sous, Casanova said he would share his dinner
with the new comer, and the jailer might keep
the extra money for masses, as before. This
pleased Lorenzo so much, that he gave Casanova
and Maggiori permission to walk in the
ante-chamber for half an hour every day. At
one end of this place was a heap of rubbish of
all kinds, which Casanova furtively examined,
observing amongst other things a bolt as thick
as his thumb, and twenty inches in length.
He trusted nothing, however, in the first
instance, for his plans were not yet ripe; but after
the removal of Maggiori, which shortly took
place—the poor wretch being removed to another
prison, where he passed five years, and was
then banished to Cerigo—the privilege of walking
in the ante-chamber being continued, he
saw and took possession of a small piece of
black polished marble, which he conveyed into
his cell and hid beneath his linen, though
without exactly knowing what use he could put
it to. Within a week after Maggiori's departure,
Casanova's solitude was shared by another
prisoner: a wretched, dirty creature, who was sent
to the Leads for a usurious transaction with a
Venetian nobleman favoured by the Inquisition;
but his confinement was not of long duration, as
he procured his liberation by the payment of
the money in dispute. Notwithstanding all
Casanova's expectations, the year 1755 closed,
and found him still "under the leads," but with
a slight, improvement in his position.

On the 1st of January, 1756, he was permitted
some new year's gifts from a staunch friend
of his, Signer Bragadin, among them a dressing-
gown lined with fox-skin, a wadded silk counterpane,
and a bearskin bag for his feet: the cold
of winter being as hard to bear as the great
heat of summer "under the leads." Money
was also sent, with which he was allowed to
buy books; but these comforts did not reconcile
him to his prison.

My old desire returned, he continues; and one
morning, while taking my usual walk in the ante-
chamber, I again saw the bolt in the heap of
rubbish. This time I did not neglect what I
thought might prove either a weapon of offence or
defence; and having concealed it under my gown,
I carried it into my cell. As soon as I was
alone, I took out the piece of marble, and found,
to my great joy, that it would serve admirably
for grinding the bolt to a point, if I had
patience enough for the labour. It was, indeed,
a work of difficulty, for I could only rub the
bolt in the dark, resting it on the sill of the
grating, with nothing but my left hand to keep
the marble in position, and not a drop of oil to
soften the iron. Instead of oil I used my spittle,
and at the end of eight days of the most
painful work I ever attempted, I succeeded in
filing the bolt down to eight pyramidal facets,
terminating in a sharp point, each facet being
an inch and a half in length. My bolt thus
formed an octangular stiletto or spontoon, as
well proportioned as if it had been made by a
regular workman; but I cannot tell the trouble
it gave me to make it, nor the pain I endured.
My right arm became so stiffened, that it was
with difficulty I could move it; and the palm of
my left hand was one large wound, from the
blisters caused by the hardness of the material
and my incessant labour. Having fashioned
this weapon, my next care was to keep it in a
place of safety; and, after long consideration, I
decided on concealing it in my arm-chair. I
then reflected upon the use I could apply it to,
and the simplest thing appeared to me to make
a hole in the floor under my bed. I felt certain
that the chamber under my cell was that in
which I had seen Signor Cavalli. I knew that it
was opened every morning, and I doubted not
that, as soon as the hole was made, I should be
able to descend thither with ease, by converting
my sheets into cords, and fastening them to the
foot of the bed. Once below, I would hide
myself under the great table of the tribunal, and
in the morning, when the doors were opened, I
could get away before my flight was known. It
was possible, I admitted, that there might be
an archer on guard, but my spontoon would
soon remove that impediment. On the other
hand, the planking might be double or three-
fold, and how was I to prevent the archers from
sweeping the floor during my possible two
months' work? If I told them not to do so, I
might awaken their suspicions, particularly as,
to get rid of the tormenting fleas, I had insisted
on their sweeping every day. To remedy this
inconvenience, I began by desiring them not
to sweep, without saying why. Lorenzo asked
the reason for this order, to which I replied by
saying that the dust made me cough. He then
said he would sprinkle water on the floor, but I
rejoined that it would make matters worse, for
the damp might have a worse effect on my lungs.
This answer procured me a week's respite; but
at the end of that time the fellow directed the
archers to sweep the floor again, and that it
might be effectually done, he had the bed
removed into the ante-chamber and held a light,
which proved to me that he entertained some
suspicion. I did not appear to notice, but
became more fixed in my resolve than ever;
and on the following morning, having scratched
my finger, I let it bleed all over my handkerchief,
and waited for Lorenzo's arrival in bed.
As soon as he came, I said my cough had been
so violent that I had broken a blood-vessel,
which was the reason of what he saw, and I
begged that the doctor might be sent for. To
him, when he arrived, I complained that Lorenzo
was the cause of my malady, by persisting in
having the cell swept, and he, agreeing that
nothing was more dangerous under the
circumstances, ordered the jailer to desist. The
doctor then caused me to be bled, ordered me a
prescription, and left me.

The bloodletting did Casanova good, for it
restored his sleep, which had latterly been
much disturbed, and cured him of certain
spasmodic contractions which had begun to cause
him some anxiety. He also recovered his
strength and appetite, but the moment for
setting to work had not yet arrived; the cold