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to gratify your pride."
"Yes, but also to lower a pride greater than mine."
The Pope smiled at this reply, and I knelt down and begged him to
permit me to present the volume of Pandects to the Vatican Library. By
way of reply he gave me his blessing, which signifies, in papal
language, "Rise; your request is granted."
"We will send you," said he, "a mark of our singular affection for you
without your having to pay any fees."
A second blessing bid me begone. I have often felt what a good thing it
would be if this kind of dismissal could be employed in general society
to send away importunate petitioners, to whom one does not dare say,
"Begone."
I was extremely curious to know what the Pope had meant by "a mark
of our singular affection." I was afraid that it would be a blessed rosary,
with which I should not have known what to do.
When I got home I sent the book by Costa to the Vatican, and then I
went to dine with Mengs. While we were eating the soup the winning
numbers from the lottery were brought in. My brother glanced at them
and looked at me with astonishment. I was not thinking of the subject at
that moment, and his gaze surprised me.
"Twenty-seven," he cried, "came out fifth."
"All the better," said I, "we shall have some amusement out of it."
I told the story to Mengs, who said,--
"It's a lucky folly for you this time; but it always is a folly."
He was quite right, and I told him that I agreed with him; but I added
that to make a worthy use of the fifteen hundred roman crowns which
fortune had given me, I should go and spend fifteen days at Naples.

"I will come too," said the Abbe Alfani. "I will pass for your secretary."
"With all my heart," I answered, "I shall keep you to your word."
I asked Winckelmann to come and eat polenta with the scopatore
santissimo, and told my brother to shew him the way; and I then called
on the Marquis Belloni, my banker, to look into my accounts, and to
get a letter of credit on the firm at Naples, who were his agents. I still
had two hundred thousand francs: I had jewellery worth thirty thousand
francs, and fifty thousand florins at Amsterdam.
I got to Momolo's in the dusk of the evening, and I found Winckelmann
and my brother already there; but instead of mirth reigning round the
board I saw sad faces on all sides.
"What's the matter with the girls?" I asked Momolo.
"They are vexed that you did not stake for them in the same way as you
did for yourself."
"People are never satisfied. If I had staked for them as I did for myself,
and the number had come out first instead of fifth, they would have got
nothing, and they would have been vexed then. Two days ago they had
nothing, and now that they have twenty-seven pounds apiece they
ought to be contented."
"That's just what I tell their, but all women are the same."
"And men too, dear countryman, unless they are philosophers. Gold
does not spell happiness, and mirth can only be found in hearts devoid
of care. Let us say no more about it, but be happy."
Costa placed a basket containing ten packets of sweets, upon the table.
"I will distribute them," said I, "when everybody is here."
On this, Momolo's second daughter told me that Mariuccia and her
mother were not coming, but that they would send them the sweets.

"Why are they not coming?"
"They had a quarrel yesterday," said the father, "and Mariuccia, who
was in the right, went away saying that she would never come here
again."
"You ungrateful girls!" said I, to my host's daughters, "don't you know
that it is to her that you owe your winnings, for she gave me the
number twenty-seven, which I should never have thought of. Quick!
think of some way to make her come, or I will go away and take all the
sweets with me."
"You are quite right," said Momolo.
The mortified girls looked at one another and begged their father to
fetch her.
"Ira," said he, "that won't do; you made her say that she would never
come here again, and you must make up the quarrel."
They held a short consultation, and then, asking Costa to go with them,
they went to fetch her.
In half an hour they returned in triumph, and Costa was quite proud of
the part he had taken in the reconciliation. I then distributed the sweets,
taking care to give the two best packets to the fair Mary.
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