experience, would not fail to get drunk every
night, and would consequently be late on the
following mornings; that, therefore, was the
most propitious time. With all his hardihood,
there was a tinge of superstition in
Casanova himself, and evidence of it was afforded
just then. He was of opinion that Fate, after
all, must determine the exact hour of his flight,
and he resolved to have recourse to divination
by consulting the "Sortes"—not in Virgil, for
he had no copy of the Mantuan bard, but in his
favourite Ariosto. Using a formula which he
describes, certain figures resulted, which gave
him the seventh line of the seventh stanza of the
ninth canto, and there he read these words:
"Fra il fin d'ottobre e il capo di novembre"
(between the end of October and the beginning
of November). This oracle agreed so exactly
with his previous intention that Casanova
resolved to do everything he could, to verify it.
He then prepared his companion for the apparition
of the monk.

At last, he writes, the hour struck which was
to be the signal of our liberation, and I heard
Balbi at work. Soradici wished to prostrate
himself before the angel, but I said it was not
necessary. In three minutes the aperture was
made, the last fragment of wood fell at my feet,
and Balbi dropped into my arms.

"Your labours are over now," I said, "and
mine begin."

We embraced, he gave me the spontoon and
a pair of scissors, and I told Soradici to trim
our beards. It was impossible to help laughing
at the astonishment that was depicted on his
face as he gazed at the singular-looking angel;
but, though almost out of his wits with wonder,
he clipped us very dexterously. Impatient to
examine the localities, I desired the monk to
remain with Soradici, for I did not like to leave
the latter alone, and I climbed through the
aperture. The hole in the wall beyond, was
narrow, but I managed to get through it, and I
found myself on the roof of the count's cell. I
entered and cordially embraced the respectable
old man. He was one whose age and figure
showed him to be incapable of exposing himself
to the dangers and difficulties of such a flight as
I proposed, along a steep roof covered with lead.
He asked me what my plan was, and said he
thought it rash, and that I could not accomplish
my descent without wings; he wished me all
success, but added that he had not courage to
make the attempt; he would remain behind and
pray for us. I then left him to inspect the
palace roof, getting as close as I could to the
lateral walls, where, seated amidst a heap of
the rubbish which always encumbers such
places, I probed the timbers overhead with my
spontoon and rejoiced to find them quite worm-
eaten. At every thrust I made, the wood
crumbled away to dust, and feeling certain that
I could make a hole large enough for my
purpose in a quarter of an hour, I returned to my
cell, and passed four hours in cutting up our
sheets, bed cover, mattress, and paliasse, to
make cords, taking care to knot them all well
myself, to be sure of their strength, for a single
slip might cost us all our lives. When my work
was done, I had a length of a hundred fathoms.
The rope being finished, I made a bundle of my
hat and coat, my cloak, some shirts, stockings,
and handkerchiefs, and we all three passed into
the cell of the Count, who congratulated Soradici
on his luck in having been confined with me, and
thus procured his liberty. The fellow had not
yet recovered from his surprise, for though he
felt I had deceived him, he could not understand
how I had managed to predict the time of the
pretended angel's arrival. He listened attentively
to the Count's endeavours to dissuade me,
after all, from making my hazardous attempt,
and I saw by his countenance that he had not
courage to venture. I did not trouble myself
about him, but told the monk to pack up his
things while I went to make the hole in the roof.
By two o'clock at night,* without any assistance,
the opening was finished. I had pulverised the
planks, and made the hole twice as large as was
needful. I then came to the sheeted lead, but
as it was rivetted I could not lift it alone, and
was obliged to summon the monk, by whose aid
and by driving the spontoon between the gutter
and the lead, I succeeded in detaching the
latter, and, applying all our strength, we bent it
far enough back for our purpose. Putting my
head out, I saw, to my great grief, the bright
light of the moon, then entering her first quarter.
This was a misfortune which had to be
borne with patience, for it was necessary to
wait till midnight, when the moon went down.
On so fine a night as that, all Venice would
be in the Square of St. Mark, and we must
inevitably have been seen. The moon would go
down at five,* and the sun not rise before
thirteen and a half;* there would therefore remain
eight hours of complete darkness, during which
we might operate in perfect security, and have
plenty of time for our purpose.
* Two hours and a half after sunset.
* Half past ten, P.M.
* Seven, A.M.

As Casanova had no money to assist his
flight when once out of prison, and as Count
Asquin was well provided, he tried to borrow
thirty sequins of him; but the old man was not
very willing to lend, urging that Casanova did
not require money to get away, that he was poor
and had a large family, that an accident might
happen, and a variety of other excuses. But it
was of too much importance to Casanova to
obtain the wherewithal, so he persisted in his
demand; and giving himself credit for not having
beaten the old man, the discussion ended by his
obtaining two sequins, which the Count handed
out with the request that Casanova would give
them back if he found, on examining the roof,
that he could not get down. He little knew
the man he had to deal with, for the enterprising
Venetian would have died rather than
return to his prison. If Count Asquin's
characteristic was avarice, that of Balbi was
mistrust; and while the first dissuaded him from
attempting to escape, the other reproached him