film and not entirely unsuccessful, _The Big Boodle_ has Flynn playing Ned Sherwood, a croupier in a Havana casino who is given counterfeit pesos by a blonde named Fina (Rossana Rory). Possession of the counterfeit money casts suspicion on Sherwood who takes it upon himself to hunt down the counterfeit plates. What unfolds is a long, elaborate mystery, skirting close to but again never quite achieving a _film noir_ style. On its positive side, the story achieves a heightened level of suspense. Flynn looks considerably older here; his face is puffy and often his eyelids droop as if he is about to fall asleep. Perhaps the script bored him, although it is more likely his fading health contributed to his apparent disinterest. The climactic showdown between Sherwood and the bad guys was filmed at the historic Morro Castle, or _Morro de la Habana_ , constructed about 1590. The castle overlooks the city across the Bay of Havana. Flynn was as good as possible considering the material he was given. _The Big Boodle_ marked a rare appearance in a modern setting. He had traded his period costumes for a suit and tie and went about with a generally bedraggled appearance that is said to have matched his demeanor off-screen.
**Errol Flynn in the television film "Without Incident" with Julie London and Ann Sheridan. His failing health was increasingly apparent to those around him.**
The advertising kept things simple. Flynn, hunkered down with a .45 automatic and sporting a bandage on his forehead, looking determined as usual. The large red letters announcing: FLYNN'S RED-HOT IN HELL-HOT HAVANA!
Havana offered many diversions and he had many friends there. Often, he spent an afternoon in the Floridita, essentially a tavern, where he sometimes drank with Ernest Hemingway. The Floridita is famous today primarily because of these two macho celebrities. For many years the bartender at the Floridita would recall that Flynn was _"muy pala paga"_ which translates as not trustworthy. Flynn was always short of cash in Cuba and this made a lasting impression. Hemingway may have disliked Flynn but he still took the time to drink with him. Sometimes those afternoons would get long. The drinks flowed and the stories were batted about, perhaps each trying to impress the other. It was considerably cooler inside the Floridita than out in the blistering white street. Hemingway made a point of repeating many times that "the money pocket in Captain Blood's pants had been stitched closed." Everything Hemingway ever said about Flynn was negative. Flynn, for his part, never besmirched Hemingway and spoke fondly of him, although only in general terms. Flynn liked _For_ _Whom the Bell Tolls_ and _The Sun Also Rises._ They talked about boxing, probably women, but not too much about the women. These two had other issues than women to discuss. Hemingway once wrote to his friend Lillian Ross: "Flynn claims to have been a fighter but he loses fights even with dames and I think if (he) had been a champion he would win at least one of his non-professional starts."
On June 6, 1957, only weeks before his forty-eighth birthday, Flynn made his last appearance with Ann Sheridan who had not appeared with him since _Silver River_. CBS television signed them for an episode of _Playhouse 90._ Directed by Charles Marquis Warren, "Without Incident" starred Flynn with a fine supporting cast: Julie London, John Ireland and Sheb Wooley.
Flynn played Captain Russell J. Bidlack. Sheridan and London played sisters Kathy and Angela. The story opens with Bidlack and a small company of soldiers escorting the sisters with a captured renegade Indian to Morgantown. Surrounded by Apaches in the rocky hills, the soldiers and women begin to lash out at each other. After surviving several attacks, Bidlack's group reaches Morgantown where the townfolk react coldly to their presence. When the pursuing Apaches surround Morgantown, Bidlack decides to flee with his prisoner. They are attacked again by the Apaches in the foothills and one of Bidlack's soldiers releases the renegade Indian out of fear of being slaughtered. Distraught that his mission has failed, Bidlack arrives at an army outpost with the intention of resigning. In an unlikely plot twist, the Apaches return the renegade Indian to Bidlack having found him unworthy of living with his own tribe. With the integrity of his orders intact, Bidlack states in his report his mission was accomplished "without incident."
The production has moments of interest, but the action sequences are too brief and lacking in energy. Flynn's performance can only be described as an emotionless walk-through, but how much of his lifeless performance is due to lack of interest or simply to poor direction is unknown. Julie London turns in a good performance as a bosomy, seductive flirt. One is left wishing the camera had lingered on her pretty figure for a longer time. The camera does not lie and by now no amount of make-up could disguise Flynn's deteriorating condition.
Sheridan was reportedly eager to work with Flynn again, but upon seeing the final cut, she was upset by the editing which she felt ruined a good script. Allegedly, she was further upset by her own aging appearance and felt the cameraman, Joseph Biroc, was incompetent. Soon thereafter she had a face-lift. Sheridan later said that Flynn had recently undergone surgery on his tongue to remove a lesion that he feared was malignant and that reading his lines was difficult for him. When he wasn't needed on the set he went off to sit by himself and quietly read a book.
Sheb Wooley recalled long drinking sessions with Flynn that were immensely enjoyable but ultimately counter-productive. Wooley enjoyed working with Flynn again and said the mood on "Without Incident" was generally upbeat. Wooley has said that Flynn taught him a great deal about acting. In summing up Flynn, Wooley said: "I think he was a good-hearted guy, and not too different from the rest of us, just a bigger name and a bigger yacht. He lived a little more dangerously than the rest of us."
Wooley didn't recall seeing "Without Incident" on television and would see little of Flynn after filming wrapped. Wooley's career had progressed after _Rocky Mountain_ with supporting roles in _Little Big Horn_ (1951), _Bugles in the Afternoon_ (1952), _High Noon_ (1952), _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_ (1954), and _Giant_ (1956). In 1959 he joined Clint Eastwood and Eric Fleming in "Rawhide" for NBC television. During his tenure on "Rawhide" Wooley recorded "The Purple People Eater" which soared to the coveted number one spot on Billboard's record chart. His long and diverse career later included character parts in _The War Wagon_ (1967) with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, _The Outlaw Josey Wales_ (1976) reuniting him with Clint Eastwood, _Silverado_ (1985) with Kevin Kline and Kevin Costner, and _Hoosiers_ (1986) with Gene Hackman.
Flynn's encounters with the police never diminished, even as his health faltered. In October 1957 he was charged with stealing a policeman's badge at a publicity ball, although the charge was dismissed due to a lack of evidence. Flynn had been arrested with a Dublin-born actress named Maura Fitzgibbons outside the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Upon entering the club Flynn naturally inquired where the bar was located. He was on his way for his usual libation with Fitzgibbons when they were stopped by an off-duty policeman who wanted an autograph. Flynn explained that it was his custom to have a drink in hand before socializing and signing autographs. All of the press reports indicate that Flynn was extremely polite and informed the man he would be pleased to comply with his request once he had a drink. But the man insisted and took Flynn by the arm claiming that the hatcheck girl was his wife. Trying to avoid a scene, Flynn accompanied the man to the cloakroom where Flynn allegedly made note of the woman's attractive appearance. Some reports state that Flynn kissed the woman on the lips, which upset her policeman husband. Irritated, the man brandished his LAPD badge which Flynn plucked from his hand. Flynn was arrested and charged with being drunk and disorderly. At the station, the police changed their attitude and offered to let Flynn go if he promised to behave himself. Flynn was indignant and said: "I demand to be arrested. I want the whole world to know of the injustice of this deed—that Errol Flynn was arrested as a drunk before he even got to the bar." He was unceremoniously thrown into the drunk tank with a large group of Mexican farm workers. The Mexicans were all intoxicated from too much fun and tequila on a Saturday night. When Flynn was tossed into the cell they ceased singing their ranchero songs and looked on in astonishment. Then they began chanting: "Viva El Capitan Blood! Viva El Capitan Blood!" All of the reports agree that when they resumed singing their ranchero songs, Flynn joined in on the chorus.
Darryl Zanuck had long been interested in filming Hemingway's _The Sun Also Rises_ with an all-star cast. Tyrone Power signed on to play the lead role of Jake Barnes, followed by Ava Gardner as Lady Brett Ashley, and Mel Ferrer as Robert Cohn. But they needed an actor to play Mike Campbell, an alcoholic and disillusioned expatriate. Zanuck and director Henry King agreed that Flynn would be an interesting choice. Initially, Flynn was not interested in the role for a number of reasons; he rejected the idea of taking fourth billing after Tyrone Power, and he felt the role, while a good one, wasn't substantial enough. Flynn may have signed the contract simply because he needed the money. He had little or no prospects for work. He had become a sad curiosity in Hollywood but his choice for once was judicious. His performance as the dissipated veteran of World War I was the film's highlight.
Flynn and Tyrone Power had been friends for years and it was apparently quite humorous to them both that they had once competed for audiences as the reigning action stars of the early 1940s. Power had joined the Marines during World War II and upon returning to Hollywood decided he would relinquish the costume adventure films in favor of dramatic roles. Power chose his roles carefully and managed to appear in several first-rate films. _The Razor's Edge_ (1946) based upon the novel by Somerset Maugham, and _Nightmare Alley_ (1947) based on the novel by William Lindsay Gresham, were strong evidence that Power was an actor capable of great depth. Power had succeeded in altering the creative direction of his career while Flynn had become an unemployable drunk.
_The Sun Also Rises_ was an ambitious undertaking but doesn't hold together because the principal actors were all too old to play members of the Lost Generation. Had they made the film ten or fifteen years earlier it might have been far more convincing. All the same, Flynn stole the show as the boozing, out-of-control Mike Campbell. Power, always the consummate professional, praised Flynn's performance and said, "Errol Flynn is likely to walk off with an Academy Award for his work in this picture." Unfortunately, an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor never materialized although Flynn was hailed for his performance. Hemingway, on the other hand, was angry that Zanuck had allowed Power and Flynn to appear in a film based on his book.
Robert Evans, who played a young matador and love interest for Ava Gardner, painted a rather sad and typically debauched portrait of Flynn in his 1994 memoir, _The Kid Stays in the Picture_. Recalled Evans: "No one wanted to talk to Errol because by two in the afternoon, every afternoon, he was drunk." Evans developed what he described as a "beautiful friendship" with Flynn and described visiting a red-light district in Mexico City with him. Afterward, a very intoxicated Flynn surprised Evans by arranging to meet several prostitutes back at their bungalow. Flynn encouraged the girls to undress and dance on a table while he drank, Latin music blaring from a phonograph. A hysterically laughing Flynn telling the prostitutes, "On the table, on the table, that's it, dance, dance!" is typical of the actor's increasingly outrageous behavior. The critical success of Flynn's performance was welcome although immediately word spread that Flynn was so effective at playing a drunk because he was a drunk, a fact that he encouraged when the subject came up.
The year 1957 offered a brief flash of success and temporarily cast him in the limelight. He still needed to make money and so occasionally he made guest appearances on various television programs. Many of these cameos are long forgotten and difficult to locate. He appeared with Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, and Martha Raye as well as several other game shows. He also appeared on _To Tell the Truth_ on May 26, 1957, as a "guest panelist" with Sammy Davis, Jr., as the "mystery guest." He made two appearances on _The Steve Allen Show_ : first on January 6, 1957, and again on December 1, 1957. In his 1992 autobiography, _Hi-Ho Steverino,_ Allen recalled casting Flynn in a spoof of _To Tell the Truth._ Allen remarked that: "Errol performed creditably during rehearsal and was, as always, personally charming backstage, but by the time we were on the air—live—he was so spaced out on God-knows-what that he offered a very poor impression of himself, and in fact, came creatively alive for only one brief moment when he mentioned playing the role of the famous actor, John Barrymore and arched a remarkably Barrymore-like eyebrow."
Don Knotts, who later made television history playing Deputy Barney Fife on _The Andy Griffith Show_ , appeared on the program with Flynn and recalled the filming in his autobiography: "The poor man was not well by this time, and he was just a little drunk during the entire week of rehearsal, but he did the show just fine. He had a wonderful sense of humor. We did a takeoff on _To Tell the Truth._ When Steve said, "Will the real Errol Flynn stand up," and I stood up, Errol Flynn almost fell off his chair laughing. But it was sad to see this Hollywood legend on the bottom rung of the ladder. As we left the theater after the show that night, we found him sitting on the dressing room stairs with his head in his hands."
Jack Warner had purchased the rights to Diana Barrymore's autobiography, _Too Much, Too Soon_ and immediately knew that he wanted Flynn to play Diana's father, John Barrymore. Barrymore's book recounted a tepid and self-serving story about Diana's often unpleasant life. Flynn knew Diana well and even appears in her book. "There was no romance," she said. "He wanted a girl to talk to and swim with and laugh with. He treated me with brotherly affection." According to Diana, Flynn encouraged her to believe in herself and helped her overcome her feelings of inadequacy. Diana did not possess the classically beautiful features of a Hollywood starlet and Flynn told her, "You're alive, Diana—look alive!" Heeding Flynn, Barrymore said: "I took his advice. I made up heavily, with darker lipstick, and I used eyebrow pencil and mascara for the first time. I danced, I drank champagne, I had fun." Her depiction of Flynn is one of the least antagonistic and shows something of his sensitive nature.
Flynn had difficulty remembering his lines and did not get along well with the director, Art Napoleon. Flynn proceeded with a notably hammy portrayal of Barrymore but Jack Warner told Flynn to tone down the performance a bit. Recalling this instruction from Warner, Flynn told journalist Charles Hamblett: "They've great respect for the dead in Hollywood, but none for the living." This comment has been attributed to several other Hollywood personalities, but it originated with Flynn.
Jack Warner's quote regarding Flynn during filming is equally well known: "He was playing the part of a drunken actor, and he didn't need any method system to get him in the mood. He _was_ drunk. _Too much too soon_. The words should have been carved on a tombstone at the time, for he was one of the living dead."
Dorothy Malone was cast as Diana Barrymore and she effectively depicted the loneliness and desire for acceptance that provided the film's theme. Flynn turns in a superb performance. His presence is electrifying in many respects but when he leaves the film, the story slows down. It is Flynn who engages the audience and holds its interest. Without him, the film is nothing more than another sordid drama with the required screaming and bravura posturing. Like Barrymore, Flynn was a restless, driven man with a passion for ever-new experiences and adventures, and a desire to find inner peace. Drawing on his first-hand encounters with Barrymore, and relying on his own deep understanding of the alcoholism that destroyed him, Flynn turned his role into a stunning portrayal. The image of Flynn/Barrymore bantering drunkenly is pitiful and ridiculous but somehow still deeply moving. Off screen as well, Flynn could easily evoke these feelings from a group of rapt listeners. His interpretation of John Barrymore is at once charming and heart-breaking.
Writer Charles Hamblett spoke at length with Flynn during production. Hamblett's comprehensive interview offered a rare look at the workings of Flynn's mind. The actor was eager to talk about Barrymore and told Hamblett: "One of the first people I met out here was Jack Barrymore.... Talk about a character—they don't breed 'em like that anymore. He'd fall off a bar stool and go on talking as though nothing had happened. People go out of their way to say what a wreck he was towards the end of his life, but he sure worked hard to get that way. Lesser men would have been in their graves long before Jack gave up the ghost."
Flynn was vocalizing those elements that he was working to capture with his performance. Flynn added: "He was still a fine figure of a man when I first met him. The women used to hang around him like flies. But he was always a man's man. He, John Carradine, and I used to go three or four days without sleeping. We'd start out in some bistro at noon, and a week later find ourselves in Mexico or on a yacht off Catalina with a dozen empty bottles on the floor and a gaggle of whores puking their guts up all over the place. That's how we'd go, drinking ourselves to a standstill. I'm not saying this is a commendable thing, but that's how we were then—so intoxicated with the sheer zing of existence, we were half-mad even when we were technically sober. In these mealy-mouthed days this is frowned upon. But I don't regret any of it."
Flynn was also acutely aware of the changes that had occurred in Hollywood. He offered this insightful assessment of some of the actors who were making the headlines in 1958: "I like some of the younger performers: Brando, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Shirley MacLaine, Carolyn Jones, Tony Franciosa. If the new anarchy ever manages to break through the present conservatism, it will almost certainly stem from the activities and possible influences of this group. They're lively and iconoclastic. Some are veterans of early TV before it got set and scared rigid; others are graduates of the New York drama schools and theater, and that gives a performer roots. They're none of them hooked to Hollywood; they can stand back from the set-up and laugh at it. In a way they have it within them to revive some of the early adventurousness of Hollywood's madcap pioneers."
Filming was difficult but Flynn's spirits were lifted by the sight of an attractive girl working as an extra on the Warner lot for a film called _Marjorie Morningstar_. Beverly Aadland was a well-developed fifteen years old when they were introduced by actor Gene Kelly. Flynn was forty-eight but looked older. Aadland was on the Warner lot only four days and during that time she noticed a man had taken to staring at her as she passed. She didn't recognize Flynn but when she found out who he was she was frightened. "I was instantly afraid of him because of the things I had read about him—about that rape trial and things like that."
Whatever her hesitations, they vanished once she got to know Flynn a little better. "When he looked at me I felt something," Beverly later said. "I know it always was like that—whenever Errol looked at a girl she felt it!" If anyone raised a word of caution to Flynn it went unheeded. He listened to his own inner voice and allowed his libido free rein. Flynn set to the task of seducing Beverly, which turned out not to be very difficult. Later, when her comments were recorded for posterity, it was apparent she was childlike in every way; only her body was mature, something Flynn had noticed at once. There is an endearing comical quality to her statements, particularly when discussing the beginning of their affair. When Flynn invited her to his rented apartment, Beverly enthusiastically recalled: "Wow! I told myself, this guy really has earned his reputation. He certainly is a fast worker!"
Patrice Wymore endured much and continued her efforts to keep her marriage together, but in 1957 she separated from her husband. With Beverly Aadland at his side, Flynn turned his attention to his next book. Flynn had been writing his memoirs for years. Sometimes his output consisted of a few meager pages; other times he could write long sections that required little editing. As the long decade dragged on his powers were considerably diminished. He was often too strung out on drugs and alcohol to sustain a lengthy writing session. Sometimes he filled pages with phrases of half-remembered songs or poems; and too often he scrawled wildly across the page, unable to concentrate, the words falling haphazardly and without cohesion. Some of these surviving pages are not legible, and those few patches that are readable are nothing less than the musings of a tortured man.
But he had signed a book contract and wanted to tell his story. Flynn was serious about writing a tell-all autobiography without apology for his wild life. In the beginning, his writing showed promise, as it should have. He turned in pages to his editor, Howard Cady, who had the instinct to realize that Flynn was telling a remarkable story. Cady also recognized when Flynn reached the point where the quality had lapsed and he needed help. They needed someone who could manage the depth of the material and transform it into something readable, but in a fashion that would retain Flynn's style and voice.
The choice for Flynn's ghost writer could not have been better. Earl Conrad was born in Auburn, New York, in 1912. By the time he joined Flynn in Jamaica in 1958 he had published nine books, both fiction and non-fiction, and had accumulated both wide-spread acclaim and critical resentment. His books were often controversial. Because he believed that the rift in relations between black and white Americans was of the highest importance, he often chose to tackle race relations and the black experience in his writing. His first book, _Harriet Tubman_ (1943), about the Civil War–era black woman who assisted slaves in escaping to the North, was a critical success and remained in print for many years. _The Public School Scandal_ (1951) evoked a scathing response from many critics who reviled Conrad's examination of the practices and prejudices in the New York public school system. In contrast to these non-fiction works, his novel _Gulf Stream North_ (1954) was praised for its eloquence and strong characterizations.
Conrad had the writing talent—the question was whether or not he would be able to handle the unpredictable actor. Any hesitations he may have felt were quickly dispelled upon meeting Flynn. The two men liked each other, although Conrad's time with Flynn was not entirely pleasant. Conrad flew to Port Antonio to begin the job of assisting Flynn in writing his autobiography. Upon arrival he discovered that Patrice Wymore had left and had been replaced by Beverly Aadland.
Conrad worked with Flynn through the summer and into the early fall. Flynn was cooperative and pleased with the work Conrad was doing on his behalf. Together, they created a remarkable book. _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ would not be published until after Flynn's death. It is still in print and the various editions in hardcover and paperback are collector's items. It is not completely accurate in its presentation of facts, locales, and chronology, but it captured the essence of Flynn's complex nature. Both Conrad's and Flynn's detractors often cite the historical discrepancies as reason enough to condemn the book, an impractical assessment at best. Often, Earl Conrad had to take Flynn at his word, knowing full well that Flynn was telling a tall tale. Many of these anecdotes in the book have become accepted as fact: Flynn standing trial for murder in New Guinea and the stealing of John Barrymore's corpse by Raoul Walsh.
In Flynn's correspondence shortly after the two parted—Flynn for Cuba and Conrad to New York—the actor continuously offered anecdotes and insights that Conrad later incorporated into the book. The final page, in particular, is especially haunting as it depicts Flynn sitting outside at his Port Antonio estate among the swaying palm trees, far from the maddening world of Hollywood he had come to despise. Flynn the world-traveler is at home among the natural elements of Jamaica, contemplating his life. The book's final sentence carried quite an elegiac punch coming as it did several months after Flynn's death: "The second half-century looms up, but I don't feel the night coming on." Conrad had written the last page based on a letter Flynn wrote to him from Hotel Comodoro in Havana in March 1959. Throughout the book Conrad routinely altered names and personal characteristics to avoid potential litigation. Hermann Erben became Dr. Gerrit Koets. Joel Swartz is the disguised version of Charles Chauvel. Conrad simply lifted the name Joel Swartz from _Showdown_. Similarly, ships such as _Maski_ serve cross-purposes in Flynn's books. All of this eventually led to speculations that Flynn was hiding something, but in the end it turned out that he wasn't hiding anything.
There was a push to title Flynn's book _In Like Flynn_ which caused him to write Conrad: "In like me? Who's in? Me? Who, When, Where?" Flynn jokingly told Conrad in a letter that a good title might be simply, _My God!_ Or better yet, _Funny Life, Ain't It?_ As an epigram for the book he chose a poem that he recalled from his youth. It was actually an old folksong but Flynn couldn't remember the source. In several letters to Conrad he worked out different versions until he was satisfied. Howard Cady took the first line, "Come all you young men with your wicked, wicked ways..." to give the book its title.
Flynn read the proofs and made corrections and additions. He liked what he saw. This was the ultimate memoir, frank and revealing, and a rare private glimpse into his life. His intellectual depth and philosophical studies were surprising to his fans. Most had no idea that Flynn was such a complex man. _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ was an instant best-seller but not without controversy. Immediately after publication Michael Curtiz, Lili Damita, Irene Ghika, and Maureen O'Hara were among those who protested descriptions in the book. With litigation pending, the publisher consented to several deletions. The version in print today is the excised edition, leaving the first hardcover and paperback editions preferable to collectors.
Darryl Zanuck came to Flynn's rescue again and offered him a part in _The Roots of Heaven._ Flynn would be given top billing even though it was a supporting role. Flynn flew to French Equatorial Africa for filming with director John Huston. Production immediately ran into difficulty. Extreme heat made filming challenging. Several of the cast and many members of the crew suffered from dysentery. Flynn and co-star Trevor Howard maintained their composure by drinking heavily.
Flynn also found other diversions as the production plodded along. He was told that a high percentage of the females in the Ubangi tribe were syphilitic and that only after being administered penicillin was it safe to engage in sexual relations. John Huston recalled: "I used to hear cats meowing at night, and I wondered why I never saw any cats. Then I discovered that the French doctor was supplying Errol not only with drugs but with girls as well. The girls came around at night and signaled their presence to Errol by meowing. He would open the door furtively and let them slip in. All these young ladies had been given bismuth treatments for venereal disease by the French doctor and pronounced eligible for Errol's delectation."
Orson Welles, appearing for the first (and only) time in a film with his friend, commented on Flynn's dalliance with Beverly Aadland: "He turned up with a fifteen year old girl who would have made a Polanski of anybody!" Welles said, referring to director Roman Polanski whose reputation for enjoying the company of young girls is equal to Flynn's. "She was sensational! It made a very strong impression on everybody that he was sustaining the interest of this healthy young child since he was coked to the gills, and on the big H, and drunk. He was still managing to get around, looking pretty awful."
_The Roots of Heaven_ offered Flynn a superb supporting role although he was given top billing. The picture clearly belongs to Trevor Howard. Both Flynn and Howard drank excessively during the production, but the drinking doesn't seem to have affected their performances. Flynn played a drunk in the film and his poor health was evident but his performance is tremendous, particularly in a bar-room scene early in the film. Perhaps he wasn't acting. The critics didn't care much for the film although most cited Flynn's exemplary performance. John Huston didn't care much for the finished product either and critics writing about Huston's career today summarily dismiss _The Roots of Heaven_ as a bad film. This is an unfair assessment by any standard. Loosely based on a novel by Romain Gary and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, the film follows the efforts of an idealist named Morel (Howard) who is intent on preserving the African elephant population which is dwindling because of unchecked poaching. Its sympathy for animal rights might have found a better audience ten years later when social awareness of such causes had been heightened by the counter-culture movement of the 1960s. Audiences in the late 1950s didn't react well to it on any level. But Flynn liked the role and the resulting film.
**Errol Flynn with Juliette Greco in** _**The Roots of Heaven**_ **(1958).**
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Although Flynn had his fun with the Ubangi women, he hadn't forgotten about Beverly Aadland. He wrote many sensitive and romantic letters to his young love:
> I write this by the light of a hurricane lamp. An electric fan is throwing warm, hot air at me as I sit on my camp stretcher, and is blowing the paper up my nose. But in my throat there is a sort of lump—a hard sort of core that doesn't let you swallow too well. Nothing physical—just pure emotion I guess when I think of you, but very deep and profound when I think of you, so much so that I find my eyes befogged and glazed and my pen trembles a bit. Of course, it's only sweat that comes from my eyes—perhaps tears of true feeling—feeling for an odd, strange and different little girl I hold in high regard. Yes, very much so. Please think of this always. I would be crushed emotionally if ever I thought you capable of any behavior that was not fine and honorable and decent—you are! You must excuse this—the talk. Perhaps here in the jungle, alone with time to think with the eerie, strange primitive noises on the air outside one gets a truer sense about people....
Flynn was apparently aware that his relationship with Aadland had sparked another investigation with the sheriff's department in Los Angeles. In his letters to Beverly, he coaches her, albeit in general terms, on handling the barrage of questions that she might soon face.
> I know, and so do you, that you have to face some facts, some situations when you get back to Los Angeles that are going to be far from easy for you. It's going to be tough. The going is going to be hard, but I have all the confidence in the world you'll be able to cope with it.... I'll tell myself you'll face the whole world—and your enemies and friends, too, with your little head held high and proudly, and if the going gets tough for you in Hollywood, remember my hopes in this world are pinned on you—you! If this sounds pompous—good. Be true to yourself and me. I've no more words to tell you of the high pedestal-like ideal I have for you....
There is one other letter that Flynn wrote while filming _The Roots of Heaven_ that requires mentioning. The date is uncertain, but it is possibly late 1958 when Flynn wrote to Teddy Stauffer and concluded with a premonition of his death:
> I did the most awful, unforgivable thing last week in French Equatorial Africa—shot an elephant. Honestly, I didn't want to—but you know how it is in such cases when the pressure's on and you want to say, "No, I don't want to," and you don't say it and you go ahead and shoot? I still feel like an assassin.... Come on, you lazy Swiss beachcomber, write a pal a line telling all about your domestic bliss, your extra-marital mischief and all the corruptions and connivings to which you are prone. Our leading lady, Juliette Greco, Zanuck's girlfriend, is a doll—a real doll. We get along. I have an odd feeling this may be the last picture I make. Errol
Flynn was not quite accurate in the assessment of his demise; there would be one more film after _The Roots of Heaven._
He returned to Paris during a hiatus in the production and sat down for an interview with columnist Art Buchwald. He talked about the difficulty he was having writing his memoirs. "I lie awake at night plucking at the coverlet wondering what tomorrow's chapter will be," Flynn said. "I can't write about myself because I lie to myself. I don't even know they're lies because I believe them."
**Errol Flynn with Fidel Castro in early 1959.**
Perhaps to make his point, Flynn repeated one of his fabricated stories. He told Buchwald that he bummed around Japan in his youth and enlisted in the Hong Kong volunteers. His time in Hong Kong was dismal so he deserted the Hong Kong volunteers and went to Manila where he got involved in crooked cockfights. He told Buchwald that a doctor friend showed him how to place snake venom on a rooster's beak to increase his odds of winning. None of this is true, but anyone listening to Flynn's stories was compelled to believe him because he was so convincing. His story may not have been true, but it could have been, and certainly the story's prevalent details lend it an authentic hue.
But always there are glimmers of the truth in Flynn's conversations. "I was getting too old for a horse and a sword," he told Buchwald. "I'm grateful to Zanuck because my legs can't take it anymore. Now I have a new career. The only thing that burns me up is that formerly my parts were always described in the script as calling for a fine figure of a man. Tough and rough who must get the girl. Now I read a script I know the part they want me to play. It always starts off as Joe Blow, a once handsome man who is now a decadent shadow of himself. It makes a man start thinking."
Flynn made the ill-advised decision to appear in his first American stage production. He had not worked on stage since his brief stint with the Northampton Repertory Players. Perhaps his interest in the play, written by Huntington Hartford and based on _Jane Eyre_ , stemmed from his continuous need for money. In 1957, Flynn's former attorney, Robert Ford, who had so capably teamed with Jerry Giesler during the 1943 rape proceedings, sued Flynn for unpaid wages amounting to $44,000. Compounding matters, Nora Eddington filed suit claiming Flynn was $15,000 in arrears in his child support payments. They also squabbled over a $325.00 hospital bill which was incurred when Deirdre had been admitted to a Culver City hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Re-titled _The Master of Thornfield_ , the play was another disaster. Flynn's heavy drinking contributed to his inability to remember his lines. He reportedly loaded the set with supplies of vodka and upon forgetting his lines would saunter to a bookcase or desk and pour himself a quick shot. Sometimes he broke character and addressed the audience, digressing into anecdotes about John Barrymore. The play folded after only a few performances. Flynn, perhaps embarrassed by the turn of events, said, "I can't do much with this the way it's written." In response to that Hartford said, "In my own defense, I'd like to say that I have yet to hear my play (from Flynn) as it was written."
Knowing that death was imminent from the time he made _Crossed Swords_ never deterred him from making a celebration of life. Throughout the 1950s Flynn traveled across Europe several times. In Paris, he encountered journalist Joe Hyams, whom he had met in Hollywood. An excellent writer, Hyams began his career as a correspondent in the South Pacific during World War II. In the early 1950s he became a syndicated columnist for the _New York Herald Tribune_. Flynn told Hyams: "The only way to have a peaceful, happy life is to be broke. I could spend the rest of my life spending my money so I can die broke but happy. I will give you an allegory. You see those fat French pigeons there? They're doing well at Fouquet's. I throw them a piece of bread and they don't take it. They want the end of a radish. Their taste for the simple things has become dulled. They are satiated. I don't want to be a fat French pigeon, do you understand?"
Flynn was broke and he was dying. Typically for Flynn, he made fun of everything. He shared with Hyams his feelings on what his epitaph should be: "I want them to write: In this vale of tears, he was against money. When he didn't have it, he borrowed it and never paid it back. Like Li Po I will be famous because of my epitaph."
Although Flynn's health was rapidly failing, his intellectual curiosity and wanderlust remained as active as ever. He followed news reports and world events with interest. When Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in 1953 for passing nuclear secrets to agents from the Soviet Union, Flynn made notes toward an essay he wanted to write about the value of human punishment. His brief, one-paragraph outline included a comparison to the tortures inflicted by the Inquisitors in France in the early 1600s. Flynn had probably read Aldous Huxley's _The Devils of Loudon_ (1952) which detailed the policies of Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu in France in 1634. He also wrote in his diary about John Barrymore, remembering the anecdote about Barrymore at John Gilbert's funeral. His life paralleled Barrymore's in many ways.
**Errol Flynn with Beverly Aadland in _ **Cuban Rebel Girls**_ (1959).**
His next adventure took him to Cuba where Castro and his rebel band were about to overthrow Batista. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born near Birán in Oriente Province in 1926 (this is the generally accepted year of birth). He began his attempt at overthrowing the Batistan government in 1956 when he returned from exile in Mexico. Most of Castro's men were killed by Batista's troops in the initial beach landing, but Castro and a small band of rebels escaped to the eastern mountains. Castro and his men commenced with a guerrilla campaign to remove Batista from power. Castro became the leader of the Cuban government when Batista fled the island in 1959. For almost a year prior, the campaign to remove Batista had swung in Castro's favor and news organizations around the world closely monitored his progress. Like most people, Flynn watched the headlines and when it was apparent that Castro would succeed in deposing Batista, Flynn decided he wanted in on the action. "I've always been a rebel," Flynn said. "I'm going to see if Castro is my kind of rebel."
At the time, Castro's Communist ideology was unknown to the general public. Castro would not formally embrace Marxism, the political philosophy that provides the basis for Communism, until the early 1960s. The general viewpoint in 1959 was that Castro was a freedom fighter, which in a sense was true. Flynn was intrigued. Beverly Aadland later said about Flynn's trip to Cuba: "He was an idealist at heart, and that in itself was a main cause of his rebellion. With Castro he found a thousand kindred spirits. I am glad, knowing that he was to die soon—that he had his opportunity for one last adventure."
Joining with producer Barry Mahon who had produced _Crossed Swords_ and _William Tell_ , Flynn went to Cuba with a camera crew and an assortment of hangers-on. Many of these were the usual opportunists who followed him to share a spot of the limelight. Just about everyone involved, with the exception of Beverly Aadland, harbored ulterior motives for accompanying Flynn to Cuba.
The FBI's interest in Flynn, which had been relatively dormant since 1950, was rekindled. Beverly Aadland was officially listed as Flynn's "secretary" to avoid problems with the authorities although it was obvious to everyone that they were sleeping together. Flying into Cuba at this time was a dangerous, perhaps even reckless, venture. Castro's secret police (which were not so secret) were suspicious of Flynn and allegedly a great amount of money was exchanged to clear the way for Flynn and his crew. Where the funding originated is unclear, but Barry Mahon reportedly had a hand in smoothing over the deal. Flynn was well known in Cuba because of his fondness for gambling and this undoubtedly assisted him in his negotiations.
Flynn accompanied Castro and his men to Palma Soriano shortly before Batista fled. Although Castro was victorious, the island country was still a dangerous and unpredictable environment. Castro had enemies as well, and his associates were engaged in routing some of these opposing factions.
When Flynn met Castro he reportedly told the rebel leader through an interpreter that he should call his men "Patriots" rather than "rebels." Flynn explained that "Patriots has the touch of Jesse James about it." Castro was reportedly not clear as to who exactly Flynn was. Very soon the rumor began circulating that Flynn never met Castro and made the whole thing up for publicity. This is untrue, in fact, Flynn had several meetings with Castro that were caught on film. According to a report in the FBI file, Castro allegedly wanted Santo Trafficante removed as the operator of the Sans Souci Nightclub because of his previous friendship with the Batista family. An informant for the FBI alleged that Castro asked Flynn to recommend a reliable person to operate the casino. This is an intriguing, albeit unsubstantiated, claim. Prior to Batista's departure in December 1958, the FBI report places Flynn with Castro in Oriente Province. It is unknown if Flynn and Castro struck up any type of rapport, but some reports indicate Castro gave Flynn only brief consideration. That Castro would think enough of Flynn's judgment to ask him for a referral seems unlikely.
Later reports quote Flynn as saying to Castro: "Look, sport, do you mind if I take an occasional draft of the delicious wine of your land so as to make the revolution a little more viable?" Castro allegedly told Flynn to enjoy himself but added that he had an allergic reaction to wine. "I have the same thing," Flynn reportedly told Castro, "but by dint of great discipline I have overcome it." The statement is similar to those made by John Barrymore when discussing a choice of beverages and may be another one of those fabricated Flynn anecdotes, but in any event Castro's officers were concerned by Flynn's heavy drinking. They criticized him for his continuously intoxicated condition and did not believe he was serious about making a quality film in Cuba.
**Errol Flynn with Beverly Aadland in New York after returning from Cuba in 1959.**
Flynn was in an unusual position to observe Castro's historic rise to power. He proposed to Earl Conrad that he write a series of articles about his Cuban experiences. Conrad agreed to assist, even though he was in the middle of finishing the manuscript for _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_. Flynn began sending Conrad long descriptions and stories, most of which Conrad used in the articles published under Flynn's name. The Hearst Corporation contracted Flynn as a journalist, which pleased him. Flynn said, "I know I could write a certain kind of informal stuff. I would have to write on controversial subjects, and adapt an aggressive attitude. I wish I could write as well as (Ring) Lardner in New York."
In a typescript to Conrad titled "How to Die" he described how he felt as he observed Castro's men executing some of their opponents:
> I have witnessed many gruesome sights in my life, but none more so than a human being facing the firing squad. I don't care how much he deserves it, it made me vomit—and I couldn't have given a damn when I saw the expressions of faint amusement on the faces watching the hero of a thousand screen battles, Flynn, go white and heave his brave guts up. Brave? Guts? I puked—gagged close to the feet of a guard, spilling on the end of his hardworn boot, and there was a faint amusement in the faint flicker of the smile he had.
Filming proceeded on _Cuban Rebel Girls_. Flynn had one unpleasant encounter with Castro's secret police when they searched his hotel room. Flynn had been required to submit a print of the film to the new Cuban government and his failure to do so resulted in the search. Flynn protested to the news media that he was upset about the unauthorized search, but the photographs show a ruffled but smiling and obviously delighted Flynn. He looks as if someone had just told him a very funny joke.
Unfortunately, the source of the controversy, _Cuban Rebel Girls_ , contained none of Flynn's celebrated sense of humor. _Cuban Rebel Girls_ is an amateurish film and is difficult to watch because of Flynn's pitiable appearance. In several scenes Flynn slurred his lines and his dialogue was dubbed in New York months later. The plot, what little of it there was, played out like this:
The film begins with Flynn explaining his interest in writing about Castro, and after checking into a Havana hotel he makes contact with some of Castro's emissaries. Flynn is taken to an airport where he is transported to a secluded hideout in the mountains to meet Castro. One is expecting a documentary approach but instead the film jumps to New York where Flynn states, "I'm happy to say my trip was a success." But there is no footage of Castro, no documentation of the rebel leader's effort to overthrow Batista. Instead, the narrative shifts to a beauty parlor where Beverly Aadland and the other actors prove their inability to speak a line of dialogue convincingly. They fabricate an agenda to join a mercenary group to assist Castro. It is here that Aadland exclaims, "Sounds like fun. Maybe I'll get to shoot somebody." The players make their way through the jungle and Flynn makes several brief, incongruous appearances. There is some forced proselytizing at the conclusion, with Aadland espousing the virtues of liberty. The film had degenerated into the type of movie that Ed Wood (considered by most to be Hollywood's worst director and creator of the excruciating _Plan 9 from Outer Space_ starring Bela Lugosi) would screen in burlesque parlors. In fact, _Cuban Rebel Girls_ suffered a similar fate, playing briefly in what is best described as the grind-house circuit.
Some see _Cuban Rebel Girls_ as Flynn's final artistic statement; others view it as an example of Flynn's idealism and quest for adventure. It's sad to see him in this context, with his health failing. He had achieved a successful comeback that established him finally as an actor of note, but his final film makes an unsatisfying epitaph. _Cuban Rebel Girls_ invariably shows up on video or in independent screenings, sometimes under the title _Assault of the Rebel Girls_. The man who had so brilliantly conveyed a universal heroism as Robin Hood had become like Dorian Gray at last, "withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage."
During the time Flynn was making _Cuban Rebel Girls_ he teamed with businessman Victor Pahlen and participated in a documentary about Batista's fall from power. At some point the film was screened at a Moscow film festival, never to be seen again. The film was unknown for over forty years until it was rediscovered in a British film vault. In 2002 the film was released on DVD under the title _Cuban Story_. A better film than _Cuban Rebel Girls_ , this fifty-minute feature offers a rare glimpse of Castro during his rise to power. Flynn serves as host much as he did in _The Errol Flynn Theater_. A distinctly pro–Castro attitude prevails throughout which shouldn't be considered unusual because Batista was generally regarded as a tyrant.
It is unclear when Flynn's footage was shot because he appears with and without his mustache. He generally looks to be in the same poor condition as we find him in _Cuban Rebel Girls_ and much of the filming was obviously simultaneous. As with _Cuban Rebel Girls_ , Flynn's appearance in _Cuban Story_ is brief. Flynn introduces the film and there is one remarkable shot of him pulling up to George Raft's Havana casino in a white, shark-finned Cadillac. Flynn, dressed in white, looks to be in better shape than in the introduction and this footage must have been shot before Batista fell. Beverly Aadland and Flynn enter the casino where they indulge in blackjack and roulette. Most of the film examines the motivation behind Castro's desire to rid Cuba of the murderous Batista. Although some of the footage of bloodied dead bodies and that of an execution are gruesome, the examination of a country in the grip of political upheaval is the best aspect of the film and certainly qualifies _Cuban Story_ as historically valuable. A young Castro, _sans_ the characteristic beard, is glimpsed in some of this footage. At the conclusion, Flynn appears again and reads a telegram from Castro where Cuba's new leader welcomes Americans to "the land of freedom and liberty." Flynn then adds, "You know, I believe that, and so should you." In the introduction, a brief middle sequence, and again at the conclusion, Flynn looks somewhat dazed and struggles to concentrate on what he is doing.
Flynn was sought after by the writers and editors of the thriving men's magazine market that had flourished after Hugh Hefner's _Playboy_ made history with its first issue in 1953. Photographs of nude women and hardboiled prose filled dozens of _Playboy_ imitators. In May 1959 _Cavalier_ magazine featured Flynn in a cover story titled "Bottles, Battles, and Babes" by Maxwell Anderson. The photos included Flynn, allegedly in a Havana hotel, with a woman who is clearly nude although the photo is staged so that an elbow protrudes in front of the camera lens to cover her breasts. Flynn, wearing a black shirt, his hair uncombed, looks relatively smashed and ultimately disinterested. He does not appear capable of any extended sexual tryst but his legend was enough to inspire such articles and their accompanying photo sessions. Shortly before Flynn's death, _Climax_ magazine ran an article titled "Errol Flynn: Last of the Red Hot Heroes" and after his death _Men_ magazine published "Errol Flynn's Last Bawdy Cruise."
In her memoirs, gossip columnist Nancy Bacon describes in explicit detail her lovemaking with Flynn whom she met when she was a contract player for Universal Studios in the mid–1950s. For Bacon, Flynn represented the Old World charm and manners that were quickly disappearing from American culture. The photograph on her book jacket shows a typically attractive model circa the 1960s, her ample bosom straining against her bikini as she poses next to a swimming pool. Her account of Flynn in her bed, which includes details of Flynn performing oral sex on her, is a reminder that if he had lived a few years longer he would have found himself at the nexus of the sexual revolution. It is easy to imagine Flynn as a kind of guru for the psychedelic counter-culture. All the same, his posthumous effect was equally remarkable. Flynn's interest in a life-style free of the constraints of a regimented society inspired a generation of self-destructive rock and roll celebrities like Jim Morrison of the Doors. Said Bacon: "Errol was one of the true livers. He believed in living every pulsating moment to the hilt."
Flynn's final stint as an actor was in a thirty-minute film for the "Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre" on NBC television. The program, titled _The Golden Shanty_ , aired on November 9, 1959, twenty-six days after Flynn's death. It is a startling film to watch due to Flynn's rapidly deteriorating condition. Filmed at the Columbia Pictures studio, Flynn reportedly had difficulty remembering his lines.
Directed by Arthur Hiller, Errol played Dr. Boatwright, a traveling peddler of a "cure-all" elixir. In the opening sequence he arrives in a run-down frontier town in his wagon. He is hawking his "stomach bitters" to a small crowd of onlookers when he is noticed by Adelaide, played by Patricia Barry who previously appeared with Errol in _Cry Wolf_ under the name "Patricia White." Recognizing Dr. Boatwright as the swindler who sold her husband a dilapidated saloon named "The Golden Shanty" in the nearly deserted mining town, she swiftly heaves a brick at him and convinces the glib doctor to leave town.
Safely ensconced with his wagon outside of town, Dr. Boatwright examines the brick that landed in his wagon and discovers it is flecked with gold. Deducing the brick came from a crumbling wall of the saloon, he determines the building is worth a fortune because of the gold-laden bricks and formulates a plan to buy back the gilded tavern.
Dr. Boatwright commences to use his considerable charm on Adelaide, who—unbeknownst to him—contains an equally creative streak of larceny. Adelaide has no interest in her husband's veterinary interests, and in the mistaken belief that Dr. Boatwright is wealthy, plans to double-cross him. The entire affair culminates in Adelaide's husband learning of their schemes and tricking Adelaide into leaving for Chicago while Dr. Boatwright gratefully heads for San Francisco.
"The Golden Shanty" is mildly entertaining but Flynn's disintegrating appearance is heartbreaking. Under Arthur Hiller's skilled direction he was able to muster one last reasonable performance, the charm fading but still evident, a twinkle still present in his watery eyes. Flynn's spirits were lifted during production when he was visited by Deirdre and Rory. He showed them around the set, climbed into Dr. Boatwright's wagon with them and posed for pictures. In every photo taken of Flynn with his children the love comes across; his devotion to them was deep and unflagging.
Director Arthur Hiller offers this telling anecdote about working with Flynn:
> That was one of my saddest experiences because to see this man who you had seen flying through the air in films and who had done all of these wonderful things in films—and I believe this was his last work and it was a Western—and to see his difficulty in climbing up into a wagon was sad. And he couldn't remember his lines, he just couldn't remember them. I had to stage it at all in singles on him and I would be the offstage person delivering his lines to him, not the lines of the person playing the scene with him. He was terrific in rehearsal, when we were reading, but I could see him getting more nervous all the time and I had to pump him up a little, as we say, and he said to me, "Arthur, we're doing this in three days and I'm used to a hundred days." I tried to do one scene where I thought it would be cute if this woman that he'd been seducing now said yes, she's going to leave her job at the bar and leave her husband and come with him. Of course he didn't mean the seduction. He was just keeping her busy while his friend was digging gold out of the stones they'd found outside, and this time she says, "I'm coming with you and I'm packed and I left my husband a note on the bar." I tried to get him to go around behind the bar and sneak the note away. Then she goes to the front side and she gets there first. I staged it several ways, but he couldn't remember his lines. So I switched it to one side of the bar and he still couldn't do it. So I got huge cue cards and put them up at each end of the bar and he still couldn't do it. At one point he put his head down on the bar and he cried. And he looked up at me and he said, "Arthur, I can't do it. I don't know what I'm doing." He was an alcoholic and it took so much out of him. He was a nice man and very upset that he couldn't do it. But when we were looping, he was terrific. Boom, boom, boom, you hear it, you do it. And he was visited on the set by two of his wives and the kids. I mean, everybody liked him so much. At that time he was also involved with a sixteen-year-old girl. He was the nicest guy in terms of his determination to work, but he just shouldn't have been doing it. I phoned his agent afterwards and said, "Don't do this to the man. And I'm not talking about the cost to the company for the film, I'm talking about Flynn and his reputation, about who he is. Don't put him in situations like this. Just let him stay out of work." Actually, he passed away a short time later. I felt sorry for the man because he had a problem that he couldn't control, and alcoholism is a problem. It was heartbreaking to see how different the acting was because of that.
Visiting their father on the set was memorable for Rory and Deirdre. They had not seen enough of him in recent years and their visits clearly lifted his spirits. This was the side of Flynn that too few saw but it is as vital to our portrait of him as anything presented here. Rory Flynn has said: "He also loved throwing kid's parties. It was never just the typical 'hire a clown' party. He always joined in completely. I'll never forget one Halloween. He decided on a Middle-Eastern theme and built a bazaar where we traded candy and beads. He was the King Turk and we all had little Harem outfits. It was the most fun I've ever had. Dad loved to entertain children and he was brilliant at it. It's an Errol Flynn no one imagined. Very few people saw that side of him."
**Errol Flynn with his daughters Deirdre and Rory and director Arthur Hiller during the filming of "The Golden Shanty." This was Flynn's final dramatic performance.**
Rory has also commented on other aspects of her father's nature. "Few people know how incredibly romantic he was," she said. "When he was in love with my mother, he was so sweet and loving.... He went off to Alaska on location right after they were married. He was lonely and wrote very romantic letters full of poetry. People don't know he was such a talented writer."
After filming wrapped on "The Golden Shanty," Flynn spent several days lounging poolside at the Garden of Allah, drinking, swimming, and cavorting with Beverly Aadland. Ten days before his death he was interviewed and photographed several times. These photographs, many of which appeared after his death, show an ill and unsteady man, the glass of vodka ever present.
In early October 1959 he appeared on Red Skelton's television show in a skit playing a hobo. Flynn's appearance cannot really be listed as an acting job. It is a mercifully brief cameo. Holding up the frame to a ship's porthole, he mutters, "Memories...memories." The rape trial wasn't funny to Flynn in 1943 and it was less funny now, knowing that he had reached the end. Skelton, who had been friends with Flynn for over twenty years, may have given Flynn the job simply to help him financially. Skelton's comedy program was innovative and entertaining, but Flynn's appearance is one of the rare misfires.
Two facts surface from his final days that are of interest. First, in all of the Garden of Allah photos he looks like the dying man he was save for one remarkable shot in the pool with Beverly, an arm raised in salutation, the famous smile lighting up his face. Surely the water revitalized him; and finally, we are left with the fact that his storytelling instincts remained true to the end. He sat in his lounge chair poolside and recounted with merriment the tale of John Barrymore's body being hijacked by Raoul Walsh and propped in a chair at his Mullholland ranch. He had told the myth so often he believed it, and like any true storyteller he nurtured the legend, embellished the facts, and took pleasure in the obvious delight of his thrilled audience.
Various members of the press reported his comments from his poolside throne: "I have a great talent for spending. I've squandered more than seven million during my career. The public expects me to be a playboy, and I don't want to let people down. When I was broke I didn't let it worry me. And until now I have managed to hang onto my yacht, _Zaca,_ no matter how badly things went. But I guess I need the money now, old bean. That is why I'm going up to Vancouver to see if I can sell her."
