A Cleric in Naples | Page 9

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 carne 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