Holland and Germany | Page 9

Master Perine Talvis, telling him I was glad to be able to return
them to him with my best thanks.
My politeness did not meet with much of a reception, for the impudent
scoundrel answered me, as he pocketed the money, that he remembered
having lent it me at Presburg, but he also remembered a more important
matter.
"And pray what is that?" said I, in a dry and half-disdainful tone.
"You owe me a revenge at the sword's point, as you know right well.
Here is the mark of the gash you gave me seven years ago."
So saying, the wretched little man opened his shirt and shewed the
small round scar. This scene, which belonged more to farce than
comedy, seemed to have struck all tongues with paralysis.

"Anywhere else than in Holland, where important and delicate business
debars me from fighting, I shall be glad to meet you and mark you
again, if you still desire to cross swords with me; but while I am here I
must beg you not to disturb me. All the same, you may as well know
that I never go out without a couple of friends in my pockets, and that if
you attack me I shall blow your brains out in self- defence"
"My revenge must be with crossed swords," said he. "However, I will
let you finish your business."
"You will do wisely."
Piccolomini, who had been casting a hungry eye upon my hundred
louis, proposed immediately afterwards a bank at faro, and began to
deal. Prudence would have restrained me from playing in such
company, but the dictates of prudence were overcome by my desire to
get back the hundred louis which I had given Talvis, so I cut in. I had a
run of bad luck and lost a hundred ducats, but, as usual, my loss only
excited me. I wished to regain what I had lost, so I stayed to supper,
and afterwards, with better luck, won back my money. I was content to
stop at this, and to let the money I had paid to Talvis go, so I asked
Piccolomini to pay me, which he did with a bill of exchange on an
Amsterdam bank drawn by a firm in Middlesburg. At first I made some
difficulty in taking it, on the pretext that it would be difficult to
negotiate, but he promised to let me have the money next day, and I
had to give in.
I made haste to leave this cut-throat place, after refusing to lend Talvis
a hundred Louis, which he wanted to borrow of me on the strength of
the revenge I owed him. He was in a bad humour, both on this account
and because he had lost the hundred Louis I had paid him, and he
allowed himself to use abusive language, which I treated with contempt.
I went to bed, promising myself never to set foot in such a place again.
The next morning, however, I went out with the intention of calling on
Piccolomini to get the bill of exchange cashed, but on my way I
happened to go into a coffee-house and to meet Rigerboos, Therese's
friend, whose acquaintance the reader has already made. After greeting

each other, and talking about Therese, who was now in London and
doing well, I skewed him my bill, telling him the circumstances under
which I had it. He looked at it closely, and said,
"It's a forgery, and the original from which it was copied was honoured
yesterday."
He saw that I could scarcely believe it, and told me to come with him to
be convinced of the truth of what he said.
He took me to a merchant of his acquaintance, who skewed me the
genuine bill, which he had cashed the day before for an individual who
was unknown to him. In my indignation I begged Rigerboos to come
with me to Piccolomini, telling him that he might cash it without
remark, and that otherwise he would witness what happened.
We arrived at the count's and were politely received, the count asking
me to give him the bill and he would send it to the bank to be cashed,
but Rigerboos broke in by saying that it would be dishonoured, as it
was a mere copy of a bill which had been cashed the evening before.
Piccolomini pretended to be greatly astonished, and said that, "though
he could not believe it, he would look into the matter."
"You may look into it when you please," said I, "but in the mean time I
should be obliged by your giving me five hundred florins."
"You know me, sir," said he, raising his voice, "I guarantee to pay you,
and that ought to be enough."
"No doubt it would