As usual, Flynn's comments carried the weight of truth that only a man familiar with his own weaknesses could express. Flynn had become respected at last for his performances in _The Sun Also Rises_ and _Too Much, Too Soon_ and he was sought after by reporters for interviews whenever he was in Los Angeles. His remarks to reporter Vernon Scott were particularly insightful: "Years ago it was a matter of choosing which road to travel," he said; "After all, there is only one road to hell, and there aren't any signposts along the way."
Through it all he remained true to himself, seldom revealing his bitterness and disappointment at the way his life had turned out. He told Vernon Scott: "I've taken human disasters in the same stride as good times. And don't believe lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice. I've had it hit me as many as four times all at once. I hope I managed to face it with a brave front. That's important. You wouldn't distress your friends or have them feel sorry for you. The worse the disaster, the braver the front."
Perhaps intuitively realizing his forthcoming book would cause a sensation upon publication, Flynn offered his view on modern writers, many of whom he claimed bored him. "They're a bunch of bores. They don't make any noise. I'll take the beatniks. They are the only group who might enliven our times."
Always the avid reader, Flynn had either read or heard of Jack Kerouac's _On the Road_ , published in 1957. That Flynn saw merit in the Beat Generation is not surprising. They reflected his bohemian attitude and live-for-the-moment philosophy. His reading at the end was customarily diverse. He was never the type of reader who settled into one genre or style. Flynn read everything. Nearing the end he was reading the Bible, Plato, Aristotle, Li Po, _Peyton Place_ by Grace Metalious, the poetry of Robert Graves, Evelyn Waugh's _The Loved One_ , and Thomas Mann.
With his liver failing, his fortune dwindling, and his prospects grim, he took solace in Beverly Aadland, the shapely seventeen-year-old who had loved him without question and had given her heart and soul to him from the start. He knew he was dying. The physicians had spelled it out for him in no uncertain terms, but he was Errol Flynn, and Errol Flynn was no quitter.
"I've lived hard, spent hard, and behaved as I damned well chose," he said; "You'd think I'd be ready for the wheelchair after the last twenty years of hell-raising. But I never felt better." In fact, his deterioration was apparent to everyone who saw him during those final ten days. Not long after his death, Beverly was quoted, "Errol didn't want his millions of fans finding out he was a sick man."
Outside of visits from his daughters, Flynn's last moments of contentment and happiness derived from his relationship with Beverly Aadland. His letters reveal he was infatuated with his child-lover whom he referred to by the pet names of "Woodsie" (short for Wood Nymph), or "Lolita." He delighted in teasing her when she pronounced Aristotle as "Harry Tottle."
Despite his recent acclaim, few reasonable offers came his way. Money was tight and he made the decision to sell the _Zaca_. This could not have been an easy decision for him to make. By living in the Garden of Allah he provided the opportunity to be courted by prospective producers, but continuing to stay in Los Angeles left open the strong possibility of another statutory rape charge. Living in a hotel, no matter how deluxe, was far removed from the glory years on Mulholland Drive. We don't know how Flynn felt about his beloved Mulholland Farm now that it was occupied by strangers who reportedly removed the bar and see-through mirror and trap-door in the ceiling above the bedroom, but his thoughts could not have been pleasant. He had lost everything he once held dear, was about to lose the _Zaca_ , and recognized his time was short.
Flynn was visited at the Garden of Allah by George Caldough and his wife. Caldough, who was later described in newspaper reports as a "Vancouver financier," was interested in purchasing the _Zaca._ Flynn had known the Caldoughs for about seven years and they planned a trip to Canada to finalize the sale. Not many days later George Caldough would reveal he had said to Flynn jokingly, "Vancouver is a good place to die."
Disembarking from the plane in Vancouver, Flynn gave his last interview to John Arnett. "I shall devote the rest of my life to women and litigation," Flynn cheerily announced. When asked why he was selling _Zaca_ Flynn quipped: "I couldn't get an all-girl crew. It's no fun going on a cruise if you have to have men along."
He added that he wanted to star in a film version of Vladimir Nabokov's _Lolita_ with Beverly Aadland: "I just can't understand why people should think that I wouldn't be the ideal actor for the job." At the time of this interview his films were undergoing a revival on late night television. Asked if he watched them he said: "It just makes me feel faint to see how energetic I used to be in those days. No, I don't often look at them." But Beverly Aadland quickly said: "Oh, yes you do, and I've heard you say 'My, I used to be good looking in those days!'"
His visit with the Caldoughs was uneventful and Flynn was subdued because of a bout with his old nemesis, malaria. The Caldoughs later reported the four of them spent most of the time watching television and made only one brief night-club excursion. Beverly and Errol were content just being together, visiting friends, relaxing.
On the afternoon of October 14, while being driven to the airport for his return flight, Flynn complained of back pains. The Caldoughs mentioned they knew a physician, Dr. Grant Gould, and the fateful ride was thus diverted. Dr. Gould was an admirer of this Tasmanian who so skillfully had played Robin Hood those long years ago. He was thrilled the famous actor had come for a visit. Flynn was gracious and thankful for a physician's presence. Martini cocktails appeared and very soon Flynn became aware of music and voices coming from the apartment next door. The Goulds' neighbors were also having a cocktail party. Word slowly leaked out that Errol Flynn was in Dr. Gould's penthouse, weaving tales.
He took center stage for the last time. People began to filter in. Always eager to please his audience he propped himself in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb to help alleviate the spreading pain in his back, and proceeded to regale his listeners with stories about W. C. Fields, John Decker, and John Barrymore. Beverly told a reporter some time later: "His eyes lit up as he stood there waving his arms in magnificent gestures, imitating these movie greats. It was a beautiful performance. His stories were thrilling—he was a wonderful storyteller."
For two remarkable hours he held them entranced. Finally, he said, "I think I might lie down." His host acquiesced, offering the bedroom. His back still troubled him and Dr. Gould gave him some aspirin. Reaching the bedroom door, Flynn turned to his still rapt audience and said "I shall return," his final words delivered with mock heroics intoning General Douglas MacArthur.
When they looked in on him a little later they noticed his breathing was labored and his skin was turning blue. Beverly rushed to his side and cradled his head in her arms. His lips moved as if he were trying to speak. Dr. Gould and George Caldough lifted Flynn from the bed and placed him on the carpet while an ambulance was called. Dr. Gould worked valiantly to save Flynn's life. He performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and when that failed he filled a hypodermic syringe with adrenalin and plunged it directly into Flynn's heart.
The ambulance attendants arrived and also worked feverishly to revive the fallen actor. He was taken to a nearby hospital where the life-saving efforts continued. They placed an oxygen mask over his face. Doctors worked on Flynn for thirty minutes before Beverly was told flatly "He's dead" by George Caldough.
By all accounts Errol Flynn died peacefully, but with the news of his death bedlam ensued. The consequences of a life richly lived set in motion a scramble for his depleted fortune. His ex-wives, children, benefactors, enemies, and friends would make claim to his dwindling assets. Unpaid bills turned up for collection. The legal battles had begun and their tribulations would last well into the next decade.
When the autopsy results were released days later it was revealed that Flynn suffered a coronary thrombosis, commonly referred to as a blood clot in the heart. His liver had all but disintegrated. His shockingly bloated appearance during the last weeks of his life had indicated an acutely ill man. The coroner, Glen McDonald, concluded that "The blood alcohol level of 0.25% would appear not to have been unusual for the deceased to have been able to handle without difficulty."
He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. His casket was lowered into the ground near a semi-nude statue sculpted by Louis August Moreau and titled "Flowers of Remembrance." Yes, always the art lover, Flynn would have approved.
A great deal of print has been devoted to the fact that Errol Flynn expressed a desire to be buried in Jamaica, and although this is true, his resting place in Forest Lawn is indeed a beautiful location. There is a peaceful feeling about his gravesite which is visited regularly by fans who are always respectful; it is not far from old friends George Burns and Gracie Allen, W. C. Fields, Nat "King" Cole, and Perc Westmore. Next to him is the grave of Constance Lupino, Ida Lupino's mother who always had a kind word for her Tasmanian friend. Elsewhere in this judiciously cultivated garden are the remains of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, and other notable celebrities. From the hilltop near where Flynn is interred it is possible to see the Warner Bros. studio in the far distance.
On a cool November evening, less than a month after his casket was lowered into the earth at Forest Lawn, Flynn made his final bow. But few people noticed the flickering ghost on their television screen; few recognized the smile that once dazzled Maid Marian. "The Golden Shanty" aired without notice and sank into obscurity.
The outline of Flynn's tragic life brings to mind the tales of Odysseus, but Odysseus survived his travels while Flynn perished far too quickly. Don Norman, Flynn's boyhood friend, provided a compassionate and logical explanation: "In summing up it seems that Errol had a very fragmented and unstable life in his formative years. Those, today, who look upon him as a dissolute wastrel, must remember that he had no chance of a protracted education with such unsettled parents."
To this I will add Flynn's own words, written for his autobiography: "All my life I have tried to find my mother and I have never found her. My father has not been Theodore Flynn, exactly, but a will-o'-the-wisp just beyond, whom I have chased and hunted to see him smile upon me, and I shall never find my true father, for the father I wanted to find was what I might become, but this shall never be, because inside of me there is a young man of New Guinea, who had other things in mind for himself besides achieving phallic symbolism in human form."
Errol Flynn's remarkable story continues to attract new generations of fans and collectors. In considering Flynn the man, and to do him justice, it is useful to examine those facets of his life that keep so many people interested in him: his romanticism, his gallantry, his individualism, his search for contentment, and his rebelliousness. His picaresque life as a sailor on the seas of fate; his ability to find adventure amidst the mediocrity of daily life; his courage in facing his adversaries, both on and off the screen, all make for an intriguing portrait of a man who lived life to the fullest.
There is a moment in _The Errol Flynn Theatre_ that is symbolic of his life. In the episode titled "The Strange Auction" Patrice Wymore asks him: "What is it that makes you keep wandering around?" And for a moment Flynn's eyes come alive and a weary smile lights up his features. "I don't know," he says, "I've often wondered myself. Chasing some sort of lucky star, I reckon. It always seems to be just over the horizon."
## ☆ AFTERWORD ☆
### Of Scrapbooks and Ghosts
History has not been kind to Errol Flynn. His contribution to film history and popular culture is widely ignored. When he is mentioned in various scholarly textbooks on film history, it is within the narrowest category, usually as a passing comment. I was reminded of this recently. When preparing the manuscript of this book I received a letter from Don Norman where he described his frustration in publishing _Errol Flynn: The Tasmanian Story_ nineteen years earlier: "Errol, during his sixteen years in Hobart from birth to leaving the state, was what is commonly called a scalawag or tear-a-way. He was not liked in Tasmania and when I was writing the book about him I had to suffer remarks such as: 'What do you want to write a book about that ratbag for?' I remember when the first copies of the book left the printers and I called on the first bookshop hoping to sell some I was shown the door. It was very, very difficult to sell any of the books in Tasmania. A few shops that had been talked into buying some returned them." Tasmanians do not speak fondly of Flynn, an ironic point considering most of those who knew him are long gone.
As recently as 1999, a man named Ray Groom joined a group interested in erecting a statue of Flynn in Hobart's Mawson Place development. The Hobart City Council rejected the proposal. Backing for a proposed Errol Flynn Museum met a similar fate. They do not appear to wish any connection to this adventurer who set their forefathers' tongues wagging seventy-odd years ago. But a few, such as Mr. Groom, are well-intentioned. "I don't believe we should turn our back on our most famous son," Groom has said to the press.
After Flynn's death the literary vultures descended upon his legend and embellished it with false tales of homosexuality and fascist sympathies. The public gobbled it all up. Many readers of this book will be disappointed to have learned there is no evidence that Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power or Cary Grant (to name a few of the Hollywood stars so charged posthumously) engaged in homosexual activity or harbored sympathies for the Nazis. The truth about Errol Flynn's sexual preferences is evident in the FBI file: he enjoyed the company of young women. Today it is fashionable for elements of the homosexual community to claim stars like Flynn and Power were secretly homosexual to help legitimize their lifestyle preference. Others made these claims strictly to profit financially. All the same, Errol Flynn's sexual appeal does lend itself to further academic study. Flynn's preference for young women and his attraction/repulsion for his mother would lend themselves to an intriguing psychological study. But an unbiased, factual analysis of his sexual image and psychological portrait is thus far missing from any examination of his life.
And there are other areas of investigation awaiting future scholars. _Hello God_ remains mysteriously absent from all of the Flynn collections of which I am aware. _William Tell_ also deserves further investigation and analysis. The excised sections from _Showdown_ would make for fascinating analysis, as would Flynn's lost article about John Barrymore, "That Reminds Me, Navarre," which was rejected by the _New_
_Yorker_. An annotated compilation of Flynn's letters and journals would also be a worthy addition to his legacy. An affectionate book about their father from either Rory or Deirdre would be a welcome addition to the Flynn canon. The eventual publication of Olivia de Havilland's autobiography is also eagerly awaited. All of Errol Flynn's films deserve attention by film preservationists and today's cynical brand of critics who have generally ignored the influence of his style.
In 1997 I published the only comprehensive research on Flynn's television appearances under the title "The Forgotten Television Films of Errol Flynn" in _Filmfax_ magazine. Afterward, I received letters and a few strange telephone calls. One man wrote demanding copies of all of my research material; another man wrote demanding copies of the FBI file; yet another informed me he was making a film about the _Zaca_ with Patrice Wymore's permission and wanted my help, although when I pressed him for details he became evasive and vague as to what precisely I might do to help. Still another caller insisted I make copies of all my Flynn videotapes and send them promptly for use in his own research on Flynn. I had entered that strange place where celebrities are worshipped so intently the very mention of their name causes excitement in people who often appear obsessed. It is not unlike the discontent law enforcement professionals notice in people when the moon is full.
Today, with increased Internet activity, there are several web pages devoted to Flynn, but sadly the content on almost all of these sites is amateurish. There is, however, enthusiasm for Flynn on the Internet, and this enthusiasm may one day result in a practical appreciation of his adventure films while providing scholars the resources for continued research.
The backlash against Flynn has extended to his late biographers as well. Earl Conrad, who also co-authored the autobiography of Dorothy Dandridge, has been the posthumous recipient of criticism by one of Dandridge's recent biographers. This criticism is unfair and probably stems from a jealousy that pervades an industry where biographies are hacked out in assembly-line fashion. Conrad befriended and understood Flynn well, particularly during the actor's final months. Conrad was a splendid writer and a truly gifted man whose books and privately printed poems are the essence of his contribution. Conrad was devoted to the Civil Rights movement and a passionate spokesperson for a multi-cultural, harmonious world society. In many ways, he was a man ahead of his time.
Tony Thomas wrote several books on Flynn and he has also suffered at the hands of revisionists. Thomas was a highly respected film historian, skilled journalist and superb researcher. He had been interested in Flynn since his early teens and understood what made him tick. Thomas joined with Rudy Behlmer and Clifford McCarty and wrote _The Films of Errol Flynn_ (1969) which should still be considered a primary source of information on Flynn. Thomas also compiled many of Flynn's magazine articles in _From a Life of Adventure: The Writings of Errol Flynn_ (1980). His many other books on Hollywood history are a valuable resource for movie buffs and serious film scholars.
Recently, several books about Flynn were published that demonstrate the effect of both good research and poor research. In 2000 David Bret published _Errol Flynn: Satan's Angel_ in England. Without a doubt, Bret's opus is the worst book on Flynn, perhaps equaled only by Charles Higham's pathetic _Errol Flynn: The Untold_ _Story_ published in 1980. Bret spells names incorrectly, confuses fact with gossip, and generally bowdlerizes Flynn's legend. Higham's title is the notorious and universally reviled book that alleged Flynn was a Nazi spy. Neither book is worthy of inclusion in any serious bibliography. In 2002 Jeffrey Meyers published _Inherited Risk: Errol and Sean Flynn in Hollywood and Vietnam_. Meyers has published forty books and is respected for his research skills, although his research in this case slipped when he repeated the mistake of others and confused Wallace Berry with Wallace Beery. His book on Humphrey Bogart contains similar historical inaccuracies. All the same, Meyers is an excellent writer and his book may be one of the better on Flynn. His mistakes are moderate in comparison with the erroneous portraits presented by Charles Higham and David Bret.
Flynn's children have suffered their own tragedies, particularly with the death of Sean Flynn in Cambodia in 1970; and in 1998 Arnella died on the estate in Port Antonio, Jamaica. Sean Flynn had begun a career fashioned after his father, appearing in a few adventure films, notably _The Son of Captain Blood_ in 1963. He possessed his father's intelligence, charm, and good looks; but perhaps more importantly, he possessed his father's sense of adventure. This taste for excitement, fueled by the creative energy inherent in the Flynn lineage, resulted in his traveling to Vietnam as a photojournalist. He was captured by the Viet Cong and killed, leaving a terrible void. Sean Flynn's tragic death is perhaps the most heartbreaking chapter in the Flynn saga, for his brief life was filled with the magic and hope of youth showing great creative potential, but it was a potential unfulfilled. Rory and Deirdre have persevered, and Errol's grandchildren have begun to distinguish themselves in like fashion. Luke Flynn, Arnella's son, briefly made something of a career as a model with fashionable men's clothing company Banana Republic; and Rory's son, Sean Flynn Amir, has made brief appearances in several motion pictures and television commercials.
These facts are all documented in my now-overflowing collection of Flynniana, a portion of which stemmed from the collection of Paul M. James. I did not know Paul very well; we corresponded for a number of years but I met him only once, on a warm day in May 1998 at a mutual friend's apartment in Libertyville, Illinois. We spent the afternoon talking about his friend, the writer Leslie Charteris, and other literary matters. Paul showed me a letter he received from Glendon Swarthout and we talked about Swarthout's now-forgotten but fine novels. Paul also had a keen interest in Wyatt Earp and we discussed the many film versions of the Earp legend. We talked about Custer's fall and other matters of American Western history that interested him. That day we talked very little about Errol Flynn, although I remember Paul presented a gift to me—a rare color photograph of Flynn taken about 1938. Late in the afternoon, Paul treated us to lunch at Mickey Finn's Restaurant and Brewery. Most of the lunch conversation was devoted to Charteris.
Paul began his collection in 1936, about the time _The Charge of the Light Brigade_ premiered. I know nothing about his life other than that he lived in the Washington, D.C., area. He was one of the millions of young people who viewed Errol Flynn as a hero, and it changed his life. From 1936 until shortly before his death on December 4, 1999, Paul clipped and saved newspaper and magazine articles, while collecting photographs and posters relating to Errol Flynn.
Paul organized his collection into ten huge scrapbooks, each containing thousands of clippings, words, and images. The hundreds of photographs include many rare candid shots and I often wonder how he obtained them. Paul was a contemporary and friend of Flynn biographer Tony Thomas who shared Thomas' fascination with Flynn. Paul's lifelong devotion and meticulous cataloguing made possible the framework from which I proceeded. Flynn would have appreciated the fact that Paul's magnificent collection fit snugly into several tightly packed vodka cases. Many of Paul's clippings are fragments snipped from various newspapers and magazines, but care was given to documenting the published work. The bibliography and sources are notably extensive.
With each passing year, Paul carefully pasted his clippings into his scrapbooks. I don't know how his life ebbed and flowed and how he persevered through good times and bad times as we all must, but his collection of Flynniana was a constant source of joy for him. I have flipped the pages of these scrapbooks hundreds of times now, and although I am quite familiar with them, there are still revelations. I was surprised and flattered to find several of my articles included in the scrapbooks. At night when I enter my den where the scrapbooks rest on a bookshelf, I can smell the musty paper and the lingering scent of his fine cigars, and I can imagine Paul smoking and pasting newspaper clippings to the brown pages with painstaking care.
One page always holds my attention. On Saturday, May 20, 1978, Paul visited the embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C., for a children's summer camp benefit sponsored by the Salvation Army. Olivia de Havilland was a guest, signing autographs for one dollar for charity. Paul snapped several photographs of the gracious lady. In one photograph there stands behind de Havilland a middle-aged man with his hair askew. He is not smiling and holds a manila envelope, undoubtedly containing the photos he asked the actress to sign. This is Paul, devoted but lacking any outward sign of emotion. The arc of his life had been determined all those years ago when he entered a theater in Washington, D.C., and fell in love with Maid Marian and Robin Hood.
Although I began the research that culminated in this book in 1992, Paul's scrapbooks provided the source material I needed to proceed and often served as the impetus for my own investigations. I began, slowly, to fill in the gaps, for even Paul's meticulous cataloguing could never be complete; but he created a blueprint of primary source material that led to this study. A friend once told me that to collect things has its origins in the hunter's instinct. He also said that to become a collector is to become a type of detective. Collectors are also curators of popular culture, I believe, compelled as they are to preserve the past. Somewhere along the way I also became a collector and curator.
My investigations into Flynn's life took me on visits to many places, including a memorable trip to Los Angeles. One Saturday I made the trek into the hills up Mulholland Drive to the place where Flynn had his home, but the lot is empty now, inhabited only by ghosts. The Warner Bros. Studio Museum has a few costumes and props from Flynn's movies on display, but little else to remind visitors of its most flamboyant star. The grand stone staircase where Flynn clashed with Rathbone while spouting witticisms was destroyed long ago. There is a bronze star on Hollywood Boulevard, trampled daily by tourists and starlets and leather clad youths with pierced navels and weird tattoos, all looking like rejects from the latest intergalactic space
### APPENDIX 1: _Remembrances_
_
_
> _In the years since Flynn's death his legend has grown to epic proportions. The recollections of him that have appeared in various books and articles vary in tone and length: some are no more than vignettes, while others are detailed accounts of his activities. Some brief excerpts are collected here, coupled with comments gleaned from various interviews I have conducted. The diverse result offers sometimes contradictory facts, but renders a portrait of a highly complex man._
**Don Norman** **:** Having been born in the same year as Errol I was told by my parents that when Errol and I were toddlers we used to play together. Professor and Mrs. Flynn were friends or acquaintances of my own parents. I can't remember this but I knew Errol very well when we were both sixteen. I can't recall that he was interested in sailing because most of our time was spent in playing tennis. All young men born in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, have a love of the sea because of our wonderful harbor and the visits of ships from all countries of the world. Errol was certainly more adventurous than me. I was always a bit inclined to hold back but, during the time I knew him he was always a polite and presentable young man. He had a gift of words and I feel now that he was a better writer than actor. Certainly, he had no interest in schooling. At one school he was at he once got up from his desk, threw his books on the floor and left the class room never to return. He hated school and so did I.
**Patric Knowles** **:** Flynn, myself, and three or four cronies were spending a weekend on his yacht _Sirocco._ We left the boat moored in the channel and went ashore to stretch our legs and visit one of the many pubs. All of us were fairly well known in the movies and word soon spread around that we were in Balboa at a certain tavern. Five or six teen-age girls entered the place and demanded our autographs. We obliged them and invited them to have a soft drink.
Well, you know how things are. We sat around talking to the girls for half an hour, then they left. Soon after, we departed. We intended to return to the boat and take a swim. But on the dock, waiting for us, were half a dozen of the biggest teen-age football stars I ever wanted to see. As I mentioned before, I'm a live coward and a couple of the other blokes weren't at all shy about retiring either. We ignored the small boat waiting to transport us back to the big boat and dove into the bay fully clothed. As we swam out we could hear Flynn whooping away on the dock. Looking back, Flynn was holding off the enemy and laughing while doing it. He was _enjoying_ himself.
The kids finally drove him off the dock by sheer weight of numbers. He swam to the boat and as we dragged him aboard he gasped, "Friends of the girls in the pub."
You know how that little episode appeared in the papers? "FLYNN IN BRAWL OVER GIRL."
**David Niven** **:** Flynn loved fighting. He took it seriously and kept himself in a permanent state of readiness at 601 North Linden by sparring twice a week in the garden with Mushy Callahan and other professionals. John Huston also liked a good punch-up now and then.
On one famous occasion he and Flynn decided that they were bored at a Hollywood soirée. "Tell you what, kid," said Huston. "Let's get the hell outta here and go down to the bottom of the garden and just mix it a little. Whaddya say?"
"You're on!" said Flynn, and while the rest of the guests tried to concentrate on their dinner, the sound of strife filtered through the open windows as Flynn and Houston whaled away endlessly at each other. They both ended up in the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital for emergency repairs.
Barroom brawls were a specialty with Flynn. Sooner or later every well-known actor, particularly those specializing in tough roles, received a drunken shove in the back and heard the inevitable challenge: "Okay, sonny boy, let's see how tough you are." Gable, Cagney, and Bogart perfected sensible and peaceful ways of ridding themselves of these nuisances, but Flynn would wade gleefully in to the attack.
**John Huston** **:** Errol must have been spoiling for trouble.... I don't think my head was all that clear when we started, but it cleared up after a few punches, and then I began to get my licks in. It was a long fight. I was in very good condition, and Errol was a fine athlete and a good boxer; he knew how to handle himself and had some twenty-five pounds of weight advantage. By the time I finally began to get his range, he'd marked me up quite a bit. I was cut over the eye and my nose was broken again. But I paced myself, and I began to score on his body; I knew I was getting to him in the ribs. He started to clinch and wrestle then, and since he was stronger than I, I had some difficulty getting away from him in the clinches. I remember that the language on both our parts, although not heated, was about as vile as it could get.... It was a clean fight. When I was first knocked down, I rolled, expecting Errol to come at me with his boots. He didn't. He stepped back and waited for me to get up, which I thought was rather sporting of him. The fight was conducted strictly according to Queensberry, for which I take my hat off to Errol Flynn. Neither of us committed any fouls, and there was nothing we could complain about afterward.
The party started to break up, and some of the guests discovered us when we were illuminated by headlights as cars turned around in the driveway. Everybody came swarming down and we were separated. David [Selznick] assumed Errol had started the fight, since he had that reputation, and there were recriminations. David called Errol names and offered to fight him also. Errol went to a hospital that evening, and I stayed over at the Selznicks' and checked into a different hospital the next morning, where I received a call from Errol wanting to know how I was. He told me he had two broken ribs, and I said that I had thoroughly enjoyed the fight and hoped we'd do it again sometime. My father arrived in California a few days later, and he suggested that we fight again and sell tickets for a charity. That didn't come off. I didn't see Errol again for some twelve years, when we worked together in Africa on _The Roots of Heaven._
**Alice Marble** **:** I ran the pro shop and played "social" tennis with members like Paul Lukas, Frank Morgan, Gilbert Roland, and Errol Flynn. They were the sexiest male stars of the day, and a mischievous bunch who loved to tease me. One day, several of them came into the shop, pretending to look at the merchandise.
Flynn called across the shop to me, "Alice. I need an athletic supporter—a jockstrap."
I blushed. "What size?"
"The largest you have, of course!"
The group howled with laughter.
**Sheldon Leonard** **:** Errol Flynn was a pain in the ass. I had a couple of scenes with him in some obscure picture [ _Uncertain Glory_ in 1944]. As an actor, when I rehearsed a scene, I liked to find some business that would keep my hands occupied. Depending on what was available in the set, I might pick up and examine a framed picture, manicure my nails with the point of a letter opener, or flick the trigger of a cigarette lighter. In the scene I was about to play with Flynn, I idly tied and re-tied a long telephone cord.
While the lighting was being adjusted, in the hiatus between rehearsing and shooting, Raoul Walsh, the director, called me over.
"Shel, that piece of business you've got with the telephone cord..."
"Yeah."
"Don't do it."
"Why? Does it look phony?"
"No. Errol's going to do it."
The next day I found a string of beads on the set. During rehearsal I twirled them around my forefinger. In the post-rehearsal hiatus Raoul called me over.
"Hey, Shel..."
"Yeah?"
"You know that piece of business you do with the beads?"
"Yeah.""
"Don't do it."
"Errol's going to do it?"
"Yeah."
From then on I kept my hands in my pockets.
**Don Kincaid** **:** I was in Alameda, California, and one of my friends, his father was an actor's agent, came in one afternoon and said, "You know Flynn's got his yacht over here."
And I said, "You're kidding?"
He said, "No, it's right up here."
I said, "How did you know?"
He said, "I saw him."
I said, "Do you think he'd let us on board?"
He said, "Sure." So a group of us went over. Little did we know they also had other boats there and some of them had guards. So we were stopped by the guards. We told them we wanted to see if Flynn was aboard and if he'd let us on his yacht. He said, "He won't talk to you."
And Flynn was coming out at that time, so there's always got to be a wise-ass, right, so this guard turns around and yells, "Hey, Flynn! You getting any lately?!"
Without breaking stride or anything Flynn said, "More than you are sailor!"
And we broke up laughing.
**Kirk Douglas** **:** I went to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to do _Ace in the Hole_ for Billy Wilder... Errol Flynn was shooting a picture in Albuquerque at the same time. He invited Irene and me to dine with him and Pat Wymore. I was flattered. I was a young star; he was a legend. He selected the most elegant restaurant, ordered the most expensive wines, and was extremely charming. I was quite impressed, and a little ga-ga, envious of his poise, his great savoir faire. At the end of the meal, when the check arrived, he graciously handed it to me and said, "Kirk, I wouldn't deprive you of the honor of being the host of the evening." And I, with my mouth open, just paid it. Nevertheless, I admired him. He had flair. Some people didn't consider him much of an actor, but I did. I think he had great personal style that you don't see anymore. There are very few actors who could carry off Robin Hood the way he did.
**Janet Leigh** **:** I was cast to play June Forsyte in _That Forsyte Woman._ Try to top this cast: Greer Garson, Robert Young, Walter Pidgeon, and Errol Flynn. When I met Errol Flynn I actually gasped. He was as beautiful as I could possibly have imagined, and as charming, and as lovable, _and_ as naughty. When I looked at him, I saw Robin Hood and Captain Blood and Essex, and I remembered the nights I had gone home from the theatre and dreamed of him. He was such a gentleman—except when he played his practical jokes....
In one scene, Greer was supposedly in her room, pressing her gown for her important evening, dressed in the undergarments of the period, MGM style. She goes to the closet to put it away, and that was the end of the shot. After several rehearsals, they were ready for the take. This time, when she went to open the closet door, there was Errol, dressed only in the underwear of the moment, Flynn style. He couldn't have asked for a better reaction—she screamed and almost fainted.
**Gene Autry** **:** The old stars had a mystique and they clung to it even after everything else was gone. I mean, if they went out the back door to carry out the garbage, they dressed as though they were going to a charity ball. They dressed and lived and fed on that image of Glamour. It may have been a make-believe world, but at least they worked at it.
The late Errol Flynn was a symbol of that Hollywood. He was a neighbor of mine, less than a mile up the hill. Flynn collected characters. I would recognize a car in his driveway on my way into town, and I'd stop by to say hello to "Big Boy" Williams or Dick Foran or Bruce Cabot, and listen to the stories they told of whatever trouble they had recently created. Women would come strolling in as though Flynn's home was some kind of department store. In a way I guess it was.
Flynn was fifty when he died. By my reckoning he had lived a hundred years. He had lived at twice the pace of most men. He spent more time on a bar stool, or in a court, or in the headlines, or in bed, than anyone I knew. He may have been the greatest swordsman Hollywood ever saw, and that covers a lot of ground. I was at Lakeside Golf Club a few months before his death, while Errol was having lunch with Beverly Aadland, his fifteen-year-old girlfriend of that period. They went for a sail on his boat. The day before, he had entertained his mother.
Most men would gladly have given their right eye, in those days, to have been Clark Gable or Errol Flynn. They were great people to be, if you had the nerve or the time. But that wasn't really my Hollywood, or my lifestyle, or even a side of the acting business that attracted me. I mention it, in passing, because Gable and Flynn were a part of those years, and the orbit they moved in was out there somewhere beyond the boots and the saddles.
Guinn Williams, incidentally, was nicknamed "Big Boy" by Will Rogers. They were polo-playing buddies. "Big Boy" once owned two hundred ponies and captained a team that included Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks. That was Hollywood, too.
**Evelyn Keyes** **:** Late one afternoon some of us were lying about, talking, sunning ourselves, Van Heflin among them. Who should show up but Errol Flynn and Lily Damita, to whom he was still married. God, were they good looking. She had an extraordinary figure that fairly undulated across the sand and to the sea. And Errol Flynn. He was so beautiful it stopped my breath.
I was just the right age for the Flynn taste. He made it clear, too, with eyes for me and nobody else, in spite of Lily's presence. I went all fluttery.
He invited us all to go along with them to a party at Big Boy Williams' house. I had my car, and Van, who didn't, came with me. My unstable behavior had obviously been noted, because he said, "Stay away from Errol, Evelyn, he's bad news for dames."
"Well!" I flushed. "I certainly have no intention of having the slightest thing to do with Mr. Flynn! That is _Mrs._ Flynn with him!" said the phony little prig in me.
We arrived after dark. A big bonfire was going, people milling about it. No one was introduced. I recognized the hefty frame of Big Boy in the flickering light, and also Lupe Velez, known as the Mexican Spitfire. She seemed rather subdued. I couldn't see how she had earned her reputation, until Errol started teasing her. "Come on, Lupe, show us how you do it."
She tossed her head. "Oh, Errol, _siempre la misma cosa_ – "
"Oh, come on, Chiquita, you know you like to do it."
She grinned. _"Para tî."_ The firelight played across her face, and across the pale blue blouse she wore. With her eyes on Errol, her breasts began to move beneath the pale soft material. Round and round they went, in circles, faster and faster, round and round.
Errol whooped. "Did you ever see anything like that? Isn't it the damndest thing?"
No, I hadn't ever seen anything like it. It made me uneasy. I was out of my league.
**Robert Stack** **:** I gave a party during World War II for some navy fliers who had survived several battles floating around the Pacific in rubber rafts. Lots of pretty girls were to be in attendance, of course, to greet our heroes.
Errol had his own private radar for sighting lovely girls. The conversation went something like this.
"Bob, this is Errol."
"Yeah, Errol."
"I hear you're giving a party for some swabbies."
"Yeah, Errol."
"Also that there'll be lots of young, beautiful girls."
"Yeah, Errol."
"And in particular, Gloria DeHaven."
At this point I blew up.
"No, damn it, Errol, she's not even eighteen yet, and you're not invited."
When the party began we somehow convinced the beautifully illegal Gloria to leave early. Two minutes after her departure, Flynn breezed in, quickly sized up the situation, gave me a knowing smile, and headed for the bar. From then until 4:30 a.m., when I threw everybody out, he took over the party. He started spinning sea stories with the navy flyers and soon, drinking, laughing, and relaxing, they surrounded him. The starlets departed pretty much unnoticed, and Errol Flynn, the lady-killer, the destroyer of America's morals, stayed on and on, making a group of lonely guys feel as important as they probably ever felt in their lives.
**Viveca Lindfors** **:** While endlessly waiting between takes, he used to lecture me on drinking. "I have one book at home," he said, "in one room. It tells me why I should drink. So, I take a drink. Then I go to the other room and there I have a book telling me why I should _not_ drink. I immediately stop! Until I go into the _other_ room and read why I _should_ drink, and then I take a drink again!" He looked at me with his famous smile. "Won't you have one with me, Viveca? One is so much nicer when one drinks," he said. "All the pettiness just goes out the window, all the nonense."
We all go our own crooked ways to stay sane!
Flynn was a sex symbol as much as Marilyn Monroe; taken advantage of by the studio for his charm, his sex appeal, his body, as much as she was; and he was vulnerable as she and knew as little as she about how to defend himself against the system. He ended up in his own little beauty-box prison, just as she did. And he drank himself to death to get out of there. He was a brilliant actor. A genius. And didn't know it. He went fishing, and fucking, and paid no attention to his talent. It was only in one of his last films, the Hemingway picture, that he lived up to his own genius. By that time he had lost all the trash around him. He was ugly and fat and puffy, but brilliant. Couldn't he have gotten to it sooner? Did he have to destroy himself first? Yes. What he had to do he did. There was nobody there to help him or point the way for him. Jack Warner didn't. He was in his own fog.
Errol Flynn had enough power through his beauty and his sex appeal. To give him credit also for his brain would have been far too dangerous. It's ironic that Errol's father was a British academic professor. Why did he not help his son? Did Errol not help his? Sean Flynn, to begin with, followed in his father's footsteps, but changed the course of his life and became a photographer. He went into the combat zone. He tragically died while photographing reality instead of fantasy.
**Sara Hamilton** **:** He was a good friend. Actors and actresses, Panamanian rebels, notables, riff-raff, writers, artists all loved him.
His charm, his ability to see humor in everything, no matter how threatening to his own security, was delightful. Only once, did he let down his mask with me. We were driving home from Palm Springs through a mean section of Los Angeles, when Errol pointed out a dilapidated old hotel, and said, "Ever know what it is to live in a hole like that, old girl?" Something in the way he said it, revealed to me that Errol had gone through much he never talked about. No one ever guessed that hurt and humiliation cut him deeply. No one.
**Shelley Winters** **:** During the next month or so I got to know Errol Flynn quite well. His two small daughters were living with him; he was separated from their mother and had won temporary custody. On weekends I would take them for pony rides in La Cienega Kiddie Park, or we all would drive out to the beach to an isolated picnic area that we could find. Errol had a special quality that made it necessary for him to isolate himself from the public. Women between fifteen and seventy-five went bananas if they saw him. I fully understood their compulsive madness.
He told me all about his childhood in Australia, his fruitless efforts to get on the British stage, his stevedore days and his marriage failures. He was very literate and somehow had acquired a very good British public school education. But he was cynical about all things that most people hold valuable, and he had no ideals or aspirations of any kind, and he would gently make fun of mine. I realize now that his living-for-the-moment philosophy was a powerful self-destructive force that he could not or would not do anything about.
**Raoul Walsh** **:** When Errol let me in, I saw the same lack of order in the living room where we had spent so many convivial evenings. Newspapers were scattered on the floor and the ashtrays had not been emptied. I wondered what was the matter with Alex, the butler, until Errol mumbled that he had left him. "Everybody has left me except you, Uncle. I knew I had one friend, because you have always been that. It was the reason I called you so we can cry together when I say goodbye."
Now that I had time to look him over, I was surprised at the change. He had lost weight and his eyes had dark moons under them and his face was drawn and pale as though it needed sun. I was seeing the ghost of the old Flynn and I felt sick about it.
He poured us both a drink and went on. "If I had taken your advice, I wouldn't have to get out of the country tonight. The government claims I owe them more than $750,000.... The yacht is down at Ensenada. I'm driving there in a little while and off I go, God knows where. It's all that's left, Uncle. Wish me luck."
I tried my best to talk him out of it, but he would not listen. The idea of getting him drunk so he would pass out ran through my mind but I forgot it. By the time I had drunk Flynn under the table, I would be suffering from alcoholic poisoning.
"You've been through worse than this," I argued. "A couple more pictures will straighten you out with the tax people. You can't just run away."
He turned defiant then and began to curse everybody and everything he could think of. When he cooled off a bit, he managed a travesty of his old grin and shrugged. "I'm sick, Uncle. My lungs have had it and the quacks say my liver is shot to hell. So what does it matter where I die?"
He finished his drink and asked me if I'd help him with his bags. "Looks like we're the only ones left to do it."
We went upstairs and carried down some suitcases, which he stowed in the trunk of the Bentley. Then he grabbed my shoulders and hugged me. " _Adiós,_ Uncle. It's been nice."
I watched him drive away while I had a dry, one-eyed cry. I never saw him again.
**Trudy McVicker** **:** I met him once, but it was a fleeting moment at best and we didn't exchange a single word, only smiles. Later, however, after I had sent him a gift, I received a gracious thank-you note from him.
He was residing, with Patrice and their baby daughter Arnella, in a hotel in Germany for a short time and I went there in the hope of seeing him. I had been waiting in the lobby of the hotel for hours when, finally, he made his appearance—and I didn't recognize him. I recognized Patrice. He had been very ill and he simply didn't look like the Errol Flynn on screen. Although he was tall and handsomer in person than in any pictures I had ever seen of him, he was very thin and his face was sad and tired and deeply weary. He seemed fragile. Flynn—fragile?! No wonder I didn't recognize him at first. He looked at me as he approached and smiled a brief, polite smile and walked on, out of sight. And I stood there, speechless and nearly in tears, with my wilted bouquet. That memory still aches—I'll never forget the sadness and weariness in his face.
**Tony Curtis** **:** I loved Errol Flynn. He was lean and mean and strong.
I met him when I first got to Hollywood, at a big evening affair in his honor. We talked for a while, and he was so nice to me. He was forty-nine years old and bloated. He died at fifty, very unhappy and alone. Really alone. Like Marilyn. At that party, I held back because I didn't want people to think I was sucking up to him and because I didn't want to get a brush-off. I was always afraid of "Get the fuck out of here, kid, you bother me," which is what a lot of people out there would say. So I stayed back. But as he was talking to some other people, he looked up, caught my eye, and smiled, which made me feel comfortable. The interchange I had with Errol was more silent than verbal, but later that night he tapped me on the back, a nice little move, and said, "You're the new guy? You're going to do great."
**Burt Kennedy** **:** I met him years later. I loved him. I thought he was great. He had quite a background that people really don't know about. He was Australian and worked for the government in New Guinea. But anyhow, he was a hell of a guy. I liked him a lot.
**Jack Elam** **:** I never worked with Errol, but I did know him casually. I met him around. I thought he was a great guy. He had a marvelous attitude. He always had a chuckle and a laugh. I enjoyed him. His personality was grand.
**Peter Stackpole** **:** My favorite memory was when I went to the airport and there was Flynn in the waiting room. He was passing the hat. He was drunk. From what I could gather he'd missed his plane. Sure enough, I did too. So I was at the ticket counter and trying to duck him when out of the ticket crowd I heard him say "Where are you going, Stack?" I happened to be going to the University of Missouri, and he said "Well, damnit, I'm going with you!" That was quite a shocker. And he did! He had his ticket made out, and I didn't sleep a wink that night! He was spread out in the back of the plane with his legs across the aisle. It was a DC-4, a four engine plane. We got to Kansas City and then I had to take the train back to Columbia, Missouri. So he sobered up and took a couple of Drambuies for breakfast in the parlor car. When we got to Columbia that made it rough for me with no extra rooms so they put a cot in my room and guess who slept on the cot? So I had Flynn for overnight. The college kids were coming up to our room. The black elevator operator was charging ten cents a head to come into my room and get his autograph. Flynn behaved himself very well. Finally, his studio found out where he was and I got blamed for it. It was as if I'd kidnapped their star, and I had to be a temporary PR man because the papers were calling from all over the country because he was due in New York. Well anyway, the next day he sobered up and left. That was the Flynn I remember.
**Ava Gardner** **:** Of all the actors who worked with me on that film ( _The Sun Also Rises_ ), I got along best with Errol Flynn. I adored him, but although I dated him a couple of times when I first arrived in Hollywood, we were never physically involved. Errol was probably the most beautiful man I ever saw, his perfect body equally at home in a swimsuit or astride a horse. And he was fun, gallant, and well mannered with a great sense of humor. When he walked into a room, it was as if a light had been turned on. As he grew older, he drank too much and was chased around by scandal and gossip. But Errol Flynn always had style, honey. Real style.
**Robert Vaughn** **:** I saw Flynn just before he died when he was going out with that thirteen[ _sic_ ]-year-old girl, Beverly Aadland, and he was at a party on Sunset Boulevard and he was with his thirteen year old girlfriend before he died. That's what thirteen-year-old girls will do to you!
_Flynn's parties at his Mulholland Farm are still the subject of conversation in Hollywood. His 1949 party was the one covered widely by the press but many others were private affairs. In the recollections of Veronica Lake and Hedy Lamarr we glimpse some of the elaborate details and hedonistic excess that made Flynn's parties so legendary._
**Veronica Lake** **:** It was possible to party yourself to death in Hollywood.... There were some who lived up to their reputations. The only one I really knew was Errol Flynn. Errol did try to get me into his infamous bed but he never succeeded.
It was the only party I ever attended at Errol's home. There was the usual evening swim with a few of the guests nude. Errol had stocked the house with an assortment of young and luscious starlets and they were available for any of his male guests who felt a sudden urge. It was all typical Errol Flynn; his clippings were not exaggerated.
I declined the swim and sat nursing a drink at the poolside, enjoying the occasional screech of feigned delight from one of the girls in the pool as a fellow grabbed and gave chase. Frankly, I was bored with it all and decided to go home.
Errol showed me to the door. He was handsome, that devil. He looked in my eyes and slipped his arm around my waist. His hand slipped down and clamped tightly on my rear end.
"I think we should go and make use of a special bedroom I have, Ronni," he said.
"I have a special bedroom I'm going to make use of, Errol," I replied. "It's my own and I'm going to sleep in it."
He took his hand away, kissed me on the cheek and smiled.
"As you wish, Miss Lake."
I left.
Errol and I would bump into each other from time to time and we were always friendly and warm to each other. Errol Flynn was a gentleman. I remember one informal cocktail party where some guy was trying to put the make on me. Errol jumped right in and protected me like a father. I suppose when you have as much success with the opposite sex as he did, one turndown doesn't mean a thing. I always enjoyed his company.
**Hedy Lamarr** **:** I went up that long, dark winding Mulholland Drive to his sprawling home on top of a hill, which in turn was on top of a mountain. It was a beautiful spot with the lights of Los Angeles spread out on one side below and the lights of San Fernando Valley on the other. I always had the feeling there it was merely a question as to which way the house would fall.
I knew Errol's house well. Though Errol was a highly over-sexed man who wore his escapades on his sleeve, he was cultured and fascinating.... But I plead guilty of joining Errol and one of his pals one warm Sunday afternoon in an upstairs room watching down through a trick ceiling while a famous big-bosomed Italian movie star undressed to go swimming. The view was so clear it was almost as if we were in the same room with her. When she carefully rubbed the red marks her bra had left, the boys had a big laugh—though it was topped when she sniffed her underarms and then dabbed perfume there.
At last, she wriggled into her swimming suit, and we scampered out to the pool like children to catch her formal entrance. I must say the boys kept a straight face better than I did. Errol told me weeks later he had confessed and got a playful slap for his honesty.
That is the kind of madhouse we walked into. But it was a marvelous party. No Flynn party was ever dull. The highlight (played to Strauss waltzes in my honor) was a "greyhound" race on the rolling lawn, which was marked out like a track. Six young men, with numbers on their backs, chased a rabbit (a girl dressed like a Playboy bunny but completely topless).
The winner got the girl—and the girl got a sable stole. For spice, there was betting on the sidelines.
Flynn often conducted such races, and I was told he could get a well-known actress, every once in a while, to play the bunny. In fact, Marilyn Monroe was the bunny once; though in all fairness to Marilyn, she got the sable but the winner got only a kiss and a photograph of himself with Marilyn....
Later in the evening Errol presented a nude water ballet done with multi-colored lights. It wasn't at all vulgar, in fact it was beautiful. When it was over the applause was deafening. Then before the ballet girls got out of the water a drunk jumped in fully clothed. The girls screamed and scrambled for the pool ladders. It was true slapstick when the drunk tried to swim after one of them.
_Errol Flynn's positive cultural impact is another facet of his career given little space by scholars. His films inspired millions of people worldwide and continue to have a positive effect in their current incarnations on video and with television replays. The final word, then, belongs to a fan who encountered Flynn in a movie house all those years ago in England. Rick Dodd's statement is a testament to the power of motion pictures._
**Rick Dodd** **:** Since my early days I have been fascinated by Errol Flynn. I was a boy when I first saw him in the film _The Perfect Specimen_ when he fell out of a tree whilst testing Newton's theory. I thought he looked terrific and was impressed by the fact that he wore a cravat—something I vowed to do when I grew up. I still wear one to this day.
Whilst greatly impressed by _The Perfect Specimen_ , it was Errol's performance as Robin Hood that set the seal on a lifetime's devotion. After seeing _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ , it seemed that all senses were somehow extended and magnified. Every waking hour was delightful, every trivial happening of universal significance, especially if I was lucky enough to be able to view Errol the following week—how many times depended on the amount of pocket money I had. With other commitments, such as two meetings a week with the Scouts and being a messenger boy with the Civil Defense, I was lucky if the figure stretched three times. It is no exaggeration to say that after viewing an Errol Flynn film, I would literally walk home on air. I was lucky in those days since performances were continuous, so it enabled me to see the film through at least twice.
On screen, Errol appeared to be practically all things to all men. There was never any doubt in my mind that he was true to himself. Whatever he did, he did with conviction, commitment and style. There was a rhythm in the way he moved, and so we were all caught up in that rhythm. I believe Errol to have been a man of great intelligence, extremely witty and enormously charming. Neither success nor failure was ever able to dim his light-hearted approach to life. It seemed his great ambition was to go through life having a great deal of fun. This, I believe he did remarkably well, frolicking through the world in a most flamboyant manner, in search of self-entertainment. Throughout it all he maintained what appeared to be a complete disregard of public opinion of his devil-may-care attitude.
I lived and was brought up in Northhampton and I can recall my mother, on reading in the local _Chronicle & Echo_ newspaper, saying to my grandparents with whom we were living, "Hello, I see Errol Flynn is in a spot of bother again!"
My only claim to fame, if it can be called that, is that I was Best Man at the wedding of Ron, a Scout friend of mine, who married a girl named Pauline. She was the daughter of a local postman who knew Errol well and drank with him on many occasions. Pauline can remember sitting on Errol's knee enjoying an ice cream that he had bought for her. I am happy to say we are still in close touch with Pauline and meet frequently.
My wife Beryl, and I went to London in 1949 to hopefully see Errol in person, arriving at the premiere of the Royal Film Performance of _That Forsyte Woman_. By the time we arrived the crowds were enormous and we could get nowhere at all, consequently, we did not see Errol, which was a great disappointment.
But above all I thank him for all the pleasures he has given me on the cinema screen. He is the perfect hero, chivalrous, romantic, athletic and tender. To me he is the greatest of all film personalities that ever planted an image onto the screen, with a smile the very essence that dreams are made of. He holds a unique place in the annals of screen history as the swashbuckler supreme—forever Robin. He was Robin Hood incarnate—a legendary hero brought to life. He was and still is one of the world's most fascinating characters.
Over the years it has been my custom, prior to Christmas, to save my packages that I know will contain material on Errol and open them on Christmas morning after the family present giving. I then pour myself a glass of the amber fluid and raise my glass in a toast to the good name of Errol Flynn, and then to friends worldwide, who are also Errol devotees.
If asked my favorite scene in any of Errol's films—my word, what a task!—it would have to be the good-bye scene from _They Died with their Boots On_ , on the eve of Custer's fateful departure to the Black Hills. This scene, to me, has a special poignancy. It brought to an end a screen partnership that began with _Captain Blood_ and ran eight films together. There is a deep wistfulness and muted sadness with a strong suggestion of an affectionate rapport between Errol and Olivia that goes far beyond the demands of the script. Theirs was an unspoken affection which had its conviction on the screen. It remains one of the most touching scenes ever to come from Hollywood—quietly understated and played with the finesse which characterized the two stars whenever they were together.
### APPENDIX 2: _Filmography_
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**_
##### _**1932: In the Wake of the Bounty**_
Produced by Expeditionary Films; Director, Producer and Writer: Charles Chauvel; Director of Photography: Tasman Higgins; Film Editor: William Sheperd; Music Director: Lionel Hart; Narrator: Arthur Greenaway.
**Cast:** Mayne Lynton, Errol Flynn, Victor Gouriet, John Warwick, Patricia Penman.
##### _**1933: I Adore You**_
Produced by Warner Bros.-First National and distributed by Warner Bros. Director: George King; Producer: Irving Asher; Original Story: W. Scott Darling; Screenplay: Paul England.
**Cast:** Margot Grahame, Harold French, Clifford Heatherley, O. B. Clarence, Peggy Novak, Charles Harris, Ernest Sefton, Gavin Gordon. Errol Flynn appears as an extra in some existing scene stills.
##### _**1934: Murder at Monte Carlo**_
Produced by Warner Bros.-First National and distributed by First National; Director: Ralph Ince; Producer: Irving Asher; Based upon the novel by Tom Van Dyke; Screenplay by Michael Barringer; Director of Photography: Basil Emmott; Art Director: G. H. Ward.
**Cast:** Eve Gray, Errol Flynn, Paul Graetz, Lawrence Hanray, Ellis Irving, Henry Victor, Brian Buchel, Peter Gawthorne, Molly Lamont, Gabriel Tyne, James Dale, Henry Longhurst, Ernest Sefton.
##### _**1935: The Case of the Curious Bride**_
Produced by First National and Warner Bros. Director: Michael Curtiz; Associate Producer: Harry Joe Brown; Based upon the novel by Earle Stanley Gardner; Screenplay by Tom Reed; Music: Brown Holmes; Director of Photography: David Abel; Film Editor: Terry Morse; Art Director: Carl Jules Weyl and Anton Grot.
**Cast:** Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Woods, Claire Dodd, Allen Jenkins, Philip Reed, Barton MacLane, Winifred Shaw, Warren Hymer, Olin Howland, Charles Richman, Thomas Jackson, Errol Flynn.
##### _**1935: Don't Bet on Blondes**_
Produced by Warner Bros.; Director: Robert Florey; Associate Producer: Samuel Bischoff; Screenplay: Isabel Dawn and Boyce DeGraw from their original story "Not on Your Life"; Director of Photography: William Rees; Film Editor: Thomas Richards; Art Director: Esdras Hartley; Assistant Director: Eric Stacey.
**Cast:** Warren William, Guy Kibbee, Claire Dodd, William Gargan, Vince Barnett, Hobart Cavanaugh, Clay Clement, Errol Flynn, Spencer Charters, Walter Byron, Eddie Shubert.
##### _**1935: Captain Blood**_
A Cosmopolitan Production; Produced by First National and Warner Bros.; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producers: Harry Joe Brown and Gordon Hollingshead; Based upon the novel by Rafael Sabatini; Screenplay: Casey Robinson; Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Director of Photography: Hal Mohr; Additional Photography: Ernest Haller; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: Anton Grot; Special Effects: Fred Jackman; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer and Ray Heindorf; Assistant Director: Sherry Shourds; Fencing Master: Fred Cavens.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson, Robert Barrat, Hobart Cavanaugh, Donald Meek, Jessie Ralph, Forrester Harvey, Frank McGlynn, Sr., Holmes Herbert, David Torrence, J. Carrol Naish, Pedro de Cordoba.
##### _**1936: The Charge of the Light Brigade**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and Vitaphone Corp.; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Samuel Bischoff; Story Treatment: Abraham S. Jacoby; Story: Michel Jacoby; Screenplay: Michel Jacoby and Rowland Leigh; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Sol Polito; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: John Hughes; Special Effects: Fred Jackman and H. F. Koenekamp; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Jack Sullivan; Director of Second Unit Action: B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason; Technical Advisor, Military Affairs: Major Sam Harris.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Nigel Bruce, Donald Crisp, David Niven, C. Henry Gordon, G. P. Huntley, Jr., Robert Barrat, Spring Byington, E. E. Clive, J. Carrol Naish, Walter Holbrook, Charles Sedgwick, Scotty Beckett, Lumsden Hare, Princess Baigum, George Regas, Colin Kenny, Gordon Hart, Helen Sanborn, Holmes Herbert, Boyd Irwin.
##### _**1937: Green Light**_
A Cosmopolitan Production; Produced by First National, Warner Bros. Pictures, Vitaphone Corp.; Director: Frank Borzage; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Henry Blanke; Based upon the novel by Lloyd C. Douglas; Screenplay: Milton Krims; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Byron Haskin; Film Editor: James Gibbon; Art Director: Max Parker; Gowns: Orry-Kelly; Special Effects: Fred Jackman, Jr., H. F. Koenekamp, Willard Van Enger; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Lew Borzage.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Anita Louis, Margaret Lindsay, Sir Cedric Hardwick, Walter Abel, Henry O'Neill, Spring Byington, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Henry Kolker, Pierre Watkin, Granville Bates, Russell Simpson, Myrtle Stedman.
##### _**1937: The Prince and the Pauper**_
Produced by First National–Warner Bros.; Director: William Keighley; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Lord; Based upon the novel by Mark Twain; Story Treatment: Catherine Chisholm Cushing; Screenplay: Laird Doyle; Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Director of Photography: Sol Polito; Film Editor: Ralph Dawson; Art Director: Robert Haas; Gowns: Milo Anderson; Special Effects: Willard Van Enger, James Gibbons; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer, Milan Roder.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Henry Stephenson, Barton MacLane, Billy Mauch, Bobby Mauch, Alan Hale, Eric Portman, Lionel Pape, Leonard Willey, Murray Kinnell, Halliwell Hobbes, Phyllis Barry, Ivan Simpson, Montagu Love, Fritz Leiber, Elspeth Dudgeon, Mary Field, Forrester Harvey, Helen Valkis, Lester Matthews, Robert Warwick.
##### _**1937: Another Dawn**_
Produced by Warner Bros.; Director: William Dieterle; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Harry Joe Brown; Original Screenplay: Laird Doyle; Music: Eric Wolfgang Korngold; Director of Photography: Tony Gaudio; Film Editor: Ralph Dawson; Art Director: Robert Haas; Gowns: Orry-Kelly; Special Effects: Willard Van Enger, James Gibbons; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer, Milan Roder; Assistant Director: Frank Heath.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Frieda Inescourt, Herbert Mundin, G. P. Huntley, Jr., Billy Bevan, Clyde Cook, Richard Powell, Kenneth Hunter, Mary Forbes, Eily Maylon, Charles Austin, Joseph Tozer, Ben Welden, Spencer Teakle, David Clyde, Charles Irwin, Reginald Sheffield, Martin Garralaga.
##### _**1937: The Perfect Specimen**_
Produced by First National and Warner Bros.; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Harry Joe Brown; Original Story: Samuel Hopkins Adams; Screenplay: Norman Reilly Raine, Lawrence Riley, Brewster Morse, Fritz Falkenstein; Music: Heinz Roemheld; Director of Photography: Charles Rosher; Film Editor: Terry Morse; Art Director: Robert Haas; Gowns: Howard Shoup; Special Effects: Byron Haskin, Edwin DuPar, Rex Wimpy; Assistant Director: Frank Heath.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Joan Blondell, Hugh Herbert, Edward Everett Horton, Dick Foran, Beverly Roberts, May Robson, Allen Jenkins, Dennie Moore, Hugh O'Connell, James Burke, Granville Bates, Harry Davenport, Tim Henning, Spencer Charters.
##### _**1938: The Adventures of Robin Hood**_
Produced by First National and Warner Bros.; Director: William Keighley, Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Rowland Leigh; Original Screenplay: Norman Reilly Raine, Seton I. Miller; Music: Eric Wolfgang Korngold; Director of Photography: Sol Polito, Tony Gaudio; Associate Technicolor Photographer: W. Howard Greene; Film Editor: Ralph Dawson; Art Director: Carl Jules Weyl; Costumes: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer, Milan Roder; Assistant Directors: Lee Katz, Jack Sullivan; Technical Advisor: Louis Van Der Ecker; Archery Consultant: Howard Hill; Fencing Master: Fred Cavens; Technicolor Color Consultant: Morgan Padelford; Unit Production Manager: Al Alleborn.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Melville Cooper, Ian Hunter, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin, Montague Love, Leonard Wiley, Robert Noble, Kenneth Hunter, Robert Warwick, Colin Kenny, Lester Matthews, Harry Cording, Howard Hill, Ivan Simpson.
##### _**1938: Four's a Crowd**_
Produced by Warner Bros.; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: David Lewis; Original Story: Wallace Sullivan; Screenplay: Casey Robinson, Sig Herzig; Music: Heinz Roemheld, Ray Heindorf; Director of Photography: Ernest Haller; Film Editor: Clarence Kolster; Art Director: Max Parker; Gowns: Orry-Kelly; Assistant Director: Sherry Shourds.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell, Patric Knowles, Walter Connolly, Hugh Herbert, Melville Cooper, Franklin Pangborn, Herman Bing, Margaret Hamilton, Joseph Crehan, Joe Cunningham, Dennie Moore, Gloria Blondell, Carole Landis, Reine Riano, Charles Trowbridge, Spencer Charters.
##### _**1938: The Sisters**_
Produced by Warner Bros.; Director: Anatole Litvak; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: David Lewis; Based upon the novel by Myron Brinig; Screenplay: Milton Krims; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Tony Gaudio; Film Editor: Warren Low; Art Director: Carl Jules Weyl; Gowns: Orry-Kelly; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Jack Sullivan.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Anita Louis, Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp, Beulah Bondi, Jane Bryan, Alan Hale, Dick Foran, Henry Travers, Patric Knowles, Lee Patrick, Laura Hope Crews, Janet Shaw, Harry Davenport, Ruth Garland.
##### _**1938: Dawn Patrol**_
Produced by Warner Bros.; Director: Edmund Goulding; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Lord; Based upon the story "Flight Commander" by John Monk Saunders; Story treatment and dialogue: Howard Hawks; Screenplay: Seton I. Miller, Dan Totheroh; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Tony Gaudio; Film Editor: Ralph Dawson; Art Director: John Hughes; Special Effects: Edwin A. DuPar; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Frank Heath; Technical Advisor: Captain L. G. S. Scott; Aeronautic Supervisor: Leo Norris.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, David Niven, Donald Crisp, Melville Cooper, Barry Fitzgerald, Carl Esmond, Peter Willes, Morton Lowry, Michael Brooke, James Burke, Stuart Hall, Herbert Evans, Sidney Bracy.
##### _**1939: Dodge City**_
Produced by Warner Bros.; Color by Technicolor; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Lord; Original Screenplay: Robert Buckner; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Sol Polito; Associate Technicolor Photography: Ray Rennahan; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: Ted Smith; Costumes: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Byron Haskin, Rex Wimpy; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Sherry Shourds; Color Consultant: Morgan Padelford.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale, John Litel, Henry Travers, Henry O'Neill, Victor Jory, William Lundigan, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Bobs Watson, Gloria Holden, Douglas Frowley, Georgia Caine, Charles Halton, Ward Bond, Cora Witherspoon, Russell Simpson, Monte Blue, Nat Carr, Clem Bevans, Joseph Crehan, Thurston Hall, Chester Clute.
##### _**1939: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Color by Technicolor; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Lord; Based upon the drama "Elizabeth the Queen" by Maxwell Anderson; Screenplay: Norman Reilly Raine, Aaeneas MacKenzie; Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Director of Photography: Sol Polito; Associate Technicolor Photographer: W. Howard Greene; Film Editor: Owen Marks; Art Director: Anton Grot; Costumes: Orry-Kelly; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Byron Haskin, H. F. Koenekamp; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer, Milan Roder; Assistant Director: Sherry Shourds; Technical Advisor: Ali Hubert; Associate Color Director: Morgan Padelford; Unit Manager: Frank Mattison.
**Cast:** Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale, Vincent Price, Henry Stephenson, Henry Daniell, James Stephenson, Nanette Fabares, Ralph Forbes, Robert Warwick, Leo G. Carroll.
##### _**1940: Virginia City**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Fellows; Based upon the story "Gold Train" by Robert Buckner; Screenplay: Robert Buckner; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Sol Polito; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: Ted Smith; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Byron Haskin, H. F. Koenekamp; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Sherry Shourds; Unit Manager: Frank Mattison.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, Randolph Scott, Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, John Litel, Douglass Dumbrille, Moroni Olsen, Russell Hicks, Dickie Jones, Frank Wilcox, Russell Simpson, Victor Kilian, Charles Middleton, Monte Montague, George Regas, Paul Fix, Thurston Hall, Charles Trowbridge, Howard Hickman, Charles Halton, Ward Bond, Sam McDaniel, Harry Cording, Trevor Bardette, Tom Dugan, Spencer Charters, George Reeves.
##### _**1940: The Sea Hawk**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Henry Blanke; Original title derived from: Rafael Sabatini; Original Screenplay: Howard Koch, Seton I. Miller; Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Director of Photography: Sol Polito; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: Anton Grot; Costumes: Orry-Kelly; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Byron Haskin, H. F. Koenekamp; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer, Milan Roder, Ray Heindorf, Simon Bucharoff; Assistant Director: Jack Sullivan; Technical Advisors: Ali Hubert, Thomas Manners, William Kiel; Fencing Master: Fred Cavens.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, Flora Robson, Alan Hale, Henry Daniell, Una O'Connor, James Stephenson, Gilbert Roland, William Lundigan, Julien Mitchell, Montagu Love, J. M. Kerrigan, David Bruce, Clifford Brooke, Clyde Cook, Fritz Leiber, Ellis Irving, Francis McDonald, Pedro de Cordoba, Ian Keith, Jack LaRue, Halliwell Hobbes, Alec Craig, Victor Varconi, Robert Warwick, Harry Cording, Frank Wilcox, Herbert Anderson, Charles Irwin, Edgar Buchanan.
##### _**1940: Santa Fe Trail**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Fellows; Original Screenplay: Robert Buckner; Music: Max Steiner: Director of Photography: Sol Polito; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: John Hughes; Costumes: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Byron Haskin, H. F. Koenekamp; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Jack Sullivan.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale, William Lundigan, Van Heflin, Gene Reynolds, Henry O'Neill, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Alan Baxter, John Litel, Moroni Olsen, David Bruce, Hobart Cavanaugh, Charles D. Brown, Joseph Sawyer, Frank Wilcox, Ward Bond, Russell Simpson, Charles Middleton, Erville Anderson, Spencer Charters, Suzanne Carnahan, William Marshall, George Haywood, Wilfred Lucas, Russell Hicks.
##### _**1941: Footsteps in the Dark**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Director: Lloyd Bacon; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Lord; Based upon the drama "Blondie White" by Ladislaus Fodor; English Adaptation: Bernard Merivale, Jeffrey Dell; Screenplay: Lester Cole, John Wexley; Music: Frederick Hollander; Director of Photography: Ernest Haller; Film Editor: Owen Marks; Art Director: Max Parker; Gowns: Howard Shoup; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Rex Wimpy; Dance Director: Robert Vreeland; Assistant Director: Frank Heath.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Hale, Lee Patrick, Allen Jenkins, Lucille Watson, William Frawley, Roscoe Karns, Grant Mitchell, Maris Wrixon, Noel Madison, Jack LaRue, Turhan Bey, Frank Faylen, Garry Owen, Sarah Edwards, Frank Wilcox, Olaf Hytten, Harry Hayden, John Dilson, Creighton Hale.
##### _**1941: Dive Bomber**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Color by Technicolor; Director: Michael Curtiz; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Lord; Original Story: Frank Wead; Screenplay: Frank Wead; Music: Max Steiner; Directors of Photography: Bert Glennon, Winton C. Hoch; Aerial Photography: Elmer Dyer, Charles Marshall; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: Robert Haas; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Byron Haskin, Rex Wimpy; Assistant Director: Sherry Shourds; Chief Pilot for Warner Bros.: Paul Mantz; Aeronautical Technical Advisor: S. H. Warner, Commander, USN; Medical Technical Advisor: J. R. Poppen, Captain, USN; Unit Manager: Al Alleborn.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy, Alexis Smith, Robert Armstrong, Regis Toomey, Allen Jenkins, Craig Stevens, Herbert Anderson, Moroni Olsen, Dennie Moore, Louis Jean Heydt, Cliff Nazarro, Ann Doran, Addison Richards, Russell Hicks, Howard Hickman.
##### _**1942: They Died with Their Boots On**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Director: Raoul Walsh; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Robert Fellows; Original Screenplay: Wally Kline, Aeneas MacKenzie; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Bert Glennon; Film Editor: William Holmes; Art Director: John Hughes; Gowns: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Assistant Director: Russell Saunders; Technical Advisor: Lt. Col. J. G. Taylor, U.S. Army, Ret.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Arthur Kennedy, Charley Grapewin, Gene Lockhart, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Ridges, John Litel, Walter Hampden, Sydney Greenstreet, Regis Toomey, Hattie McDaniel, G. P. Huntley, Jr., Frank Wilcox, Joseph Sawyer, Minor Watson, Joseph Crehan, Irving Bacon, Selmer Jackson, Eddie Acuff, George Eldredge, Spencer Charters, Hobart Bosworth, Russell Hicks, Hugh Sothern, John Ridgely, Aileen Pringle, Anna Q. Nilsson, Frank Ferguson, Gig Young.
##### _**1942: Desperate Journey**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Director: Raoul Walsh; Executive Producer: Hal Wallis; Associate Producer: Jack Saper; Original Screenplay: Arthur T. Horman; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Bert Glennon; Film Editor: Rudi Fehr; Art Director: Carl Jules Weyl; Gowns: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Edwin A. DuPar; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Russell Saunders; Technical Advisor, RAF Sequences: Squadron Leader Owen Cathcart-Jones, RCAF.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Coleman, Raymond Massey, Alan Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Ronald Sinclair, Albert Basserman, Sig Ruman, Patrick O'Moore, Felix Basch, Ilka Gruning, Elsa Basserman, Charles Irwin, Richard Fraser, Robert O. Davis, Henry Victor, Bruce Lester, Lester Matthews, Kurt Katch, Hans Schumm, Helmut Dantine, Barry Bernard.
##### _**1942: Gentleman Jim**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Director: Raoul Walsh; Producer: Robert Buckner; Based upon _The Roar of the Crowd_ by James J. Corbett with Robert Gordon Anderson; Screenplay: Vincent Lawrence, Horace McCoy; Music: Heinz Roemheld; Director of Photography: Sid Hickox; Film Editor: Jack Killifer; Art Director: Ted Smith; Gowns: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Montages: Don Siegel, James Leicester; Orchestrations: Ray Heindorf; Assistant Director: Russell Saunders; Technical Advisor: Ed Cochrane; Unit Manager: Frank Mattison.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, John Loder, William Frawley, Minor Watson, Ward Bond, Madeline LeBeau, Rhys Williams, Arthur Shields, Dorothy Vaughan, James Flavin, Pat Flaherty, Wallis Clark, Marilyn Phillips, Art Foster, Edwin Stanley, Henry O'Hara, Harry Crocker, Frank Mayo, Carl Harbaugh, Fred Kelsey, Sammy Stein, Charles Wilson, Jean Del Val, Mike Mazurki.
##### _**1943: Edge of Darkness**_
Produced by Warner Bros. and First National; Director: Lewis Milestone; Producer: Henry Blanke; Based upon the novel by William Woods; Screenplay: Robert Rossen; Music: Franz Waxman; Director of Photography: Sid Hickox; Film Editor: David Weisbart; Art Director: Robert Haas; Set Decorator: Julia Heron; Gowns: Orry-Kelly; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Lawrence Butler, Willard Van Enger; Montages: Don Siegel, James Leicester; Orchestrations: Leonid Raab; 1st Assistant Director: Sherry Shourds; 2nd Assistant Director: James McMahon; Technical Advisors: Frank U. Peter Pohlenz, E. Wessel Klausen, Gerard Lambert; Unit Manager: Lou Baum.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Nancy Coleman, Tom Fadden, Helmut Dantine, Judith Anderson, Ruth Gordon, John Beal, Morris Carnovsky, Charles Dingle, Roman Bohnen, Richard Fraser, Art Smith, Henry Brandon, Tonio Selwart, Helene Thimig, Frank Wilcox, Francis Pierlot, Lottie Williams, Monte Blue, Dorothy Tree, Peter Van Eyck.
##### _**1943: Thank Your Lucky Stars**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Director: David Butler; Producer: Mark Hellinger; Original Story: Everett Freeman, Arthur Schwartz; Screenplay: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank, James V. Kern; Music and Lyrics: Arthur Schwartz, Frank Loesser; Orchestral Arrangements: Ray Heindorf; Vocal Arrangements: Dudley Chambers; Musical Adaptation: Heinz Roemheld; Orchestration: Maurice de Packh; Director of Photography: Arthur Edeson; Film Editor: Irene Morra; Art Directors: Anton Grot, Leo K. Kutter; Set Decorator: Walter F. Tilford; Gowns: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: H. F. Koenekamp; Assistant Director: Phil Quinn; Dance Numbers: LeRoy Prinz.
**Cast:** Humphrey Bogart, Eddie Cantor, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, John Garfield, Joan Leslie, Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Ann Sheridan, Dinah Shore, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, George Tobias, Edward Everett Horton, S. Z. Sakall, Hattie McDaniel, Ruth Donnelly, Don Wilson, Willie Best, Bert Gordon, Mike Mazurki, Frank Faylen, Monte Blue.
##### _**1943: Northern Pursuit**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Director: Raoul Walsh; Producer: Jack Chertok; Based upon the story "Five Thousand Trojan Horses" by Leslie T. White; Screenplay: Frank Gruber, Alvah Bessie; Music: Adolph Deutsch; Director of Photography: Sid Hickox; Film Editor: Jack Killifer; Art Director: Leo K. Kuter; Set Decorator: Casey Roberts; Gowns: Leah Rhodes; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: E. Roy Davidson; Montages: Don Siegel, James Leicester; Orchestrations: Jerome Moross; Assistant Director: James McMahon; Technical Advisor: Bruce Carruthers; Unit Manager: Lou Baum.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Julie Bishop, Helmut Dantine, John Ridgely, Gene Lockhart, Tom Tully, Bernard Nedell, Warren Douglas, Monte Blue, Alec Craig, Tom Fadden, Rose Higgins, Richard Alden, John Royce, Joe Herrera, Carl Harbaugh, Russell Hicks, Lester Matthews, John Forsythe, Charles Judels, James Millican.
##### _**1944: Uncertain Glory**_
Produced by Thomson Productions; Released through Warner Bros.; Director: Raoul Walsh; Producer: Robert Buckner; Based upon the story "The Last Vacation" by Joe May, Laszlo Vadnay; Screenplay by Laszlo Vadnay, Max Brand; Music: Adolph Deutsch; Director of Photography: Sid Hickox; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: Robert Haas; Set Decorator: Walter F. Tilford; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Roy Davidson; Orchestrations: Jerome Moross; Assistant Director: James McMahon; Technical Advisor: Paul Coze; Unit Manager: Frank Mattison; Unit Publicist: Bob Fender.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Paul Lukas, Jean Sullivan, Lucille Watson, Faye Emerson, James Flavin, Douglass Dumbrille, Dennis Hoey, Sheldon Leonard, Odette Mytril, Francis Pierlot, Wallis Clark, Victor Kilian, Ivan Triesault, Albert Van Antwerp, Art Smith, Carl Harbaugh, Mary Servoss, Charles La Torre, Pedro de Cordoba, Bobby Walberg.
##### _**1945: Objective, Burma!**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Director: Raoul Walsh; Producer: Jerry Wald; Original Story Treatment: Alvah Bessie; Screenplay: Ranald MacDougall, Lester Cole; Music: Franz Waxman; Director of Photography: James Wong Howe; Film Editor: George Amy; Art Director: Ted Smith; Set Decorator: Jack McConaghy; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Edwin DuPar; Orchestrations: Leonid Raab; Assistant Director: Elmer Decker; Technical Advisor: Major Charles S. Galbraith, U.S. Army Parachute Troops; Unit Manager: Frank Mattison.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias, Henry Hull, Warner Anderson, John Alvin, Stephen Richards, Richard Erdman, Anthony Caruso, Hugh Beaumont, John Whitney, Joel Allen, Buddy Yarus, Frank Tang, William Hudson, Rodd Redwing, Asit Koomar, John Sheridan, Lester Matthews, Erville Anderson.
##### _**1945: San Antonio**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Color by Technicolor; Director: David Butler; Producer: Robert Buckner; Original Screenplay: Alan LeMay, W.R. Burnett; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Bert Glennon; Film editor: Irene Morra; Art Director: Ted Smith; Set Decorator: Jack McConaghy; Wardrobe: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Willard Van Enger; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer; Assistant Director: Bill Kissel; Dance Director: LeRoy Prinz; Associate Technicolor Director: Leonard Doss.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, S. Z. Sakall, Victor Francen, Florence Bates, John Litel, Paul Kelly, Robert Shayne, John Alvin, Monte Blue, Robert Barrat, Pedro de Cordoba, Tom Tyler, Chris-Pin Martin, Charles Stevens, Poodles Hanneford, Doodles Weaver, Dan White, Ray Spiker, Al Hill, Harry Cording, Chalky Williams, Wallis Clark, Bill Steele, Allen E. Smith, Howard Hill.
##### _**1946: Never Say Goodbye**_
Produced by Thomson Productions; Released through Warner Bros.–First National; Director: James V. Kern; Producer: William Jacobs; Based upon the story "Don't ever Leave Me" by Ben and Norma Barzman; Adaptation: Lewis R. Foster; Screenplay: I. A. L. Diamond, James V. Kern; Music: Frederick Hollander; Director of Photography: Arthur Edeson; Film Editor: Folmar Blangsted; Art Director: Anton Grot; Set Decorator: Budd Friend; Wardrobe: Leah Rhodes; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: William McGann, Willard Van Enger; Orchestrations: Leonid Raab; Assistant Director: Phil Quinn; Unit Manager: Don Page; Paintings and Sketches: Zoe Mozert.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Eleanor Parker, Patti Brady, Lucile Watson, S. Z. Sakall, Forrest Tucker, Donald Woods, Peggy Knudsen, Tom D'Andrea, Hattie McDaniel, Charles Coleman, Arthur Shields, Tom Tyler, Monte Blue.
##### _**1947: Cry Wolf**_
Produced by Thomson Productions; Released through Warner Bros.–First National; Director: Peter Godfrey; Producer: Henry Blanke; Based upon the novel by Marjorie Carleton; Screenplay: Catherine Turney; Music: Franz Waxman; Director of Photography: Carl Guthrie; Film Editor: Folmar Blangsted; Art Director: Carl Jules Weyl; Set Decorator: Jack McConaghy; Wardrobe: Travilla; Miss Stanwyck's Wardrobe: Edith Head; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: William McGann, Robert Burks; Orchestrations: Leonid Raab; Assistant Director: Claude Archer; Unit Manager: Don Page.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks, Richard Basehart, Jerome Cowan, John Ridgely, Patricia White, Rory Mallinson, Helene Thimig, Paul Stanton, Barry Bernard, John Elliott, Lisa Golm, Jack Mower, Paul Panzer, Creighton Hale.
##### _**1947: Escape Me Never**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Director: Peter Godfrey; Producer: Henry Blanke; Based upon the novel "The Fool of the Family" and the play "Escape Me Never" by Margaret Kennedy; Screenplay: Lenore Coffee, Thames Williamson; Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Director of Photography: Sol Polito; Ballet Sequences: LeRoy Prinz; Film Editor: Clarence Kolster; Art Director: Carl Jules Weyl; Set Decorator: Fred M. MacLean; Wardrobe: Bernard Newman; Ballet Costumes: Travilla; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: Harry Barndollar, Willard Van Enger; Orchestrations: Hugo Friedhofer, Ray Heindorf; Assistant Director: Claude Archer; Unit Manager: Al Alleborn.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino, Eleanor Parker, Gig Young, Reginald Denny, Isobel Elsom, Albert Basserman, Ludwig Stossel, Milada Mladova, George Zoritch, Helene Thimig, Frank Puglia, Frank Reicher.
##### _**1948: Silver River**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Director: Raoul Walsh; Producer: Owen Crump; Original Story: Stephen Longstreet; Screenplay: Stephen Longstreet, Harriet Frank, Jr.; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Sid Hickox; Film Editor: Alan Crosland, Jr.; Art Director: Ted Smith; Set Decorator: William G. Wallace; Ann Sheridan's Wardrobe: Travilla; Men's Wardrobe: Marjorie Best; makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: William McGann, Edwin DuPar; Montages: James Leicester; Orchestrations: Murray Cutter; Assistant Director: Russell Saunders; Technical Advisor (Civil War): Col. J. G. Taylor, U.S. Army, Ret.; Unit Manager: Chuck Hansen.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Thomas Mitchell, Bruce Bennett, Tom D'Andrea, Barton MacLane, Monte Blue, Jonathan Hale, Alan Bridge, Arthur Space, Art Baker, Joseph Crehan.
##### _**1948: Adventures of Don Juan**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Director: Vincent Sherman; Producer: Jerry Wald; Original Story: Herbert Dalmas; Screenplay: George Oppenheimer, Harry Kurnitz; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Elwood Bredell; Film Editor: Alan Crosland, Jr.; Art Director: Edward Carrere; Set Decorator: Lyle B. Reifsnider; Wardrobe: Leah Rhodes, Travilla; Costumes: Marjorie Best; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: William McGann, John Crouse; Orchestral Arrangements: Murray Cutter; Assistant Director: Richard Mayberry; Fencing Master: Fred Cavens; Associate Technicolor Director: Mitchell Kovaleski; Unit Manager: Frank Mattison.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Romney Brent, Ann Rutherford, Robert Warwick, Jerry Austin, Douglas Kennedy, Jeanne Shepherd, Mary Stuart, Helen Westcott, Fortunio Bonanova, Aubrey Mather, Una O'Connor, Raymond Burr, Tim Huntley, David Leonard, Leon Belasco, Pedro de Cordoba, David Bruce, Monte Blue, Barbara Bates, Harry Lewis.
##### _**1949: It's a Great Feeling**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Color by Technicolor; Director: David Butler; Producer: Alex Gottleib; Original Story: I. A. L. Diamond; Screenplay: Jack Rose, Melville Shavelson; Songs: Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn; Musical Direction and Incidental Score: Ray Heindorf; Musical Numbers and Staging: LeRoy Prinz; Director of Photography: Wilfred M. Cline; Film Editor: Irene Morra; Art Director: Stanley Fleischer; Set Decorator: Lyle B. Reifsnider; Wardrobe: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Special Effects: William McGann, H. F. Koenekamp; Orchestrations: Leo Shuken, Sidney Cutner; Assistant Director: Phil Quinn; Associate Color Director: Mitchell Kovaleski; Unit Manager: Frank Mattison.
**Cast:** Dennis Morgan, Doris Day, Jack Carson, Bill Goodwin, Irving Bacon, Claire Carleton, Harlan Wade, Jacqueline DeWitt, David Butler, Michael Curtiz, King Vidor, Raoul Walsh, Gary Cooper, The Mazzone-Abbott Dancers, Joan Crawford, Sydney Greenstreet, Danny Kaye, Patricia Neal, Eleanor Parker, Ronald Reagan, Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Errol Flynn.
##### _**1949: That Forsyte Woman**_
Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Color by Technicolor; Director: Compton Bennett; Producer: Leon Gordon; Based upon the novel _The Man of Property_ , first volume of _The Forsyte Saga_ by John Galsworthy; Screenplay: Jan Lustig, Ivan Tors, James B. Williams; Music: Bronislau Kaper; Director of Photography: Joseph Ruttenberg; Film Editor: Frederick Y. Smith; Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons, Daniel B. Cathcart; Set Decorators: Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore; Women's Costumes: Walter Plunkett; Men's Costumes: Valles; Makeup: Jack Dawn; Assistant Director: Robert Barnes; Color Consultants: Henri Jaffa, James Gooch; Unit manager: Hugh Bosewell.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Harry Davenport, Robert Young, Janet Leigh, Aubrey Mather, Gerald Oliver Smith, Lumsden Hare, Stanley Logan, Halliwell Hobbes, Matt Moore, Florence Auer, Phyllis Morris, Marjorie Eaton, Evelyn Beresford, Richard Lupino, Wilson Wood, Constance Cavendish, Reginald Sheffield.
##### _**1950: Montana**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Color by Technicolor; Director: Ray Enright; Producer: William Jacobs; Original Story: Ernest Haycox; Screenplay: James R. Webb, Bordon Chase, Charles O'Neal; Music: David Buttolph; Director of Photography: Karl Freund; Art Director: Charles H. Clarke; Set Decorator: G. W. Bernsten; Wardrobe: Milo Anderson; Flynn's Wardrobe: Marjorie Best; Makeup: Perc Westmore; Orchestrations: Leo Shuken, Sidney Cutner; Assistant Director: Oren Haglund; Associate Technicolor Director: William Fritzsche; Unit Manager: Lou Baum; Song "Reckon I'm in Love" by Mack David, Jerry Livingston.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, S. Z. Sakall, Douglas Kennedy, James Brown, Ian MacDonald, Charles Irwin, Paul E. Burns, Tudor Owen, Lester Matthews, Nacho Galindo, Lane Chandler, Monte Blue, Billy Vincent, Warren Jackson.
##### _**1950: Rocky Mountain**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Director: William Keighley; Producer: William Jacobs; Original Story: Alan LeMay; Screenplay: Winston Miller, Alan LeMay; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Ted McCord; Film Editor: Rudi Fehr; Art Director: Stanley Fleischer; Set Decorator: L. S. Edwards; Wardrobe: Marjorie Best; Orchestrations: Murray Cutter; Assistant Director: Frank Mattison.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Scott Forbes, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Dick Jones, Howard Petrie, Slim Pickens, Chubby Johnson, Buzz Henry, Sheb Wooley, Peter Coe, Rush Williams, Steve Dunhill, Alex Sharp, Yakima Canutt.
##### _**1950: Kim**_
Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for Loew's, Inc.; Color by Technicolor; Director: Victor Saville; Producer: Leon Gordon; Based upon the novel by Rudyard Kipling; Screenplay: Leon Gordon, Helen Deutsch, Richard Schayer; Music: André Previn; Director of Photography: William V. Skall; Film Editor: George Boemler; Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters; Set Decorators: Edwin B. Willis, Arthur Krams, Hugh Hunt; Costumes: Valles; Makeup: William Tuttle, Ben Lane; Special Effects: A. Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe; Montages: Peter Ballbusch; Assistant Director: George Rhein; Technical Advisor: I. A. Hafesjee; Technicolor Consultants: Henri Jaffa, James Gooch; Unit Manager: Keith Weeks.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Dean Stockwell, Paul Lukas, Robert Douglas, Thomas Gomez, Cecil Kellaway, Arnold Moss, Reginald Owen, Laurette Luez, Richard Hale, Roman Toporow, Ivan Triesault, Hayden Rorke, Walter Kingsford, Frank Lackteen, Jeanette Nolan.
##### _**1951: Hello God**_
Produced by William Marshall; Director and Writer: William Marshall; Directors of Photography: Paul Ivano, Henry Freulich, U.S., Leo Barboni, Italy.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Sherry Jackson, Joe Muzzuca, Armando Formica.
##### _**1951: The Adventures of Captain Fabian**_
Produced by Silver Films; Released through Republic Pictures; Director and Producer: William Marshall; Associate Producer: Robert Dorfman; Based upon the novel _The Fabulous Ann Madlock_ by Robert Shannon; Screenplay: Errol Flynn, Charles Gross; Music: René Cloerec; Director of Photography: Marcel Crignon; Film Editor: Henri Taverna; Costumes: Arlington Valles; Technical Collaborator: Guy Seitz; Production Supervisor: R. E. Marshall; Assistant Director and Technical Advisor: Marc Maurette; Production manager: Sacha Kamenka; Assistant Production Manager: Jean Rossi.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Micheline Prelle (Presle), Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Victor Francen, Jim Gerald, Helena Manson, Howard Vernon, Roger Blin, Valentine Camax, Georges Flateau, Zanie Campan, Reggie Nalder, Charles Fawcett, Aubrey Bower.
##### _**1952: Mara Maru**_
Produced by Warner Bros.–First National; Director: Gordon Douglas; Producer: David Weisbart; Original Story: Philip Yordan, Sidney Harmon, Hollister Noble; Screenplay: N. Richard Nash; Music: Max Steiner; Director of Photography: Robert Burks; Art Director: Stanley Fleischer; Film Editor: Robert Swanson; Set Decorator: Lyle B. Reifsnider; Miss Roman's Wardrobe: Milo Anderson; Makeup: Gordon Blau; Special Effects: H. F. Koenekamp; Orchestrations: Murray Cutter; Assistant Director: Bill Kissel.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Ruth Roman, Raymond Burr, Paul Picerni, Richard Webb, Dan Seymour, Georges Renavent, Robert Cabal, Henry Marco, Nestor Pavia, Howard Chuman, Michael Ross.
##### _**1952: Against All Flags**_
Produced by Universal-International; Color by Technicolor; Director: George Sherman; Producer: Howard Christie; Original Story: Aeneas MacKenzie; Screenplay: Aeneas MacKenzie, Joseph Hoffman; Music: Hans J. Salter; Director of Photography: Russell Metty; Special Photography: Davis S. Horsley; Film Editor: Frank Gross; Art Directors: Bernard Herzbrun, Alexander Golitzen; Set Decorators: Russell A. Gausman, Oliver Emert; Costumes: Edward Stevenson; Makeup: Bud Westmore; Assistant Directors: John Sherwood, Phil Bowles, James Welch; Associate Color Director: William Fritzsche; Unit Production Manager: Percy Ikerd.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn, Alice Kelly, Mildred Natwick, Robert Warwick, Harry Cording, John Alderson, John Tully, Lester Matthews, Tudor Owen, Maurice Marsac, James Craven, James Fairfax, Michael Ross, Bill Radovich, Paul Newlan.
##### _**1952: Cruise of the Zaca**_
Released by Warner Bros.; Color by Technicolor; Director and Narrator: Errol Flynn; Writer: Owen Crump; General Supervisor: Gordon Hollingshead; Music: Howard Jackson; Film Editor: Rex Steele.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, John Decker, Professor Theodore Thomson Flynn, Carl Hubbs, Nora Eddington Flynn, Howard Hill, Wallace Berry.
##### _**1953: The Master of Ballantrae**_
Produced by Warner Bros.; Color by Technicolor; Director: William Keighley; Based upon the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson; Screenplay: Herb Meadow; Music: William Alwyn; Music Conductor: Muir Mathieson; Director of Photography: Jack Cardiff; Film Editor: Jack Harris; Art Director: Ralph Brinton; Costumes: Margaret Furse; Makeup: George Frost; Assistant Director: Frank Mattison; Fencing Master: Patrick Crean; Technicolor Color Consultant: Joan Bridge.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, Anthony Steel, Beatrice Campbell, Yvonne Furneaux, Felix Aylmer, Mervyn Jones, Charles Goldner, Ralph Truman, Francis de Wolff, Jack Berthier, Gillian Lynne, Moultrie Kelsall.
##### _**1954: Crossed Swords**_
Produced by Viva Films; Released through United Artists; Color by Pathécolor; Director: Milton Krims; Producers: Barry Mahon, Vittorio Vassarotti; Associate Producers: Nato de Angelis, Arthur Villiesid; Screenplay: Milton Krims; Director of Photography: Jack Cardiff; Art Director: Arrigo Equini; Music: Alessandro Cicognini, Gino Marinuzzi; Costumes: Nino Novarese; Makeup: Palumbi.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Gina Lollobrigida, Cesare Danova, Nadia Gray, Paoli Mori, Roldano Lupi, Alberto Rabagliati, Silvio Bagolini, Renata Chiantioni, Mimo Billi, Pietro Tordi, Ricardo Rioli.
##### **1954:** _**William Tell**_ _(unfinished, never released)_
Color by Pathécolor and CinemaScope; Director: Jack Cardiff; Producers: Errol Flynn, Barry Mahon; Director of Photography: Jack Cardiff.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Bruce Cabot, Antonella Lualdi, Aldo Fabrizi, Massimo Serato, Franco Interlenghi, Alberto Rabagliati, Vira Silenti, Dave Crowly.
##### **1955:** _**Lilacs in the Spring**_ _(U.S. title:_ _**Let's Make Up**_ _)_
Produced by Everest Pictures; released in the United States by United Artists, in Britain by Republic; Color by Truecolor; Director and Producer: Herbert Wilcox; Based upon the play _The Glorious Days_ by Robert Nesbitt and adapted by Howard Purcell; Screenplay: Howard Purcell, Miles Malleson; Music: Harry Parr Davies; Director of Photography: Max Greene; Film Editor: Reginald Beck; Art Director: William C. Andrews; Miss Neagle's Dresses: Anthony Holland; Wardrobe: Maude Churchill; Makeup: Harold Fletcher; Production Manager: J. D. Wilcox; Unit Manager: Patricia Smith.
**Cast:** Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn, David Farrar, Kathleen Harrison, Peter Graves, Helen Haye, Scott Sanders, Alma Taylor, Hetty King, Alan Gifford, Jennifer Mitchell, Gillian Harrison, George Margo.
##### **1955:** _**The Dark Avenger**_ _(U.S. title:_ _**The Warriors**_ _)_
Produced by Allied Artists; Released in Great Britain by Twentieth Century Fox; Color by Technicolor and CinemaScope; Director: Henry Levin; Executive Producer: Walter Mirisch; Producer: Vaughan N. Dean; Screenplay: Daniel B. Ullman, Phil Park; Music: Cedric Thorpe Davie; Conductor: Louis Levy; Director of Photography: Guy Green; Film Editor: E. B. Jarvis; Art Director: Terence Verity; Set Decorator: Harry White; Costumes: Elizabeth Haffenden; Makeup: L. V. Clark; Assistant Director: Terence Hunter; Technical Advisor: Charles R. Beard; Production Manager: Roy Parkinson; Second Unit Director: Alex Bryce; Second Unit Cameraman: Cyril J. Knowles.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Joanne Dru, Peter Finch, Yvonne Furneaux, Patrick Holt, Michael Hordern, Moultrie Kelsall, Robert Urquhart, Vincent Winter, Noel Willman, Frances Rowe, Alastair Hunter, Rupert Davies, Ewan Solon, Richard O'Sullivan, Jack Lambert, John Welsh, Harold Kasket, Leslie Linder, Robert Brown, John Phillips, Christopher Lee.
##### **1955:** _**King's Rhapsody**_
Produced by Everest Pictures; Released by United Artists; Color by Eastman Color and CinemaScope; Director and Producer: Herbert Wilcox; Based upon the play by Ivor Novello; Screenplay: Pamela Bower, Christopher Hassall, A. P. Herbert; Songs: Ivor Novello, Christopher Hassall; Music Conductor: Robert Farnon; Director of Photography: Max Greene; Film Editor: Reginald Beck; Art Director: William C. Andrews; Costumes: Anthony Holland.
**Cast:** Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Martita Hunt, Finlay Currie, Francis de Wolff, Joan Benham, Reginald Tate, Miles Malleson, Edmund Hockridge, Lionel Blair.
##### **1956:** _**Istanbul**_
Produced by Universal-International; Color by Technicolor and CinemaScope; Director: Joseph Pevney; Producer: Albert J. Cohen, Story: Seton I. Miller; Screenplay: Seton I. Miller, Barbara Gray, Richard Alan Simmons; Director of Photography: William Daniels; Special Photography: Clifford Stine; Film Editor: Sherman Todd; Art Directors: Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom; Set Decorators: Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron; Costumes: Bill Thomas; Makeup: Bud Westmore; Music Supervision: Joseph Gershenson; Song "I Was a Little Too Lonely" by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans; Song "When I Fall in Love" by Victor Young and Edward Heyman; Songs Sung by: Nat "King" Cole; Assistant Directors: Joseph E. Kenny, Ray de Camp; Technicolor Color Consultant: William Fritzsche; Unit Production Manager: Lew Leary.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Cornell Borchers, John Bentley, Torin Thatcher, Leif Erickson, Peggy Knudsen, Martin Benson, Nat "King" Cole, Werner Klemperer, Vladimir Sokoloff, Jan Arvan, Nico Minardos, Ted Hecht, David Bond, Roland Varno.
##### **1957:** _**The Big Boodle**_
Produced by Monteflor; Released through United Artists; Director: Richard Wilson; Producer: Lewis F. Blumberg; Based upon the novel by Robert Sylvester; Screenplay: Jo Eisinger; Music: Raul Lavista; Director of Photography: Lee Garmes; Film Editor: Charles L. Kimball; Makeup: Anita Guerrero; Production Supervisor: Henry Spitz; Production Coordinator: Alberto Montes; Assistant Director: Henry Hartman.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Pedro Armendariz, Rossana Rory, Gia Scala, Sandro Giglio, Jacques Aubuchon, Carlos Rivas, Charles Todd, Guillerme Alvarez Guedes, Carlos Mas, Rogelio Hernandez, Velia Martinez, Aurora Pita.
##### **1957:** _**The Sun Also Rises**_
Produced by 20th Century–Fox; Color by DeLux and CinemaScope; Director: Henry King; Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck; Based upon the novel by Ernest Hemingway; Screenplay: Peter Viertel; Music: Hugo Friedhofer; Conductor: Lionel Newman; Orchestration: Maurice de Packh; Spanish Music: Alexander Courage; Spanish Orchestration: Bernard Mayers, Arthur Morton; Guitar Music: Vincente Gomez; Director of Photography: Leo Tover; Film Editor: William Mace; Art Directors: Lyle R. Wheeler, Marl-Lee Kirk; Set Decorators: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox, Jack Stubbs; Ava Gardner's Wardrobe: Fontana Sisters, Rome; Makeup: Jack Obringer; Assistant Director: Stanley Hough; Bullfight Sequence: Miguel Delgado.
**Cast:** Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Errol Flynn, Eddie Albert, Gregory Ratoff, Juliette Greco, Marcel Dalio, Henry Daniell, Bob Cunningham, Danik Patisson, Robert Evans, Eduardo Noriega, Jacqueline Evans, Carlos Muzquiz.
##### **1958:** _**Too Much, Too Soon**_
Produced by Warner Bros.; Director: Art Napoleon; Producer: Henry Blanke; Based upon the book by Diana Barrymore and Gerold Frank; Screenplay: Art and Jo Napoleon; Music: Ernest Gold; Directors of Photography: Nick Musuraca, Carl Guthrie; Film editor: Owen Marks; Art Director: John Beckman; Set Decorator: George James Hopkins; Makeup: Gordon Bau; Assistant Director: George Vieira.
**Cast:** Dorothy Malone, Errol Flynn, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Ray Danton, Neva Patterson, Murray Hamilton, Martin Milner, John Dennis, Edward Kemmer, Robert Ellenstein, Kathleen Freeman, John Doucette, Michael Mark, Francis DeSales, Jay Jostyn, Herb Ellis, Louis Quinn, Robert S. Carson.
##### **1958:** _**The Roots of Heaven**_
Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck; Released through twentieth Century Fox; Color by DeLux and CinemaScope; Director: John Huston; Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck; Associate Producer: Robert Jacks; Based upon the novel by Romain Gary; Screenplay: Romain Gary, Patrick Leigh-Fermor; Music: Malcolm Arnold; Director of Photography: Oswald Morris; 2nd Unit Photography: Skeets Kelly, Henri Persin, Gilles Bonneau; Film Editor: Russell Lloyd; Art Director: Stephen Grimes; Set Decorator: Bruno Avesani; Costume Designer: Rosine Delamar; Makeup: George Frost; Special Effects: Fred Etcheverry; Special Photographic Effects: L. B. Abbott; Assistant Director: Carlo Lastricati; Technical Advisor: Claude Hettier de Boislambert; Production Manager: Guy Longo.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Juliette Greco, Trevor Howard, Eddie Albert, Orson Welles, Paul Lukas, Herbert Lom, Gregoire Aslan, Andre Luguet, Friedich Ledebur, Edric Connor, Olivier Hussenot, Pierre Dudan, Marc Doelnitz, Dan Jackson, Maurice Cannon, Jacques Marin, Habib Benglia, Bachir Touré.
##### **1959:** _**Cuban Rebel Girls**_
Produced by Exploit Films; Distributed through Joseph Brenner Associates; Director and Producer: Barry Mahon; Written by: Errol Flynn; Narrator: Errol Flynn.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Beverly Aadland, John MacKay, Jackie Jackler, Marie Edmund, Ben Ostrovsky, Regnier Sanchez, Esther Olivia, Todd Brody, Clelle Mahon.
##### **1959:** _**Cuban Story**_ _(released on DVD in 2002)_
"The Truth About Fidel Castro Revolution (sic);" Written and Produced by Victor Pahlen; Reported by Errol Flynn. Original Production Credit: Fenix Producciones. DVD version copyright 1996 by Kyra Pahlen; AllDay Entertainment; Distributed by Image Entertainment.
**Featuring:** Errol Flynn, Bevery Aadland, Fidel Castro.
_Note:_ The DVD liner notes by David Kalat misrepresent Flynn as pro-fascist. Kalat's doggerel contends that Flynn "met repeatedly with Batista, whom he admired, and had cooked up a bizarre plot to assassinate Castro." These assertions are totally unsupported by any material in Pahlen's documentary.
##### **MINOR FILM APPEARANCES**
**1936:** _**Pirate Party at Catalina Island,**_ MGM: appears as himself in brief footage with Lili Damita.
**1936:** _**For Auld Lang Syne: A Tribute to Will Rogers,**_ Warner Bros.: as himself.
**1939:** _**Sword Fishing,**_ Warner Bros.: Flynn's yacht is shown.
**1939:** _**Shark Hunting,**_ Warner Bros.: Flynn's yacht is shown.
**1945:** _**Screen Snapshots,**_ Columbia: as himself.
**1945:** _**Peeks at Hollywood,**_ Warner Bros.: as himself. For a description of Flynn's appearance see Gene Lester's _When Hollywood Was Fun!_ , pp. 50–52.
**1946:** _**Deep Sea Fishing**_ : with Howard Hill.
**1948:** _**Always Together,**_ Warner Bros.: Cameo footage.
**1949:** _**Rabbit Hood,**_ Warner Bros.: This Bugs Bunny cartoon included a brief clip from _The Adventures of Robin Hood._
##### **DRAMATIC TELEVISION APPEARANCES**
**April 4, 1956:** _**Screen Director's Playhouse: The Sword of Villon**_
A Hal Roach Studios Production; Director: George Waggner.
Cast: Errol Flynn, Hillary Brooke, Pamela Duncan.
**March 22, 1957:** _**The Errol Flynn Theatre**_
An Inter-TV production.
Series Producers: Norman Williams, Marcel Leduc; Co-Producer: T. S. Lyndon-Haynes.
Episode #1: "The Ordeals of Carol Kennedy"
Director: John Lemont.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Patrice Wymore, Derek Bond.
Episode #2: "Fortunes of War"
Director: John Lemont.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Errol Flynn, Lisa Daniely, Christopher Lee.
Episode #3: "The Evil Thought"
Director: John Lemont. Based upon a story by Robert Louis Stevenson. This episode was produced and filmed in 1953 at Nettleford Studios, Walton-on-Thames and intended for release as a theatrical short.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Philip Saville, Christopher Lee, Arthur Lowe.
Episode #4: "Rustle of Silk"
Director: Peter Maxwell.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Phyllis Kirk, Ronny Howard.
Episode #5: "The Model"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Patrice Wymore, John McLaren, Christopher Lee.
Episode #6: "The Red Geranium"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Betta St. John, Leslie Phillips.
Episode #7: "The Duel"
Director: John Lemont.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Errol Flynn, Ann Stevens, Tim Turner.
Episode #8: "The Sealed Room"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Glynis Johns, Herbert Lom, Patrick Allan.
Episode #9: "Love Token"
Director: Peter Maxwell.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Rosanna Rory, Christopher Lee.
Episode #10: "Farewell Performance"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Patricia Roc, Ivan Craig, Conrad Phillips.
Episode #11: "First Come, First Loved"
Director: Don Chaffey.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Jean-Pierre Aumont.
Episode #12 : "Rescued"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Errol Flynn, Hugh Moxey, Andrew Keir, Jack Lambert.
Episode #13: "Take the High Road"
Director: Peter Maxwell.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: June Havoc, Robert Crewdson.
Episode #14: "Out of the Blue"
Director: Joseph Sterling.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Rosanna Rory, Robert Arden.
Episode #15: "A Wife for the Czar"
Director: John Lemont.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Francis de Wolff.
Episode #16: "The Kinsman"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Peter Reynolds, Ronald Squires.
Episode #17: "Déclassée"
Director: Don Chaffey.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Phyllis Kirk, Philip Friend, Ivan Craig.
Episode #18: "The Cellini Cup"
Director: John Lemont.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Mai Zetterling, Hugh McDermott.
Episode #19: "My Infallible Uncle"
Director: Joseph Sterling.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: June Havoc, Ian Collin.
Episode #20: "Strange Auction"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Sean Flynn.
_Note:_ some exteriors were filmed in Ireland, all interiors were filmed at the Bray Studios.
Episode #21: "Mademoiselle Fifi"
Director: Lawrence Huntington. Based upon a story by Guy de Maupassant.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Paulette Goddard, Peter Reynolds.
Episode #22: "The Girl in Blue Jeans"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Glynis Johns, Herbert Lom.
Episode #23: "The Transfer"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Brian Aherne, James Donald.
Episode #24: "All in the Family"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Mai Zetterling, Derek Farr.
Episode #25: "The 1000th Night of Don Juan"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Errol Flynn, Jean Kent.
Episode #26: "The Mirror"
Director: Lawrence Huntington.
Host: Errol Flynn
Cast: Patrice Wymore, Philip Friend.
_Note:_ episode numbering is approximate and based upon the press kit.
**June 6, 1957:** _**Playhouse 90:**_ **Episode #36,** _**Without Incident**_
Writers: David Victor, Herbert Little, Jr.; Based upon the story by Charles Marquis Warren; Director: Charles Marquis Warren.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Julie London, Ann Sheridan, John Ireland, Rudolfo Acosta, John Pickard, Bing Russell, Sheb Wooley.
**November 9, 1959:** _**Alcoa-Goodyear Theater: The Golden Shanty**_
Director: Arthur Hiller; Producer: Winston O'Keefe; Executive Producer: William Sackheim; Teleplay: Jameson Brewer; Based upon a story by Edward G. Dyson.
**Cast:** Errol Flynn, Patricia Barry, Peter Hansen, James McCallion, Fred E. Sherman, Juney Ellis.
### _Notes and Sources_
#### **Preface**
1. Earl Conrad, _Errol Flynn: A Memoir_ , p. 10 and p. 220.
2. C. G. Jung, _Modern Man in Search of a Soul,_ pp. 168–169.
#### One: From Tasmania to Hollywood, 1909–1934
I relied on several vital books regarding Flynn's childhood. First, Don Norman's _Errol Flynn: The Tasmanian Story_ and Norman's autobiography, _A Tasmanian Life_ , provided the detailed background of Flynn's childhood. I also benefited from a regular correspondence from Mr. Norman until the time of his death. Mr. Norman was widely recognized as a qualified expert on Tasmanian history and much of the information regarding Tasmania's sociology and geography was based upon notes supplied by him. Secondly, John Hammond Moore's _The Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ is an irreplaceable volume. Finally, Hermann Erben's diary excerpts and photographs, published by Josef Fegerl in _Errol Flynn–Dr. Hermann F. Erben: A Friendship of Two Adventurers, 1933–1940,_ contributed vital knowledge of Flynn's activities prior to his arrival in England. Flynn's correspondence to his father provided a detailed account of his thinking during this period. The annotations recorded here are for the benefit of future researchers who may wish to add to or correct the growing literature on Flynn.
1. John Hammond Moore, _The Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ , p. 12.
2. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways,_ p. 25. Co-authored by Earl Conrad who was hired as a ghost writer.
3. Don Norman, _Errol Flynn:_ _The Tasmanian Story_ , p. 9.
4. John Hammond Moore, _The Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ , p. 13. Along with Don Norman's book, this is a vital resource on Flynn's formative years.
5. Letter from Marelle Flynn to Earl Conrad, November 14, 1958.
6. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ , pp. 40–41.
7. John Hammond Moore, _The Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ , p. 19.
8. _Ibid._ , p. 21.
9. _Ibid._
10. Letter from Don Norman to Paul M. James, November 18, 1981.
11. John Hammond Moore, _The_ _Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ , p. 24.
12. _Ibid._ , p. 27.
13. _Ibid._
14. _Ibid._ , p. 30.
15. Errol Flynn's letter to his father, May 1932. Flynn wrote this letter from his Laloki Tobacco Plantation.
16. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ , p. 88.
17. _Ibid._
18. Errol Flynn's letter to his father, October 4, 1931. Flynn wrote this letter from his Laloki Tobacco Plantation.
19. John Hammond Moore, _Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ , p. 63.
20. Errol Flynn's letter to his father, July 27, 1930.
21. John Hammond Moore, _Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ , p. 64.
22. _Ibid._
23. _Ibid._ , p. 75.
24. _Ibid._ , p. 78.
25. Errol Flynn, Tony Thomas (editor _); From_ _a Life of Adventure: The Writings of Errol Flynn_ , pp. 39–40. To date, this is the only collection of Flynn's magazine articles.
26. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ , p. 107.
27. John Hammond Moore, _The Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood_ , p. 94.
28. _Ibid._ , pp. 120–121.
29. Errol Flynn's letter to Earl Conrad, August 1, 1959.
30. Earl Conrad, _Errol Flynn: A Memoir,_ p. 33.
31. Joseph Fegerl, editor; _Errol Flynn–Dr. Hermann F. Erben: A Friendship of Two Adventurers, 1933–1940,_ p. 5.
32. Gerry Connelly, _Errol Flynn in Northampton,_ pp. 28–29.
33. Kyle Crichton, "From Reef To Reef," _Collier's_ , October 10, 1936, p. 42.
34. Errol Flynn's letter to Mrs. Norfolk, undated but obviously composed in 1934 and written at the Warner Bros. Teddington Studios, L. D. Hurst Collection.
35. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., _The Salad Days,_ p. 239. The first in a proposed trilogy, this was followed by _A Hell of a War_ in 1993. Fairbanks died before completing the third volume of his memoirs.
36. Author's interview with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., August 31, 1999.
#### Two: Hollywood, 1935–1940
For general historical background regarding Spain, Jamaica, and Cuba I relied on the Encarta Encyclopedia. Additional background information on Jamaica was gleaned from _Ian Fleming Introduces Jamaica_ and edited by Morris Cargill. Initially, Flynn gave many interviews that were published in fan magazines. These interviews were generally cleaned up because of Flynn's often colorful use of language. Even so, they are useful in assessing Flynn's attitude at various stages during his career. Flynn's correspondence from this period is not as widely disseminated among collectors but what is available was useful in assessing his attitude. Some articles quoted here are from the Paul M. James collection and the page numbers are given where known. Commencing in this section, quotations from the films are from the author's notes made during a viewing of the videotapes. The FBI file transcribed in part beginning in this section presented problems because of the sometimes poor condition of the copies. Any errors in transcription are solely my responsibility.
1. Jack Warner, _My First Hundred Years in Hollywood_ , p. 118.
2. _Ibid._ , p. 235.
3. _Ibid._
4. James D'Arc, "Perfect Manners," _American Classic Screen_ , p. 9.
5. Buster Wiles, _My Days with Errol Flynn_ , pp. 63 and 64.
6. Jack Warner, _My First Hundred Years in Hollywood_ , p. 235.
7. Tony Thomas, The _Films of Olivia de Havilland_ , p. 68.
8. Tom Sherwin, "Errol Flynn Takes to Adventure," _Motion Picture_ , March 1936, p. 34.
9. G. D. Hamann, _Errol Flynn in the 30s_ , p. 13. A cheaply produced but fascinating book. Hamann reproduces the text from disintegrating copies of the _Los Angeles Evening Herald,_ the _Los Angeles Examiner_ and several other newspapers.
10. Kyle Chrichton, "Reef to Reef," _Collier's_ , October 10, 1936, p. 43.
11. Letter from Errol Flynn to John Hawkes dated March 14, 1936.
12. Iron Eyes Cody, _Iron Eyes: My Life as a Hollywood Indian_ , p. 159.
13. 1936 newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
14. Errol Flynn, "I'd Rather Play Tennis," _Screen & Radio Weekly_, no page number. This article was printed in newspaper supplements nationwide. This copy is from the _Oakland Tribune_ , August 9, 1936, Paul M. James collection.
15. _Ibid._
16. _Ibid._
17. M. G. Hart, "The Gentleman from New Guinea," _Silver Screen_ , January 1936, p. 71.
18. W. H. Mooring, "Errol Aims a Few Arrows," _Film Weekly_ , December 25, 1937, p. 24.
19. G. D. Hamann, _Errol Flynn in the '30s_ , p. 27.
20. _Ibid._ , p. 28.
21. _Ibid._ , p. 29.
22. _Ibid._
23. _Ibid._
24. 1937 newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
25. M. G. Hart, "The Gentleman from New Guinea," _Silver Screen_ , January 1936, p. 71.
26. Errol Flynn, _Beam Ends_ , p. 15.
27. _Ibid._ , p. 6.
28. _Ibid._ , p. 16.
29. _Ibid._ , p. 47.
30. _Ibid._ , p. 42.
31. _Ibid._ , p. 28.
32. _Ibid._ , p. 24.
33. _Ibid._ , p. 127.
34. _Ibid._ , p. 193.
35. _Ibid._ , p. 194.
36. Charles Darnton, "Errol Flynn's Greatest Enemy," _Screen Book_ , November 1937, p. 9.
37. _Book Review Digest_ , 1937, p. 351.
38. Charles Darnton, "Errol Flynn's Greatest Enemy," _Screen Book_ , November 1937, p. 9.
39. John Harlow, "Errol Flynn: Scourge of Franco," _Sunday Times_ (Northampton), November 5, 2000.
40. Josef Fegerl, editor; _Errol Flynn–Dr. Hermann F. Erben: A Friendship of Two Adventurers, 1933–1940_ , p. 28. This book was published by Josef Fegerl in 1985 and establishes the date of Flynn and Erben's first meeting as April 14, 1933. The book includes Erben's photos of Flynn and facsimile of Erben's diary. Erben's diary eliminates conjecture that it was Erben who hired Flynn to traverse the Sepik river with a film crew in 1929 or 1930.
41. Denis Brian, _The True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him_ , p. 112.
42. _Ibid._ , p. 113.
43. Dale Paget, "Daughter to Sell Unpublished Errol Flynn Diary," from the Age.com internet site. Quotations from this diary appear in various press reports on the internet and in newspapers in the summer of 2000.
44. Denis Brian, _The True_ _Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him_ , pp. 112–113.
45. _Ibid._ , p. 113.
46. _Ibid._ , p. 114.
47. _Ibid._
48. G. D. Hamann, _Errol Flynn in the '30s_ , p. 39.
49. Errol Flynn, "What Really Happened to Me in Spain," _Photoplay_ , July 1937, p. 14.
50. _Ibid._
51. W. H. Mooring, "Errol Aims a Few Arrows," _Film Weekly_ , December 25, 1937, pp. 14, 24.
52. _Ibid._ , p. 24.
53. Buster Wiles, _My Days with Errol Flynn_ , p. 63.
54. Hedda Hopper, _The Whole Truth and Nothing But_ , p. 74.
55. David Niven, _Bring on the Empty Horses_ , p. 124.
56. Rudy Behlmer, editor, _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ (screenplay), p. 32.
57. W. H. Mooring, "Errol Aims a Few Arrows," _Film Weekly_ , December 25, 1937, p. 14.
58. Howard Pyle, _The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown, In Nottinghamshire_ , from the author's preface, p. V.
59. _Ibid._ , from the author's prologue, p. 1.
60. Howard Hill, _Wild Adventure_ , from Errol Flynn's introduction, p. 11.
61. _Ibid._
62. _Ibid._ , p. 12.
63. Patric Knowles, "Rebuttal for a Friend," from _Star Quality_ , p. 19.
64. _Ibid._ , p. 20.
65. _Ibid._
66. W. H. Mooring, "Errol Aims a Few Arrows," _Film Weekly_ , December 25, 1937, p. 14.
67. _Ibid._
68. Rudy Behlmer, editor, _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ (screenplay), p. 91.
69. Ida Zeitlein, "Robin Hood Throws a Party," _Modern Screen_ , January 1938, p. 26.
70. _Ibid._ , p. 26.
71. _Ibid._ , p. 27.
72. _Ibid._ , p. 64.
73. Basil Rathbone, _In and Out of Character_ , p. 151.
74. Dotson Rader, "Rewards and Regrets: An Interview," _Parade Magazine,_ September 7, 1986, p. 5.
75. _Ibid._
76. _Ibid._
77. _Ibid._
78. G. D. Hamann, _Errol Flynn in the '30s_ , p. 72.
79. Josef Fegerl, editor; _Errol Flynn–Dr. Hermann F. Erben: A Friendship of Two Adventurers, 1933–1940_ , p. 75.
80. Buster Wiles, _My Days with Errol Flynn_ , p. 131.
81. Whitney Stine, _Mother Goddam_ , p. 105.
82. Bette Davis, _The Lonely Life_ , p. 172.
83. _Ibid._
84. _Ibid._
85. Newspaper clipping, source unknown, probably a Warner Bros. publicity statement issued to the press, Paul M. James collection.
86. Charles Darnton, "No False Front," _Modern Movies_ , 1939, p. 65.
87. _Ibid._
88. _Ibid._ , p. 66.
89. _Ibid._
90. _Ibid._
91. _Ibid._
92. _Ibid._ Flynn told variations of this story throughout his life.
93. Ben Maddox, "Is Errol Flynn Plain Lucky?" _Silver Screen_ , September 1939, p. 44.
94. William K. Everson, _A Pictorial History of the Western Film_ , p. 15.
95. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ , p. 290.
96. James D'Arc, "Perfect Manners: An Interview with Olivia de Havilland," _American Classic Screen_ , January/February 1979, p. 9.
97. Quoted by Susan Sutton, "Dodge City," from the internet site: www.moviehousehistory .com.
98. Author's interview with Peter Stackpole, July 13, 1996.
99. Noel Ary, director of the Kansas Heritage Center, discussion with author, July 2000. Ary's comment mirrors that of most attendees whose recollection of the enormous crowd remains the predominant image from the premiere.
100. Author's interview with Anna Marie Eckles, August 27, 2000.
101. _Ibid._
102. Author's interview with Betty Muncy, August 26, 2000.
103. Author's interview with Bill Ripple, August 26, 2000.
104. _Dodge City Daily Globe_ , April 3, 1939.
105. Elizabeth Wilson, "Errol Flynn: The People's Choice," _Screenland_ , July 1939, p. 63.
106. _Ibid._ , p. 74.
107. Author's interview with Louis Sanchez, August 26, 2000.
108. Bette Davis, _The Lonely Life_ , p. 166.
109. _Ibid._
110. _Ibid._ , p. 180.
111. _Ibid._ , p. 181.
112. Victoria Price, _Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography_ , p. 124.
113. Errol Flynn, My _Wicked, Wicked Ways_ , p. 258.
114. John Hilder, "On Location at Virginia City," _Hollywood_ , April 1940, p. 36.
115. _Ibid._
116. Author's interview with Vincent Sherman, February 28, 1998.
117. John Hilder, "On Location at Virginia City," _Hollywood_ , April, 1940, p. 36.
118. Flynn's typed letter to W. Ward Marsh at the _Cleveland Plain Dealer_ , November 19, 1939.
119. Lord Byron, _Don Juan_ , canto I, stanza 133.
120. Penny Porter, "Errol Flynn and Me," _Nevada Magazine_ , May/June 1999, p. 23. In a letter to the author Porter reiterated her girlhood affection for Flynn and points out that Flynn was actually a skilled horseman.
121. _Ibid._ , p. 23.
122. Gladys Hall, "Errol Flynn Gives Himself a Grilling," _Silver Screen_ , April 1940, p.63.
123. _Ibid._
124. _Ibid._ , p. 62.
125. _Ibid._
126. Rudy Behlmer, editor, _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ (screenplay), p. 207.
127. Kit Holliday, 1940 magazine clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
128. _Ibid._
129. Tony Thomas, _The Films of Ronald Reagan_ , p. 114.
130. Irene Zarat, "'I Feel Like a Heel About Errol,' Says Olivia de Havilland," _Photoplay_ , January 1942, p. 74.
131. _Ibid._
132. _Ibid._
133. Marian Rhea, "The Latin American Way," _Movie Mirror_ , October 1938, p. 48.
134. _Ibid._
135. _Ibid._
136. Michael Freedland, _The Two Lives of Errol Flynn_ , p. 88. Freedland's excellent biography is given little attention. This is a remarkably accurate book whose only fault lies in its lack of endnotes and a bibliography.
137. _Ibid._
138. George Brooks, "The Man Who Is Errol Flynn," _Stardom_ , April 1943, p. 21.
139. _Ibid._
140. _Ibid._
141. Caroline Somers Hoyt, "He Knows Women," _Modern Screen_ , December 1936, p.100.
142. _Ibid._
143. _Ibid._ , pp. 54–55.
144. Mary Parkes, "Strictly off the Record," magazine clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
145. _Ibid._
#### Three: The War Years, 1941–1945
I relied on _The Military History of World War II_ (Barrie Pitt, ed.) for the time-line of events that coincided with Flynn's life. For background information on Gentleman Jim Corbett I relied on David Carroll's _The Matinee Idols_. Records from the Superior Court of California enabled me to reconstruct Flynn's trial. In this respect I was also aided by the voluminous public record for testimony transcripts. Also useful was Jerry Giesler's _Hollywood Lawyer_ and the little known _Headline Happy by_ Florabel Muir. Ted Thomey's _The Loves of Errol Flynn_ , published in paperback in 1962, was useful in reconstructing the rape trial as well. Thomey's slender book is technically the first biography of Flynn. It is an accurate account of Flynn's life although most of its 139 pages are devoted to the rape trial. Some of Peter Stackpole's photographs are collected in _Life in Hollywood, 1936– 1952,_ published in 1992. Interested readers will find the magnificent photograph of Flynn on the _Sirocco's_ mast as well as other photographs of Flynn from this period.
1. John Franchey, "Flynn under Fire," _Movies_ , September 1941, p. 52.
2. _Ibid._ , p. 20.
3. _Ibid._
4. Willard Watkins, "Flynn Without Flim Flam," _Silver Screen_ , November 1942, p. 64.
5. Tom DeVane, "Heap Big Romance," _Hollywood_ , December 1941, p. 31.
6. _Ibid._
7. Irene Zarat, "'I Feel like a Heel about Errol' Says Olivia de Havilland," _Photoplay_ , January 1942, p. 75.
8. Buster Wiles, _My Days with Errol Flynn_ , p. 99.
9. Iron Eyes Cody, _Iron Eyes: My Life as a Hollywood Indian_ , p. 160–161.
10. _Ibid._ , p. 149.
11. _Ibid._ , pp. 149–150.
12. Tom DeVane, "Heap Big Romance," _Hollywood_ , December 1941, p. 31.
13. James D'Arc, "Perfect Manners: An Interview with Olivia de Havilland," _American Classic Screen_ , January/February 1979, p. 9.
14. Letter from Olivia de Havilland to Thomas McNulty, March 22, 1994.
15. Jim Fleming, "In the Shadow of the Flynn Man," _Photoplay_ , October 1942, p. 73.
16. _Ibid._
17. Clipping from the Paul M. James collection, source unknown.
18. _Ibid._
19. George Frazier, _The One with the Mustache Is Costello_ , pp. 165–166.
20. _Ibid._ , p. 166.
21. Clipping from the Paul M. James collection, source unknown.
22. Author's interview with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., August 31, 1999.
23. _Ibid._
24. Matthew J. Bruccoli, editor, _F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters_ , p. 337.
25. Stuart Jerome, _Those_ _Crazy Wonderful Years When We Ran Warner Bros._ , p. 98.
26. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ , p. 247.
27. _Ibid._
28. _Ibid._
29. _Ibid._ , pp. 247–248.
30. Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "The Winds of Fate." This poem originally appeared in her 1916 collection, _World Voices._ The engraving at Mulholland was a paraphrase from the Wilcox poem.
31. Quoted by Adela Rogers St. John in her _Photoplay_ article, "Errol Flynn Begins Again," October 1943. Thomas Burke (1887–1945) was immensely popular after the First World War. His "Limehouse" series featuring a Chinese sage named Quong Lee gained him a ready audience. Flynn was probably familiar with the "Limehouse" books in addition to Burke's travel memoirs.
32. John Franchey, "Strictly Dynamite," _Modern Screen_ , July 1942.
33. _Ibid._
34. Author's interview with John Agar, October 14, 1996. See also Thomas McNulty, "John Agar, Actor: Hollywood's All-Purpose Hero," _Filmfax_ # 59, February/March, 1997.
35. Author's interview with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., August 31, 1999.
36. Gene Fowler, _Minutes of the Last Meeting_ , p. 4.
37. John Kobler, _Damned in Paradise: The Life of John Barrymore_ , p. 322.
38. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ , p. 249.
39. Gene Fowler, _Minutes_ o _f the Last Meeting_ , p. 5.
40. _Ibid._ , p. 25.
41. _Ibid._ , p. 9.
42. _Ibid._ , p. 7.
43. _Ibid._ , pp. 9, 11, 12, 13.
44. Tom Hutchinson, _Niven's Hollywood_ , p. 108.
45. John Kobler, _Damned in Paradise: The Life of John Barrymore_ , p. 324. This was a popular anecdote about Barrymore and one that Flynn would never forget, as noted in part five.
46. David Niven, _Bring on the Empty Horses_ , p. 128.
47. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., _A Hell of a War_ , p. 128.
48. Tom Hutchinson, _Niven's Hollywood_ , p. 108.
49. Archie Satterfield, "Errol Flynn: Buster Wiles Recalls the Envied Actor's Last days in Vancouver," _Seattle Post-Intelligencer Northwest_ , August 14, 1977. Wiles repeated this anecdote in his autobiography. See _My Days with Errol Flynn_ , pp. 124–125.
50. _Ibid._
51. John Kobler, _Damned in Paradise: The Life of John Barrymore_ , p. 376.
52. Errol Flynn's letter to Col. William J. Donovan, Office of Strategic Services, February 4, 1942. Flynn's letter is a typescript and the date may reflect the receipt date rather than the composition date.
53. _Ibid._
54. _Ibid._
55. Buster Wiles, _My Days with Errol Flynn_ , p. 127.
56. Quoted from the records of the Superior Court of the State of California, microfilm # CR91292.
57. Jerry Giesler, _Hollywood Lawyer_ , p. 99.
58. Florabel Muir, "Behind the Scenes at the Errol Flynn Trial," _Movieland_ , May 1943, p. 14.
59. Quoted from the records of the Superior Court of the State of California, microfilm # CR91292.
60. Linda Christian, _Linda: My Own Story_ , p. 34.
61. Author's interview with Peter Stackpole, August 18, 1996.
62. Clipping from the Paul M. James collection, source unknown.
63. Meredith Macksound, with Craig R. Smith and Jackie Lohrke, _Arthur Kennedy, Man of Characters_ , p. 33.
64. "Fearless," "What's Happened to Errol Flynn," _Photoplay_ , October 1942.
65. Author's interview with Peter Stackpole, July 13, 1996.
66. Jerry Giesler, _Hollywood Lawyer_ , p. 139.
67. Florabel Muir, "Behind the Scenes at the Errol Flynn Trial," _Movieland_ , May 1943, p. 16.
68. Jerry Giesler, _Hollywood Lawyer_ , p. 146.
69. _Ibid._ , p. 140.
70. _Ibid._ , p. 145.
71. Quoted from the records of the Superior Court of the State of California, microfilm # CR91292.
72. Florabel Muir, "Behind the Scenes at the Errol Flynn Trial," _Movieland_ , May 1943, p. 16.
73. Harry Altschuler, "Giesler's Greatest Cases: How He Cleared Flynn of Rape," _New York Mirror_ , February 4, 1962.
74. Florabel Muir, "Behind the Scenes at the Errol Flynn Trial," _Movieland_ , May 1943, p. 13.
75. Quoted from the records of the Superior Court of the State of California, microfilm # CR91292.
76. Linda Christian, _Linda: My Own Story_ , p. 44.
77. "Trial and Errol," _Newsweek_ , February 15, 1943. Lest history forget, the names of Flynn's jurors were: Mrs. Ruby Anderson, Mrs. Mildred Leahy, Mrs. Teresa Wood, Mrs. Nellie Minear, Mr. Homer Jacobsmeyer, Mrs. Georgette Welch, Mrs. Jennie Larson, Mrs. Lena Morgan, Mrs. Lorene Boehm, Mr. Charles Boyd, Miss Elaine Forbes, Mr. Loren Curtis, with Mrs. A. Chalfant serving as an alternate juror.
78. _Ibid._
79. Florabel Muir, "Behind the Scenes at the Errol Flynn Trial," _Movieland_ , May 1943, p. 17.
80. "Trial and Errol," _Newsweek_ , February 15, 1943.
81. _Ibid._
82. Florabel Muir, _Headline Happy_ , p. 147.
83. George Frazier, _The One with the Mustache Is Costello_ , p. 168.
84. Florabel Muir, _Headline Happy_ , p. 146.
85. Author's interview with Peter Stackpole, July 13, 1996.
86. "Trial and Errol," _Newsweek_ , February 15, 1943.
87. _Ibid._
88. George Frazier, _The One with the Mustache Is Costello_ , p. 167.
89. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, _Baa Baa Black Sheep_ , pp. 115–116.
90. Hector Arce, _The Secret Life of Tyrone Power_ , p. 189.
91. Archie Satterfield, "Errol Flynn: Buster Wiles Recalls the Envied Actor's Last Days in Vancouver," _Seattle Post-Intelligencer Northwest_ , August 14, 1977.
92. Errol Flynn's letter to Miss J. Mason, February 18, 1943.
93. Buster Wiles, _My Days with Errol Flynn,_ p. 136.
94. Nora Eddington Flynn Haymes, _Errol and Me,_ pp. 17–18.
95. Florabel Muir, _Headline Happy_ , p. 144.
96. Clipping from the Paul M. James collection, source unknown.
97. Nora Eddington Flynn Haymes, _Errol and Me_ , p. 41.
98. _Ibid._ , p. 37.
99. _Ibid._
100. _Ibid._ , pp. 80–81.
101. Cynthia Miller, "You're Wrong About Errol Flynn," _Modern Screen_ , July 1943, p. 66.
102. _Ibid._ , p. 3.
103. _Ibid._
104. Clipping from the Paul M. James collection, source unknown.
105. Maxine Arnold, "Errol Flynn's Own Fight," _Stardom_ , May 1944, pp. 14–15.
106. Cynthia Miller, "Can't Help Lovin' That Man," _Modern Screen_ , September 1944, p. 114.
107. _Ibid._
108. _Ibid._ , p. 67.
109. John Franchey, "Master of Mulholland Farm," _Screen Stars_ , July 1944, p. 67.
110. Maxine Arnold, "Errol Flynn's Own Fight," _Stardom_ , May 1944, p 16.
111. _Ibid._
112. Maxine Arnold, "Errol Flynn's Own Fight," _Stardom_ , May 1944, p. 17.
113. Clipping from the Paul M. James collection, source unknown.
114. _Ibid._
115. John Franchey, "Master of Mulholland Farm," _Screen Stars_ , July 1944, p. 68.
116. _Ibid._
117. Cynthia Miller, "Can't Help Lovin' That Man," _Modern Screen_ , September 1944, p. 115.
118. John Franchey, "Master of Mulholland Farm," _Screen Stars_ , July 1944, p. 68.
119. Maxine Arnold, "Errol Flynn's Own Fight," _Stardom_ , May 1944, p. 15.
120. John Franchey, "Master of Mulholland Farm," _Screen Stars_ , July 1944, p. 67.
121. _Ibid._
122. Cynthia Miller, "Can't Help Lovin' That Man," _Modern Screen_ , September 1944, p. 115.
123. _Ibid._ , p. 118.
124. Archie Satterfield, "Errol Flynn: Buster Wiles Recalls the Envied Actor's Last Days in Vancouver," _Seattle Post-Intelligencer Northwest_ , August 14, 1977. In his autobiography Wiles changed his story and claimed he was never in a bordello with Flynn.
125. Virginia Wilson, "Uncertain Glory," _Modern Screen_ , June 1944, p. 12.
126. Barry Starr; "Errol Flynn Today," _Movieland_ , November 1943, p. 48.
127. _Ibid._ , p. 60.
128. Buster Wiles, _My Days with Errol Flynn,_ p. 160.
129. Barry Starr; "Errol Flynn Today," _Movieland_ , November 1943, p. 61.
130. This letter is on display at the Warner Bros. Studio Museum and is quoted in full in _My Days with Errol Flynn_ by Buster Wiles _,_ pp. 158– 160.
131. _Ibid._
132. Michael Freedland, _The Two Lives of Errol Flynn_ , p. 157.
133. Cynthia Miller, "Can't Help Lovin' That Man," _Modern Screen_ , September 1944, p. 117.
134. Virginia Wood, "Errol Flynn Finally Talks," _Screenland_ , December 1944, p. 93.
135. Cynthia Miller, "Can't Help Lovin' That Man," _Modern Screen_ , September 1944, p. 118.
136. _Ibid._
137. Inga Arvad, "Errol Flynn Picks a Title—'Be Good, Sweet Maid,'" North American Newspaper Alliance, 1945, clipping from the Paul M. James collection.
138. Ben Hecht, "John Decker's Hollywood," _Esquire_ , December, 1945, p. 132.
139. Oscar Wilde, _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ , New York, Harper and Row Publishers, 1965, Harper Classics paperback (originally published in 1890), p. 83.
140. Louella O. Parsons, "Nora Eddington Talks About Her Marriage," _Photoplay_ , July 1945, p. 31.
141. _Ibid._
142. Virginia Wood, "Errol Flynn Finally Talks," _Screenland_ , December 1944, p.92.
143. Archie Satterfield, "Errol Flynn: Buster Wiles Recalls the Envied Actor's last Days in Vancouver," _Seattle Post-Intelligencer Northwest_ , August 14, 1977.
144. John Franchey, "Master of Mulholland Farm," _Screen Stars_ , July 1944, p. 14.
#### Four: Don Juan, 1946–1949
The contributions of Vincent Sherman and Wallace Berry, both of whom are quoted here extensively, provided this section with a wealth of primary source material. I also consulted Nora Eddington's _Errol and Me_. Vincent Sherman's autobiography provided relevant details and helped clarify some of the points he made during our talks. Templeton Crocker's _The Cruise of the Zaca_ was a valuable resource, as was William Beebe's _Zaca Venture_.
1. Author's interview with Wallace Berry, December 12, 2001.
2. Templeton Crocker, _The Cruise of the Zaca_ , p. 6.
3. Author's interview with Robert Keefe, June 9, 2001.
4. Author's interview with Wallace Berry, December 12, 2001.
5. _Ibid._
6. Marion Cooper, "Flynn versus Flynn," _Photoplay_ , June 1946, p.125.
7. Author's interview with Wallace Berry, December 12, 2001.
8. _Ibid._
9. _Ibid._
10. _Ibid._
11. _Ibid._
12. _Ibid._
13. Fredda Dudley, "Count on Errol," _Movie Show_ , November, 1947, p. 70.
14. _Ibid._
15. United Press, no author, "A Herring Named for Nora—To Crew, She's Capt. Bligh," September 9, 1946, newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
16. _Ibid._
17. United Press, no author, "Cold Water Dashed on Tale That Nora Ran a Hell Ship," September 21, 1946, newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
18. Frank Cassella, _The Girls, Errol Flynn, and Me,_ pp. 112–113.
19. Fredda Dudley, "Count on Errol," _Movie Show_ , November 1947, p. 68.
20. _Ibid._
21. Joseph Henry Steele, "Portrait of a Restless Soul," _Photoplay_ , October 1945, p. 111.
22. _Ibid._
23. Author's interview with Don Kincaid, August 27, 1996.
24. _Ibid._
25. Author's interview with Wallace Berry, December 12, 2001.
26. Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 16, 1948.
27. Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated October 6, 1948.
28. Albert R. Blum (Flynn's business manager) typed letter to Carl Hubbs dated May 5, 1950.
29. Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated May 9, 1950.
30. Errol Flynn, _Showdown,_ p. 13.
31. _Ibid._ , p. 297.
32. _Ibid._ , p. 34.
33. _Ibid._ , p. 124.
34. _Ibid._ , p. 164.
35. Harry MacArthur, "Errol's Cute in Earle Film," newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
36. Valerie Sloan, "Papa Flynn," _Modern Screen_ , June 1947, p. 99.
37. Jack Warner, _My First Hundred Years in Hollywood,_ p. 289.
38. _Ibid._ , p. 299.
39. Tom Donnelly, review of _Escape Me Never_ , _Washington Daily News_ , November 22, 1947, clipping from the Paul M. James collection.
40. John Franchey, "Victim of Rumors," _Silver Screen_ , October 1947, p. 27.
41. John Franchey, "It's Like This Old Boy," _Motion Picture_ , October 1947, p. 2.
42. _Ibid._
43. Carl Schroeder, "Saint or Sinner," _Modern Screen_ , April 1947, p. 85.
44. Author's interview with Vincent Sherman, April 22, 2000.
45. _Ibid._
46. Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), _Don Juan,_ p. 91.
47. Vincent Sherman, _Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director_ , p. 169.
48. _Ibid._ , p. 165.
49. Author's interview with Vincent Sherman, April 22, 2000.
50. _Ibid._
51. _Ibid._
52. _Ibid._
53. _Ibid._
54. Vincent Sherman, _Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director_ , p. 168.
55. Author's interview with Vincent Sherman, April 22, 2000.
56. Vincent Sherman, _Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director_ , p. 174.
57. _Ibid._ , p. 172.
58. Frank Westmore, _The Westmores of Hollywood_ , p. 82.
59. _Ibid._
60. _Ibid._ , p. 83.
61. _Ibid._
62. _Ibid._
63. Nora Eddington Flynn Haymes, _Errol and Me,_ p. 125.
64. _Ibid._
65. _Ibid._ , p. 136.
66. _Ibid._ , p. 137.
67. Author's interview with Vincent Sherman, February 28, 1998. Sherman gives a full account of his visit to the Mulholland Farm in _Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director,_ p. 171.
68. Phil Wilcox, "Foils Again!," source unknown, clipping from the Paul M. James collection.
69. Vincent Sherman, _Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director_ , p. 170.
70. Author's interview with Vincent Sherman, April 22, 2000.
71. _Ibid._
72. "Errol Flynn Jailed Twice on Same Day: Actor Misses Hearing after Run-in with Cop," United Press, December 7, 1948, newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
73. _Ibid._
74. _Ibid._
75. "Judge Issues Warrant When Flynn Jumps Bail," United Press, December 7, 1948, newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
76. Newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection.
77. John Franchey, "It's Like This Old Boy," _Motion Picture_ , October 1947, p. 73.
78. Nora Eddington Flynn Haymes, _Errol and Me,_ pp. 144–145.
79. _Ibid._ , p. 155.
80. Marge Eddington, "The Errol Flynn I Know," _Screen Guide_ , no date, no page, Paul M. James collection.
81. "Fling with Flynn... A Starry Night," newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection. See also "Errol's 'Coming Out' Party," _Screenland_ , June 1949, p. 42, and "Errol's Party," _Movie Stars Parade_ , May 1949, p. 56.
82. _Ibid._
83. Author's interview with John Agar, January 24, 2000.
84. Shirley Temple Black, _Child Star,_ p. 440.
85. Charles Norcross, "The Loves of Errol Flynn," _Movieland_ , November 1949, p. 89.
86. John Howley, "Hollywood's Dizziest Marry-Go-Round," _Modern Screen_ , October, 1949, p. 86.
87. "Vive L'Escargot," newspaper clipping from November 16, 1949, no author, source unknown. Also Peter Levins _,_ "Everything Errol Flynn Adores in a Woman," newspaper clipping, source unknown, both from the Paul M. James collection.
88. Robert Wallace, _Life and Limb: An Account of the Career of Melvin M. Belli,_ _Personal-Injury Trial Lawyer,_ p. 241.
89. _Ibid._ , pp. 241–242.
90. Jim Fleming, "In the Shadow of the Flynn Man," _Photoplay_ , October 1942, p. 72.
91. Letter from Janet Leigh to Thomas McNulty, November 8, 1993.
92. Joyce Carol Oates, _Where I've Been, and Where I'm Going,_ p. 55.
93. Errol Flynn, "Refuse to Be Afraid," _Woman's World_ , March 1939, no page.
94. Letter from Janet Leigh to Thomas McNulty, November 8, 1993.
#### Five: The Wanderer, 1950–1959
The quotations from Flynn's unpublished Mallorca diary are from the transcript I made from the original, cross-referenced to their appearance in Earl Conrad's _Errol Flynn: A Memoir._ The descriptions of Flynn sneaking into the Pompeii excavations are paraphrased from the diary. Flynn's thoughts about Patrice Wymore, the fate of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and life at the Titchfield Hotel are described in Flynn's diary as well. I also relied on _Pompeii: The Day a City Died_ by Robert Etienne. Flynn's correspondence was particularly useful in reconstructing his activities and assessing his attitude and these letters are listed in the bibliography. Florence Aadland's _The Big Love,_ written with the assistance of Flynn biographer Ted Thomey, provided background information regarding Flynn's last year. Readers interested in the photographs mentioned here by Douglas Jones for _Look_ magazine can find them in the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress under call number # LOOK—Job 52-1093. This collection contains 112 contact sheets. Sixteen of these images appeared in the July 1, 1952, issue of _Look._ Portions in this section relating to Flynn's television appearances are adapted from my _Filmfax_ article, "The Forgotten Television Films of Errol Flynn" and have been re-written and expanded for this volume.
1. John Hammond Moore, _The Young Errol: Flynn before Hollywood,_ p. 137–138.
2. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways,_ p. 351.
3. Jack Warner, _My First Hundred Years in Hollywood,_ p. 301.
4. Author's interview with Burt Kennedy, July 19, 1999.
5. Author's interview with Sheb Wooley, November 8, 1997.
6. _Ibid._
7. _Ibid._
8. _Ibid._
9. "Honeymooning Actor Says: Shower Seduction Story Blackmail," _Washington Daily News_ (United Press), November 21, 1950.
10. Marge Eddington, "The Errol Flynn I Know," _Screen Guide_ , no date, Paul M. James collection.
11. "Errol Flynn's Return Trip to India," _Screen Guide_ , August 1950.
12. _Ibid._
13. _Ibid._
14. Errol Flynn's Mallorca diary, see Earl Conrad, _Errol Flynn: A Memoir,_ p. 119.
15. Author's interview with Paul Picerni, October 9, 1999.
16. "Love for Jamaica," no author, _Jamaica Gleaner_ , October 22, 2000.
17. Errol Flynn's Mallorca diary, see Earl Conrad, _Errol Flynn: A Memoir,_ p. 93.
18. _Ibid._ , pp. 172–173.
19. Tony Thomas, _Cads and Cavaliers: The Film Adventurers_ , p. 150.
20. _Ibid._
21. Errol Flynn's Mallorca diary; see Earl Conrad, _Errol Flynn: A Memoir_ , p. 23.
22. Errol Flynn's Mallorca diary, typescript copy from the author's collection.
23. Raoul Walsh, _Each Man in His Time_ , p. 319.
24. UPI newspaper clipping, no title or author, Paul M. James collection.
25. Tony Thomas, Rudy Behlmer and Clifford McCarty, _The Films of Errol Flynn_ , p. 201.
26. Patrick Brock, "These I Have Known: Errol Flynn," _Classic Images_ , July 1992.
27. _Ibid._
28. Christopher Lee, _Tall, Dark and Gruesome,_ p. 143.
29. Errol Flynn's Mallorca diary; see Earl Conrad, _Errol Flynn: A Memoir_ , p. 79.
30. _Ibid._
31. Norberto Fuentes, _Hemingway in Cuba_ , p. 235.
32. _Ibid._ , p. 236.
33. Carlos Baker, ed., _Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters, 1917–1961,_ p. 643.
34. Author's interview with Sheb Wooley, November 8, 1997.
35. James Bacon, _Hollywood Is a Four-Letter Town,_ pp. 252–254—a first-hand account of this incident.
36. _Ibid._
37. Hector Arce, _The Secret Life of Tyrone Power_ , p. 249.
38. Robert Evans, _The Kid Stays in the Picture_ , p. 57.
39. _Ibid._ , p. 58.
40. _Ibid._ , p. 58.
41. Steve Allen, _Hi-Ho, Steverino! My Adventures in the Wonderful Wacky World of TV,_ pp. 180–181. Allen's transcript of this skit appears on pp. 177–180.
42. Don Knotts, _Barney Fife and Other Characters I Have Known,_ p. 96.
43. Diana Barrymore, _Too Much, Too Soon_ , p. 87.
44. _Ibid._
45. _Ibid._
46. Charles Hamblett, _The Hollywood Cage,_ p. 214.
47. Jack Warner, _My First Hundred Years in Hollywood,_ p. 302.
48. Charles Hamblett, _The Hollywood Cage,_ pp. 217–218.
49. _Ibid._
50. _Ibid._ , p. 219.
51. George Carpozi, Jr., "Beverly Aadland: Errol Flynn Died in My Arms," _Modern Screen_ , 1959, p. 58.
52. _Ibid._
53. _Ibid._
54. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways,_ p. 438.
55. Errol Flynn's letter to Earl Conrad from Hotel Comodoro, Havana, Cuba, March 14, 1959.
56. John Huston, _An Open Book_ , p. 311. For details on the explicit comment Flynn made about his relationship with the Ubangi women see James Bacon's _Hollywood Is a Four-Letter Town,_ p. 273.
57. Barbara Leaming, _Orson Welles_ , p. 537.
58. S. A. Desick and Sara Boynoff, "Errol's Love Letters to Beverly: I'll Be Watching with Heart in Hand," _New York Journal-American_ , October 20, 1959.
59. _Ibid._
60. Errol Flynn's letter to Teddy Staufer, late 1958 or early 1959, Paul M. James collection.
61. Art Buchwald, "Gentlemen Never Tell," _New York Herald Tribune_ , July 6, 1958.
62. _Ibid._
63. Clipping from the _Los Angeles Examiner,_ Feb. 24, 1958, no author, Paul M. James collection.
64. _Ibid._
65. Joe Hyams, "Errol Flynn Would Die Broke," _New York Herald Tribune_ , June 10, 1958.
66. _Ibid._
67. Beverly Aadland, _"My Life of Love with Errol Flynn: The Agony of That Day of Death," Daily Sketch_ , October 29, 1959.
68. _Ibid._
69. Michael Freedland, _The Two Lives of Errol Flynn,_ p. 247.
70. "Exit laughing," _Newsweek_ , October 26, 1959.
71. Errol Flynn's typed letter to Earl Conrad from Hotel Comodoro, Havana, Cuba, April 25, 1959.
72. Christopher Forsyth, "Errol Flynn and Fidel Castro's Killer Squad," _Sydney Bulletin_ , October 27, 1981. See also Earl Conrad, _Errol Flynn: A Memoir_ , pp. 189–191.
73. Oscar Wilde, _The Picture of Dorian Gray,_ p. 206.
74. Nancy Bacon, _The Stars In My Eyes, The Stars In My Bed,_ p. 196.
75. Author's interview with Arthur Hiller, February 15, 2002. See also Thomas McNulty, "Fulfilling a Vision: Arthur Hiller on Film," _The Big Reel_ , # 346, March 2003.
76. Count Iain Blair, "Errol Flynn's Daughter Rory," _Hello_ , November 9, 1996.
77. _Ibid._
78. George Carpozi, Jr., "Beverly Aadland: Errol Flynn Died in My Arms," _Modern Screen_ , 1959. Also "Errol Flynn, 50, is Dead," _Washington Daily News_ , October 15, 1959, and "Heart Attack at 50 Fatal to Errol Flynn," Associated Press newspaper clippings, both from the Paul M. James collection.
79. Vernon Scott, "Flynn No Playboy," September 14, 1959, UPI newspaper clipping, source unknown, Paul M. James collection
80. _Ibid._
81. _Ibid._
82. George Carpozi, Jr., "Beverly Aadland: Errol Flynn Died in My Arms," _Modern Screen_ , 1959. Also "Errol Flynn, 50, is Dead," _The Washington Daily News_ , October 15, 1959 and "Heart Attack at 50 Fatal to Errol Flynn," Associated Press newspaper clippings, both from the Paul M. James collection.
83. _Ibid._
84. "Errol Flynn Died as He Lived: Convivial Actor in Penthouse When Heart Gave Out," _Houston Post_ (Associated Press), October 16, 1959.
85. John Arnett, "Errol Flynn's Last Interview: Vivid Memories and No Regrets," _New York Post_ , October 15, 1959.
86. _Ibid._
87. George Carpozi, Jr., "Beverly Aadland: Errol Flynn Died in My Arms," _Modern Screen_ , 1959.
88. "Flynn Ignored Warning of Illness for Fast Life," UPI, October 15, 1959, newspaper clipping, no author, Paul M. James Collection. See also "Exit laughing," _Newsweek_ , October 26, 1959.
89. _Ibid._
90. George Carpozi, Jr., "How Errol Flynn Died: Film Star Smiled as the End Came," _New York Journal-American_ , October 15, 1959.
91. Report of Inquiry as to Cause of Death of Errol Flynn, Vancouver, Canada, October 1959.
92. Don Norman, _Errol Flynn: The Tasmanian Story_ , p. 56.
93. Errol Flynn, _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ , p. 436.
#### Afterword: Of Scrapbooks and Ghosts
1. Letter from Don Norman to Thomas McNulty, March 3, 2000.
2. Newspaper clippings courtesy of Don Norman, no date, source unknown.
#### **Appendix 1:** Remembrances, Cameos, and Vignettes
1. Letter from Don Norman to Thomas McNulty, July 23, 1994.
2. Patric Knowles, from "Rebuttal for a Friend," originally published in _Star Quality_ by Arthur F. McClure and Ken D. Jones, pp. 21–22.
3. David Niven, _Bring On The Empty Horses,_ p. 119.
4. John Huston, _An Open Book,_ pp. 109–110.
5. Alice Marble, _Courting Danger,_ p. 70.
6. Sheldon Leonard, _And the Show Goes On: Broadway and Hollywood Adventures,_ pp. 60–61.
7. Author's interview with Don Kincaid, August 27, 1996.
8. Kirk Douglas, _The Ragman's_ _Son,_ pp. 156– 157.
9. Janet Leigh, _There Really Was a Hollywood,_ p. 83.
10. Gene Autry, _Back in the Saddle Again,_ pp. 47–48.
11. Evelyn Keyes _, Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister,_ pp. 50–51.
12. Robert Stack, _Straight Shooting,_ p. 139.
13. Viveca Lindfors, _Viveka/Viveca,_ pp. 164–165.
14. Sara Hamilton, "Exit Laughing," _Photoplay_ , January 1960, p. 36.
15. Shelley Winters, _Shelley: Also Known As Shirley,_ p. 229.
16. Raoul Walsh, _Each Man in His Time,_ pp. 341–342.
17. Letter from Trudy McVicker to Thomas McNulty September 6, 1993. Trudy McVicker has also said of Flynn: "Flynn was Jekyll and Hyde and everything in between. He was capable of great kindness and of equally great cruelty; of thoughtfulness and indifference; of vulgarity and refinement; of generosity and pettiness. He was mer-curial. He was a Gemini. He was a fascinating and tragic man, torn apart by his own complexity."
18. Tony Curtis, _Tony Curtis: The Autobiography_ , p. 58.
19. Author's interview with Burt Kennedy, April 11, 1998.
20. Author's interview with Jack Elam, June 20, 1998.
21. Author's interview with Peter Stackpole, July 13, 1996.
22. Ava Gardner, _Ava: My Story,_ p. 228.
23. Author's interview with Robert Vaughn, October 9, 1999.
24. Veronica Lake, _Veronica_ , pp. 133–134.
25. Hedy Lamarr, _Ecstasy and Me,_ pp. 181–183.
26. Letter from Rick Dodd to Thomas McNulty, December 11, 2000.
### _Bibliography_
_
_
_The items in this bibliography are divided among the following categories: Books, Magazine and Newpaper Articles, Public Records, Unpublished Sources, and Internet Sources._
_
_
#### **BOOKS**
Aadland, Florence, with Ted Thomey. _The Big Love._ New York, Warner Books, 1986 (originally published in 1961).
Allen, Steve. _Hi-Ho, Steverino! My Adventures in the Wonderful Wacky World of TV._ Fort Lee, New Jersey: Barricade Books, Inc., 1992.
Arce, Hector. _The Secret Life of Tyrone Power._ New York, William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1979.
Autry, Gene; _Back in the Saddle Again._ New York: Doubleday & Company, 1978.
Bacon, James. _Hollywood Is a Four-Letter Town._ Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1976.
Bacon, Nancy. _The Stars in My Eyes, the Stars in My Bed._ New York: Pinnacle Books, 1975.
Baker, Carlos, ed. _Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters, 1917–1961._ New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981.
Barrymore, Diana, with Gerold Frank. _Too Much, Too Soon._ New York: Signet Books (paperback), 1957.
Bassoff, Lawrence. _Errol Flynn: The Movie Posters._ Beverly Hills, California: Lawrence Bassoff Collection, Inc., 1995.
Beebe, William. _Zaca Venture._ New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1938.
Behlmer, Rudy, ed. _The Adventures of Robin Hood._ Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin/Warner Bros. Screenplay Series, 1979.
_____, ed. _The Sea Hawk._ Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin/Warner Bros. Screenplay Series, 1982.
Belli, Melvin, with Danny Jones, Foreword by Errol Flynn. _Belli Looks at Life and Law in Japan._ Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1960.
Black, Shirley Temple. _Child Star._ New York: McGraw Hill, 1988.
Boyington, Gregory. _Baa Baa Black Sheep_. New York: Bantam Books, 1987 (originally published in 1958).
Brian, Denis. _The True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him._ New York: Grove Press, 1988.
Bruccoli, Matthew J., editor; _F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters,_ New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.
Byron, George Gordon Lord. _Don Juan._ Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1996 (originally published 1819–1824).
Cargill, Morris, ed. _Ian Fleming Introduces Jamaica._ New York, Hawthorn Books, 1965.
Carroll, David. _The Matinee Idols._ New York, Galahad Books, 1972.
Cassella, Frank. _The Girls, Errol Flynn, and Me._ Alhambra, California: Anthony Press, 1981.
Christian, Linda. _Linda: My Own Story._ New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1962.
Cody, Iron Eyes, with Collin Perry. _Iron Eyes: My Life as a Hollywood Indian._ New York: Everest House Publishers, 1982.
Connell, Evan S. _Son of the Morning Star._ New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1984.
Connelly, Gerry. _Errol Flynn in Northampton._ Corby, Northants, England: Domra Publications, 1995.
Conrad, Earl. _Errol Flynn: A Memoir._ New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1978.
Cordingly, David. _Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates._ New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997.
Costello, Chris, with Raymond Strait. _Lou's_ _On First._ New York: St. Martin's Press, 1981.
Coyne, Michael. _The Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in the Hollywood Western._ New York: I. B. Tauris Publishers, 1997.
Crocker, Templeton. _The Cruise of the Zaca._ New York: Harper & Brothers, 1933.
Curtis, Tony. _Tony Curtis: The Autobiography._ New York: William Morrow & Co., 1993.
Davis, Bette. _The Lonely Life._ New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1990 (originally published in 1962 by G. P. Putnam's Sons).
Donati, William. _Ida Lupino: A Biography_. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1996.
Douglas, Kirk. _The Ragman's Son._ New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988.
Etienne, Robert. _Pompeii: The Day a City Died._ New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1992.
Evans, Robert. _The Kid Stays in the Picture_. Beverly Hills, California: Dove Books, 1995.
Everson, William K. _A Pictorial History of the Western Film._ Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1969.
Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr. _A Hell of a War._ New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993.
_____. _The Salad Days._ New York: Doubleday, 1988.
Fegerl, Joseph, ed. _Errol Flynn–Dr. Hermann F. Erban: A Friendship of Two Adventurers, 1933–1940._ Vienna, Austria: Joseph Fegerl Publisher, 1985.
Flynn, Errol. _Beam Ends._ New York: Longmans, Green & Company, 1937.
_____. _My Wicked, Wicked Ways._ New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1959.
_____. _Showdown._ New York: Sheridan House, 1946.
Fowler, Gene. _Good Night, Sweet Prince: The Life and Times of John Barrymore._ Philadelphia: Blakiston Company, 1944.
_____. _Minutes of the Last Meeting._ New York: Viking Press, 1954.
Frazier, George. _The One with the Mustache Is Costello._ New York: Random House, 1947.
Freedland, Michael. _The Two Lives of Errol Flynn._ New York: William Morrow & Co., 1979.
Frost, Lawrence A. _The Custer Album: A pictorial Biography of General George A. Custer._ Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
Fuentes, Norberto. _Hemingway in Cuba._ Secaucus, New Jersey: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1984.
Gardner, Ava. _Ava: My Story._ New York: Bantam Books, 1990.
Giesler, Jerry, with Pete Martin. _Hollywood Lawyer._ New York: Pocket Books, Inc., 1962.
Godfrey, Lionel. _The Life and Crimes of Errol Flynn._ New York: St. Martin's Press, 1977.
Graham, Sheila. _The Garden of Allah_. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1970.
Hamann, G. D., ed. _Errol Flynn in the '30's._ Hollywood, California: Filming Today Press, 1994.
Hamblett, Charles. _The Hollywood Cage._ New York: Hart Publishing Company, 1969.
Haymes, Nora Eddington Flynn, with Cy Rice. _Errol and Me._ New York: Signet Books, 1960.
Henreid, Paul. _Ladies Man: An Autobiography._ New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984.
Hill, Howard (foreword by Errol Flynn). _Wild Adventure._ Lanham, Maryland: Derrydale Press, 2000 (originally published in 1954).
Hoffman, Carol Stein. _The Barrymores: Hollywood's First Family_. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
Hopper, Hedda, with James Brough. _The Whole Truth and Nothing But._ New York: Doubleday & Co. 1963.
Huston, John. _An Open Book._ New York: Alfred A. Knopf (Ballantine paperback), 1981.
Hutchinson, Tom. _Niven's Hollywood._ Salem, New Hampshire: Salem House Publishers, 1984.
Jeavons, Clyde. _A Pictorial History of War Films._ Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1974
Jerome, Stuart. _Those Crazy Wonderful Years When We Ran Warner Bros._ Secaucus, New Jersey: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1983.
Jung, C. G. _Modern Man in Search of a Soul._ New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, no date, paperback edition (originally published in 1933).
Keyes, Evelyn. _Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister._ New York: Fawcett Crest Books, 1977.
Knotts, Don, with Robert Metz. _Barney Fife and Other Characters I Have Known._ New York: Berkley Boulevard Books, 1999.
Knowles, Patric. "Rebuttal For A Friend," from _Star Quality: Screen Actors from the Golden Age of Films_ , edited by Arthur F. McLure and Ken D. Jones. South Brunswick, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes, 1974.
Kobler, John. _Damned in Paradise: The Life of John Barrymore._ New York: Atheneum, 1977.
Lake, Veronica. _Veronica._ New York: Citadel Press, 1971.
Lamarr, Hedy. _Ecstasy and Me._ New York: Bartholomew House Publishers, 1966.
Leaming, Barbara. _Orson Welles._ New York: Penguin Books, Viking Penguin, Inc., 1986.
Lee, Christopher. _Tall, Dark and Gruesome._ Baltimore, Maryland: Midnight Marquee Press, Inc., 1999.
Leigh, Janet. _There Really Was a Hollywood_. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1984.
Leonard, Sheldon. _And the Show Goes On: Broadway and Hollywood Adventures._ New York: Limelight Editions, 1995.
Lester, Gene, with Peter Laufer. _When Hollywood Was Fun._ New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1993.
Lindfors, Viveca. _Viveka-Viveca_. New York: Everest House, 1981.
Macksound, Meredith, with Craig R. Smith and Jackie Lohrke. _Arthur Kennedy, Man of Characters_. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2003.
Marble, Alice, with Dale Leatherman. _Courting Danger._ New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.
Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin). _Don Juan._ New York: Oxford University Press, 1998 (originally published in French in 1665).
Moore, John Hammond. _The Young Errol: Flynn Before Hollywood._ Sydney, Australia: Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1975.
Morella, Joe, with Edward Z. Epstein and John Griggs. _The Films of World War II._ Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1973.
Morris, George. _Errol Flynn._ New York: Pyramid Publications, 1975.
Muir, Florabel. _Headline Happy._ New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1950.
Niven, David. _Bring on the Empty Horses._ New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1975.
_____. _The Moon's a Balloon._ New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1972.
Norman, Don. _Errol Flynn: The Tasmanian Story._ Hobart, Tasmania: W.N. Hurst & E.L. Metcalf/Errol Flynn Theatre of Tasmanian History, 1981.
_____. _A Tasmanian Life: An Autobiography_. Hobart, Tasmania: Don Norman Publisher, 1994.
Oates, Joyce Carol. _Where I've Been, and Where I'm Going._ New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc., 1999.
Parish, James Robert, with Alan G. Barbour and Alvin H. Marill. _Errol Flynn._ New York: Cinefax, 1969.
Parish, James Robert, with Don E. Stanke. _The Swashbucklers._ New York: Arlington House, 1976.
Parkinson, Michael, and Jeavons, Clyde. _A Pictorial History of Westerns._ London: Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1972.
Pitt, Barrie, ed. _The Military History of World War II._ New York: Military Press, 1971.
Price, Victoria. _Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography._ New York: St. Martin's/Griffin, 2000.
Pyle, Howard. _The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown, In Nottinghamshire._ New York: Penguin Books, 1985 (originally published in 1883).
Quinn, Anthony with Daniel Paisner. _One Man Tango_. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.
Rathbone, Basil. _In and Out of Character._ New York: Doubleday & Co., 1962.
Sabatini, Raphael. _Captain Blood._ Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 1998 (originally published in 1925).
Sennett, Ted _Warner Brothers Presents._ New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1971.
Sherman, Vincent. _Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director_. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1996.
Shipman, David. _The Great Movie Stars: The Golden Years._ New York: Bonanza Books, 1970.
Stack, Robert, with Mark Evans. _Straight Shooting_. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1980.
Stackpole, Peter. _Life in Hollywood, 1936–1952,_ Livingston, Montana: Clark City Press, 1992.
Stine, Whitney, with Bette Davis. _Mother Goddam._ New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1975.
Swindell, Larry. _Screwball: The Life of Carole Lombard._ New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1975.
Thomas, Tony, with Rudy Behlmer and Clifford McCarty. _The Films of Errol Flynn._ New York: Citadel Press, 1969.
Thomas, Tony. _Cads and Cavaliers: The Film Adventurers._ New York: A. S. Barnes, 1973.
_____. _Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was._ New York: Citadel Press, 1990.
_____. _The Films of Olivia de Havilland_. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1983.
_____. _The Films of Ronald Reagan._ Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1980.
_____. _The Films of the Forties._ Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1975.
_____. _The Great Adventure Films._ New York: Citadel Press, 1976.
_____, ed. _From a Life of Adventure: The Writings of Errol Flynn._ New York: Citadel Press, 1980.
Thomey, Ted. _The Loves of Errol Flynn._ Derby, Connecticut: Monarch Books, Inc., 1962.
Twain, Mark. _The Prince and the Pauper._ New York: Bantam Books, 1991 (originally published in 1882).
Valenti, Peter. _Errol Flynn: A Bio-Bibliography._ Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1984.
Wallace, Robert. _Life and Limb: An Account of the Career of Melvin M. Belli, Personal-Injury Trial Lawyer._ New York: Doubleday & Company, 1955.
Walsh, Raoul. _Each Man in His Time._ New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1974.
Warner, Jack, with Dean Jennings. _My First Hundred Years in Hollywood._ New York: Random House, 1965.
Westmore, Frank, with Muriel Davidson. _The Westmores of Hollywood_. New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1976.
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler. _World Voices._ New York: Hearst's International Library Co., 1916.
Wilde, Oscar. _The Picture of Dorian Gray_. New York: Harper & Row, 1965 (originally published in 1890).
Wiles, Buster with William Donati. _My Days with Errol Flynn._ Santa Monica, California: Roundtable Publishing, 1988.
Winters, Shelley. _Shelley: Also Known As Shirley._ New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1980.
#### **MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES**
Aadland, Beverly, as told to David English. "My Life of Love with Errol Flynn: 'Oh My Heart' He Cried as He Fell." _Daily Sketch_ (October 28, 1959).
_____, as told to _____. "My Life of Love with Errol Flynn: The Agony of That Day of Death." _Daily Sketch_ (October 29, 1959).
_____, as told to Eleanor Hoover. "Errol Flynn's Pretty Baby." _People Magazine_ (October 17, 1988).
Altschuler, Harry. "Giesler's Greatest Cases: How He Cleared Flynn of Rape." _New York Mirror_ (February 4, 1962).
Archer, Steve. "An Untold Tale of William Tell." _Filmfax_ # 38 (April/May, 1993).
Arnett, John. "Errol Flynn's Last Interview: Vivid Memories and No Regrets." _New York Post_ (October 15, 1959).
Arnold, Maxine. "Errol Flynn's Own Fight." _Stardom_ (May 1944).
Arvad, Inga. "Errol Flynn Picks a Title—'Be Good, Sweet Maid.'" North American Newspaper Alliance, 1945.
Ashby, Ann F. "Autograph Seeking During the '30's," _Autograph Collector_ #10 (October 1995).
Beuselink, James. "The Reissued _Sea Hawk_." _Movie Collector's World_ (December 28, 1984).
Blair, Count Iain. "Errol Flynn's Daughter Rory." _Hello_ (November 9, 1996).
Brock, Patrick. "These I Have Known: Errol Flynn." _Classic Images_ vol. # 205 (July 1992).
Brooks, George R. "The Man Who Is Errol Flynn." _Stardom_ (April 1943).
Buchwald, Art. "Gentlemen Never Tell." _New York Herald Tribune_ (July 6, 1958).
Cantillon, Jane. "Interview with Rory Flynn." _Rona Barrett's Hollywood_ (January 1980).
Carpozi, George, Jr. "Beverly Aadland: Errol Flynn Died in My Arms." _Modern Screen_ (1959).
_____. "How Errol Flynn Died: Film Star Smiled as the End Came." _New York Journal-American_ (October 15, 1959).
Carrol, Roger. "Talent for Headlines." _Motion Picture_ (May 1941).
Caves, Ann. "Errol Flynn: Actor & Author." _Book & Magazine Collector_ (May 1988).
Cheatham, Maude. "Portrait of a High Voltage Adventurer." _Movie Show_ vol.4, #4 (December 1945).
Cooper, Marion. "Flynn Versus Flynn." _Photoplay_ (June 1946).
Crichton, Kyle. "From Reef to Reef." _Collier's_ (October 10, 1936).
D'Arc, James. "Perfect Manners: An Interview with Olivia de Havilland." _American Classic Screen_ (January/February 1979).
Darnton, Charles. "Errol Flynn's Greatest Enemy." _Screen Book_ (November 1937).
_____. "No False Front." _Modern Movies_ (1939).
Decker, John, as told to Lila Stuart. "The Adventures of Mr. Flynn." _Screen Stars_ (February 1947).
Decker, Mary. "Taking Everything in Stride." _Motion Picture_ (January 1937).
Desick, S. A., and Sara Boynoff. "Errol's Love Letters to Beverly: 'I'll Be Watching With Heart In Hand.'" _New York Journal-American_ (October 20, 1959).
_____, and _____. "Errol's Love Letters to Beverly: 'Vision Engraved In My Heart.'" _New York Journal-American_ (October 19, 1959).
DeVane, Tom. "Heap Big Romance." _Hollywood_ (December 1941).
_Dodge City Daily Globe:_ various columns and articles throughout, on these dates in 1939: March 20, 30, 31, April 1, 3, 8, 11.
_Dodge City Daily Globe_ (March 30, 1969): "Just Jottings," by Helen Havely Fowler—details on the 30th anniversary of Dodge City.
_Dodge City Journal:_ various columns and articles throughout on these dates in 1939: February 23, March 30.
Dolven, Frank. "Errol Flynn's Great Westerns." _Classic Images_ vol. # 228 (June 1994).
Donnelly, Tom. Review of _Escape Me Never_. _Washington Daily News_ (November 22, 1947).
Dudley, Fredda. "Count on Errol." _Movie Show_ (November 1947).
_____. "Errol Flynn: Victim of Slander." _Movieland_ (December 1946).
English, David. "The Cult of the Grey Haired Man." _Daily Sketch_ (October 30, 1959).
"Errol Flynn Died as He Lived: Convivial Actor in Penthouse When Heart Gave Out." _Houston Post_ (Associated Press) (October 16, 1959).
"Errol Flynn, 50, is dead." _Washington Daily News_ (October 15, 1959).
"Errol Flynn in $25 Coffin for Rail Trip to Funeral." _New York Herald Tribune_ (Associated Press) (October 17, 1959).
"Errol Flynn's Adventures at Sea." _Screen Guide_ (November 1946).
"Errol Flynn's Gamble with Death." _Modern Screen_ (May 1959).
"Errol Flynn's Return Trip to India." _Screen Guide_ (August 1950).
"Errol's 'Coming Out' Party." _Screenland_ (June 1949).
"Errol's Party." _Movie Stars Parade_ (May 1949).
"Exit laughing." _Newsweek_ (October 26, 1959).
"Fearless." "What's Happened to Errol Flynn." _Photoplay_ (October 1942).
Ferguson, William G., as told to Charles Daly. "Errol Flynn's Last Bawdy Cruise." _Men_ (1959).
Fleming, Jim. "In the Shadow of the Flynn Man." _Photoplay_ (October 1942).
Flynn, Errol. "Ensenada, the Land of Tamales and Tequila." _Photoplay_ (February 1938).
_____. "Guest Conductor" and "Let's Talk It Out." _Movie Mirror_ (February 1940).
_____. "Hollywood Morals, If Any!" _Photoplay_ (October 1937).
_____. "Hollywood Women, Heaven Preserve Them!" _Photoplay_ (September 1937).
_____. "Hollywood's Not-So-Ancient Mariners." _Photoplay_ (January 1938).
_____. "I Do What I Like." _Screen Guide_ (1950).
_____. "I Fought with Castro." _New York Journal-American_ (February 1959).
_____. "I'd Rather Play Tennis." _Screen & Radio Weekly_ ( _Oakland Tribune_ ) (August 9, 1936).
_____. "It Shouldn't Happen to an Actor." _Esquire_ (May 1942).
_____. "Let's Hunt for Treasure." _Photoplay_ (April 1939).
_____. "My First Screen Kiss." _Movie Stars Parade_ (May 1948).
_____. "My Plea for Privacy." _Screen Guide_ (1937).
_____. "Night in Town." _Collier's_ )April 24, 1937).
_____. "Not That I'm Ungrateful." _Women's Home Companion_ (January 1938).
_____. "Refuse to Be Afraid." _Woman's World_ vol. 55 no. 3 (March 1939).
_____. "The Seamy Side of Hollywood." _Photoplay_ (April 1938).
_____. "What Not to Give Him for Christmas." _Movie Mirror_ (January 1940).
_____. "What Really Happened to Me in Spain." _Photoplay_ (July 1937).
_____. "Why I Became an Actor." _Northampton and County Independent_ (March 17, 1934).
_____. "Young Man About Hollywood." _Photoplay_ (August 1937).
_____, as told to Jack Holland. "The 10 Most Sensational Women I've Met!" _Screenland_ (November 1941).
_____, as told to Steve O'Donnell. "The Errol Flynn of Today." _Screen Guide_ (October 1944).
"Flynn, Robin Hood Star, Kills Wildcat with Arrow." _Chico Enterprise_ (October 18, 1937).
Flynn, Rory. "Errol Flynn, My Father." _Australian Women's Weekly_ (December 1991).
Flynn, Sean, as told to Jane Ardmore. "The Candid Confessions of Errol Flynn's Son." _Modern Screen_ (September 1961).
"Flynn's First Fling." _Time_ (February 25, 1946).
"Flynn's Frolic." _Movieland_ (May 1949).
Forsyth, Christopher. "Errol Flynn and Fidel Castro's Killer Squad." _Sydney Bulletin_ (October 27, 1981).
_____. "The Private Letters of Errol Flynn." _Sydney Bulletin_ (October 20, 1981).
Franchey, John. "Flynn Under Fire." _Movies_ (September 1941).
_____. "It's Like This Old Boy." _Motion Picture_ (October 1947).
_____. "Master of Mulholland Farm." _Screen Stars_ (July 1944).
_____. "Strictly Dynamite." _Modern Screen_ (July 1942).
_____. "Victim of Rumors." _Silver Screen_ (October 1947).
Galligan, David. "Deirdre Flynn Looking Down on Daddy." _Andy Warhol's Interview_ (February 1975).
Gelman, David. "Errol Flynn: His Life and Loves." _New York Post_ (October 13, 1959).
Giesler, Jerry. "The Jerry Giesler Story." _Saturday Evening Post_ (November 14, 1959).
Hall, Gladys. "Errol Flynn Gives Himself a Grilling." _Silver Screen_ (April 1940).
Hall, Leonard. "The Madcap Loves of Errol Flynn." _Photoplay_ (February 1937).
Hamilton, Maxwell. "Errol Flynn: Bottles, Battles, Babes." _Cavalier_ (May 1959).
Hamilton, Sara. "Exit Laughing." _Photoplay_ (January 1960).
_____. "The Girl in Errol Flynn's Life." _Photoplay_ (June 1944).
_____. "Home is the Sailor." _Photoplay_ (December 1948).
_____. "The Mickey Flynn." _Photoplay_ (August 1948).
Harlow, John. "Errol Flynn: Scourge of Franco." _Sunday Times_ (London) (November 5, 2000).
Hart, M. G. "The Gentleman from New Guinea." _Silver Screen_ (January 1936).
Hecht, Ben. "John Decker's Hollywood." _Esquire_ (December 1945).
Hilder, John. "On Location at Virginia City." _Hollywood_ (April 1940).
Holland, Jack. "Flynn Answers His Fan Mail." _Movies_ (September 1939).
_____. "What Broke Up the Errol Flynn Marriage?" _Motion Picture_ (January 1942).
"Honeymooning Actor Says: Shower Seduction Story Blackmail." _Washington Daily News_ (November 21, 1950).
Howley, John. "Hollywood's Dizziest Marry-Go-Round." _Modern Screen_ (October 1949).
Hoyt, Caroline Somers. "He Knows Women." _Modern Screen_ (December 1936).
Hyams, Joe. "Errol Flynn Would Die Broke." _New York Herald Tribune_ (June 10, 1958).
Inder, Stuart. "His Wicked, Wicked Days: Leaves from Errol Flynn's New Guinea Diary." _Pacific Islands Monthly_ (November 1960).
Kaufman, Hank. "Is There a New Errol?" _Silver Screen_ (May 1954).
King, Shirley. "Meet Errol Flynn—Born Adventurer!" _Movie Classics_ (January 1936).
Lait, George. "Mr. and Mrs. Mariner." _Photoplay_ (October 1936).
Lambert, Gavin. "Errol Flynn: A Swashbuckling Life at Mullholland House." _Architectural Digest_ vol. 51 no. 4 (April 1994).
"Love for Jamaica." _Jamaica Gleaner_ (October 22, 2000).
Maddox, Ben. "Is Errol Flynn Just Plain Lucky?" _Silver Screen_ (September 1939).
Magoon, Jonathan. "Errol Flynn and the _Zaca_." _Ventura County & Coast Reporter_ (February 9, 1984).
Martin, Greg. "Errol Flynn's Two Way Mirror!" _Confidentia_ l (March 1955).
Mazzone, Michael A. "Gone But Not Forgotten." _Movie Collector's World_ (1988).
McElwee, John P. "Errol Flynn." _Big Reel_ (August 1988).
McFee, Frederick. "Errant Knight." _Screen Book Magazine_ (October 1939).
McNulty, Thomas. "The Adventures of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr." _The Big Reel_ # 303 (August 1999).
_____. "A Born Actor: Spotlight on Paul Picerni." _The Big Reel_ # 310 (March 2000).
_____. "Dreams Want to Come True: All It Takes to Let Dreams Become Reality Is Hard Work, Grit, and Guts. Sheb Wooley Is One Who Kept on Rollin'." _American Cowboy_ (July/August 1999).
_____. "Errol Flynn Goes to War." _The Big Reel_ # 264 (May 15, 1996)
_____. "The Forgotten Television Films of Errol Flynn." _Filmfax_ # 62 (August/September 1997).
_____. "Fulfilling a Vision: Arthur Hiller on Film." _The Big Reel_ # 346 (March 2003).
_____. "Jack Elam: The Good, the Ugly, and the Gambler, an Interview & Appreciation." _Films of the Golden Age_ # 15 (Winter 1998/99).
_____. "John Agar, Actor: Hollywood's All-Purpose Hero." _Filmfax_ # 59 (February/March 1997).
_____. "A Sweet Band of Cutthroats: The Errol Flynn Swashbucklers." _Films of the Golden Age_ # 12 (Spring 1998).
_____. "Vincent Sherman: From the Director's Chair." _Films of the Golden Age_ # 13 (Summer 1998).
_____. "The Wild and Wooley: A Conversation with Sheb Wooley." _Classic Images_ # 273 (March 1998).
"Members of the Jury." "Why We Freed Errol Flynn." _Motion Picture_ (May 1943).
Miller, Cynthia. "Can't Help Lovin' That Man." _Modern Screen_ (September 1944).
_____. "You're Wrong About Errol Flynn." _Modern Screen_ (July 1943)
Moore, Toby. "Why Errol Flynn's Widow Has Decided to Sell Her 'Love Story' After 40 Years Alone." _Daily Express_ , Micro Edition (August 9, 2000), www.lineone.net (March 28, 2001).
Mooring, W. H. "Errol Aims a Few Arrows." _Film Weekly_ (December 25, 1937).
Muir, Florabel. "Behind the Scenes at the Errol Flynn Trial." _Movieland_ (May 1943).
Niderost, Eric. "Hollywood Goes to War." _World War II Magazine_ (March 1994).
Norcross, Charles. "The Loves of Errol Flynn." _Movieland_ (November 1949).
O'Driscoll, Martha, as told to Erskine Johnson. "My Six Weeks with Errol Flynn." _Motion Picture_ (April 1944).
O'Neal, George. "Errol Flynn, Last of the Red Hot Lovers." _Climax_ (1959).
Paget, Dale. "Daughter to Sell Unpublished Errol Flynn Diary." Age.com, Film, www .smh.com (March 14, 2001).
Parsons, Louella O. "Errol and His Princess." _Photoplay_ (February 1950).
_____. "Errol Was Replica of Roles He played." _New York Journal-American_ (October 17, 1959).
_____. "Errol's Epitaph: One Big Party!" _New York Journal-American_ (October 16, 1959).
_____. "Nora Eddington Talks about Her Marriage." _Photoplay_ (July 1945).
Porter, Penny. "Errol Flynn and Me." _Nevada Magazine_ (May/June 1999).
Prall, Robert H. "Exit Laughing: The Life and Loves of Errol Flynn." _New York World-Telegram_ (October 19, 1959).
Rader, Dotson. "Rewards and Regrets: An Interview." _Parade Magazine_ , _Washington Post_ (September 7, 1986).
Reeve, Warren. "The Astounding Story of Errol Flynn." _Photoplay_ (April 1936).
Reid, James. "Can Hollywood Hold Errol Flynn?" _Motion Picture Magazine_ (August 1936).
Reynolds, C. Roy. "The Case of the Headless Corpse, Part One." _Jamaica Gleaner_ (December 13, 2000).
_____. "The Case of the Headless Corpse, Part Two." _Jamaica Gleaner_ (December 21, 2000).
Rhea, Marian. "Errol Flynn Tells Why Hollywood Women Are Pathetic." _Movie Mirror_ (October 1938).
_____. "The Latin American Way." _Movie Mirror_ (November 1940).
_____. "The Secret Correspondence of Errol Flynn." _Movie Mirror_ (March 1939).
St. John, Adela Rogers. "Errol Flynn Begins Again." _Photoplay_ (October 1943).
_____. "What I Think about the Errol Flynn Case." _Photoplay_ (February 1943).
Sanfilip, Thomas. "Cuban Rebel Girls: Errol Flynn's Last Adventure." _Filmfax_ # 68 (Aug./ Sept. 1998).
Satterfield, Archie. "Errol Flynn: Buster Wiles Recalls the Envied Actor's Last Days in Vancouver." _Seattle Post-Intelligencer Northwest_ (August 14, 1977).
Schroeder, Carl. "Saint or Sinner." _Modern Screen_ (April 1947).
Sherwin, Tom. "Errol Flynn Takes to Adventure." _Motion Picture_ (March 1936).
Skolsky, Sidney. "Hollywood Is My Beat: Tintyped, Errol Flynn, A Man's Man," _New York Post_ (May 21, 1950).
_____. "Hollywood Is My Beat: Tintyped, Errol Flynn, Adventurous Man's Man." _New York Post_ (April 25, 1948).
Sloan, Valerie. "Papa Flynn." _Modern Screen_ (June 1947).
Slocum, Bill. "Errol Was Sharp as a Whip with a Quip." _New York Mirror_ (October 18, 1959).
Smith, Muriel. "Errol Flynn, Superscribe and Swashbuckler." _Classic Images_ (December 1989).
"Somber Farewell for Dashing Errol." _New York Journal-American_ (Associated Press) (October 17, 1959).
Starr, Barry. "Errol Flynn Today." _Movieland_ (November 1943).
Staveley, Enid. "Before You Judge Him." _Sincerely_ (February 1960).
Steele, Joseph Henry. "Portrait of a Man Who Goes Places: Errol Flynn." _Photoplay_ (August 1939).
_____. "Portrait of a Restless Soul." _Photoplay_ (October 1945).
Stone, Jack. "Errol Flynn's Toughest Role." _American Weekly_ (November 15, 1953).
Sweet, Matthew. "Memories Are Made of This." _Independent On Sunday_ (England) (November 5, 2000).
"Trial and Errol." _Newsweek_ (February 15, 1943).
"Two Ex-Wives, Girl Friend Absent at Flynn Funeral." _New York Herald Tribune_ (United Press International) (October 19, 1959).
Ulman, William, Jr. "In Quest of Romance." _Movie Classics_ (May 1936).
Ulman, William A., Jr. "The Man Who Found a Country." _Photoplay_ (December 1940).
Ward, Wade. "The Lost Movie of Errol Flynn." _Classic American Screen_ (1982).
Watkins, Willard. "Flynn Without Flim Flam." _Silver Screen_ (November 1942).
Wilson, Elizabeth. "Errol Flynn: The People's Choice." _Screenland_ (July 1939).
Wilson, Virginia. "Uncertain Glory." _Modern Screen_ (June 1944).
Wood, Virginia. "Errol Flynn Finally Talks." _Screenland_ (December 1944).
Wymore, Patrice. "My Life with Errol Flynn." _Silver Screen_ (July 1951).
Zarat, Irene. "'I Feel Like a Heel about Errol' Says Olivia de Havilland." _Photoplay_ (January 1942).
Zeitlin, Ida. "Robin Hood Throws a Party." _Modern Screen_ (January 1938).
#### **PUBLIC RECORDS**
##### **Birth Certificate**
1909 Births in the District of Hobart, Tasmania, document # 206, June 20, 1909, Alexandra Hospital.
##### **United States Government Files** (Obtained through the Freedom of Information Act)
The FBI main file on Errol Flynn
The FBI main file on Hermann F. Erben
The FBI main file on Frederick G. McEvoy
The FBI main file on John William Meyer
The FBI main file on Tyrone Power
The FBI main file on Prince Youka Troubetzkoy
##### **The Superior Court of the State of California**
"The People of the State of California, Plaintiff, Vs. Errol Flynn, Defendant." Superior Court # 91292 (microfilm under # CR91292). Three counts of felony rape charges against Errol Flynn: includes docket page, Judge Stills' instructions to the jury, and verdict record.
##### **Coroner's Report**
Report of Inquiry as to Cause of Death of Errol Flynn, Vancouver, Canada, October 1959.
##### **Last Will and Testament**
Last Will and Testament of Errol Flynn, April 27, 1954: probate copy, March 11, 1964.
#### **UNPUBLISHED SOURCES**
##### **Private Collections** (These collections consist of memorabilia and bibliographic resources including thousands of photographs, magazine articles, books, correspondence, posters, lobby cards, and newspaper clippings.)
The Paul M. James Collection.
The Thomas McNulty Collection.
##### **Errol Flynn's Diary**
Known as the "Mallorca Diary" by the individual who owned it for many years before arranging its return to Rory Flynn. Fifty handwritten pages dating approximately January 1952–October 1955. This is one of dozens of diaries and journals that Flynn kept during his life. Contains the essay "Faith." Earl Conrad quoted numerous passages from the diary in _Errol Flynn: A Memoir_ , pp. 23, 78, 79, 80, 93, 94, 118, 119, 172, and 173.
##### **Other Writings by Errol Flynn**
"How to Die" by Errol Flynn. Eight typed pages with minimal handwritten corrections, dated in the text as Friday, February 13, 1959. This article detailed the executions Flynn witnessed in Cuba. A majority of this was published by Christopher Forsyth in "Errol Flynn and Fidel Castro's Killer Squad," _Sydney Bulletin_ , October 27, 1981.
"How to Die (Executioner)" by Errol Flynn. Eight additional typed pages with minimal handwritten corrections, not dated but probably February 1959. Additional reflections on the executions Flynn witnessed in Cuba.
Earl Conrad re-worked some of this material from letters Flynn sent him from Cuba for use in the Hearst articles. Conrad also published a portion of this material in _Errol Flynn: a Memoir_ , pp. 188–191.
##### **Errol Flynn Correspondence** The following copies were made from the originals shortly before being sold and were provided to the author for research purposes by collectors who prefer to remain anonymous. Flynn's letters remain an active item at auction firms around the country.
Flynn's handwritten letter to his father from Rabaul, August 10, 1928. Two pages.
Flynn's handwritten letter to his father from the Sirocco in Townville, July 27, 1930. Seven pages.
Flynn's handwritten letter to his father from the Sirocco in Cooktown, August 17, 1930. Two pages.
Flynn's handwritten letter to his father from Port Moresby, August 4, 1931. One page.
Flynn's handwritten letter to his father from the Laloki Tobacco Plantation, Papua New Guinea, October 4, 1931. Five pages.
Flynn's handwritten letter to his father from the Laloki Tobacco Plantation, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, May 24, 1932. Eight pages.
Flynn's typed letter to Earl Conrad from Hotel Comodoro, Havana, Cuba, March 14, 1959. Three pages.
Flynn's typed letter to Earl Conrad from Hotel Comodoro, Havana, Cuba, March 24, 1959. Two pages.
Flynn's typed letter to Earl Conrad from Hotel Comodoro, Havana, Cuba, March 30, 1959. One page.
Flynn's typed letter to Earl Conrad from Hotel Comodoro, Havana, Cuba, also March 30, 1959. Two pages.
Flynn's typed letter to Earl Conrad from Hotel Comodoro, Havana, Cuba, April 11, 1959. One page.
Flynn's typed letter to Earl Conrad from Hotel Comodoro, Havana, Cuba, April 25, 1959. One page.
Flynn's typed letter to Earl Conrad from the Beach and Reef Hotel and Yacht Harbor, Port Antonio, Jamaica, May 24, 1959. Letter has many handwritten corrections and a two-page handwritten conclusion. Total of ten pages.
Handwritten note from "Woodsie and Errol" to Earl Conrad from Beach and Reef Hotel, Port Antonio, Jamaica, 1959. Half page, probably in Beverly Aadland's handwriting.
##### **Marelle and Theodore Flynn Correspondence**
Handwritten letter from Marelle Flynn to Earl Conrad, October 10, 1958. One page.
Handwritten letter from Marelle Flynn to Earl Conrad, October 28, 1958. One page.
Handwritten letter from Marelle Flynn to Earl Conrad, November 14, 1958. Two pages.
Handwritten letter from Marelle Flynn to Earl Conrad, March 2, 1959. Five pages.
Handwritten letter from Marelle Flynn to Earl Conrad, November 16, 1961. Two pages.
Handwritten letter from Theodore Flynn to Earl Conrad, November 29, 1961. Two pages.
##### **Carl Leavitt Hubbs and Errol Flynn Correspondence (** Courtesy of the Carl Leavitt Hubbs papers, MC 5, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library, University of California, San Diego)
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated November 24, 1947. One page and a quarter.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated December 24, 1947. One page and a quarter.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated January 5, 1948. Half page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated January 12, 1948. One page and a quarter.
Errol Flynn typed letter to Carl Hubbs dated January 16, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated January 20, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 4, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 8, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 8, 1948, separate from above. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 9, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 16, 1948. One page and a quarter.
Errol Flynn typed letter to Carl Hubbs, undated (March 1948). One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 22, 1948. Half page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 22, 1948, separate from above. Three pages.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated March 26, 1948. Five pages.
Errol Flynn typed letter to Carl Hubbs dated April 8, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated April 13, 1948. Half page.
Errol Flynn handwritten letter to Carl Hubbs dated May 19, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated July 15, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated September 20, 1948. One page.
Errol Flynn typed letter to Carl Hubbs dated September 22, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated September 24, 1948. Half page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated October 6, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated November 18, 1948. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated November 24, 1948. Half page.
Albert R. Blum (Errol Flynn's business manager) typed letter to Carl Hubbs dated May 5, 1950. One page.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Albert R. Blum dated May 9, 1950. Two pages.
Carl Hubbs typed letter to Errol Flynn dated May 9, 1950. One page.
##### **Miscellaneous Correspondence**
Errol Flynn's postcard to Cyril L. Phillips, Esq., Sir Barry Jackson's Offices, May 29, 1934. Copy in author's collection.
Flynn's handwritten letter to Miss Norfolk from the Warner Bros. Teddington Studio. One page, undated. Copy courtesy of Rick Dodd.
Flynn's typed letter to his friend John Hawkes dated March 14, 1936. One page. Copy courtesy of Trudy McVicker
Postcard from Flynn to Dr. Ellis Stungo from Monte Carlo, Monaco, 1955. Copy in author's collection.
Handwritten letter from Flynn to Dr. Ellis Stungo from Rome, Italy, January 28, 1953. Two pages. Copy in author's collection.
Flynn's typed letter to W. Ward Marsh at the _Cleveland Plain Dealer_ , November 19, 1939. Three pages. Copy in author's collection.
Flynn's typed letter to the editor of the _New Yorker_ , February 6, 1940. One page. Copy courtesy of the New York Public Library.
Flynn's typed letter to the editor of the _New Yorker_ , June 8, 1942. One page. Copy courtesy of the New York Public Library.
Flynn's letter to Col. William J. Donovan, Office of Strategic Services, February 4, 1942. Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Five pages.
Flynn's typed letter to Miss J. Mason, February 18, 1943. One page. Original in author's collection.
#### **INTERNET RESOURCES**
"Errol Flynn: Hollywood's Greatest Swashbuckler & Greatest Enigma," http://www .errolflynn.net; owned and maintained by D. David. This site features a bibliography, filmography, photos, television schedule, links, and reviews.
"In Like Flynn," http://www.inlikeflynn.com; Rory Flynn's official site for her father. This site features a filmography, photos, chat room, and links.
"Errol Flynn: Rogue Hero," http://themave .com; features commentary from collector Walter Olesky, biography, filmography, and photos.
"Errol Flynn," http://www.geocities.com/maski flynn; maintained by "Maskiflynn," this site also features a modest filmography, biography, and photos.
The official web-site for actor Jack Marino, www.warriorfilmmakers.com; also features sections on Flynn that include book reviews, family updates, and rare photos.
### _List of Names and Terms_
Aadland, Beverly
_Aafje_
Abbott, Bud
Abbott, L.B.
Abel, David
Abel, Walter
_Ace in the Hole_
Acosta, Rudolfo
Acuff, Eddie
Adams, E. F. Trelawney
Adams, Samuel Hopkins
_Admiral Graf Spee_
_The Adventures of Captain Fabian_
_Adventures of Don Juan_
_The Adventures of Robin Hood_
_The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_
_Against All Flags_
Agar, John
Aherne, Brian
_Albatross_
Albert, Eddie
_Alcoa-Goodyear Theater_ (TV)
Alden, John G.
Alden, Richard
Alderson, John
Alexander, Ross
Ali, Mahbub
Ali, Muhammed
"All in the Family" (TV)
_All Through the Night_
Allan, Patrick
Alleborn, Al
Allen, Fred
Allen, Gracie
Allen, Joel
Allen, Steve
Allyson, June
Alvin, John
_Always Together_
_Alwyn, William_
_America_
Amir, Sean Flynn
Amy, George
Anderson, Erville
Anderson, Herbert
Anderson, Judith
Anderson, Maxwell
Anderson, Milo
Anderson, Robert Gordon
Anderson, Ruby M.
Anderson, Warner
Andrews, William C.
_The Andy Griffith Show_ (TV)
_Annie Get Your Gun_
_Another Dawn_
_Anthony Adverse_
Antwerp, Albert Van
Aponte, Al Fernandez
_Arabian Nights_
Archer, Claude
Arden, Robert
Aristotle
Armendariz, Pedro
Armour, Norman
Armstrong, Robert
Arno
Arnold, Malcolm
Arvan, Jan
Asher, Irving
Ashley, Lady Brett
Aslan, Gregoire
_Assault of the Rebel Girls_
_At Sword's Point_
Atwill, Lionel
Aubuchon, Jacques
Auer, Florence
Aumont, Jean-Pierre
Aurelius, Marcus
_Aurora_
Austin, Charles
Austin, Jerry
Autry, Gene
_Avenir_
Avesani, Bruno
Aylmer, Felix
Ayres, Lew
Bacall, Lauren
Bacon, Elizabeth
Bacon, Irving
Bacon, Lloyd
Bacon, Nancy
Bagolini, Silvio
Baigum, Princess
Baker, Art
Balanchine, George
Ballbusch, Peter
_Balustrade_
Balzac, Honor de
_The Bank Dick_
Bara, Theda
Barboni, Leo
Barclay, Charles
Bardette, Trevor
Bardot, Brigitte
_The Bargain_
_Barndollar, Harry_
_Barnes, Jake_
_Barnes, Robert_
_Barnett, Vince_
_Barrat, Robert_
_Barrie, Elaine_
_Barringer, Michael_
_Barry, Patricia_
_Barry, Phyllis_
_Barrymore, Diana_
_Barrymore, John_
Barstow, Lafe
Barthelmess, Richard
Barzman, Ben
Barzman, Norma
Basch, Felix
Basehart, Richard
Basserman, Albert
Basserman, Elsa
Bates, Barbara
Bates, Florence
Bates, Granville
Batista
_Battle Hymn of the Republic_
Bau, Gordon
Baudelaire, Charles
Baum, Lou
Baxter, Alan
_Be Good, Sweet Maid_ (alternate title for _Showdown_ )
Beal, John
_Beam Ends_ (novel)
Beard, Charles R.
_Beau Brummel_
Beaumont, Hugh
Beaumont, John
Beck, Reginald
Beckett, Scotty
Beckman, John
Beckwith, Reginald
Beebe, William
Beery, Wallace
Beethoven, Ludwig van
Behlmer, Rudy
Belasco, Leon
Bell, Gladys
Bellamy, Ralph
Belli, Melvin
_The Bells of Capistrano_
_The Beloved Rogue_
Benglia, Habib
Benham, Joan
Bennett, Bruce
Bennett, Compton
Bennett, Joan
Benny, Jack
Benson, Martin
Bentley, John
Beresford, Evelyn
Bergeles, Joseph
Berle, Milton
Bernard, Barney
Bernard, Barry
Bernheimer, Sally
Bernsten, G.W.
Berry, Wallace
Berthier, Jack
Bes-Mudi
Besnovitch
Besolo, George
Bessie, Alvah
Best, Marjorie
Best, Willie
Bevan, Billy
Bevans, Clem
Bey, Turhan
Bidlack, Captain Russell J.
_The Big Boodle_
Biggers, Earl Derr
_Billboard_
Billi, Mimo
Billy, Bronco
Bing, Herman
Biroc, Joseph
Biscailuz, Eugene
Bischoff, Samuel
Bishop, Julie
Black, Morris
_The Black Pirate_
_The Black Swan_
Blair, Lionel
Blangsted, Folmar
Blanke, Henry
Bligh, Captain
Blin, Roger
Blondell, Gloria
Blondell, Joan
_Blondie White_
Blood, Peter
_Bloodline_
Blue, Monte
Blum, Al
Blumberg, Lewis F.
Boatwright, Dr.
Boemler, George
Bogart, Humphrey
Bohnen, Roman
Bond, David
Bond, Derek
Bond, James
Bond, Ward
Bondi, Beulah
Bonet, Marcel
Bonneau, Gilles
_Bonnie Blue Flag_
Borchers, Cornell
Borodin, Alexander
Borzage, Frank
Borzage, Lew
Bosewell, Hugh
_The Boston Transcript_
Bosworth, Hobart
_Bottles, Battles, and Babes_
_The Bounty_
_Bower, Aubrey_
_Bower, Pamela_
_Bowles, Phil_
_Boyer, Lynn_
_Boyington, Gregory "Pappy"_
_Bracy, Sidney_
_Brady, Patti_
_Brahms, Johannes_
_Brand, Judge Edward R._
_Brand, Max_
_Brando, Marlon_
_Brandon, Henry_
_Brandt, Lord Henry_
_Brasiliano, Roc_
_Brateman, Laura_
_Brateman, Shawn_
_Bredell, Elwood_
_Brennan, James_
_Brenner, Joseph_
_Brent, George_
_Brent, Romney_
_Bret, David_
_Brewer, Jameson_
_Bridge, Alan_
_Bridge, Joan_
_Bring On the Empty Horses_
Brinig, Myron
Brinkworth, Henry
Brinton, Ralph
_Broadway Melody_
Brock, Patrick
Brody, Todd
Brogge, Gunnar
Brooke, Clifford
Brooke, Hillary
Brooke, Michael
Brooks, Geraldine
Brown, Charles D.
Brown, Harry Joe
Brown, James
Brown, John
Brown, Reynold
Brown, Robert
Bru, Federuco Laredo
Bruce, David
Bruce, Nigel
Bryan, Jane
Bryce, Alex
Buchanan, Edgar
Bucharoff, Simon
Buchel, Brian
Buchwald, Art
Buckner, Robert
Budlong, Jack
_Bugles in the Afternoon_
_Bulletin_
_The Bullfighter from Brooklyn_
Bunny, Bugs
Burke, James
Burke, Thomas
Burks, Robert
_El burlador de Seville_
Burnett, W.R.
Burns, George
Burns, Paul E.
Burr, Raymond
Burt, Charlie
Burton, Richard
Bushdinkle, Jeffrey
Butler, David
Butler, Lawrence
Butler, Rhett
Buttolph, David
Byington, Spring
Byron, George Gordon Lord
Byron, Walter
Cabal, Robert
Cabot, Bruce
Cady, Howard
Caen, Herb
Caesar, Sid
Cagney, James
Cahn, Sammy
Cain, James M.
Caine, Georgia
Caldough, George
Caldwell, Mark
Callahan, Mushy
Camax, Valentine
Campan, Zanie
Campbell, Beatrice
Campbell, Elsa
Campbell, Mike
Cannon, Maurice
Canova, Judy
Cantor, Eddie
Canty, John
Canty, Tom
Canutt, Yakima
_Captain Blood_
Cardiff, Jack
Carillo, Leo
Carleton, Claire
Carleton, Marjorie
Carnahan, Suzanne
Carnovsky, Morris
Carpenter, Byran
Carr, Nat
Carradine, John
Carre, Liliane Marie Madeleine
Carrell, Ruth
Carrere, Edward
Carroll, Harrison
Carroll, Leo. G.
Carruthers, Bruce
Carson, Jack
Carson, Robert S.
Carter, Mona
Caruso, Anthony
_Casablanca_
_The Case of the Curious Bride_
Casella, Frank
_Casino Royale_
Castro, Fidel
Cathcart, Daniel B.
Cathcart-Jones, Owen
_Cavalier_
Cavanaugh, Hobart
Cavendish, Constance
Cavens, Albert
Cavens, Fred
"The Cellini Cup" (TV)
Cessini, Igor
Chaffey, Don.
Chambers, Dudley
Chan, Charlie
Chandler, Lane
Chandler, Raymond
Chaplin, Charlie
_The Charge of the Light Brigade_
_Charlie Bow-Tie Comes to America_ (alternate title for _Showdown_ )
_Charlie Bow-Tie Goes to Hollywood_ (alternate title for _Showdown_ )
_Charlie Bow-Tie Proceeds_ (alternate title for _Showdown_ )
Charnel, Cleo
Charteris, Leslie
Charters, Spencer
Chase, Borden
Chasen, David
_Chasing Rainbows_
Chauvel, Charles
Chauvel, Elsa
Chertok, Jack
Chesterton, G.K.
Chiantioni, Renata
_The Chicago Tribune_
_Childe Harold's Pilgrimage_
Christian, Ethel
Christian, Fletcher
Christian, Linda
Christie, Howard
Christine, Virginia
_Chronicle and Echo_
Chuman, Howard
Churchill, Maude
Churchill, Winston
Cicognini, Alessandro
Clarence, O.B.
Clark, L.V.
Clark, Wallis
Clarke, Charles H.
Clement, Clay
Cleopatra
_Climax_
Cline, Wilfred M.
Clive, E.E.
Cloerec, René
Clute, Chester
Clyde, David
Cochran, Thomas
Cochrane, Ed
Cody, Iron Eyes
Cody, William F.
Coe, Peter
Coffee, Lenore
Cohan, George M.
Cohen, Albert J.
Cohn, Robert
Colbert, Claudet
Colby, Anita
Cole, Lester
Cole, Nat "King"
Coleman, Charles
Coleman, Nancy
Coleman, Ronald
_The Colgate Comedy Hour_ (TV)
Collin, Ian
Colonna, Jerry
_The Comancheros_
_Command Performance_
_Confession of a Nazi Spy_
_Confessions of an English Opium Eater_
_Confidential_
Connolly, Walter
Connor, Edric
Conrad, Earl
_Conversations with Walt Whitman_
Cook, Captain
Cook, Clyde
Cooper, Gary
Cooper, Melville
Corbett, James J.
Cording, Harry
_The Corsican Brothers_
Costello, Lou
Costner, Kevin
_Counsellor at Law_
Courage, Alexander
Courneya, Jerry
Cowan, Jerome
Coward, Noel
Coze, Paul
Craig, Alec
Craig, Ivan
Craven, James
Crawford, Broderick
Crawford, Joan
Crean, Patrick
Crehan, Joseph
Crewdson, Robert
Crews, Laura Hope
Crignon, Marcel
_Crime School_
_The Crimson Pirate_
Crisp, Donald
Cristy, Jean
Crocker, Harry
Crocker, Templeton
Cromwell, Oliver
Crosby, Bing
Crosland, Alan, Jr.
_Crossed Swords_
Crouse, John
Crowly, Dave
_Cruise of the Zaca_ (book)
_Cruise of the Zaca_ (film)
Crump, Owen
_Cry Wolf_
_Cuban Rebel Girls_
_Cuban Story_
_Cugat, Xavier_
_Cunningham, Bob_
_Cunningham, Joe_
_Currie, Finlay_
_Curtis, Tony_
_Curtiz, Michael_
_Cushing, Catherine Chisholm_
_Custer, George Armstrong_
_Cutner, Sidney_
_Cutter, Murray_
_
_
_Daily Mirror_
_Daily Pictorial_
_Daily Telegraph_
Dale, James
Dalio, Marcel
Dalmas, Herbert
Damita, Lili
D'Andrea, Tom
Dandridge, Dorothy
Daniell, Henry
Daniels, William
Daniely, Lisa
D'Annunzio
Danova, Cesare
Dantine, Helmut
Danton, Ray
_The Dark Avenger_
_Dark Victory_
Darling, W. Scott
Darnell, Linda
Darnton, Charles
_D'Artagnan_
Davenport, Harry
Davenport, Ned
Daves, Delmer
David, Mack
Davidson, E. Roy
Davie, Cedric Thorpe
Davies, Harry Parr
Davies, Rupert
Davis, Bette
Davis, Robert O.
Davis, Sammy, Jr.
Dawn, Isabel
Dawn, Jack
_Dawn Patrol_
Dawson, Ralph
Day, Doris
Dean, Vaughan N.
de Angelis, Nato
de Begerac, Cyrano
de Boislambert, Claude Hettier
de Bujac, Jacques
de Camp, Ray
de Cicco, Pat (Pasquale)
Decker, Elmer
Decker, John
"Declassee" (TV)
de Conflans, Marguerite
de Cordoba, Pedro
de Dairval, Count Henri
_Deep Sea Fishing_
_Defensa_
DeGraw, Boyce
DeHaven, Gloria
de Havilland, Olivia
de Koven, Reginald
Delafield, E.M.
Delamar, Rosine
de la Mora, Constancia
de Le Vega, Don Diego
Delgado, Miguel
Dell, Jeffrey
Del Rio, Dolores
de Lure, Annabelle Schwab
Del Val, Jean
de Mailly, Helene
Demarest, James
de Mattos, Darke
de Maupassant, Guy
Dennis, John
Denny, Reginald
de Packh, Maurice
De Quincey, Thomas
Dermont-Breton, Virginie
DeSales, Francis
_Desperate Journey_
_Destination Tokyo_
_Destry Rides Again_
Deutsch, Adolph
Deutsch, Helen
Devereaux, Robert
de Ville, count
_The Devils of Loudon_
DeWitt, Jacqueline
de Wolff, Francis
Diaghilev, Sergei
Diamond, I.A.L.
Dibbs, Cecile
Dibbs, Miriam
Dibbs, Naomi
Dickinson, Emily
Dickson, Gloria
Dieterle, William
Dietrich, Marlene
Dighton, John
Dillingwell, John P.
Dillingwell, Lori
Dilson, John
Dingle, Charles
Disney, Walt
_Dive Bomber_
_Dixie_
Dockweiler, John F.
_Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_
Dodd, Beryl
Dodd, Claire
Dodd, Jimmy
Dodd, Rick
_Dodge City_
_Dodge City Daily Globe_
Doelnitz, Marc
_The Doll's House_
_Don Giovanni_
_Don Juan_
_Don Juan Tenorio_
_Don Juan the Rake_
Donald, James
Donat, Robert
Donnelly, Ruth
Donnelly, Tom
Donovan, William J.
_Don't Bet on Blondes_
_Don't Ever Leave Me_
Dora, Lorraine
Doran, Ann
Dorfman, Robert
Doss, Leonard
Doucette, John
Doughton, Richard
Douglas, Gordon
Douglas, Kirk
Douglas, Lloyd C.
Douglas, Robert
Douglas, Warren
_Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Presents_
Downey, Morton
Downs, Cathy
Doyle, Laird
Dozier, William
Drake, Sir Francis
Dru, Joanne
_Drums Along the Mohawk_
Dubrock, Sebastian
Dudan, Pierre
Dudgeon, Elspeth
"The Duel" (TV)
Duff, Howard
Dugan, Tom
Duggan, Thomas
Duke, Doris
Dumbrille, Douglass
Duncan, Pamela
Dunhill, Steve
DuPar, Edwin
Durante, Jimmy
Duryea, Dan
Duse
Duvivier, Danielle
Dyer, Elmer
Dyson, Edward G.
_Each Man in His Time_
Earp, Wyatt
Eason, B. Reeves "Breezy"
Eastwood, Clint
Eaton, Marjorie
Ecker, Louis Van Der
Eckles, Anna Marie
Eddington, Jack
Eddington, Marge
Edeson, Arthur
Edison, Thomas Alva
_Edge of Darkness_
Edmund, Marie
Edward, Prince
Edwards, Kirk
Edwards, L.S.
Edwards, Sarah
Einfeld, Charlie
_Einspanner No._
_Eisinger, Jo_
_Elam, Jack_
_Eldershaw, Pat_
_Eldredge, George_
_Elizabeth the Queen_
Ellenstein, Robert
Elliott, John
Ellis, Herb
Ellis, Juney
Elsom, Isobel
Emerson, Faye
Emert, Oliver
Emmott, Basil
Endicott, Dr.
England, Paul
Enright, Ray
_Enterprise_
Equini, Arrigo
Erben, Hermann F.
Erdman, Richard
Erickson, Leif
Ernst, Bud
_Errol Flynn: A Memoir_
_Errol Flynn: Last of the Red Hot Lovers_
_Errol Flynn: Satan's Angel_
_Errol Flynn: The Tasmanian Story_
_The Errol Flynn Theatre_ (TV)
_Errol Flynn: The Untold Story_
_Errol Flynn's Last Bawdy Cruise_
_Escape Me Never_
Esmond, Carl
_Esquire_
Etcheverry, Fred
Evans, Herbert
Evans, Jacqueline
Evans, Ray
Evans, Robert
Everson, William K.
"The Evil Thought" (TV)
_Examiner_
_The Eye on the Stump_ (alternate title for _Showdown_ )
Fabares, Nanette
Fabrizi, Aldo
_The Fabulous Ann Madlock_
_Fact or Fantasy_
Fadden, Tom
Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr.
Fairbanks, Douglas, Sr.
Fairfax, James
Falkenstein, Fritz
"Farewell Performance" (TV)
Farnon, Robert
Farnum, Dustin
Farr, Derek
Farrar, David
Faulkner, Ralph
Faulkner, William
Fawcett, Charles
Faylen, Frank
Fegerl, Josef
Fehr, Rudi
Fellows, Robert
Fender, Bob
Ferguson, Bill
Ferguson, Frank
Ferrer, Mel
Fidler, Bobbe
Fidler, Jimmy
Field, Mary
Fields, W.C.
Fife, Barney
_Film Weekly_
_Filmfax_
_The Films of Errol Flynn_
Finch, Peter
Fiorelli, Giuseppe
"First Come, First Loved" (TV)
Fitzgerald, Barry
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Fitzgibbons, Maura
_Five Thousand Trojan Horses_
_Fix, Paul_
_Flaherty, Pat_
_Flaming Frontier_
Flateau, Georges
Flavin, James
Fleischer, Stanley
Fleming, Eric
Fleming, Ian
Fleming, Jim
Fleming, Rhonda
Fletcher, Harold
_Flight Commander_
_Flight Squadron_
Florey, Robert
_Flowers of Remembrance_
Flynn, Arnella
Flynn, Deirdre
Flynn, Edward J.
Flynn, Errol
Flynn, Luke
Flynn, Marelle
Flynn, Nora Eddington
Flynn, Norah Rosemary
Flynn, Rory
Flynn, Sean
Flynn, Professor Theodore Thomson
Fodor, Ladislaus
_The Foetal Membrane and Plancentation of the Marsupialia_
Fontaine, Joan
Fontana Sisters
_The Fool of the Family_
_Footsteps in the Dark_
_For Auld Lang Syne: A Tribute to Will Rogers_
_For Whom the Bell Tolls_
Foran, Dick
Forbes, Flight Lt.
Forbes, Mary
Forbes, Ralph
Forbes, Scott
Ford, Robert
_The Forgotten Television Films of Errol Flynn_
Formica, Armando
Forrest, Jed
Forsyte, Irene
Forsyte, June
Forsyte, Soames
_The Forsyte Saga_
Forsythe, John
"Fortunes of War" (TV)
_The Forty Ninth Parallel_
Foster, Art
Foster, Lewis R.
_The Four Feathers_
_Four Jills in a Jeep_
_Four's a Crowd_
Fowler, Gene
Fox, Paul S.
Foy, Eddie, Jr.
Francen, Victor
Franchey, John
Franciosa, Tony
Francis, Kay
Franco, Francisco
Frank, Gerold
Frank, Harriet, Jr.
Frank, Melvin
Franklin, Sidney
Fraser, Richard
Frawley, William
Freeman, Everett
Freeman, Kathleen
French, Harold
Freulich, Henry
Freund, Karl
Friedhofer, Hugo
Friedman, Henry
Friend, Budd
Friend, Carl
Friend, Philip
Fritzsche, William
_From a Life of Adventure: The Writings of Errol Flynn_
_The Front Page_
Frost, George
Frowley, Douglas
_Funny Life, Ain't It?_ (joke title for _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ )
Furneaux, Yvonne
Furse, Margaret
Gabin, Jean
Gable, Clark
Gachet, Dr.
Galbraith, Charles S.
Galindo, Nacho
Galsworthy, John
Gandhi, Mahatma
Ganice, Sister
Garay, Joaquin
Garbo, Greta
Gardner, Ava
Gardner, Erle Stanley
Garfield, John
Gargan, William
Garland, Ruth
Garmes, Lee
Garralaga, Martin
Garson, Greer
Gary, Romain
_The Gaucho_
Gaudio, Tony
Gauguin, Paul
Gausman, Russell A.
Gawthorne, Peter
Gayley, Phil
Gelstrom, Jack
_Gentleman Jim_
Gerald, Jim
Geraldi, Joseph
Gershenson, Joseph
Ghika, Irene
_Giant_
Gibbon, James
Gibbons, Cedric
_Gibbonsia-Erroli_
_Gibbonsia-Norea_
Giblin, Dr. William Eric
Gibson, Hoot
Gielguld, Sir John
Giesler, Jerry
Gifford, Alan
Giglio, Sandro
Gilbert, John
Gillespie, Arnold
"The Girl in Blue Jeans" (TV)
Gish, Lillian
Glennon, Bert
_The Glorious Days_
_Goddard, Paulette_
_Godfrey, Peter_
_Goebbels, Joseph_
_Goering, Hermann_
_Gold, Ernest_
_Gold Train_
_The Golden Shanty (TV)_
_Der Goldene Schmetterling_
Goldner, Charles
Golitzen, Alexander
Golm, Lisa
Gomez, Thomas
Gomez, Vincente
_Gone with the Wind_
Gooch, James
Goodwin, Bill
Gordon, Bert
Gordon, C. Henry
Gordon, Gavin
Gordon, Leon
Gordon, Ruth
Gottleib, Alex
Gould, Dr. Grant
Goulding, Edmund
Gouriet, Victor
Goya, Francisco
Graetz, Paul
Graham, Sheila
Grahame, Margot
_Grand Hotel_
Granger, Stewart
Grant, Cary
Grapewin, Charley
Graves, Peter
Graves, Robert
Gray, Barbara
Gray, Dorian
Gray, Eve
Gray, Nadia
_The Great Train Robbery_
Greco, Juliette
Green, Guy
_Green Hell_
_Green Light_
Greenaway, Arthur
Greene, Max
Greene, W. Howard
Greenstreet, Sydney
Gresham, William Lindsay
Grimes, Stephen
Groom, Ray
Gross, Charles
Gross, Frank
Grot, Anton
Gruber, Frank
Gruning, Ilka
Guedes, Guillerme Alvarez
_Guernica_
Guerrero, Anita
Guiness, Alec
_Gulf Stream North_
_Gunga Din_
Guthrie, Carl
Gwyn, Nell
Haas, Robert
Hackman, Gene
Hafesjee, I.A.
Haffenden, Elizabeth
Haglund, Oren
Hakluyt, Richard
Hale, Alan
Hale, Creighton
Hale, Jonathan
Hale, Richard
Haley, Jack
Hall, Flora
Hall, Stuart
Hall, Thurston
Haller, Ernest
Halliday, Kit Carson
Halloway, Sterling
Halton, Charles
Hamblett, Charles
Hamilton, Margaret
Hamilton, Murray
Hamilton, Sara
_Hamlet_
Hammett, Dashiell
Hammond, Johnny
Hampden, Walter
_Hands Across the Table_
Hanneford, Poodles
Hanray, Lawrence
Hansen, Betty
Hansen, Chuck
Hansen, Peter
Harbaugh, Carl
_The Hard Way_
Hardin, Clay
Hardwick, Sir Cedric
Hare, Lumsden
Harmon, Sidney
_Harriet Tubman_
Harris, Charles
Harris, Jack
Harris, Sam
Harrison, Gillian
Harrison, Kathleen
Hart, Gordon
Hart, Lionel
Hart, William S.
Hartford, Huntington
Hartley, Esdras
Hartman, Henry
Hartmann, Sadakichi
Harvey, Forrester
Haskin, Byron
Hassall, Christopher
Hassau, Shirley Evans
Hatton, Wade
Havoc, June
Hawke, Brian
Hawks, Howard
Haycox, Ernest
Hayden, Harry
Haye, Helen
Haymes, Dick
Hayward, Louis
Haywood, George
Hayworth, Rita
Head, Edith
Heath, Frank
Heatherley, Clifford
Hecht, Ben
Hecht, Ted
Heflin, Van
Hefner, Hugh
Heindorf, Ray
Hellinger, Mark
_Hello God_
Hemingway, Ernest
Hemingway, Leicester
Hendon, Miles
Henning, Tim
Henreid, Paul
Henry, Buzz
Hepburn, Katharine
Herbert, A.P.
Herbert, Holmes
Herbert, Hugh
Hernandez, Rogelio
Heron, Julia
Herrera, Joe
Hertel, Howard
Herzbrun, Bernard
Herzig, Sig
Heston, Charlton
Heydt, Louis Jean
Heyerdahl, Thor
Heyman, Edward
Hickman, Howard
Hickox, Sid
Hicks, Russell
Higgins, Rose
Higgins, Tasman
_High Noon_
_A High Wind in Jamaica_
Higham, Charles
_Hi-Ho Steverino_
Hilder, John
Hill, Al
Hill, Howard
Hiller, Arthur
_His Glorious Night_
_History of the Conquest of Mexico_
Hitler, Adolf
_Hobart Mercury_
Hobbes, Halliwell
Hoch, Winton C.
Hockridge, Edmund
Hoey, Dennis
Hoffman, Ernest Theodore
Hoffman, Joseph
Holbrook, Walter
Holden, Gloria
Holland, Anthony
Holland, Cecil
Holland, Lady Joan
Hollander, Frederick
Holliday, Bob (Charles)
Holliday, Kate
Holliday, Kit Carson
Hollingshead, Gordon
Hollis, Lloyd
_Hollywood_
Holmes, Brown
Holmes, Sherlock
Holmes, William
Holt, Patrick
Hood, R.B.
_Hoosiers_
Hoover, Herbert
Hoover, J. Edgar
Hope, Anthony
Hope, Bob
Hopkins, George James
Hopkins, John
Hopkins, Miriam
Hopper, Heda
Hordern, Michael
Horman, Arthur T.
_Horror of Dracula_
Horsley, Davis S.
Horton, Edward Everett
Hough, Stanley
_How to Die_
Howard, Bill
Howard, Ronny
Howard, Trevor
Howe, James Wong
Howland, Olin
Hubbs, Carl
Hubert, Ali
Hudson, William
Hughes, Howard
Hughes, John
Hughes, Richard
Hugo, Victor
Hull, Henry
Hunt, Hugh
Hunt, Martita
Hunter, Alastair
Hunter, Ian
Hunter, Kenneth
Hunter, Terence
Hunter-Kerr, Ken
Huntington, Lawrence
Huntley, G. P., Jr.
Huntley, Tim
Hussenot, Olivier
Huston, John
Huston, Walter
Hutton, Betty
Huxley, Aldous
Hyams, Joe
Hyde, Mary Ann
Hymer, Warren
Hytten, Olaf
_I Adore You_
_I Was a Little Too Lonely_
Ibsen, Henrik
_I'd Rather Play Tennis_
_If I Were King_
_Ikerd, Percy_
_I'll Be Home for Christmas_
_In Like Flynn_ (proposed titled for _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ )
_In Our Time_
_In Place of Splendor: Autobiography of a Spanish Woman_
_In the Wake of the Bounty_
_In Town Tonight_ (radio)
Ince, Ralph
Inescourt, Frieda
_Inherited Risk: Errol and Sean Flynn in Hollywood and Vietnam_
Innes, Allen
Interlenghi, Franco
Ireland, John
Irving, Ellis
Irwin, Boyd
Irwin, Charles
_Istanbul_
_It Happened One Night_
_It's a Great Feeling_
_Ivanhoe_
Ivano, Paul
Jackler, Jackie
Jackman, Fred
Jacks, Robert
Jackson, Charles R.
Jackson, Dan
Jackson, Howard
Jackson, Selmer
Jackson, Sherry
Jackson, Thomas
Jackson, Warren
Jacobs, William
Jacoby, Abraham S.
Jacoby, Michel
Jaffa, Henri
James, Paul M.
_Jane Eyre_
_Japanese Art_
Jarvis, E.B.
Jarza, Antonio
Jenkins, Allen
Jerome, Stuart
Jerry, "Alabama"
_Jesse James_
Jessel, George
Jodo
_Johnny Comes Marching Home_
Johns, Glynis
Johnson, Chubby
Johnson, Van
Jones, Allan
Jones, Buck
Jones, Carolyn
Jones, Dick
Jones, Dickie
Jones, Doug
Jones, Jennifer
Jones, Mervyn
Jory, Victor
Jostyn, Jay
Joyce, James
_Juarez_
Jucundus, Caecilius
Judels, Charles
Jung, Carl Gustav
Kahn, Surat
Kalat, David
Kamenka, Sacha
Kaper, Bronislau
Karillos, Marta
Karns, Roscoe
Kasket, Harold
Katch, Kurt
Katz, Lee
Kaye, Danny
Keaton, Buster
Keats, John
Keefe, Robert
Keighley, William
Keir, Andrew
Keith, Ian
Kellaway, Cecil
Kelly, Alice
Kelly, Gene
Kelly, Paul
Kelly, Skeets
Kelsall, Moultrie
Kelsey, Fred
Kemmer, Edward
Kennedy, Arthur
Kennedy, Burt
Kennedy, Douglas
Kennedy, Margaret
Kenny, Colin
Kenny, Joseph E.
Kent, Jean
Kern, James V.
Kerouac, Jack
Kerrigan, J.M.
Kerry, Norman
Keyes, Evelyn
Kibbee, Guy
_The Kid Stays in the Picture_
Kiel, William
Kilian, Victor
Killifer, Jack
_Kim_
Kimball, Charles L.
Kincaid, Don
_Kind Hearts and Coronets_
King, George
King, Henry
King, Hetty
_King Creole_
King George II
_King Kong_
_King of the Underworld_
_King Solomon's Mines_
_King's Rhapsody_
Kingsford, Walter
Kingsley, Howard
Kinnell, Murray
Kinsey, Alfred Charles
_The Kinsey Report_
"The Kinsman" (TV)
Kipling, Rudyard
Kirk, Marl-Lee
Kirk, Phyllis
Kirkwood, Joe
Kissel, Bill
Kitten (Mararaja's daughter)
Klausen, E. Wessel
Klemperer, Werner
Kline, Kevin
Kline, Wally
Knapp, Armand
_The Knight and the Lady_
_Knights of the Round Table_
Knotts, Don
Knowles, Cyril J.
Knowles, Patric
Knudsen, Peggy
_Knute Rockne—All-American!_
Kobler, John
Koch, Howard
Koenekamp, H. G.
Koets, Dr. Gerrit
_Kokopo_
Kolker, Henry
Kolster, Clarence
Koomar, Asit
Korngold, Erich Wolfgang
Kovaleski, Mitchell
Krams, Arthur
Krims, Milton
Krogstad, Nils
Kurnitz, Harry
Kuter, Leo K.
Lackteen, Frank
_Ladies' Home Journal_
_Ladies Man: An Autobiography_
_The Lady from Shanghai_
Lake, Veronica
Laloki
Lamarr, Hedy
Lambeau, Russell E.
Lambert, Gerard
Lambert, Jack
Lamont, Molly
Lamour, Dorothy
Lancaster, Burt
Lancellotti, Prince
Landis, Carole
Lane, Ben
Lane, Lola
Lane, Priscilla
Lane, Rosemary
Lansford, Bob
Lardner, Ring
LaRue, Jack
_The Last Buccaneer_
_The Last of the Mohicans_
_The Last Thirty Days of Christ_
_The Last Vacation_
Lastricati, Carlo
La Torre, Charles
Lavista, Raul
Lawford, Peter
Lawrence, Vincent
Leary, Lew
LeBeau, Madeline
Ledebur, Friedich
Leduc, Marcel
Lee, Christopher
Lee, Robert E.
Leiber, Fritz
Leicester, James
Leigh, Janet
Leigh, Rowland
Leigh, Vivien
Leigh-Fermor, Patrick
LeMay, Alan
Lemont, John
Leonard, David
Leonard, Sheldon
Leporello
Leslie, Joan
Lester, Bruce
Lester, Gene
_Let's Make Up_
Levasseur, Captain
Levin, Henry
Levy, Louis
Lewis, David
Lewis, Harry
Lewis, Jerry
_The Libertine of Seville_
_Life_
_Lilacs in the Spring_
Lindberb, Charles
Linder, Leslie
Lindfors, Viveca
Lindsay, Margaret
Litel, John
Little, Herbert, Jr.
_Little Big Horn_
Litvak, Anatole
_The Lives of the Bengal Lancers_
Livesey, Roger
Livingston, Jay
Livingston, Jerry
Lloyd, Russell
Lockhart, Gene
Loder, John
Loesser, Frank
Logan, Stanley
_Lolita_
Lollobrigida, Gina
Lom, Herbert
Lombard, Carole
London, Julie
_The Lone Ranger_
Longhurst, Henry
Long-Innes, Rex
Longo, Guy
Longstreet, Stephen
_Look_
Lord, Robert
Lorre, Peter
_The Los Angeles Daily News_
_The Los Angeles Evening Herald_
_The Los Angeles Herald-Express_
_Los Angeles Times_
_Lost Weekend_
Louis, Anita
Love, Montagu
"Love Token" (TV)
_The Loved One_
Low, Warren
Lowe, Arthur
Lowry, Morton
Loy, Myrna
Lualdi, Antonella
Lucas, Wilfred
Luez, Laurette
Lugosi, Bela
Luguet, Andre
Luigi, Marchese
Lukas, Paul
Lundigan, William
Lupi, Roldano
Lupino, Constance
Lupino, Ida
Lupino, Richard
Lustig, Jan
Lyndon-Haynes, T.S.
Lynne, Gillian
Lynton, Mayne
MacArthur, General Douglas
_Macdhui_
MacDonald, Ian
MacDougall, Ranald
Mace, William
MacKay, John
MacKenzie, Aeneas
Mackenzie, Compton
MacLaine, Shirley
MacLane, Barton
MacLean, Fred M.
MacMurray, Fred
_Madam Butterfly_
Maddox, Ben
"Mademoiselle Fifi" (TV)
Madison, Noel
_Il Maestro di Don Giovanni_
_The Magic Mountain_
Mahon, Barry
Mahon, Clelle
Mahoney, Jock
Mai-Ike
Malleson, Miles
Mallinson, Rory
Mallorca diary (of Errol Flynn)
Malone, Dorothy
_The Man from Snowy River_
_The Man in the Iron Mask_
_The Man Is at Sea_
_The Man of Property_
Manet, Edward
Mann, Thomas
Manners, Thomas
Manolete
Manson, Helena
Mantz, Paul
_Mara Maru_
Marble, Alice
Marco, Henry
Margo, George
_Marguerite de Conflans_
Marin, Jacques
Marinuzzi, Gino
_Marjorie Morningstar_
Mark, Michael
_The Mark of Zorro_
Markey, Gene
Marks, Owen
Marsac, Maurice
Marshall, Brenda
Marshall, Charles
Marshall, R.E.
Marshall, William
Martin, Chris-Pin
Martin, Dean
Martin, Greg
Martinez, Velia
Marx, Harpo
Mas, Carlos
_Maski_
Mason, Gregory
Mason, Perry
Massey, Raymond
_The Master of Ballantrae_
_The Master of Thornfield_
Mather, Aubrey
Mathieson, Muir
Matthews, Lester
Mattison, Frank
Mature, Victor
Mauch, Billy
Mauch, Bobby
Mauge, Conrad
Maugham, Liza
Maugham, Somerset
Maupassant, Guy de
Maurette, Marc
Maxwell, Marilyn
Maxwell, Peter
May, Joe
Mayberry, Richard
Mayers, Bernard
Maylon, Eily
Mayo, Frank
Mayo, Virginia
Mazurki, Mike
The Mazzone-Abbott Dancers
McCallion, James
McCarthy, Joseph
McCarty, Clifford
McComb, Mike
McConaghy, Jack
McCord, Ted
McCoy, Horace
McCoy, Tim
McDaniel, Hattie
McDaniel, Sam
McDermott, Hugh
McDonald, Francis
McDonald, Glen
McDowal, Roddy
McEvoy, Freddie
McGann, William
McGlynn, Frank
McHugh, Frank
McKuen, Walter
McLaren, John
McMahon, James
McMartin, Duncan
McVicker, Trudy
Meadow, Herb
_Meditations_
Medlin, Frank
Meek, Donald
Melbourne, Scotty
Melton, James
Melville, Herman
_Men_
Mendoza, Harry
Mephistopheles
Meredyth, Bess
Merivale, Bernard
_The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown, in Nottinghamshire_
Metalious, Grace
Methot, Mayo
Metty, Russell
Meyer, John William (Johnny)
Meyers, Jeffrey
Middleton, Charles
Milestone, Lewis
Miljan, John
Miller, Ann
Miller, Billy
Miller, Cynthia
Miller, Dusty
Miller, Henry
Miller, Seton I.
Miller, Winston
Millican, James
Mills, John
Milner, Martin
Minardos, Nico
Minear, Nellie S.
Minthorn, Lucinda Sherwood
Mirisch, Walter
"The Mirror" (TV)
_Mr. Skeffington_
_Mr. Smith Goes to Washington_
Mitchell, Grant
Mitchell, Jennifer
Mitchell, Julien
Mitchell, Thomas
Mitchum, Robert
Mix, Tom
Mladova, Milada
"The Model" (TV)
_The Modern Adventures of Casanova_ (radio)
_Modern Screen_
Mohr, Hal
Molière
Molina, Tirso de
Money, W.A.
Monroe, Marilyn
Montague, Monte
_Montana_
Montes, Alberto
Montgomery, Bernard
_Montoro_
Moody
Moody, Helen Wills
Moore, Clayton
Moore, Dennie
Moore, Georgia
Moore, Jack D.
Moore, John Hammond
Moore, Matt
Moorehead, Agnes
Mooring, W.H.
Moral, Jose Zorrilla y
Moran, Dolores
Moreau, Louis August
Morgan, Dennis
Morgan, Frank
Mori, Paoli
_Morinda_
_Morning Bulletin_
Moross, Jerome
Morra, Irene
Morris, Oswald
Morris, Phyllis
Morris, Wayne
Morrison, Jim
Morrow, Anne
Morse, Brewster
Morse, Terry
Morton, Arthur
Moss, Arnold
_Movieland_
Mowbray, Alan
Mower, Jack
Moxey, Hugh
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozert, Zoe
Muir, Florabel
Munchausen, Baron
Muncy, Betty
Mundin, Herbert
_Murder at Monte Carlo_
Murrell, John
Mussolini, Benito
Musuraca, Nick
Muzquiz, Carlos
Muzzuca, Joe
_My Favorite Year_
_My God!_ (joke title for _My Wicked, Wicked Ways_ )
"My Infallible Uncle" (TV)
_My Little Chickadee_
_My Wicked, Wicked Ways_
Mytril, Odette
Nabokov, Vladimir
Naish, J. Carrol
Nalder, Reggie
Napoleon, Art
Napoleon, Jo
Nash, N. Richard
Natwick, Mildred
Navarro, Ramon
Nazarro, Cliff
Neagle, Anna
Neal, Patricia
Nedell, Bernard
Nelson, Major
Nesbitt, Robert
_Never Give a Sucker an Even Break_
_Never Say Goodbye_
Neville, Robert
Nevins, Arthur
_The New York Daily News_
_New York Herald Tribune_
_The New Yorker_
Newcombe, Warren
Newlan, Paul
Newman, Bernard
Newman, Lionel
Newman, Paul
_News-Herald_
_Nightmare Alley_
Nilsson, Anna Q.
Niven, David
Noble, Hollister
Noble, Robert
Nolan, Jeanette
_Nora Prentiss_
Norcross, Charles
Norfolk, Mrs.
Noriega, Eduardo
Norman, Don
Norris, Leo
_Northampton and County Independent_
_Northern Pursuit_
_Not on Your Life_
_Novak, Peggy_
_Novarese, Nino_
_Novello, Ivor_
_
_
_Oakley, Annie_
_Oates, Joyce Carol_
_Objective, Burma!_
O'Brien, Pat
O'Brien-Moore, Erin
Obringer, Jack
O'Connell, Hugh
O'Connor, Una
_Ode: Intimations of Immortality_
O'Driscoll, Martha
_Of Mice and Men_
O'Hara, Henry
O'Hara, Maureen
O'Hara, Scarlett
Ohman, Phil
O'Keefe, Winston
_Old Acquaintance_
_Old Arizona_
_The Old Maid_
Oliver, W.E.
Olivia, Esther
Olivier, Laurence
Olsen, Moroni
O'Moore, Patrick
_On the Road_
"The 1000th Night of Don Juan" (TV)
O'Neal, Charles
O'Neill, Henry
Oppenheimer, George
Orbom, Eric
"The Ordeals of Carol Kennedy" (TV)
Orovitz, Abe
Orry-Kelly
O'Shea, Miles
Ostrovsky, Ben
O'Sullivan, Richard
O'Thames, Shamus
_Othello_
O'Toole, Bridgett
O'Toole, Peter
"Out of the Blue" (TV)
_The Outlaw Josey Wales_
_Owen, Garry_
_Owen, Reginald_
_Owen, Tudor_
_
_
_Padelford, Morgan_
_Page, Don_
_Pahlen, Kyra_
_Pahlen, Victor_
_Paige, Newell_
_Pallette, Eugene_
_Palumbi_
_El Pampero_
Panama, Norman
Pangborn, Franklin
Panzer, Paul
Pape, Lionel
Parer, Benedict
Park, Phil
Parker, Eleanor
Parker, Jean
Parker, Max
Parkinson, Roy
Parks, Madge
Parsons, Louella
Paterson, Banjo
Patisson, Danik
Patrick, Lee
Patterson, Elaine
Patterson, Neva
Paul, Raymond
Pavia, Nestor
Pavlenko, Alex
Payne, John
_Peeks at Hollywood_
Penman, Patricia
_The Perfect Specimen_
Perone, John
Persin, Henri
Peter (Mararaja's son)
_Peter Ibbetson_
Peters, Hans
Peters, Susan
Petrie, Howard
Pevney, Joseph
_Peyton Place_
Phillips, Conrad
Phillips, John
Phillips, Leslie
Phillips, Marilyn
_Photoplay_
Picard, Jean
Picasso, Pablo
Picerni, Paul
Pickard, John
Pickens, Slim
Pickford, Mary
_A Pictorial History of the Western Film_
_The Picture of Dorian Gray_
Pidgeon, Walter
Pierlot, Francis
_Pirate Party at Catalina Island_
_Pita, Aurora_
_The Plainsman_
_Plan 9 from Outer Space_
Plato
_Playboy_
_Playhouse_
_Plunkett, Walter_
_Po, Li_
_Pohlenz, Frank U. Peter_
_Polanski, Roman_
_Polito, Sol_
_Poppen, J.R._
_Poquelin, Jean-Baptiste_
_Porter, Penny_
_Portman, Eric_
_Powell, William_
_Power, Tyrone_
_Prelle (Presle), Micheline_
_Prescott, William Hickling_
_Presley, Elvis_
_Previn, André_
_Price, Victoria_
_Price, Vincent_
_Prince, William_
_The Prince and the Pauper_
_Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation_
Pringle, Aileen
Prinz, LeRoy
_The Prisoner of Zenda_
_The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex_
_Promenade au bord de la Mer_
_The Public School Scandal_
Puglia, Frank
Purcell, Howard
_Pygmalion_
Pyle, Howard
_Queen Mary_
Queen Victoria
_Quentin Durward_
Quinn, Anthony
Quinn, Louis
Quinn, Phil
Raab, Leonid
Rabagliati, Alberto
_Rabbit Hood_
Rachmaninoff, Sergei
Radovich, Bill
_Raffles_
Raft, George
_Raiders of the Lost Ark_
Raine, Norman Reilly
Rainier, Prince
Rains, Claude
Ralph, Jessie
Rathbone, Basil
Ratner, Payne
Ratoff, Gregory
_Rawhide_ (TV)
Raye, Martha
_The Razor's Edge_
Reagan, Ronald
_Reckon I'm in Love_
_"The Red Geranium" (TV)_
_Red River_
_The Red Skelton Show_ (TV)
Redwing, Rodd
Reed, Philip
Reed, Tom
Rees, William
Reeves, George
_Referee_
_Refuse to Be Afraid_
Regas, George
Reicher, Frank
Reifsnider, Lyle B.
Renavent, Georges
Rennahan, Ray
"Rescued" (TV)
_The Return of Dr. X_
_Return of the Seven_
Reynolds, Gene
Reynolds, Peter
Rhein, George
Rhodes, Leah
Riano, Reine
_Richard III_
Richards, Addison
Richards, Stephen
Richards, Thomas
Richelieu, Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis
Richman, Charles
_Ride the High Country_
Ridgely, John
Ridges, Stanley
Riley, Bud
Riley, Lawrence
Rimsky-Korsakoff, Nikolai
Rin Tin Tin
_Rio Grande_
Rioli, Ricardo
Ripple, Bill
Rivas, Carlos
Roach, Hal
_The Roar of the Crowd_
Roarke, Aidan
_The Robe_
Roberts, Beverly
Roberts, Casey
Robinson, Casey
Robinson, Edward G.
Robinson, Francis
Robson, Flora
Robson, May
Roc, Patricia
_Rocky Mountain_
_Rocky Mountain Herald_
Roder, Milan
Roemheld, Heinz
Rogers, Roy
Rogers, Will
Roland, Gilbert
Roman, Ruth
Romanoff, Mike
Romanov, Alexis
Roosevelt, Eleanor
Roosevelt, Franklin
Roosevelt, Franklin, Jr.
Roosevelt, Theodore
_The Roots of Heaven_
Rorke, Hayden
Rory, Rossana
Rose, Billy
Rose, Jack
Rosen, A.
Rosenberg, Ethel
Rosenberg, Julius
Rosher, Charles
Ross, Lillian
Ross, Michael
Rossen, Robert
Rossi, Jean
Rostand, Edmond
Rowe, Frances
Royce, John
Ruman, Sig
Rupert of Henzau
Russell, Bing
Russell, Rosalind
"Rustle of Silk" (TV)
Rutherford, Ann
Ruttenberg, Joseph
Ryan, Jack
Sabatini, Rafael
Sackheim, William
St. John, Betta
Sakall, S.Z.
Salkind, Alexander
Salter, Hans J.
_San Antonio_
_The San Francisco Chronicle_
Sanborn, Helen
Sanchez, Louis
Sanchez, Regnier
Sanders, George
Sanders, Scott
_Santa Fe Trail_
Saper, Jack
Sarmanho, Regina
Saroyan, William
Satterlee, Mickey June
Satterlee, Peggy LaRue
Satterlee, William C.
_Saturday's Children_
Saunders, John Monk
Saunders, Mark
Saunders, Russell
Saville, Philip
Saville, Victor
Sawyer, Joseph
Scala, Gia
_Scaramouche_
Scarlet, Will
Schayer, Richard
Schiller, Friedrich von
Schroeder, Carl
Schumm, Hans
Schwartz, Arthur
Scott, Captain L.G.S.
Scott, Randolph
Scott, Vernon
Scott, Sir Walter
Scott, Walter M.
_Screen Director's Playhouse_ (TV)
_Screen Snapshots_
_Screen Stars_
_Screenland_
_The Sea Beast_
_The Sea Hawk_
_Sea Hunt_ (TV)
"The Sealed Room" (TV)
Seamster, Billy
_The Searchers_
_Seattle Post-Intelligencer_
Sedgwick, Charles
Sefton, Ernest
Seitz, Guy
Seldes, George
Sells, Bernie
Selwart, Tonio
Selznick, David
Serato, Massimo
Service, Robert W.
Servoss, Mary
_Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_
_Seven Keys to Baldpate Inn_
_Seven Men from Now_
_Sex and Character_
_Sexual Behavior in the Human_ _Female_
_Sexual Behavior in the Human Male_
Seymour, Dan
Shakespeare, William
_Shakespeare in Art_
Shannon, Robert
_Shark Hunting_
_Sharp, Alex_
_Sharp, Ned_
_Shavelson, Melville_
_Shaw, George Bernard_
_Shaw, Janet_
_Shaw, Winifred_
_Shawnee_
_Shayne, Robert_
_Shearer, Norma_
_Sheer, Vincent Morris_
_Sheffield, Reginald_
_Shelley, Percy Bysshe_
_Sheperd, William_
_Shepherd, Jeanne_
_Sheridan, Ann_
_Sheridan, John_
_Sheridan, Phil_
_Sherman, Fred E._
_Sherman, George_
_Sherman, Vincent_
_Sherwood, John_
_Sherwood, Ned_
_Shields, Arthur_
_Shirley, Anne_
_The Shooting of Dan McGrew_
Shore, Dinah
Shoup, Howard
Shourds, Sherry
_Showdown_
_The Show-Off_ (alternate title for _Showdown_ )
Shubert, Eddie
Shuken, Leo
Siegel, Don
Silenti, Vira
Sills, Milton
_Silver River_
_Silver Screen_
_Silverado_
Silverheels, Jay
Silverio
Silvermoon
Simmons, Richard Alan
Simpson, Ivan
Simpson, Russell
Sinatra, Frank
_Sinbad the Sailor_
Sinclair, Ronald
_Singapore_
_Sirocco_ (first ship)
_Sirocco_ (second ship)
_The Sisters_
Skall, William V.
Skelton, Red
Smith, Alexis
Smith, Allen E.
Smith, Art
Smith, Frederick Y.
Smith, Gerald Oliver
Smith, Harry B.
Smith, Lola
Smith, Patricia
Smith, Ted
_Smith's Weekly_
Snead, Sam
Sokoloff, Vladimir
Solon, Ewan
_The Son of Captain Blood_
_The Son of Monte Cristo_
_Song of Deirdre_
Sothern, Hugh
Space, Arthur
_Das Spielzeug von Paris_
Spiker, Ray
Spitz, Henry
Squires, Ronald
SS _Compiegne_
SS _Paris_
_Stacey, Eric_
_Stack, Robert_
_Stackpole, Peter_
_Stagecoach_
_The Standard_
Stanley, Edwin
Stanton, Paul
Stanwyck, Barbara
_Star in Your Eyes_
_The Star Spangled Banner_
_Star Wars_
Starr, Barry
Stauffer, Teddy
Stedman, Myrtle
Steel, Anthony
Steele, Bill
Steele, Rex
Stein, Sammy
Steinbeck, John
Steiner, Max
Stephenson, Henry
Stephenson, James
Sterling, Joseph
_The Steve Allen Show_ (TV)
Stevens, Ann
Stevens, Charles
Stevens, Craig
Stevens, Louis
Stevens, Spitfire
Stevenson, Edward
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Stewart, James
Still, Judge Leslie
Stine, Clifford
Stockwell, Dean
Stossel, Ludwig
"The Strange Auction" (TV)
Stroheim, Erich Von
Stuart, Jeb
Stuart, Mary
Stubbs, Jack
Styne, Jule
Sullivan, Jack
Sullivan, Jean
Sullivan, John L.
Sullivan, Wallace
_The Sun Also Rises_ (film)
_The Sun Also Rises_ (novel)
_Superman and the Mole Men_
_Support Your Local Gunfighter_
_Support Your Local Sheriff_
Surrett, Jeff
Swan, Alan
Swanson, Gloria
Swanson, Robert
Swarthout, Glendon
Swartz, Joel
_Sword Fishing_
_The Sword of Villon_ (TV)
_Sydney Morning Herald_
Sylvester, Robert
Szukalski, Joseph P.
"Take the High Road" (TV)
Tang, Frank
Tarzan
Tate, Reginald
Taverna, Henri
Taylor, Alma
Taylor, Elizabeth
Taylor, Lt. Col. J.G.
Taylor, Robert
Teakle, Spencer
Temple, Shirley
_The 10 Most Sensational Women I've Met_
Tennyson, Lord Alfred
_Thank Your Lucky Stars_
_That Forsyte Woman_
_That Reminds Me, Navarre_
Thatcher, Torin
_These Charming People_
_They Died with Their Boots On_
_The Thief of Bagdad_
Thimig, Helene
_The Thin Man_
Thomas, Bill
Thomas, Tony
Thoreau, Henry David
Thorpe, Captain Geoffrey
Thorpe, Jim
_The Three Musketeers_
Tilden, Bill
Tilford, Walter F.
_To Tell the Truth_ (TV)
_The Toast of the Town_ (TV)
Tobias, George
Todd, Charles
Todd, Sherman
Todd, Thelma
_Too Much, Too Soon_
Toomey, Regis
Toporow, Roman
Tordi, Pietro
Torrence, David
Tors, Ivan
Toscanini, Arturo
Totheroh, Dan
Totter, Audrey
Toumanova, Tamara
Touré, Bachir
Tover, Leo
_The Towers of New Orleans_
Tozer, Joseph
Tracy, Spencer
Trafficante, Santo
"The Transfer" (TV)
Travers, Henry
Travilla
_Treasure Island_
Tree, Dorothy
Tremaine, Major
Tressilian, Oliver
Triesault, Ivan
Trilling, Walter
_The Triumph of the Veal Cutlet_
_Tropic of Cancer_
Troubetzkoy, Youka
Trowbridge, Charles
Truman, Ralph
Tuck, Friar
Tucker, Forrest
Tully, John
Tully, Tom
Tuperselai
Turner, Don
Turner, Lana
Turner, Tim
Turney, Catherine
Tuttle, William
Twain, Mark
_Two Gentleman from Verona_
Tyler, Tom
Tyne, Gabriel
Ullman, Daniel B.327
Ulman, William, Jr.
_Ulysses_
_Uncertain Glory_
Underwood, Agnes
_Union Pacific_
Urquhart, Robert
Vadnay, Laszlo
_Vagabonding on the Pacific with John Barrymore_
Valentino, Rudolph
Valkis, Helen
Valles, Arlington
Van Dyke, Tom
Van Enger, Willard
Van Eyck, Peter
Van Gogh, Vincent
Vanderbilt, Gloria
Varconi, Victor
_Variety_
Varno, Roland
Vassarotti, Vittorio
Vaughan, Dorothy
Vaughn, Robert
Veitch, Arthur
Velez, Lupe
Verdi
Verity, Terence
Vernon, Howard
Vickers, Geoffrey
Victor, David
Victor, Henry
Vidor, King
Vieira, George
Viertel, Peter
Villalobos, Blanca Rosa
Villiesid, Arthur
Villon, Francois
Vincent, Billy
_Virginia City_
Von Richthofen, Manfred
Vreeland, Robert
Wade, Harlan
Waggner, George
Wahn, Graham R.
Walberg, Bobby
Wald, Jerry
_Walden_
Wallace, William G.
Wallis, Hal
Walsh, Raoul
_Waltzing Matilda_
_The War Wagon_
Ward, G.H.
Warner, Albert
Warner, Harry
Warner, Jack
Warner, S.H.
Warner, Sam
Warren, Charles Marquis
Warren, Francis
Warren, Rita
_The Warriors_
Warwick, John
Warwick, Robert
_The Washington Daily News_
_Washington Times-Herald_
Watkin, Pierre
Watson, Bob
Watson, Lucille
Watson, Minor
Waugh, Evelyn
Waxman, Franz
Wayne, John
Wead, Frank
Weaver, Doodles
Webb, James R.
Webb, Richard
_The Webster Dictionary of Names_
Weeks, Keith
Weininger, Otto
Weisbart, David
Welch, James
Welden, Ben
Welles, Orson
Wells, H.G.
Welsh, John
Welter, Blanca Rosa
Welter, Gerard
Westcott, Helen
Westmore, Bud
Westmore, Ern
Westmore, Frank
Westmore, Perc
Wexley, John
Weyl, Carl Jules
_What Really Happened to Me in Spain_
Wheeler, Lyle R.
_When Hollywood Was Fun!_
_When I Fall in Love_
_White, Dan_
_White, Harry_
_White, Leslie T._
_White, Patricia_
_White Christmas_
_The White Rajah_
Whitman, Stuart
Whitman, Walt
Whitney, John
_Why I Became an Actor_
_Wichita_
Wicklund, Captain
Wicks, Gerald Beresford
"A Wife for the Czar" (TV)
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler
Wilcox, Frank
Wilcox, Herbert
Wilcox, J.D.
Wilde, Cornel
Wilde, Oscar
Wilder, Billy
Wiles, Buster
_Wilhelm Tell_
Willes, Peter
Willey, Leonard
William, Warren
_William Tell_
_Williams, Chalky_
_Williams, Guinn "Big Boy"_
_Williams, James B._
_Williams, Lottie_
_Williams, Norman_
_Williams, Rhys_
_Williams, Rush_
_Williamson, Thames_
_Willis, Edwin B._
_Willman, Noel_
_Wilson, Charles_
_Wilson, Don_
_Wilson, Elizabeth_
_Wilson, Lucy_
_Wilson, Richard_
_Wimpy, Rex_
_Winchell, Walter_
_Winckelmann, Johann Joachim_
_Windsor, Claire_
_Winn, Marcia_
_Winter, Vincent_
_Winters, Shelley_
_Wirth of Coonabarabran_
_Witherspoon, Cora_
_"Without Incident" (TV)_
_The Wizard of Oz_
Wodehouse, P.G.
_Woman with a Child Sitting by a Hearth_
Wood, Ed
Wood, Wilson
Woods, Donald
Woods, William
Woodward, Joanne
Wooley, Sheb
Wordsworth, William
Wright, Cobina
Wright, Tenny
Wrixon, Maris
Wyler, William
Wyman, Jane
Wymore, Patrice
Wynn, Ed
_Yankee Doodle Dandy_
Yarus, Buddy
Yordan, Philip
_You Can't Cheat an Honest Man_
Young, Edward
Young, Gig
Young, Leslie
Young, Lily Mary
Young, Loretta
Young, Robert
Young, Roland
Young, Victor
_Young Errol: Flynn Before Hollywood_
_Zaca_
_Zaca Venture_
Zaldivar, Fulgencio Batista
Zanuck, Darryl F.
Zeitlin, Ida
Zetterling, Mai
Zimbalist, Efrem, Jr.
Zimmo
_Zombie Jamboree_
Zoritch, George
| {
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} | 5,180 |
Fatal Affair is a 2020 American psychological thriller film directed by Peter Sullivan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rasheeda Garner. It stars Nia Long, Omar Epps, Stephen Bishop, and KJ Smith.
It was released on July 16, 2020, by Netflix.
Plot
Ellie Warren is a successful attorney living with her husband Marcus who is recovering after a horrible car accident. They have just moved into a new house on the coast from the city of San Francisco now that their daughter Brittany has left for college. Ellie meets her firm's new tech consultant, David Hammond, who both first met each other in college. David is in anger management therapy following an incident with a woman named Deborah. Ellie and David initially meet for drinks, but the situation turns sexual as they go to the bathroom of a club, although Ellie resists. Afterwards, David stalks her via phone calls, texts, viewings of her house from a distance, breaking into her home, hacking into her home security system, sending her a package, and dating Ellie's friend Courtney. This is all despite Ellie's warnings to stay away from her and her family.
Ellie learns from another one of her former college classmates that David murdered his ex-wife Deborah and her new boyfriend a few months after the divorce. Ellie sends Courtney an e-mail with information about Deborah's murder and how David likely committed it, but David deletes it. Ellie is horrified to see him golfing with Marcus. She convinces the concierge at David's building to let her into his apartment, where she finds pictures of Deborah and of herself taken from afar on his computer. As Ellie calls Courtney about the pictures, David gets to Courtney's place and attacks her. She is found bleeding from the head by Ellie and taken to the hospital. With the police now looking for David, he tries to pull a trick on the public by making them think he committed suicide; he sets a homeless man on fire with a suicide note. The police find all the evidence in his home, including a confession for his ex-wife's murder.
One night, Ellie gets a message from her assistant (presumably from David) to sign some documents. Ellie stops by her office and finds her assistant murdered on the floor. Ellie rushes home and calls the police, before she finds David alive and knocks him unconscious with a vase. She encounters the corpse of Brittany's boyfriend Scott, and finds Marcus and Brittany tied up. She frees them as the police arrive, but David kills a cop. As Brittany gets into her car and drives away, a fight ensues between Marcus, David, and Ellie, which ends with David falling to his death on a beach cliffside. A few months later, Marcus and Ellie send Brittany back to school, and their house is for sale.
Cast
Nia Long as Ellie Warren
Omar Epps as David Hammond
Stephen Bishop as Marcus Warren
KJ Smith as Deborah Lee
Jason Shane Scott as Travis Green
Aubrey Cleland as Brittany Warren
Maya Stojan as Courtney
Carolyn Hennesy as Janice
Kate Orsini as Lauralee
Lyn Alicia Henderson as Detective Larson
Fredella Calloway as Dr. Leigh Beverly
Jacob Aaron Gaines as Scott
Kym Jackson as Nicole
Estelle Swaray as Linda
Production
In October 2019, Deadline reported that Netflix had partnered with Hybrid Films with Peter Sullivan directing the film project. Nia Long, Omar Epps and Stephen Bishop were attached to star in the film, with Sullivan and Rasheeda Garner writing the script. Long, Barry Barnholtz, Brian Nolan and Jeffrey Schenck would serve as producers on the film. In November 2019, it was announced KJ Smith had joined the cast of the film. Principal photography for the film took place on location in Los Angeles, California in 2019.
Release
The film was released on July 16, 2020 by Netflix. It was the top-streamed film on the site in its debut weekend, then placed sixth the following weekend.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of and an average rating of , based on reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "As basic as its title, Fatal Affair gets lost between 'so bad it's good' and 'barely there.'" On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a "C−" and wrote: "Too chaste to be a Fatal Attraction ripoff and far too dull to approach the hammy charms of Obsessed the greatest assets of Peter Sullivan's Fatal Affair are stars Nia Long and Omar Epps. They keep this from looking and feeling like a limp Lifetime movie knockoff."
References
External links
2020 films
2020 psychological thriller films
2020s serial killer films
American psychological thriller films
American serial killer films
African-American films
Films about murderers
Films about narcissism
Films about stalking
Films set in San Francisco
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in San Francisco
English-language Netflix original films
Films directed by Peter Sullivan
2020s English-language films
2020s American films | {
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About Rasta
Product Tiering
Saint-Gobain Abrasives website
Saint-Gobain Abrasives is now a Member of the SEAM Program
Saint-Gobain Abrasives is a Member of the SEAM Program, a New Framework Dedicated to the Sustainability of the Abrasive Industry
After years of unwavering commitment to quality and safety in product and production quality and safety, Saint-Gobain Abrasives accepts the new challenge of sustainability.
Paris, France (January 21st, 2020)
Today, Saint-Gobain Abrasives is proud to announce its membership to a new European program focused on sustainability: SEAM - Sustainable European Abrasive Manufacturers.
With the understanding that the value of a "European sustainability system" must involve all players within the supply chain, the objective of the SEAM program is to support and assist abrasive manufacturers on their way towards sustainable growth and sustainability improvements, mostly in production and distribution.
To be approved into the program, the European plantsof Saint-Gobain Abrasives had to meet a series of minimum requirements organized into the three fundamental pillars of sustainability: environment, labor and economy. The company now has to adopt several evolving targets within the three pillars, such as energy management, employee safety and business continuity and work on improving its performance, reporting annually on its progress.
"By joining the SEAM program, Saint-Gobain Abrasives proudly confirms the group's commitment to preserving the environment and resources, reducing inequalities and improving daily life for all. It's more than an expectation, making a positive contribution has become a requirement for our employees and our stakeholders. With this in mind, Saint-Gobain Abrasives is committed to reporting annually on its performance by publishing the evolution of the Sustainability and Responsibility indicators" stated Xavier Orlhac, Vice President, Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Europe Middle-East Africa.
Large, medium and small size abrasive manufacturers, suppliers and distributors have joined SEAM to set a European sustainability standard that pulls industry upward where it can find the right balance between environmental efficiency, production performance, labor safety, all pieces of a puzzle that betters the life of a community, and are values which give a strong position to European companies in the world.
The SEAM program is constantly developing its features. New services along with performance monitoring and management tools are on their way to be made available to all SEAM members.
Contacts us: https://www.saint-gobain-abrasives.com/en-gb/contact-us
Saint-Gobain Abrasives web site: https://www.saint-gobain-abrasives.com/en-gb
About Saint-Gobain Abrasives
Saint-Gobain Abrasives, the world's leading manufacturer of abrasives, offers powerful, precise and user friendly solutions enabling customers to shape and surface-finish all types of materials even in the most complex and challenging applications across a diverse range of markets.
As the technology leader, Saint-Gobain Abrasives sits at the forefront of the industry providing highly engineered, high performance value-adding abrasives, thanks to its continual investment in R&D and close collaboration with customers.
This strong commitment ensures that exciting new products are continuously introduced which offer substantial customer benefits - helping to improve process productivity and reshape the world of abrasive solutions.
About SEAM
The Sustainable European Abrasive Manufacturers (SEAM) commit to continually improve their environmental, labor and production processes.
The SEAM program guarantees that SEAM members, all from within the abrasive supply value chain, manufacture, process, supply, distribute abrasives according to the sustainability standards with regards to environmental efficiency (waste, energy, resource), health and safety quality and innovative production processes.
SEAM website: https://www.seam.earth
SEAM social: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fepa-seam / https://twitter.com/seamfepa / https://www.instagram.com/seam.earth/ / https://www.facebook.com/seam.earth
"Abrasives of excellence" reflects Rasta's goal to offer superior abrasive solutions to its customers. Quality, precision, durability and long service life – all typical characteristics of Rasta products.
How to combat rising labour costs in the metalworking industry 27 June 2018
International Hardware Fair 2018 success 20 April 2018
Eisenwarenmesse - International Hardware Fair 2018 15 January 2018
Rasta Catalogue 18 December 2017
Seam Earth
Rue de l Ambassadeur 78700 Conflans-Sainte-Honorine France
© Saint-Gobain 2020 | {
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Image Title: The Best Sectional Sofa For Your Family Shopping Tips Driven By Regarding Remodel 9. Post Title: Best Sectional Sofa. Filename: the-best-sectional-sofa-for-your-family-shopping-tips-driven-by-regarding-remodel-9.jpg. Image Dimension: 900 x 1313 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Jett Bashirian. Uploaded Date: Monday - October 08th. 2018 01:16:17 AM. Category: Architecture. Image Source: homedepot.com. Best Sectional Sofa Fabulous Sofas Reviews 2017 Comfortable Throughout Ideas 12. Best Sectional Couches A Sofas Within Sofa Prepare 14. New Best Sectional Sofa Jdl6 1021 In Ideas 8. Small Sectional Sofas Couches For Spaces Overstock Com Within Best Sofa Remodel 13. Top 10 Best Reclining Sofas 2018 Intended For Sectional Sofa Decor 0. 14 Best Sectional Sofas Images On Pinterest Decorating Living For Sofa Remodel 2. Best Sectional Sleeper Sofa Reviews 2018 The Sleep Judge Throughout Prepare 10. The 8 Best Sectional Sofas To Buy In 2018 For Sofa Plan 5. Mainstream Cool Sectionals Best Sectional Sofa Is Small With Chaise In Prepare 6. Amazing Best Sectional Sofa 55 About Remodel Design Ideas With Inside Prepare 11. | {
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template<typename T, typename U>
struct is_same {
static const bool value = false;
};
template<typename T>
struct is_same<T, T> {
static const bool value = true;
};
typedef int __attribute__((address_space(1))) int_1;;
typedef int __attribute__((address_space(2))) int_2;;
typedef int __attribute__((address_space(1))) *int_1_ptr;
typedef int_2 *int_2_ptr;
// Check that we maintain address spaces through template argument
// deduction from a type.
template<typename T>
struct remove_pointer {
typedef T type;
};
template<typename T>
struct remove_pointer<T *> {
typedef T type;
};
int check_remove0[is_same<remove_pointer<int_1_ptr>::type, int_1>::value? 1 : -1];
int check_remove1[is_same<remove_pointer<int_2_ptr>::type, int_2>::value? 1 : -1];
int check_remove2[is_same<remove_pointer<int_2_ptr>::type, int>::value? -1 : 1];
int check_remove3[is_same<remove_pointer<int_2_ptr>::type, int_1>::value? -1 : 1];
template<typename T>
struct is_pointer_in_address_space_1 {
static const bool value = false;
};
template<typename T>
struct is_pointer_in_address_space_1<T __attribute__((address_space(1))) *> {
static const bool value = true;
};
int check_ptr_in_as1[is_pointer_in_address_space_1<int_1_ptr>::value? 1 : -1];
int check_ptr_in_as2[is_pointer_in_address_space_1<int_2_ptr>::value? -1 : 1];
int check_ptr_in_as3[is_pointer_in_address_space_1<int*>::value? -1 : 1];
// Check that we maintain address spaces through template argument
// deduction for a call.
template<typename T>
void accept_any_pointer(T*) {
T *x = 1; // expected-error{{cannot initialize a variable of type '__attribute__((address_space(1))) int *' with an rvalue of type 'int'}} \
// expected-error{{cannot initialize a variable of type '__attribute__((address_space(3))) int *' with an rvalue of type 'int'}}
}
void test_accept_any_pointer(int_1_ptr ip1, int_2_ptr ip2) {
static __attribute__((address_space(3))) int array[17];
accept_any_pointer(ip1); // expected-note{{in instantiation of}}
accept_any_pointer(array); // expected-note{{in instantiation of}}
}
template<typename T> struct identity {};
template<typename T>
identity<T> accept_arg_in_address_space_1(__attribute__((address_space(1))) T &ir1);
template<typename T>
identity<T> accept_any_arg(T &ir1);
void test_arg_in_address_space_1() {
static int __attribute__((address_space(1))) int_1;
identity<int> ii = accept_arg_in_address_space_1(int_1);
identity<int __attribute__((address_space(1)))> ii2 = accept_any_arg(int_1);
}
// Partial ordering
template<typename T> int &order1(__attribute__((address_space(1))) T&);
template<typename T> float &order1(T&);
void test_order1() {
static __attribute__((address_space(1))) int i1;
int i;
int &ir = order1(i1);
float &fr = order1(i);
}
| {
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{"url":"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-021-21069-8","text":"Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.\n\nA simple low-latency real-time certifiable quantum random number generator\n\nAbstract\n\nQuantum random numbers distinguish themselves from others by their intrinsic unpredictability arising from the principles of quantum mechanics. As such they are extremely useful in many scientific and real-world applications with considerable efforts going into their realizations. Most demonstrations focus on high asymptotic generation rates. For this goal, a large number of repeated trials are required to accumulate a significant store of certifiable randomness, resulting in a high latency between the initial request and the delivery of the requested random bits. Here we demonstrate low-latency real-time certifiable randomness generation from measurements on photonic time-bin states. For this, we develop methods to certify randomness taking into account adversarial imperfections in both the state preparation and the measurement apparatus. Every 0.12\u2009s we generate a block of 8192 random bits which are certifiable against all quantum adversaries with an error bounded by 2\u221264. Our quantum random number generator is thus well suited for realizing a continuously-operating, high-security and high-speed quantum randomness beacon.\n\nIntroduction\n\nQuantum mechanics is well known to offer many opportunities for generating genuine randomness that is unpredictable by any reference1,2,3. This unpredictability can be proven based only on measurement observations and a few assumptions. Therefore, the randomness generated according to quantum mechanics is certifiable. The simplest example involves measuring a two-level quantum system (a qubit) prepared in an equal superposition of its two levels. However, its proper working and certifiability rely on the trust of both the quantum state prepared and the measurement performed. This scheme is thus device-dependent2,3. On the other hand, there are also device-independent schemes that do not require any trust on the inner working of the employed quantum devices4,5. Unfortunately, it is difficult to realize such a scheme for practical use with excellent performance as it requires a loophole-free Bell test6,7,8,9,10,11. Consequently, the randomness-generation rates achieved are extremely low with a high latency from the beginning of the experiment to the output of the certified random bits12,13,14,15. The natural question then is whether we can reduce the trust required by the above simple scheme while avoiding the difficulties inherent in the device-independent approach.\n\nIn this work we explore a simple practical scheme for the realization of a low-latency real-time certifiable quantum random number generator (QRNG). The simple scheme works ideally as follows: At each trial a horizontally polarized single photon is emitted from a source, and then measured randomly along either the X-basis (diagonal\/anti-diagonal polarization basis) to generate a random bit or the Z-basis (horizontal\/vertical polarization basis) to verify the prepared state. This scheme is motivated by that for entanglement-based quantum key distribution (QKD)16,17, where one basis is used to generate secret keys and other bases are used to estimate the prepared state. Random bits or secret keys can be certified since measurement outcomes allow us to bound the correlation between the prepared state and the side information of an adversary known as Eve18.\n\nThe above ideal scheme has been well studied in the literature19,20. However, in order to make the resulting QRNG practical, we need to consider the imperfections in its implementations and show the robustness of randomness generation against those imperfections. First, single-photon sources are not easily accessible and as for QKD18, weak optical pulses are usually employed. Even if a single-photon source is available, it is still generally difficult to produce a particular quantum state with high accuracy. Second, it is difficult in an experiment to perform measurements precisely along both the X-basis and Z-basis, as one basis tends to be more precise than the other. Third, the basis choice at a trial is usually made by a pseudo or physical random number generator. This means that the probabilities of selecting the X-basis and Z-basis, denoted as PX and PZ, can only be bounded but not exactly known. Furthermore, in the adversarial scenario Eve could manipulate these imperfections. These adversarial imperfections must be addressed together to reliably certify randomness which currently has not been done.\n\nHere we develop a method to guarantee the proper working and security of our QRNG in the presence of those above adversarial imperfections. For this, we require a lower bound q1,lb on the single-photon probability in a practical photon source (such as a weak laser pulse in the absence of a phase reference), an upper bound \u03b4 on the misalignment angle between the X-basis and Z-basis, and both a lower and an upper bounds on the imbalance between the probabilities PX and PZ given by \u03c4\u2009=\u2009(PX\u2009\u2212\u2009PZ)\/2. We emphasize that except the above bounds which characterize the adversarial imperfections, our method does not need any other information about the state prepared or measurements performed. In this sense, our QRNG works in a semi-device-independent way. The values of the above imperfection bounds can be obtained by calibrating the photon source and measurement apparatuses in real time. We allow Eve to manipulate the state prepared or measurements performed as long as these manipulations satisfy the above imperfection bounds. Our method is of excellent finite-data efficiency, thus enabling low-latency real-time randomness generation. Specifically, we experimentally demonstrate that every 0.1\u2009s a sufficient amount of entropy with respect to the quantum (or classical) side information of Eve is certified such that a block of 8192 (or 2\u2009\u00d7\u20098192) random bits is generated with a certified error bounded by 2\u221264 and with an extraction time of 0.02 s (or 0.04\u2009s).\n\nResults\n\nOutline\n\nIn what follows, we first introduce the setup of the problem and the main idea of our method for certifying randomness with the adversarial imperfections discussed above. Our method works in the presence of both the classical and quantum side information of Eve. We then illustrate the performance of our method with simulations, showing the advantage of Eve with an access to quantum side information. Finally, we present our experimental realization of a simple low-latency real-time QRNG enabled by our method.\n\nSetup of the problem\n\nTo generate random bits, we consider an experiment with a sequence of n repeated trials. These trials are not necessarily independent or identical. We denote the input (basis choice) and the output (measurement outcome) at the k\u2019th trial by the random variables Ik and Ok, respectively. The inputs and outputs of the experiment are then $${{\\bf{I}}}_{n}={({I}_{k})}_{k = 1}^{n}$$ and $${{\\bf{O}}}_{n}={({O}_{k})}_{k = 1}^{n}$$. The amount of randomness in the outputs relative to both the inputs and Eve is quantified by the smooth conditional min-entropy $${H}_{\\min }^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$, where \u03f5s is the smoothness error21. We consider two alternative smooth conditional min-entropies $${H}_{\\min ,\\,\\text{c}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$ and $${H}_{\\min ,\\,\\text{q}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$ in the presence of the classical and quantum side information of Eve, respectively. The ability of Eve to access quantum side information (which is stored in a quantum system $${\\mathsf{E}}$$) as compared with classical side information (which is stored in a classical, random variable E) allows attacks that can take advantage of long-term quantum memories22,23 correlated in a quantum manner with the quantum devices used for the state preparation in the experiment. Our goal is to bound the smooth conditional min-entropies $${H}_{\\min ,\\,\\text{c}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$ and $${H}_{\\min ,\\,\\text{q}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$ from below.\n\nFor certifying the randomness in the outputs On relative to the inputs In and Eve, we must assume that the outputs On are kept private and not accessible to Eve. We allow Eve to hold classical or quantum side information about the state prepared at a trial. At the same time, we allow Eve to manipulate the distribution of the possible inputs and the specific forms of the associated measurements at the trial, as long as these manipulations satisfy the prespecified imperfection bounds. We assume that by manipulations Eve can access classical side information but not quantum side information about the measurement performed. The method to be presented allows classical correlations between Eve\u2019s side information about the state prepared and Eve\u2019s partial knowledge of the input and measurement used at each trial. That is, the state prepared can be classically correlated with the input selected or the measurement performed. We emphasize that our method cannot be applied in the case where at each trial Eve\u2019s side information about the state is correlated in a quantum manner with Eve\u2019s partial knowledge of the input and measurement. Moreover, although we allow Eve to manipulate the input distribution, we assume that before a trial Eve has no perfect knowledge of which specific input to be selected at the trial. This assumption is required for security analysis; otherwise, Eve can deterministically forecast the output of the trial, and it would be therefore impossible to certify randomness24.\n\nMain idea of our method\n\nFor certifying randomness with respect to classical and quantum side information, we construct probability estimation factors (PEFs)25,26 and quantum estimation factors (QEFs)27,28, respectively. Both a PEF and a QEF are non-negative functions of the input I and output O of a trial, denoted by Fc(I,\u2009O) and Fq(I,\u2009O). The key observation is that the smooth conditional min-entropies $${H}_{\\min ,\\,\\text{c}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$ and $${H}_{\\min ,\\,\\text{q}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$ can be bounded from below, once we know the respective products $$\\mathop{\\prod }\\nolimits_{k = 1}^{n}{F}_{\\text{c}}({i}_{k},{o}_{k})$$ and $$\\mathop{\\prod }\\nolimits_{k = 1}^{n}{F}_{\\text{q}}({i}_{k},{o}_{k})$$. Here, ik and ok are the observed values of the input and output at the k\u2019th trial. This key observation can be formalized by Theorem 1 and Theorem 2 in the \u201cMethods\u201d section. We emphasize that PEFs and QEFs can use the result of each trial for both verifying and accumulating randomness. Both PEFs and QEFs have been constructed for certifying device-independent randomness15,25,26,27,28. In this work, we develop methods to construct PEFs and QEFs for the scenario of our interest. In particular, the PEFs and QEFs constructed are adapted to the adversarial imperfections in both the state source and the measurement apparatus. Both PEFs and QEFs have the advantage that significantly less data is required in order to certify a fixed amount of randomness. Details for constructing PEFs and QEFs are discussed in the \u201cMethods\u201d section.\n\nAfter certifying the amount of randomness, we run the randomness extractor developed in ref. 29 with extractor error \u03f5x\u2009=\u2009\u03f5\u2009\u2212\u2009\u03f5s in order to generate random bits which are within distance of \u03f5\u2009>\u2009\u03f5s from uniform. The distance \u03f5 is termed the soundness error. For the results presented in this work, we set the smoothness error and the extractor error to be \u03f5s\u2009=\u20090.8\u03f5 and \u03f5x\u2009=\u20090.2\u03f5.\n\nWe illustrate with simulations the performance of our method in the asymptotic limit, so that one can see the expected behavior of our QRNG scheme. When the trials are identical and n approaches infinity, the amount of randomness certified by our method increases linearly with n. The increasing rate (per trial) is called the asymptotic randomness-generation rate. The rates in the presence of classical and quantum side information, Rc and Rq, certified by our method are optimal (see refs. 25,27 for general proofs). We can quantify Rc and Rq as functions of the depolarization noise d (as defined in the caption of Fig.\u00a01). The results presented in Fig.\u00a01 clearly indicate that Eve\u2019s access to quantum side information as compared with classical side information results in a reduction of the randomness-generation rate. Such a reduction is an important yet unquantified advantage to Eve.\n\nExperimental realization of a simple low-latency real-time QRNG\n\nTo realize a QRNG, we perform measurements on photonic time-bin states, where the quantum information is encoded into the superposition of two different temporal positions (time bins) of an optical pulse. The two time bins are usually called the early and late time bins denoted by te and tl. Time-bin encoding has been widely used especially in fiber-based quantum communication systems30. The advantage of time-bin encoding lies in that both the state source and the measurement apparatus required are easily packaged onto a chip, which is an important factor to consider for practical QRNG use.\n\nTo produce randomness, at each trial we attempt to prepare the time-bin qubit state $$|{1}_{{t}_{e}}\\rangle \\otimes |{0}_{{t}_{l}}\\rangle$$, where $$\\left|{j}_{t}\\right\\rangle$$ represents the j-photon state located at the time bin t\u2009{te,\u2009tl}. After passing it through an unbalanced Mach\u2013Zehnder interferometer (MZI), we measure the time-bin qubit, as depicted in Fig.\u00a02. The difference in photon transit time between the two unbalanced paths of the MZI matches the separation between te and tl. Therefore, a photon can come out from the MZI at the early, middle and late time bins denoted by $${t}_{e}^{\\prime}$$, $${t}_{m}^{\\prime}$$ and $${t}_{l}^{\\prime}$$, respectively. If the photon comes out at $${t}_{e}^{\\prime}$$ or $${t}_{l}^{\\prime}$$, then the Z-basis (time-bin basis) is passively selected. In this case, the arrival time indicates the measurement outcome. If the photon comes out at $${t}_{m}^{\\prime}$$, then the X-basis (superposition basis) is passively selected. In this case, the two output ports of the MZI indicate which measurement outcomes are observed. Note that if the first beam splitter in the MZI has the 50:50 splitting ratio, the two measurement bases are uniformly randomly selected. In this sense, the first beam splitter in the MZI acts effectively as a physical but uncertified random number generator31.\n\nIn practice, the source emits zero photon with a non-zero probability at each trial, and threshold detectors (which cannot resolve photon number) of finite efficiency are employed. Moreover, a photon can be lost over the transmission from the source to the detectors. Therefore, not all trials have detector clicks. For security analysis, we assume that the trials with detector clicks are a fair sample of all trials. Accordingly, no-click events do not affect the security analysis of randomness generation but only the rate and latency achieved in practice.\n\nNow for certifying randomness, we must take into account the adversarial imperfections in our setup. Neither of the two beam splitters, BS1 and BS2, in the MZI has the ideal 50:50 splitting ratio. In addition, the two detectors at the output ports a and b may have different efficiencies \u03b7a and \u03b7b. These facts induce not only an imbalance between the probabilities PX and PZ of selecting the X-basis and Z-basis but also a misalignment between the two bases. Based on a calibration of our measurement apparatus, we found that the splitting ratios of BS1 and BS2 are 53.8:46.2 and 46.9:53.1, respectively, and that the ratio \u03b7a:\u2009\u03b7b is 1.024:1. Consequently, the imbalance \u03c4\u2009=\u2009(PX\u2009\u2212\u2009PZ)\/2 and misalignment \u03b4 satisfy the conditions \u03c4\u2009\u2264\u20090.041 and \u03b4\u2009\u2264\u20093.565. Moreover, we estimated that the single-photon component of the optical pulse contributes at least 99.3% of all click events. More details behind the above characterizations are available in Supplementary Note\u00a03. Accordingly, we conservatively assume that \u03c4\u2009\u2264\u20090.06, \u03b4\u2009\u2264\u20096, and q1,lb\u2009=\u20090.98 in our security analysis, specifically, for constructing PEFs and QEFs to guarantee certifiable randomness generation.\n\nBased on a set of calibration data, we estimated the expected number, kexp, of random bits certifiable every 0.1\u2009s runtime at a soundness error \u03f5 varying from 10\u22125 to 10\u221230. The dependence of kexp on \u03f5 in the presence of either quantum or classical side information is illustrated in Fig.\u00a03. As expected fewer number of random bits can be certified with respect to quantum side information than with respect to classical side information. However, the number of certifiable bits in each situation is not significantly affected by the soundness error in the range considered.\n\nWe finally consider a request for a block of 8192 (or 2\u2009\u00d7\u20098192) random bits in the presence of quantum (or classical) side information and with soundness error bounded by 2\u221264\u2009\u2248\u20095.42\u2009\u00d7\u200910\u221220. The results in Fig.\u00a03 strongly suggest that our QRNG can successfully fulfill the request every 0.1\u2009s runtime. Indeed, the success probability is estimated to be at least 1\u2009\u2212\u20092\u2212380 (or 1\u2009\u2212\u20092\u2212478) in the presence of quantum (or classical) side information (see Supplementary Note\u00a04 for details). We further demonstrate this repeated fulfillment in experiment. For this, before the experiment we fixed the PEF and QEF used, as well as several other parameters used in our security analysis, based on the above calibration data (see Supplementary Note\u00a04). Then we ran the experiment for 420 s and processed the data block obtained every 0.1\u2009s runtime successively. For each data block, we certified a lower bound on the number of random bits extractable with soundness error 2\u221264 and with respect to either quantum or classical side information. If the certified lower bound exceeds the request threshold, the instance of our QRNG succeeds. Conditional on success, we run the randomness extractor developed in29 to generate the final random bits. The randomness extractor is seed-efficient and requires an additional processing time: for extracting 8192 (or 2\u2009\u00d7\u20098192) random bits it takes 0.02 s (or 0.04\u2009s), respectively. Totally we ran 4200 instances of our QRNG. The analysis results summarized in Fig.\u00a04 show the success of each instance.\n\nDiscussion\n\nIn conclusion, we demonstrate a simple low-latency real-time certifiable quantum random number generator (QRNG). The generator is based on the measurement of a weak optical pulse with an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer. By developing an efficient security-analysis method, genuine randomness can be certified and then generated with a low latency from every short block of experimental data even at an extremely high security level and even considering adversarial imperfections in our experimental setup. Further, the implementation of randomness extraction allows real-time performance to be achieved. Our QRNG is thus well suited for realizing a continuously-operating, high-security, and high-speed quantum randomness beacon.\n\nOur security analysis considers both quantum and classical side information. Our security certificate is resistant to the adversarial imperfections in both the state source and the measurement apparatus, in contrast to those certificates achieved in previous works20,32,33,34 where either the adversarial imperfections in the source or those in the measurement apparatus are considered. Moreover, our method exhibits unsurpassed finite-data efficiency. As certifying smooth conditional min-entropies is also the central task for quantum key distribution (QKD), we envision that our method can be extended to improve the finite-data efficiency of QKD. In the future work, we will address the details required for this extension.\n\nMethods\n\nOutline\n\nHere we provide details of our experimental setup for realizing a simple low-latency real-time certifiable quantum random number generator. We also introduce the general framework of probability estimation (or quantum probability estimation) for certifiable randomness generation in the presence of classical (or quantum) side information. Further, we discuss the details of implementing these general frameworks in the presence of the adversarial imperfections considered in both the state source and the measurement apparatus.\n\nExperimental implementation\n\nOur experimental setup is shown in Fig.\u00a02. To generate time-bin states, amplified spontaneous emission from an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), which has a broad spectrum and thus can be regarded as inherently dephased, is used as a light source. After reducing its bandwidth by a band-pass filter (BPF1) of 1551.1\u2009\u00b1\u20091.2\u2009nm, the light from the EDFA is sent into an intensity modulator (IM) to generate (in the ideal case) the time-bin qubit state consisting of the single-photon pulse $$|{1}_{{t}_{e}}\\rangle$$ and the vacuum pulse $$|{0}_{{t}_{l}}\\rangle$$. A pulse pattern generator (PPG) is used to modulate the IM at a repetition rate of 500\u2009MHz using a pulse of width approximately 100\u2009ps. The same modulation signal is also sent to the time-interval analyzer (TIA), to synchronize the IM and TIA. A BPF2 of 1551.1\u2009\u00b1\u20090.44\u2009nm is then used to further surpress the noise outside of the bandwidth. With the help of an optical attenuator (ATT), we then adjust the average photon number per pulse to a value of approximately 0.0035. Finally, we launch the time-bin pulse into an unbalanced Mach\u2013Zehnder interferometer (MZI), which is fabricated using planar lightwave circuit technologies35. The path difference of the unbalanced MZI is 500 ps, the same as the time separation between the early and late time bins. The insertion loss of the MZI is approximately 2.0 dB. The photons from the output ports of the MZI are detected by two superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SSPDs), where the detection events are recorded by the TIA. The system detection efficiency of each SSPD is about 59%, and the dark count rate of each SSPD is less than 40\u2009s\u22121. A few polarization controllers (PCs) are inserted before the IM and SSPDs in order to adjust the polarization of photons. We measure that roughly 470,000 trials with detector clicks are generated per second.\n\nCertifiable randomness generation in the presence of classical side information\n\nTo certify randomness with respect to the classical side information of Eve, we apply the framework of probability estimation as developed in refs. 25,26. For this, we need to characterize each trial of the experiment by a classical model. In the scenario of our interest, the model is adapted to the adversarial imperfections considered. Given the model, we construct probability estimation factors (PEFs) which can certify randomness with respect to classical side information. Below we first introduce the concepts of classical models and PEFs, and then present the main result of probability estimation for randomness generation.\n\nLet us focus on a generic trial in the experiment with an input I and an output O. We omit the trial index for generic trials. As is conventional, we denote a random variable and its possible value by an upper-case letter in regular math font and the corresponding lower-case letter. The classical side information E of Eve can be correlated with the trial input I and trial output O. This correlation is described by a joint probability distribution $${\\mathbb{P}}(I,O,E)$$. However, in practice we cannot access the classical side information E held by Eve. Therefore, we can characterize only the distribution of I and O conditional on each possible value e of E, denoted by $${\\mathbb{P}}(I,O| E=e)$$. The set of conditional distributions $${\\mathbb{P}}(I,O| E=e)$$, for all possible e, achievable at a trial is defined to be the classical model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ for the trial. For simplicity we make the condition on Eve\u2019s classical side information implicit in the rest of the paper, and so the classical model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ specifies the set of probability distributions $${\\mathbb{P}}(I,O)$$ achievable at a trial. To certify randomness in the output O conditional on the input I\u00a0and on the classical side information E, we consider a class of non-negative functions Fc:\u2009(i,\u2009o)\u2009Fc(i,\u2009o), called PEFs for the classical trial model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$. A PEF with a positive power \u03b2c is a non-negative function Fc:\u2009(i,\u2009o)\u2009Fc(i,\u2009o) which satisfies the PEF inequality\n\n$$\\sum _{i,o}{\\mathbb{P}}(I=i,O=o){F}_{\\text{c}}(i,o){\\mathbb{P}}{(O = o| I = i)}^{\\beta_{\\text{c}}}\\le 1$$\n(1)\n\nat each probability distribution $${\\mathbb{P}}(I,O)$$ in the classical trial model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$. We have two remarks on the constructions of the classical trial model and the corresponding PEFs as follows: First, when Eve\u2019s classical side information about the state is classically correlated with Eve\u2019s partial knowledge of the input and measurement at a trial, the classical trial model will become the convex closure of the model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ as introduced above. Second, according to Lemma 14 of ref. 26, a PEF with power \u03b2c for the model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ is also a PEF with the same power for the convex closure of $${\\mathcal{C}}$$. In view of the above two remarks, probability estimation automatically handles the classical correlation between Eve\u2019s classical side information about the state and Eve\u2019s partial knowledge of the input and measurement at a trial.\n\nThe number of near-uniform random bits extractable from the outputs On given the inputs In\u00a0and the classical side information E of Eve is quantified by the classical smooth conditional min-entropy $${H}_{\\min ,\\,\\text{c}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$21. Here, the smoothness error \u03f5s measures the total-variation distance between the actual distribution and an ideal distribution of In, On and E (see Definition 9 of ref. 26). Suppose that each trial of an experiment is characterized by the classical model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$. Denote the PEF with power \u03b2c at the k\u2019th trial by Fc,k, which is a function of Ik and Ok, and let the variable Tc,n be the product of PEFs up to the n\u2019th trial, that is, $${T}_{{\\text{c}},n}=\\mathop{\\prod }\\nolimits_{k = 1}^{n}{F}_{{\\text{c}},k}$$. In practice, the input at a trial is independent of the outputs of the previous trials conditionally on the classical side information E and the inputs of the previous trials. Under this conditional-independence condition, probability estimation can certify randomness with respect to classical side information according to the following theorem:\n\nTheorem 1 (Theorem 1 of ref. 26): Let 1\u2009\u2265\u2009\u03ba,\u2009\u03f5s\u2009>\u20090 and 1\u2009\u2265\u2009p\u2009\u2265\u20091\/Rng(On), where Rng(On) is the number of possible outputs after n trials. Define \u03a6 to be the event that Tc,n\u2265\u20091\/($${p^{\\beta_{c}}}$$\u03f5s). For each joint probability distribution $${\\mathbb{P}}({{\\bf{I}}}_{n},{{\\bf{O}}}_{n},E)$$, either the probability of the event \u03a6 is less than \u03ba or the classical smooth conditional min-entropy, when the event \u03a6 happens, satisfies\n\n$${H}_{\\min ,\\,{\\text{c}}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,{\\text{Eve}}\\,,\\Phi)\\ge -{\\mathrm{log}\\,}_{2}(p)+\\frac{1+\\beta_{\\text{c}}}{\\beta_{\\text{c}}}{\\mathrm{log}\\,}_{2}(\\kappa).$$\n(2)\n\nThe event \u03a6 can be interpreted as the event that the experiment succeeds. When the experiment succeeds, we compose the classical smooth conditional min-entropy bound in Eq. (2) with a classical-proof strong extractor of error \u03f5x (in total-variation distance), in order to obtain random bits which are within soundness error (in total-variation distance) \u03f5\u2009=\u2009\u03f5s\u2009+\u2009\u03f5x from uniform in the presence of classical side information. See Sect. IV C of ref. 25 for the details of the end-to-end randomness generation. Note that an extractor is strong if the joint of its output and the seed is nearly uniform, while an extractor is classical-proof if it works in the presence of classical side information. In our experiment, we used Trevisan\u2019s extractor36 as implemented by Mauerer, Portmann, and Scholz29, which we refer to as the TMPS extractor. The TMPS extractor is an efficient classical-proof strong extractor that requires few seed bits29,36. The way of running the TMPS extractor for our case is the same as for the case of device-independent randomness generation with respect to classical side information studied in refs. 13,25.\n\nCertifiable randomness generation in the presence of quantum side information\n\nTo certify randomness with respect to the quantum side information of Eve, we apply the framework of quantum probability estimation as developed in refs. 27,28. For this, we need to characterize each trial of the experiment by a quantum model. In the scenario of our interest, the model is adapted to the adversarial imperfections considered. Given the model, we construct quantum estimation factors (QEFs) which can certify randomness with respect to quantum side information. Below we first introduce the concepts of quantum models and QEFs, and then present the main result of quantum probability estimation for randomness generation.\n\nConsider a generic experimental trial which has a classical input I and a classical output O. Suppose that Eve holds a quantum system $${\\mathsf{E}}$$, which carries the quantum side information about the experiment. So, the quantum system $${\\mathsf{E}}$$ is correlated with the trial input I and trial output O. The correlation between $${\\mathsf{E}}$$ and (I,\u2009O) can be described by a classical-quantum state\n\n$${\\rho }_{IO{\\mathsf{E}}}=\\sum _{i,o}\\left|i,o\\right\\rangle \\left\\langle i,o\\right|\\otimes {\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}(i,o),$$\n(3)\n\nwhere $${\\rho}_{\\mathsf{E}}$$(i,\u2009o) is the sub-normalized state of $${\\mathsf{E}}$$ conditional on I\u2009=\u2009i and O\u2009=\u2009o. The trace $${\\rm{Tr}}\\left({\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}(i,o)\\right)$$ is the probability of observing that I\u2009=\u2009i and O\u2009=\u2009o at a trial. Since the system $${\\mathsf{E}}$$ is inaccessible by us, we consider the set of all the possible classical-quantum states that can occur at the end of the trial. This set is defined to be the quantum model $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$ for the trial. We characterize the unpredictability of an output c given both an input i and the quantum side information in $${\\mathsf{E}}$$ by the sandwiched R\u00e9nyi power $$R_{\\alpha_{\\text{q}}}\\left({\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}(i,o)\\left|\\right.{\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}(i)\\right)$$ expressed as\n\n$${\\rm{Tr}}\\left(\\left({\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}{(i)}^{-\\beta_{\\text{q}}\/2\\alpha_{\\text{q}}}{\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}(i,o){\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}{(i)}^{-\\beta_{\\text{q}}\/2\\alpha_{\\text{q}}}\\right)^{\\alpha_{\\text{q}}}\\right),$$\n(4)\n\nwhere \u03b2q\u2009>\u20090 is a free parameter, \u03b1q\u2009=\u20091\u2009+\u2009\u03b2q, and $${\\rho}_{\\mathsf{E}}$$(i)\u2009=\u2009\u2211o$${\\rho}_{\\mathsf{E}}$$(i,\u2009o). To certify randomness in the output O conditional on the input I\u00a0and on the quantum side information in $${\\mathsf{E}}$$, we consider a class of non-negative functions Fq:\u2009(i,\u2009o)\u2009Fq(i,\u2009o), called QEFs for the quantum trial model $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$. A QEF with a positive power \u03b2q is a non-negative function Fq:\u2009(i,\u2009o)\u2009Fq(i,\u2009o) which satisfies the QEF inequality\n\n$$\\sum_{i,o}{F}_{\\text{q}}(i,o)R_{\\alpha_{\\text{q}}}\\left(\\right.{\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}(i,o)\\left|\\right.{\\rho }_{{\\mathsf{E}}}(i)\\left)\\right.\\le 1$$\n(5)\n\nat all states $${\\rho}_{IO\\,{\\mathsf{E}}}$$ in the quantum trial model $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$. We have two remarks on the constructions of the quantum trial model and the corresponding QEFs as follows: First, when Eve\u2019s quantum side information about the state is classically correlated with Eve\u2019s partial knowledge of the input and measurement at a trial, the quantum trial model will become the convex closure of the model $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$ as introduced above. Second, according to Property 2 of ref. 28, a QEF with power \u03b2q for the model $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$ is also a QEF with the same power for the convex closure of $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$. In view of the above two remarks, quantum probability estimation automatically handles the classical correlation between Eve\u2019s quantum side information about the state and Eve\u2019s partial knowledge of the input and measurement at a trial.\n\nThe number of near-uniform random bits extractable from the outputs On given the inputs In\u00a0and the quantum side information carried by the system $${\\mathsf{E}}$$ of Eve is quantified by the quantum smooth conditional min-entropy $${H}_{\\min ,\\,\\text{q}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,\\text{Eve}\\,)$$21. Here, the smoothness error \u03f5s measures the purified distance between the actual state and an ideal state of In, On and $${\\mathsf{E}}$$ (see Sect. IV of ref. 28). Suppose that each trial of an experiment is characterized by the quantum model $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$. Denote the QEF with power \u03b2q at the k\u2019th trial by Fq,k, which is a function of Ik and Ok, and let the variable Tq,n be the product of QEFs up to the n\u2019th trial, that is, $${T}_{{\\text{q}},n}=\\mathop{\\prod }\\nolimits_{k = 1}^{n}{F}_{{\\text{q}},k}$$. In practice, the input at a trial is independent of the outputs of the previous trials given the quantum side information in $${\\mathsf{E}}$$ and the inputs of the previous trials. Under this conditional-independence condition, quantum probability estimation can certify randomness with respect to quantum side information according to the following theorem:\n\nTheorem 2 (Theorem 3 of ref. 28): Let 1\u2265\u03ba,\u2009\u03f5s,\u2009p\u2009>\u20090. Define \u03a6 to be the event that $${T}_{{\\text{q}},n}\\ge 1\/\\left(\\right.{p}^{\\beta_{\\text{q}}}({\\epsilon }_{s}^{2}\/2)\\left)\\right.$$. For each classical-quantum state $${\\rho }_{{{\\bf{I}}}_{n}{{\\bf{O}}}_{n}{\\mathsf{E}}}$$, either the probability of the event \u03a6 is less than \u03ba or the quantum smooth conditional min-entropy, when the event \u03a6 happens, satisfies\n\n$${H}_{\\min ,\\,{\\text{q}}\\,}^{{\\epsilon }_{s}}({{\\bf{O}}}_{n}| {{\\bf{I}}}_{n},\\,{\\text{Eve}}\\,,\\Phi)\\ge -{\\mathrm{log}\\,}_{2}(p)+\\frac{1+\\beta_{\\text{q}}}{\\beta_{\\text{q}}\\,}{\\mathrm{log}\\,}_{2}(\\kappa).$$\n(6)\n\nThe event \u03a6 can be interpreted as the event that the experiment succeeds. When the experiment succeeds, we compose the quantum smooth conditional min-entropy bound in Eq. (6) with a quantum-proof strong extractor of error \u03f5x (in trace distance), in order to obtain random bits which are within soundness error (in trace distance) \u03f5\u2009=\u2009\u03f5s\u2009+\u2009\u03f5x from uniform in the presence of quantum side information. See Sect. V of ref. 28 for the details of the end-to-end randomness generation. Note that an extractor is quantum-proof if it works in the presence of quantum side information. As the TMPS extractor29,36 is a quantum-proof strong extractor37, we use this extractor for randomness extraction. The way of running the TMPS extractor for our case is the same as for the case of device-independent randomness generation with respect to quantum side information studied in refs. 15,27,28.\n\nConstructions of PEFs and QEFs with adversarial imperfections\n\nBoth probability estimation and quantum probability estimation are general frameworks for certifying randomness; however, their implementations are case-dependent as both the classical and quantum models for a trial depend on the case of interest. For the case of device-independent randomness generation, both frameworks have been implemented, see refs. 15,25,26,27,28. In this work we would like to apply probability estimation and quantum probability estimation for randomness generation with partially characterized quantum devices. For this, we need to \u00a0first construct the classical model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ and the quantum model $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$ for an experimental trial in the scenario of our interest, and then construct the corresponding PEFs and QEFs. Below we provide an overview of our constructions. Details are presented in Supplementary Notes\u00a01 and 2.\n\nTo construct the models $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ and $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$ for the scenario of our interest, we observe that although the measurements along the X-basis and Z-basis are difficult to be precisely characterized, both of them are block-diagonal with respect to various photon-number subspaces. Therefore, the model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ (or $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$) can be expressed as a convex combination (or a direct sum) of sub-models $${{\\mathcal{C}}}_{j}$$ (or $${{\\mathcal{Q}}}_{j}$$), where the sub-models $${{\\mathcal{C}}}_{j}$$ and $${{\\mathcal{Q}}}_{j}$$ are the classical and quantum models conditional on the number of photons j emitted from the source. So, we need only to construct the sub-models $${{\\mathcal{C}}}_{j}$$ and $${{\\mathcal{Q}}}_{j}$$ individually, which is discussed in the next two paragraphs.\n\nTo construct the sub-models $${{\\mathcal{C}}}_{1}$$ and $${{\\mathcal{Q}}}_{1}$$ when a single photon is emitted (i.e., j\u2009=\u20091), we take into account of the bounds on the adversarial misalignment and on the adversarial imbalance between the X-basis and Z-basis, and consider all the possible single-photon states which may be correlated with the side information of Eve. We assume that the measurements in the single-photon subspace are projective, although these measurements are not precisely characterized. So, the misalignment and imbalance are sufficient for characterizing these imperfect measurements. The above assumption can be relaxed to some degree as explained in Supplementary Notes\u00a01 and 2. When Eve can manipulate the misalignment or imbalance depending on the auxiliary degrees of freedom of the single photon such as spatial mode, frequency or polarization, we need to represent the single-photon state and the associated measurement operators in a Hilbert space describing not only the time-bin degree of freedom for information encoding but also the auxiliary degrees of freedom manipulable by Eve. In this case, we take advantage of the assumption that the coherent superposition of states for an auxiliary degree of freedom manipulable by Eve does not play a role throughout the measurement process. (Such assumption has been exploited for verifying entanglement38 and further for proving the security of quantum key distribution39 in the presence of side channels that can induce detection-efficiency mismatch.) This assumption can be justified if in the setup for time-bin measurements there is no quantum interference between any pair of states for the auxiliary degree of freedom manipulable by Eve (which is true in practice as we think). In addition, the above assumption is consistent with the assumption specified in the Results section that by manipulations Eve can access classical side information but not quantum side information about the measurement performed. Therefore, each measurement operator on a single photon is block-diagonal with respect to various states for the auxiliary degrees of freedom, where each block is described by a qubit measurement. As a consequence, for constructing the sub-models $${{\\mathcal{C}}}_{1}$$ and $${{\\mathcal{Q}}}_{1}$$ the single-photon state and\u00a0the associated measurement operators can be treated without loss of generality as living in a two-dimensional Hilbert space, even in the general case where Eve\u2019s manipulations can depend on the auxiliary degrees of freedom of the single photon. We note that for security analysis in the above general case, the bounds on the misalignment and on the imbalance between the X-basis and Z-basis should be satisfied by the measurement operators in each two-dimensional Hilbert space obtained by projecting onto each particular state for the auxiliary degrees of freedom manipulable by Eve.\n\nOn the other hand, when multiple photons are emitted (i.e., j\u2009>\u20091) we construct the sub-models $${{\\mathcal{C}}}_{j}$$ and $${{\\mathcal{Q}}}_{j}$$ in a device-independent way (i.e., without using any information about the multiphoton state prepared or measurements performed). By the device-independent constructions of sub-models $${{\\mathcal{C}}}_{j}$$ and $${{\\mathcal{Q}}}_{j}$$ with j\u2009>\u20091, we pessimistically allow Eve\u2019s classical or quantum side information to be perfectly correlated with the trial output O given the trial input I and j\u2009>\u20091. Consequently, we choose to not certify the randomness contributed by the multiphoton events, and so our security analysis is robust against photon-number splitting attacks. We emphasize that even with the device-independent constructions of sub-models $${{\\mathcal{C}}}_{j}$$ and $${{\\mathcal{Q}}}_{j}$$ with j\u2009>\u20091, the resulting models $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ and $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$ still behave well for certifying randomness as the probability of emitting a single photon at each trial is assumed to be bounded from below no matter how Eve manipulates the photon-number distribution.\n\nOnce the classical model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ and the quantum model $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$ are constructed, we can construct the corresponding PEFs and QEFs. Since the classical model (or the quantum model) for each trial is the identical $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ (or $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$), we can use the same PEF Fc(I,\u2009O) (or the same QEF Fq(I,\u2009O)) for each trial. According to Theorem 1 (or Theorem 2), the amount of classical (or quantum) \u03f5s-smooth min-entropy in the outputs On certifiable conditionally on the inputs In and on\u00a0the side information E (or $${\\mathsf{E}}$$) is determined by the product $$\\mathop{\\prod }\\nolimits_{k = 1}^{n}{F}_{\\text{c}}({I}_{k},{O}_{k})$$ (or $$\\mathop{\\prod }\\nolimits_{k = 1}^{n}{F}_{\\text{q}}({I}_{k},{O}_{k})$$). Before the experiment we need to choose a PEF (or a QEF) such that the expected amount of certifiable classical (or quantum) \u03f5s-smooth min-entropy is as large as possible. At the same time, a PEF (or a QEF) satisfies a set of linear constraints imposed by each member of the model $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ (or $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$). Therefore, we can formulate the constructions of PEFs and QEFs as constrained optimization problems. To solve these optimization problems, we provide effective outer-approximations of the models $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ and $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$. We note that the outer-approximations of $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ and $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$ provided by us include the convex closures of $${\\mathcal{C}}$$ and $${\\mathcal{Q}}$$, respectively. Therefore, in view of the remarks below Eqs. (1) and (5), the constructed PEFs and QEFs can certify randomness even when Eve\u2019s side information about the state is classically correlated with Eve\u2019s partial knowledge of the input and measurement at a trial.\n\nReporting summary\n\nFurther information on research design is available in the\u00a0Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article.\n\nData availability\n\nThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.\n\nCode availability\n\nThe code that produces the results presented in this work is available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.\n\nReferences\n\n1. Ac\u00edn, A. & Masanes, L. Certified randomness in quantum physics. Nature 540, 213\u2013219 (2016).\n\n2. Ma, X., Yuan, X., Cao, Z., Qi, B. & Zhang, Z. Quantum random number generation. npj Quantum Inf. 2, 16021 (2016).\n\n3. Herrero-Collantes, M. & Garcia-Escartin, J. C. Quantum random number generators. Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015004 (2017).\n\n4. Colbeck, R. Quantum and Relativistic Protocols for Secure Multi-Party Computation. PhD thesis. Trinity College, University of Cambridge (2006).\n\n5. Colbeck, R. & Kent, A. Private randomness expansion with untrusted devices. J. Phys. A 44, 095305 (2011).\n\n6. Bell, J. S. On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox. Physics 1, 195\u2013200 (1964).\n\n7. Hensen, B. et al. Loophole-free Bell inequality violation using electron spins separated by 1.3 kilometres. Nature 526, 682\u2013686 (2015).\n\n8. Shalm, L. K. et al. Strong loophole-free test of local realism. Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 250402 (2015).\n\n9. Giustina, M. et al. Significant-loophole-free test of Bell\u2019s theorem with entangled photons. Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 250401 (2015).\n\n10. Rosenfeld, W. et al. Event-ready Bell test using entangled atoms simultaneously closing detection and locality loopholes. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 010402 (2017).\n\n11. Li, M.-H. et al. Test of local realism into the past without detection and locality loopholes. Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 080404 (2018).\n\n12. Pironio, S. et al. Random numbers certified by Bellas theorem. Nature 464, 1021\u20131024 (2010).\n\n13. Bierhorst, P. et al. Experimentally generated random numbers certified by the impossibility of superluminal signaling. Nature 556, 223\u2013226 (2018).\n\n14. Liu, Y. et al. Device-independent quantum random-number generation. Nature 562, 548\u2013551 (2018).\n\n15. Zhang, Y. et al. Experimental low-latency device-independent quantum randomness. Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 010505 (2020).\n\n16. Ekert, A. K. Quantum cryptography based on Bell\u2019s theorem. Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 661\u2013663 (1991).\n\n17. Bennett, C. H., Brassard, G. & Mermin, N. D. Quantum cryptography without Bell\u2019s theorem. Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 557\u2013559 (1992).\n\n18. Scarani, V. et al. The security of practical quantum key distribution. Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1301\u20131350 (2009).\n\n19. Vallone, G., Marangon, D. G., Tomasin, M. & Villoresi, P. Quantum randomness certified by the uncertainty principle. Phys. Rev. A 90, 052327 (2014).\n\n20. Cao, Z., Zhou, H., Yuan, X. & Ma, X. Source-independent quantum random number generation. Phys. Rev. X 6, 011020 (2016).\n\n21. K\u00f6nig, R., Renner, R. & Schaffner, C. The operational meaning of min- and max-entropy. IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 55, 4337\u20134347 (2009).\n\n22. Lvovsky, A. I., Sanders, B. C. & Tittel, W. Optical quantum memory. Nat. Photon. 3, 706\u2013714 (2009).\n\n23. Heshami, K. et al. Quantum memories: emerging applications and recent advances. J. Mod. Opt. 63, 2005\u20132028 (2016).\n\n24. Ekert, A. & Renner, R. The ultimate physical limits of privacy. Nature 507, 443\u2013447 (2014).\n\n25. Knill, E., Zhang, Y. & Bierhorst, P. Generation of quantum randomness by probability estimation with classical side information. Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 033465 (2020).\n\n26. Zhang, Y., Knill, E. & Bierhorst, P. Certifying quantum randomness by probability estimation. Phys. Rev. A 98, 040304(R) (2018).\n\n27. Knill, E., Zhang, Y. & Fu, H. Quantum probability estimation for randomness with quantum side information. Preprint at arXiv 1806.04553 (2018).\n\n28. Zhang, Y., Fu, H. & Knill, E. Efficient randomness certification by quantum probability estimation. Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 013016 (2020).\n\n29. Mauerer, W., Portmann, C.& Scholz, V. B. A modular framework for randomness extraction based on Trevisan\u2019s construction. Preprint at arXiv 1212.0520 (2012).\n\n30. Gisin, N. & Thew, R. Quantum communication. Nat. Photon. 1, 165\u2013171 (2007).\n\n31. Rarity, J. G., Owens, P. C. M. & Tapster, P. R. Quantum random-number generation and key sharing. J. Mod. Opt. 41, 2435\u20132444 (1994).\n\n32. Chaturvedi, A. & Banik, M. Measurement-device-independent randomness from local entangled states. Europhys. Lett. 112, 30003 (2015).\n\n33. Cao, Z., Zhou, H. & Ma, X. Loss-tolerant measurement-device-independent quantum random number generation. New J. Phys. 17, 125011 (2015).\n\n34. Marangon, D. G., Vallone, G. & Villoresi, P. Source-device-independent ultra-fast quantum random number generation. Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 060503 (2017).\n\n35. Honjo, T., Inoue, K. & Takahashi, H. Differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution experiment with a planar light-wave circuit Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Opt. Lett. 29, 2797\u20132799 (2004).\n\n36. Trevisan, L. Extractors and pseudorandom generators. J. ACM 48, 860\u2013879 (2001).\n\n37. De, A., Portmann, C., Vidick, T. & Renner, R. Trevisan\u2019s extractor in the presence of quantum side information. SIAM J. Comput 41, 915\u2013940 (2012).\n\n38. Zhang, Y. & L\u00fctkenhaus, N. Entanglement verification with detection-efficiency mismatch. Phys. Rev. A 95, 042319 (2017).\n\n39. Zhang, Y., Coles, P. J., Winick, A., Lin, J. & L\u00fctkenhaus, N. Security proof of practical quantum key distribution with detection-efficiency mismatch. Phys. Rev. Res. 3, 013076 (2021). https:\/\/journals.aps.org\/prresearch\/abstract\/10.1103\/PhysRevResearch.3.013076.\n\nAcknowledgements\n\nWe thank Emanuel Knill for stimulating discussions and Ivan Iakoupov for help with running the extractor. This work includes contributions of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which are not subject to U.S. copyright.\n\nAuthor information\n\nAuthors\n\nContributions\n\nY.Z. and H.P.L. contributed equally to this work. Y.Z., H.T., H.P.L., and W.J.M. conceived the original concept and proposed the experiment, which was carried out by H.P.L. together with T.I. and T.H. Y.Z. developed the security-analysis method and conducted the data analysis. The randomness extraction was preformed by Y.Z. and A.M. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the writing of the paper.\n\nCorresponding authors\n\nCorrespondence to Yanbao Zhang or Hsin-Pin Lo.\n\nEthics declarations\n\nCompeting interests\n\nThe authors declare no competing interests.\n\nPeer review informationNature Communications thanks Juan Carlos Garc\u00eda-Escart\u00edn and Xiongfeng Ma for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available.\n\nPublisher\u2019s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.\n\nRights and permissions\n\nReprints and Permissions\n\nZhang, Y., Lo, HP., Mink, A. et al. A simple low-latency real-time certifiable quantum random number generator. Nat Commun 12, 1056 (2021). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-021-21069-8\n\n\u2022 Accepted:\n\n\u2022 Published:\n\n\u2022 DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-021-21069-8","date":"2022-06-26 05:45:18","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 2, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 0, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.7463070154190063, \"perplexity\": 987.7636021294521}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": false, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2022-27\/segments\/1656103037089.4\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20220626040948-20220626070948-00285.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
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Massage Therapy Franchise Launches Redesigned Web Site
elements therapeutic massage's new site features opt-in e-mail campaign and new studio locator
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. – Sept. 11, 2009 – elements therapeutic massage has announced the launch of its redesigned web site, http://www.touchofelements.com. The site features an opt-in e-mail marketing campaign granting first-time elements' clients an immediate discount and a redesigned studio-locator function making finding relief through massage even easier.
Built by Fusionbox, an awarding-winning Denver Web development company, the new web site was custom developed to create a comprehensive Web 2.0 experience while focusing on usability and search engine optimization (SEO). The site is now equipped with video, sharing features and easy-to-navigate functions aimed to handle increased site traffic and assist with expanding consumer and franchise sales.
"As more Americans are turning to therapeutic massage for pain and stress relief," said Jeff Jervik, president and CEO of Fitness Together Holdings, Inc., parent company for elements therapeutic massage, "elements strives to lead the industry by providing quality massage therapy for clients and a trusted business model for franchise owners. Part of that strategy includes an industry-leading web site serving as a convenient portal for clients, prospective franchise owners and other audiences to learn about and interact with elements through easy-to-navigate functions and constant company news updates."
The national $10 discount program is a new opt-in e-mail marketing tool designed to attract first-time clients to participating elements studios across the country. Users can purchase gift cards online, and the new studio locator tool helps make finding nearby elements locations quick and easy. The site also features links to company history, company news, descriptions of different massage techniques, the many benefits of therapeutic massage and information about domestic franchise opportunities.
Interactive agency Fusionbox has helped companies create brand awareness, increase sales and optimize operations through Web site development and search engine optimization since 2001.
"elements approached us with the goal of driving traffic to the site and engaging clients in both the consumer and franchise sales areas," said Ivy Hastings, account director with Fusionbox. "Our goal in partnering with elements was to create a site with modern design and functionality, but more importantly to use the site as a tool to deliver a direct and measurable financial impact by improving search engine optimization, lead generation, and sales."
About elements therapeutic massage, inc.:
elements therapeutic massage, http://www.touchofelements.com, is headquartered in Highlands Ranch, Colo., and owned by Fitness Together Holdings, Inc. The parent company oversees Fitness Together Franchise Corporation, a one-on-one personal training fitness franchise that began franchising in 1996, and elements therapeutic massage, a massage therapy franchise that began franchising in 2006. Today, the combined franchise network has sold hundreds of franchises across the United States, Costa Rica, Israel, Ireland, and Canada.
Franchise Information:
elements therapeutic massage is actively selling franchises. If you are interested in changing your life and the lives of others, please visit http://corp.touchofelements.com/franchise/ or call 877.663.0880 ext. 24 for more information about franchise opportunities.
All Studios
Types Of Massage 2 F f 1
Add-ons 2 I i 1 | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 8,946 |
Иван Попов е български преводач и писател, автор на научна фантастика.
Биография
Роден е на 28 май 1970 г. в София. Завършил е физика в СУ "Св. Климент Охридски" през 1995 г. Работил е три години в Института за космически изследвания към БАН. След това работи като преводач и писател на свободна практика.
Творчество
Иван Попов е автор на научна фантастика, предимно в поджанра киберпънк, преводач, есеист и футуролог. Превел е на български език произведения на Станислав Лем, Виктор Пелевин, Кирил Есков, Ник Бострьом, Ефим Островски, Андрей Лазарчук, Пьотр Льолик, Брус Стърлинг, Евгений Лукин, Михаил Успенски, Феликс Кривин.
Библиография
Цикли
Цикъл "Езиково инженерство"
Нашите марковски процеси (застрахователен трилър за младши научни сътрудници)
Хакери на човешките души (хуманитарен киберпънк)
Романи
Лутащи се мравки
Разкази
Когато богомилите бяха вирусописачи (исторически киберпънк в три действия)
История от подкрушието
За апостолската дейност на силовите групировки
Некои съображения за оня свят=== Статии и есета (публикувани в) ===
Информационното общество
Новите дрехи на икономиката
Проблеми с разума
"Скачащите Исусовци" и начините за борба с тях
Перспективи пред корпоративната психоанализа
Политикономия на информационната индустрия
Интерфейсът като механизъм на властта
Copyleft (c): Пирати на XXI век
Парадокси на "деловата" икономика
Компютър <=> бюрокрация?
Колективните халюцинации
Към революция на халюцинираните класи
Хакери на човешките души (литературоедски вариант)
Хакери на човешките души (отвлечено-теоретичен вариант)
Историята – на тезгяха!
Страната на абсурда
Задънената улица на книжния ни пазар
Човекът – експортен продукт номер едно
България – неглобалното село
Кратка история на българския рекет
Хайка за гъби
...За ограничен брой лица
Исус, Мохамед и Бил Гейтс: начин на употреба
Статии и есета (публикувани в списание ТЕМА и на други места)
Връзките са към оригиналите, изпратени директно от автора. Редакторите на списанията може да са ги редактирали за да се съберат в определен обем или с друга цел.
Зидаромазачите на Вавилон (PDF вариант, публикуван в ТЕМА; може да има разлики с оригинала)
В търсене на бъдещия човек (януарска концепция с елементи на априлска линия) (PDF вариант, публикуван в Тера фантастика)
Капитализмът е утопизъм
Как да източим субекта
Принципът SNAFU
Кой ще викне "Царят е кух"?
Схизматрицата
Върху понятието за реалност (Консерватизъм и хуманитарни технологии) (Постмодерната бариера през очите на ГОЛЕМ XIV)
Плодовете на прогреса (вариант – Джибрясалите плодове на прогреса)
Възхвална ода за консуматора (потребителите – новите крепостни селяни?)(консуматорът като крепостен селянин) (политическа икономия с главата надолу)
Перманентна революция на съзнанието
Периферията отвръща на удара
Паркинсънова евроинтеграция
Европейски парашутисти (версия – Европарашутисти и европодводничари)
Образователен контравопъл
Обикновен националсоциализъм
Психотехника и идеологическо инженерство (Психотехника и идеология)
Икономика на незнанието
Фаталният сателит
Морал с разделящи се бойни глави
Свободата на словото е осъзната автоцензура
Интелектуалски неволи
Идеологическа космонавтика
Интерфейси в социалната кибернетика (компресирани бележки)
Релационен подход към икономиката (януарска линия)
Алфа и омега
Проблеми с етиката
"Хюго" за Enron
Перспективи пред езиковото инженерство. По пътя към езиково инженерство (декемврийски тезиси)
Отдел за връзки с действителността
Копирайтът и борбата срещу Адам Смит
Бъдещето идва с взлом (вариант – Цивилизационни кризи)
Статии и есета (публикувани в КЕФ)
Киберпънкът – висша форма на реализъм
Прогрес чрез даунгрейд
Системи / матрици (встъпителни бележки на безотговорния редактор)
Икономика на бъдещето (некои съображения на редактора)
Роботи (и други изкуствени интелекти)
Войните в киберпънка (и изобщо в близкото бъдеще)
Иновации (и способите за тяхното производство)
Психиката на бъдещето (за идването на новия човек на мястото на неподходящия стар)
За необходимостта от разгром на хуманизма (от позиция на трансхуманизма)
Иновационна система и иновационна антисистема
История на телевизионните вируси
Бъдещето идва с взлом (тезиси за "Булгакон-2003")
Бъдещето идва с взлом – II (бележки за Еврокон – 2004)
Една инжекция трудолюбие
Всестранно и хормонично развитие
Статии и есета (публикувани в ЦИГС)
Перестройка: Епизод II
Декрет за отмяна на обществото
Информационната икономика
Системен анализ на световната икономика
Един вариант за "Пазарана държава" (Market State)
16 футурологии
Вермахтът на науката
Към абсолютно изкуствено общество
Външни препратки
Архив на Подкрушието и други произведения на Иван Попов
Център за изследване на глобални системи (страницата с публикации на Иван Попов)
Клуб "Иван Ефремов" (страницата с публикации на Иван Попов)
КЕФ – Киберпънк, евристика, футурология (архиви: archive.org: 1, 2, 3)
Соционика. Базови понятия и резултати. (архиви: archive.org: 1, 2)
Антипроектна футурология (Граници на развитието) (архиви: archive.org: 1, 2) – нова версия (декември 2006 – април 2007, декември 2007 – февруари 2008)
Български писатели фантасти
Български есеисти
Български преводачи | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 9,184 |
Prugovac (Servisch: ) is een plaats in de Servische gemeente Aleksinac. De plaats telt 318 inwoners (2002).
Plaats in Servië | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} | 7,658 |
Video Slam Artists (2010)
Damali Abrams / Nobutaka Aozaki / Chris Bors / Tszz Man Chan / Jay Critchley / Robert Ladislas Derr / Murray Dwertman / Willum Geerts / Kanene Holder / Andrea Juan / Dana Kash / Jae Kyung Kim / Mayumi Komuro / Ellen Lake / Sujin Lee / Jeannette Louie / Mayumi Nakazaki / Shani Peters / Elizabeth Riley / Linda Stein / Bradly Dever Treadaway / Christopher Udemezue / Anthony Cannon Walker / Veronica Winters / Ina Wudtke
Damali Abrams
Walking with Linda Montano, 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 03'49"
damali abrams is a Guyanese-American video-performance artist who lives and works in New York City. She received her BA at New York University and her MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. A 2009-10 A.I.R. fellowship recipient, abrams is currently working on a fictional television network, Self-Help TV. In the ongoing video-performance project, she uses her own body and personal history as a point of departure. Self-Help TV employs a range of televisual formats, including comedy, drama, and reality to examine issues of self-improvement. It has been viewed in New York, Philadelphia, Vermont, New Mexico, and Miami. Mainstream self-help tends to ignore how factors such as race, class, and gender might affect one's overall well-being. As a woman of color, abrams gives visibility to people who are rarely represented. In Walking with Linda Montano, abrams walks with Linda Montano, a seminal performance artist, and exchanges various ideas about art and life.
Nobutaka Aozaki
Mouse, 2008, single-channel, color, sound, 04'49"
In Beat Down, a boxing nun puppet controlled by the artist punches the artist continuously in the face. The puppet is self-punishing as well as a representative of the outside world. The artist's reaction to the punches is one of indifference—a numbness related to the repetition of being beaten. The video references Catholicism's tradition of self-punishment, guilty consciousness, and the religious definition of sin. The sound effects are from Bruce Lee's classic kung-fu movie Enter the Dragon.
Chris Bors (b. Ithaca, NY) lives and works in Harlem, New York City. He received his MFA from School of Visual Arts and studied at Rhode Island School of Design. He employs a variety of media, including video, painting, and photography. His art is both autobiographical and appropriates imagery found in popular culture, virtual spaces, and hardcore punk and metal music. He explores the dysfunctional and schizophrenic identity that results from a contemporary culture preoccupied by TV and video games, as well as the specific instances of this mass-media culture such as the hyperbolic acting of professional wrestling. His art has been exhibited at PS1 MoMA, White Columns, Envoy Enterprises, Heist Gallery, Sixtyseven, and Ten in One Gallery in New York; Casino Luxembourg in Luxembourg; Bahnwärterhaus in Esslingen, Germany; Bongout in Berlin; and at the Videoex Festival in Zurich. His work has been reviewed and featured in The New York Times, Vogue Italia, Time Out New York, Artnet.com, K48, zingmagazine and Old News.
Chris Bors
Beat Down, 1998, single-channel, color, sound, 02'50"
Tsz Man Chan
The Circle– Railway Roundhouse, Berlin, 5 – 6 June 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 04'44"
The Circle– Railway Roundhouse, Berlin, 5 – 6 June 2009 is a collaboration with artist
Ivanov and composer James Hesford. During a 24-hour, non-stop working session, a
new circle was created as a painting and a musical composition.
Artist's Statement: The Circle was suspended in the middle of the Roundhouse with 12 tuned up nylon strings attached to the top gallery supported by 24 columns. The space was like a dream and the working process was like being in a dream. A stage for an opera. Unreal. High. Around. Black and white on color photographs rendered by dust and abandonment. Big silent space with only sounds of passing-by trains and airplanes flying over. Enclosed into the circle for 24 hours, into the red bath of paint and shouting into the dome high above. Light was moving and painting was moving with it. Night was dark and cold and for the first time painting was built in the dark as after many hours inside the circle it wasn't important to see but to move and to wait for the sun to rise and after move again in a day light. From inside the circle, only the dome high above could be seen with crosses of steel structure and graffiti on the broken glass of the skylight. Trains and planes and silence at night and birds in the morning and trains and planes again and red enclosure growing around perhaps affected by changes of sounds and its rhythms. Red started as a revolt against the dust and abandonment, but later the process fixed on graffiti, steel structure and sunlight movement. Music by James Hesford: The Berlin Composition was based on the event The Circle, which took place in June 2009 in an abandoned railway roundhouse in East Berlin.
Tsz Man Chan was born in Hong Kong and belongs to the last generation of British colonial education in Hong Kong. After formal and informal fine art training, the artist had actively exhibited in Hong Kong, Macau and cities of China as a lead member of Hong Kong non-profit art organization Project 226, which passionately promoted art through exhibitions, performances, and artist exchange programs in Hong Kong and China. The intensive period of work evoked the further education to improve the art management skills. Gradually she moved from Hong Kong to London. Her artwork was developing in London while she was finishing the Master degree in Art Management. Currently, besides making art, she is working on a project LAND ART papa westray in Papa Westray – one of the most remote island of Orkney Archipelago, Scotland.
Jay Critchley
Global Yawning for a Small Planet, 2008, single-channel, color, sound, 03'00"
Yawning increases alertness, reduces stress, and enhances personal, community and planetary health. We yawn to cool the brain; we act to cool the Earth. The personal is planetary. What is our "exhausted" planet telling us? Jay Chritchley's humorous video Global Yawning for a Small Planet portrays people yawning. The human face—its beauty, character, personality, form, color—has intrigued artists for millennia; these artists have captured its moods and distinguished its features. Yet yawning has received scant attention and examination. It is an essential human activity that crosses cultural and geographic borders, and can be liberating, re-energizing and therapeutic. Additionally, the video critiques current attempts to address global warming. It suggests that mainstream environmental organizations (Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife federation, etc) have become mouthpieces for the corporate "green" agendas, giving citizens a false sense that they are doing their part by supporting them. They have actually diluted and sabotaged the radical actions necessary to confront climate change. They have received large amounts of money and have actually opposed more dramatic action, instead playing the Congressional lobby game. Global Yawning was initiated at the Boston Center for the Arts Mills Gallery in February 2008, with participants from Provincetown, Boston, Rhode Island, New York City and Washington, DC. Global Yawning was finished and featured at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics' Encuentro in Bogota, Columbia in 2009.
Jay Critchley is based in Provincetown. His visual, conceptual and performance work and environmental activism have traversed the globe, including Japan, Holland, Germany, England, Argentina and Columbia. He founded Theater in the Ground in his backyard septic tank, and the patriotic Old Glory Condoms. He won an HBO award for Toilet Treatments, and produced a CD, Big Twig Tunnel Tapes – Boston's Big Dig Sings, recorded 125 feet below Boston. He has had residencies at Harvard University, AS220 in Rhode Island, and Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center in New York. He received a Special Citation form the Boston Society of Architects for Martucket Eyeland Resort & Theme Park.
Robert Ladislas Derr
Ideology, 2000, single-channel, color, sound, 09'00"
Ideology recontextualizes the modernist myth of the heroic artist's masculinity. The artist has taken Jackson Pollocks's actions and angst, and incorporated them utilizing the "Pollockian Performative" to subvert the process of action painting and the myths surrounding it. The video documents Derr being assaulted by white paint balls. While the artist, painted in red, stands still against a wall, bearing white paint balls thrown to his face, the popped white balls spread white color on his face and the wall. The video concludes when the whole scene turns into white. It takes performance beyond the elementary existential exercise, à Pollock, to expand upon the act of painting and the act of making art.
Robert Ladislas Derr has exhibited and performed worldwide at such venues as the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany, LIVE Performance Art Biennale, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH, Athens Video Art Festival, Athens, Greece, Photographic Resource Center, Boston, MA, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, Irish Film Institute, Dublin, Ireland, and Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, NY, to name a few. It can be said that he puts himself literally in the center of a barrage of questions about life and making art. Derr received an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Murray Dwertman
Waterfall Capture, 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 04'48"
Waterfall Capture starts with a small waterfall—one that could easily go unnoticed. A Nylon bag is used as a water-capturing device and installed across the waterfall. The insignificant waterfall is the genesis of a struggle, an encounter, or a sort of happening. Uncontrollable elements play an unexpected role, breathing character into the waterfall and creating tension around an unknown result.
Dwertman's work entails venturing into America's backwoods and using what is available at a chosen site along with some basic materials, tools, or props. He then documents the process, action, and resulting interventions. Waterfall Capture is one of several site-specific outdoor installations and videos that playfully evoke deep-rooted attractions and primal engagements with the natural landscape, conceived of and approached as both a physical resource and an actively kinetic force. Pitted against notions of estrangement in a struggle for relationship, the artist plays as both performer and engineer engaging the subject and re-imagining roles, power, and the character of thing itself.
Murray Dwertman received an MFA from Pratt Institute and BA from the University of Kentucky. He lives and works in Brooklyn, and spends much time for working on projects and installations in the mountains of the northeast. His work has been exhibited at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY; New York Center For Arts and Media Studies, NY; Behringer- Crawford Museum, KY; Denise Bibro Platform, NY; Tower 49, NY; and the ISE Cultural Foundation, NY; the Downtown Arts Center, Lexington, KY; and in Escape From New York at Fabricolor Building, Patterson, NJ.
Willum Geerts
Sorry[Speech], 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 09'43"
Willum Geerts' multidisciplinary art is based on the absurdity, chaos and tragedy of our everyday life. Today's excessive and superficial consumer culture sets certain conventions, clichés, and rules that impact our behavior and identity. The artist sees that our materialistic and affluent entertainment culture produces alienation among individuals. In his opinion we are all lonesome. By using the artistic approaches of remix and postproduction, Greets creates often humorous and ironic videos, aiming to capture structural distortion and absurdity of our consumer society and life. In the video Sorry [Speech] , Geerts excerpts segments in which the former US president George W. Bush says "sorry" in his Farewell Address to the Nation in January 2009.
Sharing his creative time between Amsterdam and New York, Dutch multidisciplinary artist Willum Geerts exhibits and performs his art in The Netherlands and around the world on a regular basis. After his graduation in Fine Arts (painting) from Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht in 1996, he has worked in the field of film and video, such as Dutch National Television. Geerts also has worked in theatre as a performer and a musician with his politically engaged absurdist music collective Salonpunk Orchestra "Human Alert," producing albums and touring Europe and the U.S. (SXSW), amongst other musical projects. He has received several grants from the Dutch Art Foundation and curated performances festivals for the Van Abbemuseum. He participated in Art Omi International Artist's Residency and will participate in the LMCC residency in 2010.
Kanene Holder
BKWT/Alice In Negroland Nightmare, 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 02'00"
Intended to promote and facilitates dialogues and an exchange of ideas, Kanene Holder's video deals with the incredible fact of racial discrimination still going on in the US in the 21st Century. In her video, Holder produces characters who are minorities, who process their internal conflicts and impediments in order to solve stereotypical ghetto-ism and redefine the reality once for all. Referencing her high-school experience (from 1993 to 1997), Holder criticizes the lies of media and the political status quo, and encourages the audience to overcome the societal injustices through self-determination. Fast flashing the stereotypical images for Black people—such as watermelon, KoolAid packets, Aunt Jemmimah, and Born In the USA flags—Holder is able to capture the emotionally frenzied state and the internal pain of what Jean Paul Sartre has termed "uneasy consciousness caught up in its own contradictions."
Kanene Holder is a Howard University alumna and holds a City College MsEd in Childhood Education. She is a recipient of 2007 Franklin Furnace Performance Art Fund, 2007 Urban Arts Initiative, and 2006 LMCC Grant. As a writer/actress, she is most noted for SITCHAASSDOWN, her one-woman theatrical experiment, which she calls "Shock and Awe with an Intellectual Aftertaste" due to its amalgamation of farce and sociopolitical truth, at Dixon Place for the NY International Fringe Festival 2005, The Schomburg, The African Burial Ground, Symphony Space and the Abrons Art Center as well as The Gatehouse at Harlem Stage. Active in the community, Holder is the Outreach Coordinator for the Hip Hop Odyssey Film Festival and currently teaches acting at Harlem Children Zone.
Andrea Juan
Methane, 2006, single-channel, color, sound, 08'50"
Methane is a part of a large work of projections, installations, and performances titled Antarctica Project, 2004–2008 that took place in Antarctica over four expeditions. The broader project entailed taking art to Antarctica and developing short-lived site-specific installations that serve as positive examples of peaceful co-presence with the existing environment. Once the exhibition came to an end, the biosphere was left just as it had been found. The only trace/work that remained was a series of video and photographic records with the recollections of the inhabitants, of which Methane is one. In particular, Methane explores the effects of climate change on the Antarctic Peninsula and was based upon the research of scientists from the Dirección Nacional del Antártico regarding the presence of methane gas and the disappearance of the Larsen Ice Shelf.
Andrea Juan works with photography, video and installations. She received the Guggenheim Fellowship, Canadian Research Grant and UNESCO Award among others. Her latest solo exhibitions were at Chelsea Art Museum, New York; Candiani Center, Venice, Italy; Greenburger Collection, New York; Tigre Art Museum, Buenos Aires; RAM Foundation, Rotterdam, Holland; Museum of Latin American Art, Buenos Aires; University of West of England, Bristol, UK; Vauxhall Centre, London; U.K.; Juttner Gallery, Vienna, Austria and Presse Papier Centre, Quebec, Canada. Publications include Polar South (2006), Antarctica Project (2006), and Getting Over (2004). Since 1990 she has exhibited extensively worldwide at venues including Ear to the Earth Festival, New York; the 2nd Moscow Biennale; the London Royal Academy, UK; the National Art Gallery of Seoul; and the International Biennial Rotterdam.
Dana Kash
The space between things as we felt them at the time and as we speak them now, 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 5'10"
Dana Kash is interested in using the material properties of video to compress and expand time and space. The space between things as we felt them at the time and as we speak them now, a title drawn from White Noise, is structured by splicing together short clips from her cell phone in an attempt to create experiences running parallel to each other, at the same time and in the same space as one another. Much of the footage is recorded in real time and in real spaces. However by flashing, rewinding, fast forwarding, pausing and stopping the images, the video exaggerates the spaces and constructs a location that only emerges from sliced and spliced time, providing a corporeal experience of strained feeling – strained in both senses of being tense and being run through a sieve.
Dana Kash is a multimedia artist working in Brooklyn. She is interested in distorted spatial perceptions, in real space and video space. Current works in progress include collaborative video and sculpture installations constructed out of as many TVs as possible. She received her BFA in painting from Cornell University in 2009.
Jae Kyung Kim
Sequences, 2010, single-channel, color, silent, 02'08"
Jae Kyung Kim's video, Sequences is a statement about the action of painting on walls. Kim documented through photographs the progress of painting on a large canvas, and re-arranged the photos so that viewers can experience her process of painting. Spontaneous brush movements are captured. Moments of erasing paints and dripping water show how she builds images in her painting. These images are colorful, moving, and rigorous. They are also combined with figures and abstractions. What finally results on a canvas is neither an actual thing nor a person. Every form is all mixed and melted together and becomes an abstract image of her painting.
Jae Kyung Kim is an interdisciplinary artist exploring various mediums including painting, drawing, performances, and installation. Kim was born in Korea and raised in Korea/China and came to the United States in 2004. She holds a BFA degree from Parsons The New School for Design and received Deans award and BFA scholarship during her study. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Mayumi Komuro
Lesson 0, 2008, single-channel, color, sound, 04'07"
Mayumi Komuro (b. Gunma, Japan) grew up mostly in Tokyo, lived in Aomori, Japan, and Düsseldorf, Germany, and moved to New York in 2002. She received BFA from Pratt Institute and MFA from Queens College. Working mostly video and installation, Mayumi has been showing her artwork in various galleries, events, as well as film festivals, such as Appalachian film festival and Migr@tion film festival. She received 2007 MFA grants from Joan Mitchell Foundation, and her piece was included in the grant recipients' group show at Cue Foundation in 2008. Mayumi currently lives and works in NY.
Using video and installation, Komuro's projects have been mysteriously suggestive but always accessible. Most of her projects are initiated in situations with which she can identify, but how they turn out are not exactly the same as what they were in the reality. No matter how far away imagination goes from the reality, as long as it does not lose the sense of the "real" for the artist, metaphysically or metaphorically, the viewer could find the artist's inner view. Just like all the fictions and fantasies are reflections of our fear and desire, her works mirror her state of mind at the time.
For Jamaica Flux 2010, Komuro contributes a short video Lesson 0. It is about following one's desire and taking risk—not a small one but life-or-death size risk. Mysteriously open-ended, Lesson 0 might be shocking but strangely humorous. Humor is a core element of her work, because it is easy to share, and it is universal. Mark Twain once said, "The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow." Real humor could come from something not cheerful but rather negative, and it is a humor that saves us from unbearable situations and keeps us going forward. Humor has this irresistible power to break into tragedy and turn it to comedy. Komuro finds it quite lively and fascinating. Through her work, she creates the confused moment of falling apart and leaves the judgment to the viewers.
Ellen Lake
Let's Not Keep Score, 2008, single-channel, color, sound,01'00"
I look forward to it and Let's not keep score are part of a project Call + Response, a series of shorts combining 16mm home movies from the 1930s and 1940s with cell phone and digital video from today. The actions spotlighted in the two shorts (talking on the phone and playing tennis) are a springboard into a larger exploration about time, technology, and memory. When the artist discovered 16mm home movies in her grandmother's closet, she digitized 21 reels of the films for her project. Created with no thought of an audience beyond the living room, the films maintained their sense of intimacy and offer evocative images of life seventy years ago. Contrary to the stereotype of the faded, scratched, and shaky home movie, the films were carefully shot often with lush, vibrant color. By juxtaposing these old films (the past) with the recent videos she created (the present), Lake investigates ideas about personal diary, collective memory, nostalgia, preservation, and the place where private and public experiences converge. With the everwidening range of technological media available today, the project plays with ideas about time, place, the evolution of media, and history.
Ellen Lake (b. 1969, Falls Church, VA) earned her MFA from Mills College, Oakland, CA, in 2002. Among her awards and grants are: Sarah Jacobson Film Grant (2009), Best Documentary DiGit Media Exposition (2007), Murphy & Cadogan Award (2001), and a grant from the San Francisco Foundation.
Her works have been presented in The Big Switch: New Media, Film & Video at Sumter County Gallery of Art, Sumter, SC (2009); Subversive Complicity at The Lab, San Francisco, CA (2008); Love/War/Sex at Exit Art, New York, NY (2007) among other exhibitions. Her video was screened at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art & Science, Fresno, CA (2009); Rotterdam VHS Festival, Chicago, Il (2009); Walker Art center, Minneapolis, MN (2008) and other venues.
Fast, 2007, single-channel, b/w, silent, 04'39"
Having experienced learning English as a second language, Sujin Lee is interested in the physical act of speaking sign language, translating spoken text into written text, and vice versa. She also is interested in the gaps—the time lapse and the gaps of signifiers between images and texts—that occur during a simultaneous translation of spoken language into a sign language. The artist combines text, video, and performance to discuss how we use language to negotiate, appropriate and interpret different cultures. Her work is especially concerned with the elements that spoken words hold, such as accents, durations, emotions, hesitations and mistakes—lingual aspects that are not easily translated into written forms. She frequently uses dubbing or subtitles, and juxtaposes a spoken text with a written text to explore the notion of "perfect" speech, the faithfulness of voice to the image, and the ownership of language. Departing from the perspective that language is a politically and culturally charged space, the artist attempts to capture struggles, violence and understandings that occur in that particular space between individuals, parties, and countries.
The video Fast explores the act of reading and speaking in relation to time. In Fast, a woman signs the verb "fast" in American Sign Language (by putting her thumb and index finger together and "zipping" her mouth, which resembles the action of closing one's mouth to be silent). The speed of the action is slowed down, allowing the sign's meaning might possibly change, to reveal the complexity of performing language through different cultural and linguistic systems.
Sujin Lee is an interdisciplinary artist who currently works in a combination of text, video and performance to discuss how we use language to negotiate, appropriate, and interpret different cultures. Lee holds an MFA in Fine Arts from New York University, 2003, and an MA in Performance Studies from New York University, 2005. She has exhibited and performed her work nationally and internationally. She is a recipient of the 2008 Artist in the Marketplace fellowship from the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the 2007 Emerge fellowship from Aljira, and most recently, artist residency at the Millay Colony of the Arts.
Jeannette Louie
Disco, 2009, single-channel, 4:3 ratio, color, sound, 02'49"; music by Seth Simon
Scientific author Simon Ings has written that "humans are not machines; they are messy unpredictable generators of nightmares." Ings' observation that the mind is an idiosyncratic perceptual apparatus aptly expresses how consciousness interprets a confluence of diverse realities and psychologies. This stream-of-consciousness churns with the imaginative, and subsequently generates visionary perspectives. By employing still photography, traditional collage techniques and digital animation, Jeannette Louie produces experimental videos that represent a subjective re-imagining of reality. Primarily presented as projected installations, the videos operate as perceptual devices that illustrate the mind's ability to envision the transitional states of being, seeing and perceiving.
Jeannette Louie's interdisciplinary artworks explore the influence of perception upon the thinking mind. She has exhibited at Platform in Kimusa Seoul, Korea; Modern Fuel, Canada; Homie Berlin, Germany; the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, MI; Mills College Art Museum, CA; Esso Gallery, NY; ISE Cultural Foundation, NY; Ace Gallery, NY; Spaces, OH; Sala 1, Italy; and Alberto Peola Arte Contemporanea, Italy. Her honors include New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Fellowship, Creative Capital Foundation Grant and Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome. She is a recipient of fellowships from the Center for Photography at Woodstock, the Brodsky Center at Rutgers University, Yaddo, The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Space Program, Roswell Program, Vermont Studio Center, Skowhegan School and Sculpture Space.
Mayumi Nakazaki
hunt hunter hunted, 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 13'00"
Mayumi Nakazaki is interested in sociological issues that deal with disguise, uniformity, and identity. Her video focuses on behavioral and conversational patterns between people from different cultural backgrounds. Alternative viewpoints are sought through investigating how individuals relate to various social concerns and conventions. As a fractured narratives, her video hovers between fiction and documentary. Confronting the gap between documentation and self-expression, the video questions the notion of objectivity and subjectivity.
Mayumi Nakazaki graduated from Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam, NL, in 1995. Nakazaki is an alumna of residency programs, including Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, NL (2000); Sanskrit Kendra Foundation, Delhi, India (2004); and Location One, New York, NY (2005). Her video was screened in Visions in NYC at Macy Art Gallery Columbia University, NY (2009); Art Basel Miami; Verge Fair (2009); Kunstpavilion Zagreb, Croatia (2009); Home Affairs at Berlin Film Festival, Germany (2007) among other prestigious venues. Nakazaki received grants and awards including Bunkachou Prize from Arts Cultural Affairs, Japanese Government Oversea's Study Program in New York (2008), Project Subsidy from Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (2004), Rene Coelho Prize from Netherlands Institute for Media Arts, Amsterdam (1999) among others.
Shani Peters
RePROGRAM: episodes 1-10, 2008, 10 videos, each one to three minutes long
Shani Peters is interested in the power of collective activity, in the identification of the self within the whole, and in cyclical patterns throughout history and generations. Her work bridges her personal experiences with the collective history of Black people. Often, it examines this history and its present circumstances through the perspective of family structures, as they are microcosms for larger societal conditions. Her perspective is heavily informed by her own family and by the era in which she lives. She was born into the "me generation" of the socially conservative 1980's by way of faithful Black Power era parents who live by a mantra of social responsibility. The constant programming, imagery, and instantly accessible information delivered by media/digital expansions from the 1980's onward has also been a major force in her way of producing art. By appropriating semi-public sources, she crosses iconic signifiers of historical figures and movements (Black Panther Party members, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey) with those of fictional television characters and contemporary cultural icons. She recomposes these figures based on her perception of their historical relevance and more closely by the roles they have played in her personal socialization. Today, she seeks to fuse these influences by positioning one idea against, or with another, layering references through collage, installation, and video in an attempt to push back her own program—a new account, or record of existence.
Shani Peters (b. Lansing, MI) is a New York based artist focusing in video, collage, printmaking, and social practice public projects. Peters completed her BA at Michigan State University and her MFA at The City College of New York. She has exhibited and screened throughout New York, including group shows at Rush Arts Gallery, the International Print Center New York, and the Schomburg Center. She has completed residencies at The Center for Book Arts, LMCC Swing Space and is currently participating in the Bronx Museum's 2010- 11 Artist in the Marketplace program. In addition to personal and public arts projects she works as a teaching artist with various community organizations.
Elizabeth Riley
. . . the new world, 2006, single-channel, color, sound, 06'20"
The video . . . the new world performs as a time capsule. In it, time is transparent, and so happens all at once; yet there is also a movement and reaching into a location beyond this transparent unity, which is the space of the future—perhaps (gleefully) glimpsed. From another perspective the video is linear, as in a western semblance of time, toward a goal; with yet another shift in perspective, the video is centered (literally the center of the video) on a fallen tree, which is materially strong and "whole" in death, and is a "beginning" and sustaining structure.
At the same time the video is an indexical/allegorical narrative of the present moment, and is/represents a (material) composition of the present moment. Woven into the video are a few commonly consumed items (normally which when eaten are transformed into the material of the human body) such as blueberries and eggs. These suggest and project the reality of a living body, but also stand in for individual entities/bodies. A gathering of these entities/ bodies forms and symbolizes a community.
The manipulation of these in the video occur as events—events analogous to the processes of the body such as thought, as creative process, digestive processes, and sexual or emotional connectivity; and also to "events" occurring in a community and world in a process of active change. As such the video shows danger and disruption, sensuality and joy in bonding and is a utopian narrative of the glue and interface that holds the body and the affiliated body of individuals together.
Elizabeth Riley's videos and urban projects deal with impacts of the very present, physical and human, urban environment—as well as changes in contexts; the city dweller's experience of and identification process in suburban or rural environments. The artist has participated in screenings, exhibitions, and collaborative and renegade projects in New York City and beyond. Her work has been seen in the Pool Art Fair in New York City and Miami, and her video Liberty was screened at Art Chicago. Recently her videos have appeared in screenings in Madrid, Copenhagen, and Berlin.
Linda Stein
Can Wonder Woman CRA-AC-CK! Gender Stereotypes?, 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 06'02"
Referring to the super heroine comic figure, Wonder Woman—created by William Moulton Marston in 1941 to educate people about and promote non-violent and compassionate means of seeking peace and justice—and criticizing the TV version for morphing the figure into a sex object in the late 1970s, Linda Stein's video references gender constructions that leave women struggling, even now, to break through the glass ceiling while sadly trying to maintain a culturally defined "femininity." Stein critically reflects on her own experience growing up in a period in which boys and girls were often required to play their gender roles that are socially constructed, and produces works referencing gender-bending icons and role models in pursuit of Parity, Protection, and Peace.
Linda Stein is a sculptor and video artist living/working in Manhattan and East Hampton, NY. Her solo exhibition, The Power to Protect: Sculpture of Linda Stein has recently traveled from the Nathan D. Rosen Museum in Boca Raton, Florida, the Flomenhaft Gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan, SOFA in Chicago, and Longstreth Goldberg Art in Naples, Florida. She has been commissioned to create three larger-than-life outdoor bronze torsos as the central sculptures for the four million dollar Walk of the Heroines at Portland State University, Oregon, and a sculpture of hers is sited in the Adelphi University 2008-10 Biennial. Her videos have been shown in film festivals, universities, galleries, and museums.
Bradly Dever Treadaway
Floodlines, 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 07'32"
Bradly Dever Treadaway's work uses a range of new media and installationbased processes to reflect the breakdown of cultural passage—that is, the transference of histories, lineage, identity, and tradition between generations— and the reconstitution of memory. Materials related to New Orleans come from an archive of over 4000 family slides, historical documents, oral histories, 8mm film footage and other archival and public domain sources dating back to the 1880s. The artist then used digital technologies to filter these materials through a contemporary lens. The process creates a broken cycle, emphasizing the distance from our ancestors and evoking the fragility of intergenerational relations. Conceived initially as a response to his family's experience with Hurricane Katrina, the works have evolved into an exploration of lineage by employing the archive as form, medium, an identity, and a legacy, and into a meditation on time and concepts concerning public/private memory.
Bradly Dever Treadaway is an artist and teacher utilizing photography, video, film and installation to emphasize socially conscious themes and selfawareness. His work revolves around the loss of family, tradition and history and aspires to reunite present and past through visual metaphors. Treadaway works with five generations of family archives from Southern Louisiana and joins them with his own creations, memories, and observations to comment on the breakdown of intergenerational links. Treadaway is an internationally exhibited artist, Fulbright Scholar to Italy and both a faculty member and the Digital Media Assistant at The International Center of Photography.
Christopher Udemezue
Untitled, 2009, single-channel, color, sound, 09'13"
Christopher Udemezue's work addresses social phenomena, the socioeconomic landscape of gender politics, and ethnicity issues in relation to Afro-American male. His video exposes the social complexities surrounding African-American men within the conditions of American patriotism and racism. The video attempts to engage people in a dialogue of "what it means to be a man" and "what it means to be a black."
Christopher Udemezue (b. 1986, Long Island, NY) earned his BFA from Parsons School of Design, NY in 2008. He received Dean's Scholarship for his BFA study. As a young artist, he participated in exhibitions including Long Island's Best: Young Artists at The Heckscher Museum of Art, NY, 2004, and I Will Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours at Parsons School of Design, New York, NY, 2007.
Anthony Cannon Walker
MOMU System Performance for Goldfish, 2006, piano and shakuhachi, duration variable
Anthony Cannon Walker is a photographer in a broad sense of the term; he is an artist who uses cameras, videos or the manipulation of light. The first version of the MOMU system, i.e., a system of Motion In and Music Out, was completed in 2006 as an automated, real time platform for incorporating live animal motion as a crucial element in live musical performance. This application of the system essentially puts a tiny animal, like a goldfish, into the much larger role of conductor, creating an original piece of music that is unique and unrepeatable. The system functions by tracking motion across any video source and instantaneously turning that information into a series of instructions to be interpreted by a live performer. Although the MOMU system was created initially with live video and music in mind, it was also designed to be open-ended enough that it can be utilized as a tool to bridge nearly any combination of video, motion, and performance.
Anthony Cannon Walker (b. 1981, Stockton, CA) received a BA in Japanese language from San Francisco state University in 2003 and an MFA from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 2007. Walker lives and works in New York.
Veronica Winter
Veronica Winter's video work revolves around real events or quietly beautiful short scenes that she collects, reorganizes and reconstructs in a fresh, unusual way. Her latest video Moonlight Sonata captures the musician, Ultramax, who also reconstructs, adds, and reinterprets Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata into a techno grove.
Veronica Winters (b. Russia) lives and works in Pennsylvania. She received her MFA degree in painting from Penn State University in 2005. Her awardwinning surreal oil paintings and vivid, realistic colored pencil drawings have appeared in several art magazines in the UK and the US. Veronica also published an instructional book Master Realist techniques in colored pencil painting in 4 weeks: projects for beginners.
Ina Wudtke
Moonlight Sonata, 2010, UltraMax' technoclassica of Beethoven, single-channel, color, sound, 05'11" | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 135 |
const test = require('tape')
, testCommon = require('abstract-leveldown/testCommon')
, leveldown = require('../')
, abstract = require('abstract-leveldown/abstract/iterator-test')
abstract.all(leveldown, test, testCommon)
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} | 7,974 |
{"url":"http:\/\/lists.g-vo.org\/pipermail\/volutecommits\/2018-April\/001806.html","text":"# [Volute] r4914 - trunk\/projects\/time-domain\/time-series\/note\n\nVolute commit messages volutecommits at g-vo.org\nTue Apr 10 15:51:47 CEST 2018\n\nAuthor: lmichel\nDate: Tue Apr 10 15:51:47 2018\nNew Revision: 4914\n\nLog:\n\nModified:\n\n==============================================================================\n--- trunk\/projects\/time-domain\/time-series\/note\/appendixAda.tex\tTue Apr 10 15:51:12 2018\t(r4913)\n+++ trunk\/projects\/time-domain\/time-series\/note\/appendixAda.tex\tTue Apr 10 15:51:47 2018\t(r4914)\n@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@\nGPS & (Global Positioning System) runs (approximately) synchronously with TAI; GPS $\\approx$ TAI - 19 s\\\\\nTCG & (Geocentric Coordinate Time) TT reduced to the geocenter, corrected for the relativistic effects of the Earth rotation and gravitational potential; TCG runs faster than TT at a constant rate.\\\\\nTCB & (Barycentric Coordinate Time) derived from TCG by a 4-dimensional transformation, taking into account the relativistic effects of the gravitational potential at the barycenter (relative to that on the rotating geoid) as well as velocity time dilation variations due to the eccentricity of the Earth orbit, thus ensuring consistency with fundamental physical constants; Irwin \\& Fukushima (1999) provide a time ephemeris.\\\\\n-TDB & (Barycentric Dynamical Time) runs slower than TCB at a constant rate so as to remain approximately in step with TT; runs therefore quasi-synchronously with TT, except for the relativistic effects introduced by variations in the Earth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s velocity relative to the barycenter; when referring to celestial observations, a pathlength correction to the barycenter may be needed which requires the Time Reference Direction used in calculating the pathlength correction.\\\\\n+TDB & (Barycentric Dynamical Time) runs slower than TCB at a constant rate so as to remain approximately in step with TT; runs therefore quasi-synchronously with TT, except for the relativistic effects introduced by variations in the Earth velocity relative to the barycenter; when referring to celestial observations, a pathlength correction to the barycenter may be needed which requires the Time Reference Direction used in calculating the pathlength correction.\\\\","date":"2020-04-04 20:23:01","metadata":"{\"extraction_info\": {\"found_math\": true, \"script_math_tex\": 0, \"script_math_asciimath\": 0, \"math_annotations\": 0, \"math_alttext\": 0, \"mathml\": 0, \"mathjax_tag\": 0, \"mathjax_inline_tex\": 1, \"mathjax_display_tex\": 0, \"mathjax_asciimath\": 1, \"img_math\": 0, \"codecogs_latex\": 0, \"wp_latex\": 0, \"mimetex.cgi\": 0, \"\/images\/math\/codecogs\": 0, \"mathtex.cgi\": 0, \"katex\": 0, \"math-container\": 0, \"wp-katex-eq\": 0, \"align\": 0, \"equation\": 0, \"x-ck12\": 0, \"texerror\": 0, \"math_score\": 0.8965178728103638, \"perplexity\": 3850.4721476324903}, \"config\": {\"markdown_headings\": true, \"markdown_code\": true, \"boilerplate_config\": {\"ratio_threshold\": 0.18, \"absolute_threshold\": 10, \"end_threshold\": 15, \"enable\": true}, \"remove_buttons\": true, \"remove_image_figures\": true, \"remove_link_clusters\": true, \"table_config\": {\"min_rows\": 2, \"min_cols\": 3, \"format\": \"plain\"}, \"remove_chinese\": true, \"remove_edit_buttons\": true, \"extract_latex\": true}, \"warc_path\": \"s3:\/\/commoncrawl\/crawl-data\/CC-MAIN-2020-16\/segments\/1585370525223.55\/warc\/CC-MAIN-20200404200523-20200404230523-00037.warc.gz\"}"} | null | null |
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